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 150,000 strong Allied Expeditionary Force lands in Normandy, France, during World War II
- 1982 30,000 Israeli troops invade Lebanon to drive out the PLO
June 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
June 6 in Music
- 1972 David Bowie releases his breakthrough album "The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars"
June 6 in Sport
- 1901 British Open 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
63 Years Old - Cam Neely
54 Years Old
Nathan Hale
Robert Falcon Scott
Thomas Mann
Sukarno
Björn Borg
Cam NeelyWould 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
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 Actess 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 BancroftJune in History
![Dunkirk: Military Retreat They Called a Miracle]()
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, 1940![Bobby Kennedy Gunned Down on Campaign Trail]()
Bobby 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, 1968![Why an American Bought London Bridge]()
Why 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, 1761![France's Biggest-Ever Bank Robbery]()
France'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
