What Happened on May 6

Historical Events

  • 1527 Spanish and German Imperial troops sack Rome, ending the Renaissance. Charles III, Duke of Bourbon is killed in the assault removing any restraint for the victorious soldiers.
  • 1626 Dutch colonist Peter Minuit organizes the purchase of Manhattan Island from Native Americans for 60 guilders worth of goods, believed to have been Canarsee Indians of the Lenape
  • 1889 Exposition Universelle (World's Fair) in Paris opens with the recently completed Eiffel Tower serving as the entrance arch

May 6 in Film & TV

  • 2004 TV sitcom "Friends" airs season finale in 10th and final season in US (52.5 million viewers)

May 6 in Music

May 6 in Sport

  • 1954 English athlete Roger Bannister becomes first to run a sub-4 minute mile, recording 3:59:4 at Iffley Road Track, Oxford

Did You Know?

During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque

On May 6, 2001

Would You Believe?

Samuel Pierpont Langley flies his unpiloted Number 5 aircraft using a catapult launch from a boat on the Potomac River, USA. The aircraft travels almost 3/4 of a mile - ten times further than any previous heavier-than-air flying machine.

On May 6, 1896

Famous Weddings

  • 1476 Emperor Frederik III of Habsburg and Duke of Burgundy Charles the bold arrange the marriage of their children
  • 1880 British novelist Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot) (60) weds Scottish banker John Cross (40) at George's, London
  • 1946 Comedian Stan Laurel (55) marries for the 5th time actress Ida Kitaeva (47)

Famous Divorces

  • 1974 Actress Maggie Smith (39) divorces actor Robert Stephens (42) after 6 years of marriage
  • 2006 "Dallas" actress Victoria Principal (56) divorces plastic surgeon Harry Glassman (63) due to irreconcilable differences after nearly 21 years of marriage
  • 2016 Actress Kaley Cuoco and professional tennis player Ryan Sweeting divorce after 2 years of marriage

More Weddings & Divorces