What Happened on June 6
Important Events
- 1523 Gustav Vasa is elected King of Sweden, marking the end of the Kalmar Union
- 1716 French transport the 1st African slaves to Louisiana
- 1916 The death of Yuan Shikai, ruler of much of China since 1912, causes the central government to virtually collapse in the face of warlords, including Sun Yat-sen
- 1944 Operation Overlord: D-Day begins as the 156,000-strong Allied Expeditionary Force lands in Normandy, France, during World War II
- 1982 30,000 Israeli troops invade Lebanon to drive out the PLO
Jun 6 in Film & TV
- 1998 TV sitcom "Sex and the City" premieres in the US on HBO, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon
Jun 6 in Music
- 1972 David Bowie releases his breakthrough album "The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars"
Jun 6 in Sport
- 1901 British Open Men's Golf, Muirfield: Scotsman James Braid wins first of 5 Open titles by 3 strokes from Harry Vardon of Jersey
- 1987 French Open Women's Tennis: 17 year old German Steffi Graf beats World #1 Martina Navratilova 6-4, 4-6, 8-6; Graf's first Grand Slam victory
Famous Birthdays
Nathan Hale
(1755 - 1776)- Robert Falcon Scott
(1868 - 1912) - Thomas Mann
(1875 - 1955) - Sukarno
(1901 - 1970) - Björn Borg
64 Years Old - Daniel Logan
33 Years Old
Nathan Hale
Robert Falcon Scott
Thomas Mann
Sukarno
Björn Borg
Daniel LoganWould You Believe?
A near-Earth asteroid estimated at 10 metres diameter explodes over the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Libya. Resulting explosion estimated to have a force of 26 kilotons, more powerful than the Nagasaki atomic bomb.
On June 6, 2002
Famous Weddings
- 1857 Sophia of Nassau marries the future King Oscar II of Sweden-Norway
- 1942 "The Thin Man" actress Myrna Loy (36) weds John Hertz Jr. in New York City
- 1956 Three-time Olympic Champion figure skater Sonja Henie (44) weds Norwegian shipping magnate and art patron Niels Onstad (47)
Famous Divorces
- 2010 Gossip Girl star Kelly Rutherford (40) divorces German entrepreneur Daniel Giersch (34) due to irreconcilable differences after 2 years of marriage
- 2014 Actress Melanie Griffith (45) and actor Antonio Banderas (53) file for divorce citing irreconcilable differences after 18 years of marriage
Patrick Henry
John A. Macdonald
Gerhart Hauptmann
Hiram Bingham
Robert F. Kennedy
Anne BancroftArticles, Photos and Quiz
Eruption of Novarupta
Ash drifts around Katmai village barabaras (sod houses) after the June 1912 eruption of Novarupta
June 6, 1912D-Day
Into the Jaws of Death by Robert F. Sargent
June 6, 1944D-Day Fake News Fools Hitler
The D-Day Allied invasion of France triggered the end of the Second World War. But it could not have worked without a massive subterfuge operation in England.
June 6, 1944Weekly Quiz June 1 - 7
Who was Kenya's 1st president? What does the TV channel CNN stand for? Who released the album Born in the USA? What epidemic officially began in 1981?
June in History
Dunkirk: Military Retreat They Called a Miracle
Trapped on beaches and a sitting target for German fighter planes and bombers, 330,000 Allied troops looked doomed. Then came the "miracle" of Dunkirk.
June 4, 1940Bobby Kennedy Gunned Down on Campaign Trail
Less than five years after President Kennedy was assassinated, his younger brother Bobby, hoping to win the White House, was felled by a gunman on this day.
June 5, 1968Why an American Bought London Bridge
An iconic piece of Olde England was just what an American oil tycoon wanted for his new township in the Arizona desert. Did he get what he was after?
June 7, 1761France's Biggest-Ever Bank Robbery
Its vault was thought to be impregnable, but the bank had not reckoned on the ingenuity of a determined thief who died on this day, with the loot still missing.
June 8, 1989
