6 April in history
7 events that happened on 6 April, from 1320 to 1930.
✦ Anniversary of the day
1320 CE 706 years ago
Scottish barons date the Declaration of Arbroath
Scotland's nobles sent Pope John XXII a letter asserting the kingdom's independence from England and their right to depose any king who submitted to it. It is one of the most celebrated statements of medieval national identity.
1652 CE 374 years ago
Jan van Riebeeck arrives at the Cape of Good Hope
Jan van Riebeeck reached Table Bay to set up a supply station for the Dutch East India Company. The outpost grew into Cape Town and began European settlement in southern Africa.
1896 CE 130 years ago
First modern Olympic Games open in Athens
King George I of Greece opened the first modern Olympics at the Panathenaic Stadium. Revived by Pierre de Coubertin, the Games drew some 240 athletes from 14 nations.
1917 CE 109 years ago
United States declares war on Germany
Congress approved President Wilson's request for war, provoked by unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram. American troops and resources helped tip the balance on the Western Front.
1930 CE 96 years ago
Gandhi breaks the salt law at Dandi
At the end of his 24-day march to the sea, Mohandas Gandhi picked up a lump of natural salt at Dandi, defying the British monopoly. The gesture launched a mass campaign of civil disobedience across India.
