Bob Marley Born: Reggae's Prophet Takes His First Breath
Bob Marley was born in Nine Mile, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica, to a white plantation manager and a Black teenage girl. He was mixed-race in a country where that made him an outsider twice over. He contracted melanoma under his toenail — discovered during a football game in 1977 — and refused amputation on religious grounds. By the time he agreed to treatment in 1980, the cancer had spread to his brain, lungs, and stomach. He died at 36, having sold more than 75 million records and having turned Rastafarianism from a Jamaican subculture into a global religion. His son Ziggy was 12 when he died. 'No Woman, No Cry' was written for someone else, but Marley claimed the credit to protect the songwriter from taxes.
February 6, 1945
81 years ago
What Else Happened on February 6
Julius I became pope in 337 by waiting. The previous pope died. The Roman clergy wanted Julius. But Emperor Constantius II wanted someone else — someone who'd s…
Hormizd IV lost his throne because he tried to tax the nobility and protect Christians. His brothers-in-law led the coup — Vistahm and Vinduyih, both military c…
The Vatican needed eight years to figure out who controlled the Philippines' souls. Spain claimed it. Portugal said the islands fell on their side of the Pope's…
Charles II became king of exactly one-third of his supposed realm. Six days after his father's execution, Scotland's Parliament declared him monarch. England re…
James II ascended the throne following his brother Charles II’s death, immediately sparking intense political friction by openly practicing Catholicism in a sta…
Dandara of Palmares chose death over re-enslavement after her capture, cementing her status as a defiant symbol of resistance within Brazil’s Quilombo communiti…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.