What Happened on June 6
Significant Events
- 1523 Gustav Vasa is elected King of Sweden, marking the end of the Kalmar Union
- 1716 1st slaves arrive in Louisiana
- 1916 With the death of Yuan Shikai, who has ruled much of China since 1912, the central government virtually collapses in the face of warlords who assert themselves, 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: James Braid wins first of 5 Open titles, by 3 strokes from Harry Vardon
Famous Birthdays
Nathan Hale
(1755 - 1776)
Robert Scott
(1868 - 1912)
Thomas Mann
(1875 - 1955)
Sukarno
(1901 - 1970)
Björn Borg
62 Years Old
Cam Neely
53 Years Old
Would 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)
- 1960 Singer-actress Eartha Kitt (33) weds Bill McDonald
- 1966 Socialite Claus von Bulow marries heiress Martha [Sunny]Sharp Crawford
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
Hiram Bingham
Robert F. Kennedy
Jack Haley
Anne BancroftJune 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, 1940
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
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
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