On This Day - What Happened On October 6 | Britannica

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Featured Event

1973 Yom Kippur War On this day in 1973, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel, which suffered heavy casualties, but Israeli forces successfully fought back, and the war eventually ended inconclusively. © Buurserstraat386/Dreamstime.com

Featured Biography

Thor Heyerdahl Norwegian ethnologist bornOctober 6, 1914Larvik, NorwaydiedApril 18, 2002 (aged 87)Colla Michari, ItalyMichel Lipchitz—AP/Shutterstock.com 1948 Gerry Adams Irish leader 1930 Hafez al-Assad president of Syria 1914 Thor Heyerdahl Norwegian ethnologist 1908 Carole Lombard American actress 1887 Le Corbusier Swiss architect See All Biographies On This Day

More Events On This Day

2018 The U.S. Senate confirmed Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice by a vote of 50 to 48. Why are there nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court?© Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 2010 Instagram was released to the public in Apple's App Store. It reached 25,000 users on its first day.© prima91/stock.adobe.com 1993 Michael Jordan retired from professional basketball, saying “I don't have anything else to prove,” only to return in March 1995. Where does Jordan rank among the greatest basketball players of all time?© Jerry Coli/Dreamstime.com 1981 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad during a military parade in Cairo. Test your knowledge of Egyptian historydpa picture alliance/Alamy 1976 In China the Gang of Four, having lost their influence with the death of Mao Zedong, were arrested. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about ChinaKeystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 1960 The film Spartacus, directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas, had its world premiere; it won several Academy Awards, including best supporting actor for Peter Ustinov.© 1960 Universal Pictures Company, Inc. 1927 The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson, premiered in New York City, introducing the sound era of motion pictures. Take our film buff quiz© Warner Brothers, Inc. 1892 The English poet widely regarded as the chief representative of the Victorian Age in poetry, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, died at age 83. Test your knowledge of poetry© Photos.com/Getty Images 1849 Thirteen Hungarian generals, “the martyrs of Arad,” were executed for their role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848–49. Take our plots and revolutions quiz 891 Formosus was elected pope; his posthumous trial in 897 is one of the most bizarre incidents in papal history. Read about seven unlucky people, including Formosus, who were not allowed to rest in peaceFine Art Images/Heritage-Images/age fotostock 105 bce The Roman army was defeated by Germanic tribes in the Battle of Arausio. How much do you know about the history of warfare? SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.