First Confidential

THIS DAY IN HISTORY - SEPTEMBER 6th

This Day in History

September 6th, 3114 BC

Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Mayans, begins

According to the proleptic Julian calendar the current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar started. (Non-standard interpretation).

Wikipedia  Image: Aztec Calendar: the Aztec calendar was an adaptation of the Mayan calendar. It consisted of a 365-day agricultural calendar, as well as a 260-day sacred calendar. / Pyramids of Mesoamerica.
Maya Long Count Calendar; Reuters / Tyrone Turner / National Geographic / The Telegraph, UK / Hannan Gleghorn.

September 6th, 1492

Christopher Columbus' fleet of three ships sets sail from Spain in 1492, credit Kean Collection / Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Christopher Columbus sails from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, his final port of call before crossing the Atlantic for the first time.

Wikipedia  Paintings: Christopher Columbus' fleet of three ships sets sail from Spain in 1492. credit Kean Collection / Hulton Archive / Getty Images; Christopher Columbus pointing to land in the New World; Romantic Painting of Christopher Columbus arriving to the Americas Primer desembarco de Cristóbal Colón en América, by Dióscoro Puebla 1862.

September 6th, 1620

Mayflower Collage: departs from Southampton, England on its travel to North America

Pilgrims sail from Plymouth, England, on the Mayflower to settle in North America. (Old Style date; September 16 per New Style date.)

Wikipedia  Painting: "Mayflower", The Granger Collection, New York 1905; Pilgrims landing on Cape Cod in November of 1620; The Pilgrims on the Speedwell; Mayflower arrived inside the tip of Cape Cod fishhook, November 1620 (satellite image, 1997); Landing of the Pilgrims by Michele Felice Cornè, circa 1805. Displayed in the White House.

September 6th, 1628

Puritans settle Salem, which will later become part of Massachusetts Bay Colony

Puritans settle Salem, which will later become part of Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Wikipedia  Painting: Massachusetts Bay Colony; John Eliot preaches to the Indians of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Granger Collection, New York

September 6th, 1781

American Revolutionary War Collage American_Revolutionary_War: Battle of Groton Heights; a British victory

American Revolutionary War:
1781 - Battle of Groton Heights; between a small Connecticut militia force led by Lieutenant Colonel William Ledyard and the more numerous British forces led by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold and Lieutenant Colonel Edmund Eyre.

Wikipedia  Paintings: Washington Crossing the Delaware, by Emanuel Leutz; Battle of the Chesapeake, French (left) and British (right) lines; Battle of Bunker Hill, The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill by John Trumbull; The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, September 13, 1782, by John Singleton Copley; Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau at Yorktown, 1781; "The surrender at Saratoga" shows General Daniel Morgan in front of a French de Vallière 4-pounder; Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown by (John Trumbull, 1797).
● Battle of Groton Heights; Fort Trumbull by Seth Eastman, 1870s.

September 6th, 1861

Lincoln Memorial: an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln - located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. across from the Washington Monument American Civil War: Battle of Antietam; Stone Bridge at Antietam Battlefield - Sharpsburg, Maryland American Civil War: American Civil War: First Battle Between Ironclads; CSS Virginia/Merrimac (left) vs. USS Monitor, in 1862 at the Battle of Hampton Roads

American Civil War:
1861 - Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant bloodlessly capture Paducah, Kentucky, which gives the Union control of the mouth of the Tennessee River
1863 - Confederates evacuate Fort Wagner and Morris Island in South Carolina.

Wikipedia  Image: ● Lincoln Memorial; an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln - located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. across from the Washington Monument.
● The northern army led by George McClellan and the southern army led by Robert E. Lee met at Antietam Creek, Maryland in September, 1862. It was a bloody battle where 13,000 Confederates and 12,000 Union troops died in just one day. McClellan had hesitated to attack before the battle thus letting the southern troops regroup. Also, he had saved reserves and refused to use them at the end of the battle thinking that Lee was holding reserves for a counterattack, even though those reserves didn't exist. The Union victory stopped Lee's northward advance and was a turning point in the war.
● Battle of Antietam / Stone Bridge at Antietam Battlefield - Sharpsburg, Maryland
● First Battle Between Ironclads: CSS Virginia/Merrimac (left) vs. USS Monitor, in 1862 at the Battle of Hampton Roads.
● Although photography was still in its infancy, war correspondents produced thousands of images, bringing the harsh realities of the frontlines to those on the home front in a new and visceral way. The Atlantic.

September 6th, 1944

Estonia: Tornimäe business quarter in Tallinn ● Lighthouse by Baltic Sea Stony Coast in Pärnu County, Estonia ● Approximately 7,000 swamps in Estonia which cover up to 22.3% of Estonian territory ● Osmussaar (Swedish: Odensholm) is one of many islands in the territorial waters of Estonia ● The Northern coast of Estonia consists mainly of limestone cliffs ● Estonia is famous for its countless of manors which used to house the ruling German elite ● Estonia landscape

Tartu Offensive: Soviet forces capture the city of Tartu, Estonia.

Wikipedia  Photo: Estonia: Tornimäe business quarter in Tallinn ● Lighthouse by Baltic Sea Stony Coast in Pärnu County, Estonia ● Approximately 7,000 swamps in Estonia which cover up to 22.3% of Estonian territory ● Osmussaar (Swedish: Odensholm) is one of many islands in the territorial waters of Estonia ● The Northern coast of Estonia consists mainly of limestone cliffs ● Estonia is famous for its countless of manors which used to house the ruling German elite ● Estonia landscape.

September 6th, 1983

Cold War: Soviet Union admits to shooting down Korean Air Flight KAL-007, stating that the pilots did not know it was a civilian aircraft when it violated Soviet airspace. All 269 on board die

Cold War: Soviet Union admits to shooting down Korean Air Flight 007, stating that the pilots did not know it was a civilian aircraft when it violated Soviet airspace. All 269 on board die, including Congressman Lawrence McDonald.

Wikipedia  Photo: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was a Korean Air Lines civilian airliner that was shot down by Soviet jet interceptors on September 1, 1983, over the Sea of Japan over prohibited Soviet airspace.

September 6th, 1991

Saint Petersburg, Russia: a city and a federal subject (a federal city) of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea

Dissolution of the Soviet Union, August Coup: Saint Petersburg is restored to Russia's second largest city, which had been renamed Leningrad in 1924.

The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Wikipedia  Image: Saint Petersburg: Panorama from Palace Bridge; Pushkin House is established in Saint Petersburg to preserve the cultural heritage (Institute of Russian Literature, as seen from across the Neva); Saint Petersburg, Russia. © Digital Vision / Getty Images; Saint Isaac's Cathedral; Winter Palace is one of the most splendid buildings in Saint Petersburg.

September 6th, 2009

Manila, Philippines: SuperFerry 9 ● Firefighters around the Superferry 14 (catches fire while transporting about 900 people between islands in the central Philippines. About 116 people are killed as the ship runs aground and partially submerges.) source: Philippine Air Force.

The ro-ro ferry SuperFerry 9 sinks off the Zamboanga Peninsula in the Philippines with 971 persons aboard; all but ten are rescued.

Wikipedia  Photo: SuperFerry 9 ● Firefighters around the Superferry 14 (catches fire while transporting about 900 people between islands in the central Philippines. About 116 people are killed as the ship runs aground and partially submerges.) source: Philippine Air Force.