July 6th in History

Michael Dobson | July 6

The British dirigible airship R34 arrives in New York after completing the longest air flight in history to date, 3200 miles in 4-1/2 days, becoming the first lighter-than-air craft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. It carried a crew of 30, including one stowaway and one kitten. (Photo: Collection of the Library of Congress)

Today in History

  • Richard I Lionheart ascends the English throne (1189)
  • Richard III becomes King of England (1483)
  • The first political convention of the Republican Party takes place (1854)
  • Louis Pasteur successfully tests his smallpox vaccine (1885)
  • The British dirigible R34 complex the first crossing of the Atlantic by airship (1919)
  • Anne Frank and her family go into hiding (1942)
  • Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of the bus, leading to his court-martial (1944)
  • The AK-47 goes into production (1947)
  • The first black athlete wins at Wimbleton (1957)
  • John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time (1957)

Birthdays

  • John Paul Jones, sailor (1747)
  • Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore (1781)
  • Maximilian I, emperor of Mexico (1832)
  • Marc Chagall, painter (1887)
  • Sebastian Cabot, actor (1918)
  • Nancy Reagan, actress and First Lady (1921)
  • Merv Griffin, singer, talk show host, and producer (1925)
  • Bill Haley, singer-songwriter (1925)
  • Janet Leigh, actress (1927)
  • Pat Paulsen, comedian and Presidential candidate (1927)
  • Della Reese, actress and singer (1931)
  • Candy Barr, burlesque performer and ecdysiast (1935)
  • Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama (1935)
  • Ned Beatty, actor (1937)
  • Gene Chandler, singer-songwriter (1937)
  • Burt Ward, actor (1945)
  • George W. Bush, 43rd US President (1946)
  • Fred Dryer, football player and actor (1946)
  • Sylvester Stallone, actor and filmmaker (1946)
  • Jamie Wyeth, painter (1946)
  • Shelley Hack, actress (1947)
  • Brad Park, hockey player (1949)
  • John Byrne, comics artist (1950)
  • Geoffrey Rush, actor (1951)
  • 50 Cent, rapper (1975)
  • Tia and Tamera Mowry, actresses (1978)
  • Kevin Hart, actor and comedian (1979)

Deaths

  • Henry II, King of England (1189)
  • Jan Hus, theologian and reformer (1415)
  • Ludovico Ariosto, poet and playwright (1533)
  • Sir Thomas More, lawyer and politician (1535)
  • Edward VI, King of England (1553)
  • Granville Sharp, abolitionist (1813)
  • George Ohm, physicist and mathematician (1854)
  • Guy de Maupassant, author and poet (1893)
  • Kenneth Grahame, children’s book author (1932)
  • William Faulkner, author and Nobel laureate (1962)
  • Louis Armstrong, singer and trumpet player (1971)
  • Brandon deWilde, actor (1972)
  • Otto Klemperer, conductor (1973)
  • Van McCoy, musician (1979)
  • Roy Rogers, Western star (1998)
  • Buddy Ebsen, performer (2003)
  • L. Patrick Gray, FBI director (2005)
  • Ed McBain, author (2005)
  • Robert McNamara, businessman and politician (2009)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Constitution Day (Cayman Islands)
  • Day of the Capital (Kazakhstan)
  • Independence Day (Comoros, Malawi)
  • Jan Hus Day (Czech Republic)
  • National Air Traffic Control Day
  • National Fried Chicken Day
  • National Kissing Day
  • Statehood Day (Lithuania)
  • Teacher’s Day (Peru)
  • Ludi Apollinares (first day of celebration, ancient Rome)
  • San Fermin (today until July 14, Pamplona)
July 6 is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years). There are 178 days remaining until the end of the year.