July 6 in history — What Happened Today in History

The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world's worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life.

While attempting to return to Sheremetyevo International Airport, Aeroflot Flight 411, an Ilyushin Il-62, crashes near Mendeleyevo, Moscow Oblast, killing all 90 people on board.

The Comoros declares independence from France.

Nigerian Civil War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war.

Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President.

Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom.

As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place.

The Late Late Show, the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time.

Althea Gibson wins at the Wimbledon Championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles.

Referendum held in Sylhet to decide its fate in the Partition of India.

The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union.

Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to his court-martial.

The Hartford circus fire, one of America's worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut.

Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse.

World War II: The German army launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk.

Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia's longest cantilever bridge is formally opened.

Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany closes the last remaining Jewish enterprises.

Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid.

A major breach of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal in England sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet (61 m) into the River Irwell.

The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2.

The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship.

The Left SR uprising in Russia starts with the assassination of German ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach by Cheka members.

World War I: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt.

Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded.

David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transfers much of the king's authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.

The Republican Party of the United States held its first convention in Jackson, Michigan.

Sophie Auster, American singer-songwriter and actress

Manteo Mitchell, American runner

Kate Nash, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress

Caroline Trentini, Brazilian model

David Karp, American businessman, founder of Tumblr

Ranveer Singh, Indian film actor

Zhang Hao, Chinese figure skater

Gregory Smith, Canadian actor, director, and producer

Brandon Jacobs, American football player

Misty Upham, American actress (died 2014)

Nnamdi Asomugha, American football player

Roman Shirokov, Russian footballer

Pau Gasol, Spanish basketball player

Alan J. Dixon, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 34th Illinois Secretary of State (born 1927)

Lo Hsing Han, Burmese businessman, co-founded Asia World (born 1935)

Hani al-Hassan, Palestinian engineer and politician (born 1939)

Carly Hibberd, Australian road racing cyclist (born 1985)

Harvey Fuqua, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1929)

Vasily Aksyonov, Russian author and academic (born 1932)

Robert McNamara, American businessman and politician, 8th United States Secretary of Defense (born 1916)

Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, American author (born 1939)

Kasey Rogers, American actress (born 1925)

Ed McBain, American author and screenwriter (born 1926)

Claude Simon, Malagasy-French novelist and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1913)

Thomas Klestil, Austrian politician, 10th President of Austria (born 1932)

Syreeta Wright, American singer-songwriter (born 1946)