June 6

Historic Events

2024

The launch of SpaceX Starship integrated flight test 4 (IFT-4) ›

2023

Russo-Ukrainian war: The Kakhovka Dam is destroyed. ›

2002

Eastern Mediterranean event. A near-Earth asteroid estimated at ten meters in diameter explodes over the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Libya. The explosion is estimated to have a force of 26 kilotons, slightly more powerful than the Nagasaki atomic bomb. ›

1994

China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 crashes near Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, killing all 160 people on board. ›

1993

Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat wins the first presidential election in Mongolia. ›

1992

Copa Airlines Flight 201 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes into the Darién Gap in Panama, killing all 47 aboard. ›

1985

The grave of "Wolfgang Gerhard" is opened in Embu, Brazil; the exhumed remains are later proven to be those of Josef Mengele, Auschwitz's "Angel of Death"; Mengele is thought to have drowned while swimming in February 1979. ›

1982

1982 Lebanon War: The war begins as forces under Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invade southern Lebanon during Operation Peace for the Galilee, eventually reaching as far north as the capital Beirut. ›

1976

Chief Minister of Sabah Faud Stephens, Peter Joinud Mojuntin, and several other politicians are killed in a plane crash near Kota Kinabalu International Airport in Malaysia. ›

1975

British referendum results in continued membership of the European Economic Community, with 67% of votes in favour. ›

1971

Soyuz 11 is launched. The mission ends in disaster when all three cosmonauts, Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev are suffocated by uncontrolled decompression of the capsule during re-entry on 29 June. ›

1971

Hughes Airwest Flight 706 collides with a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II of the United States Marine Corps over the San Gabriel Mountains, killing 50. ›

1966

March Against Fear: African-American civil rights activist James Meredith is wounded in an ambush by white sniper James Aubrey Norvell. Meredith and Norvell are photographed by Jack R. Thornell, whose photo will receive the 1967 Pulitzer Prize in Photography, the last one to be awarded in the category. ›

1944

World War II: Commencement of Operation Overlord: The Allied invasion of Normandy begins with the execution of Operation Neptune—commonly referred to as D-Day—the largest seaborne invasion in history. Nearly 160,000 Allied troops cross the English Channel with about 5,000 landing and assault craft, 289 escort vessels, and 277 minesweepers participating. By the end of the day, the Allies have landed on five invasion beaches and are pushing inland. ›

1944

World War II: Capture of the Caen canal and Orne river bridges by British paratroopers, also known as Operation Coup de Main (incorrectly referred to as Operation Deadstick.) ›

1942

World War II: The United States Navy's victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway is a major turning point in the Pacific Theater. All four Japanese fleet carriers taking part—Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū and Hiryū—are sunk, as is the heavy cruiser Mikuma. The American carrier Yorktown and the destroyer Hammann are also sunk. ›

1934

New Deal: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 into law, establishing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. ›

1933

The first drive-in theater opens in Camden, New Jersey. ›

1925

The original Chrysler Corporation is founded by Walter Chrysler from the remains of the Maxwell Motor Company. ›

1918

World War I: U.S. Marine Corps suffers its worst single day's casualties during the Battle of Belleau Wood while attempting to recapture the wood at Château-Thierry (the losses are exceeded at the Battle of Tarawa in November 1943). ›

1912

The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska begins. It is the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. ›

1894

Governor Davis H. Waite orders the Colorado state militia to protect and support the miners engaged in the Cripple Creek miners' strike. ›

1892

The Chicago "L" elevated rail system begins operation. ›

1889

The Great Seattle Fire destroys all of downtown Seattle. ›

1882

The Shewan forces of Menelik II of Ethiopia defeat the Gojjame army in the Battle of Embabo. The Shewans capture Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, and their victory leads to a Shewan hegemony over the territories south of the Abay River. ›

1862

American Civil War: The First Battle of Memphis, a naval engagement fought on the Mississippi River, results in the capture of Memphis, Tennessee by Union forces from the Confederates. ›

1859

Queensland is established as a separate colony from New South Wales. The date is still celebrated as Queensland Day. ›

1844

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) is founded in London. ›

1832

The June Rebellion in Paris is put down by the National Guard. ›

1822

Alexis St Martin is accidentally shot in the stomach, leading to William Beaumont's studies on digestion. ›

1813

War of 1812: In the Battle of Stoney Creek, considered a critical turning point in the war, a British force of 700 under John Vincent defeats an American force twice its size under William Winder and John Chandler. ›

1762

Seven Years' War: British forces begin the Siege of Havana and temporarily capture the city. ›

1674

Shivaji is crowned as the first Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire at Raigad Fort. ›

1654

Swedish Queen Christina abdicates her throne in favour of her cousin Charles Gustav and converts to Catholicism. ›

1523

Swedish regent Gustav Vasa is elected King of Sweden and, marking a symbolic end to the Kalmar Union, 6 June is designated the country's national day. ›

1513

War of the League of Cambrai: In the Battle of Novara, Swiss troops defeat the French under Louis II de la Trémoille, forcing them to abandon Milan; Duke Massimiliano Sforza is restored. ›

1505

The M8.2–8.8 Lo Mustang earthquake affects Tibet and Nepal, causing severe damage in Kathmandu and parts of the Indo-Gangetic plain. ›

913

Constantine VII, the eight-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed by Constantine's uncle Alexander on his deathbed. ›