May 6
© 1997, 1998 by Paul A. Schons
May 6, 1757
The battle of Prague takes place in the Seven Year's War (1756-1763) (Siebenjähriger Krieg) between Prussia and Austria and their allies.
May 6, 1856
Birth of Sigmund Freud in Freiberg, Moravia (then part of the Austrian Empire).
May 6, 1859
Death of Alexander von Humboldt in Berlin, Germany. Humboldt was a naturalist who traveled the world doing geography and natural history. In his later years he shared the knowledge and insights he had gained in intellectual circles in Paris and Berlin. His major work Kosmos, provided an overview of the structure of the universe as then known.
May 6, 1871
Birth of Christian Morgenstern in Munich, Germany.
May 6, 1880
Death of Friedrich Bayer (not to be confused with Adolf Bayer, the professor of Chemistry at the University of Munich).
May 6, 1880
Birth of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner in Aschaffenberg, Germany. Kirchner was a painter in the Expressionist group, "Die Bruecke". Notable influences on his painting were Albrecht Dürer, the "Jugendstil" movement and Edvard Munch.
May 6, 1933
Heinrich Brüning replaces Ludwig Kaas as head of the Center Party. (The party leadership had demanded Kaas's resignation.)
May 6, 1937
The airship, Hindenburg, catches fire while landing.
May 6, 1974
Willy Brandt resigns as German Chancellor.
May 6, 1992
Death of Marlene Dietrich (born Marie von Losch) in Paris (born in Berlin, Germany). "Ich bin, Gott sei Dank, Berlinerin" is the title of her autobiography. She had been a small time player in German films for seven years before she was suddenly a superstar with Der blaue Engel (1930). Director, Josef von Sternberg then brought her to America, where she continued to make pictures through the 70's. During WWII she entertained Allied troops on over 500 occasions. Among her films are Shanghai Express, The Devil is a Woman, Witness for the Prosecution, and Judgement at Nuremberg.