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September 6
5 moments across history
India Decriminalizes Consensual Gay Sex
On September 6, 2018, India’s Supreme Court unanimously struck down the part of Section 377 that criminalized consensual same-sex relations between adults. The ruling decriminalized gay sex and affirmed LGBTQ+ people’s constitutional rights to equality, dignity, privacy, and freedom from discrimination. Section 377 dated to British colonial rule in 1861, and the decision reversed a 2013 Supreme Court judgment that had restored the prohibition after an earlier legal challenge.
India Decriminalizes Consensual Gay Sex
Leningrad Renamed Saint Petersburg
Leningrad Renamed Saint Petersburg
Year: 1991
On September 6, 1991, Russia’s legislature officially restored Leningrad’s historic name, Saint Petersburg, after voters endorsed the change in a public referendum. The renaming mattered because it reversed the Soviet-era name honoring Vladimir Lenin and revived the city’s identity from its imperial past. It occurred amid the Soviet Union’s collapse, when many places were discarding communist names and reassessing Russia’s pre-revolutionary history.
Viktor Belenko Defects in a MiG-25
Viktor Belenko Defects in a MiG-25
Year: 1976
On September 6, 1976, Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko flew a MiG-25 interceptor to Hakodate, Japan, and requested asylum in the United States. His defection gave Western experts an unprecedented opportunity to inspect the secretive aircraft and reassess its capabilities. The episode occurred amid Cold War military and intelligence rivalry, when advanced Soviet weapons were a major concern for the United States and its allies.
Munich Massacre Ends in Failed Rescue
Munich Massacre Ends in Failed Rescue
Year: 1972
At the 1972 Munich Olympics, Palestinian Black September militants took Israeli team members hostage, killing two initially; a failed West German rescue on September 6 left the other nine hostages dead. The attack exposed serious security failures, shocked the world, and led governments and sporting authorities to strengthen counterterrorism and event security. It occurred amid the wider Arab-Israeli conflict and Palestinian militancy, bringing that struggle dramatically into the arena of an international sporting event.
Eswatini Gains Independence
Eswatini Gains Independence
Year: 1968
On September 6, 1968, Swaziland—now called Eswatini—gained independence from the United Kingdom. Independence restored full sovereignty under King Sobhuza II after decades of British colonial rule. The event formed part of the wider decolonization of Africa during the mid-20th century.