June 6th in History
Today in History
- Andrew Jackson becomes the first US president to ride on a train (1833)
- The YMCA is founded (1844)
- The Chicago “L” opens (1892)
- World War I: The US Marine Corps suffers its worst single day’s casualties during the Battle of Belleau Wood (1918)
- The US enacts its first tax on gasoline: 1¢/gallon (1932)
- The first drive-in theater opens (1933)
- D-Day: A force of 155,000 Allied troops assault the beaches of Normandy in the largest amphibious assault in history (1944)
- The NBA is founded (1946)
- Bill Haley & the Comets reach #1 on the charts with “Rock Around the Clock” (1955)
- The Lebanon War of 1982 begins (1982)
- Tetris is released (1984)
- The remains of the body of Josef Mengele are discovered in a Brazilian grave (1985)
- In the “Prom Mom” incident, a student gives birth in a bathroom stall and leaves the baby to die in a trash can to return to the prom (1997)
Birthdays
- Diego Velázquez, painter (1599)
- Nathan Hale, soldier and spy (1755)
- Алекса́ндр Пу́шкин (Alexander Pushkin), author (1799 — O.S.* 26 May)
- David Abercrombie, co-founder of Abercrombie & Fitch (1867)
- Thomas Mann, author (1875)
- Ted Lewis, bandleader (1890)
- Sukarno, Indonesian president (1901)
- Jimmie Lunceford, bandleader (1902)
- Արամ Խաչատրյան (Aram Khachaturian), composer (1903)
- Max Zorn, mathematician (1906)
- Kirk Kerkorian, businessman (1917)
- V. C. Andrews, horror writer (1923)
- Roy Innis, activist (1934)
- Levi Stubbs, singer with The Four Tops and actor (1936)
- Gary U.S. Bonds, singer-songwriter (1939)
- Marian Wright Edelman, activist (1939)
- Alexander Cockburn, pundit (1941)
- Tommie Smith, athlete, known for his Olympic Black Power salute (1944)
- Robert Englund, actor who played Freddy Krueger (1947)
- Harvey Fierstein, playwright (1952)
- Sandra Bernhard, comedienne (1955)
- Björn Borg, tennis player (1956)
- Jimmy Jam, keyboardist and producer (1959)
- Amanda Pays, actress (1959)
- Colin Quinn, comedian (1959)
- Eric Cantor, Republican House majority leader (1963)
- Jay Lake, science fiction writer (1964)
- Max Casella, actor (1967)
- Paul Giamatti, actor (1967)
- Erik Prince, founded security contractor Blackwater (1969)
* Because Russia did not convert from the “old style” Julian calendar to the Gregorian until 1918, well after the rest of Europe, some historical figures have their dates of birth and death listed in both calendar systems.
ddddd
Deaths
- Patrick Henry, Virginia governor and speechmaker (1799)
- Jeremy Bentham, philosopher (1832)
- William Quantrill, Confederate guerrilla leader (1865)
- Louis Chevrolet, automobile manufacturer (1941)
- Louis Lumière, first filmmaker (1948)
- Carl Jung, psychiatrist (1961)
- Robert F. Kennedy, US presidential candidate (1968)
- J. Paul Getty, businessman (1976)
- Jack Haley, played the Tin Man (1979)
- Kenneth Rexroth, poet (1982)
- A. Bertram Chandler, science fiction writer and merchant marine officer (1984)
- Stan Getz, saxophonist (1991)
- Anne Bancroft, actress (2005)
- Billy Preston, singer-songwriter (2006)
- Shrek, sheep that evaded shearing for six years (2011)
- Esther Williams, swimmer and actress (2013)
Holidays and Celebrations
- Clean Air Day (Canada)
- Engineer’s Day (Argentina)
- Festival of Chiu Hsien (Taoism)
- McCartney Memorial Day (Turks and Caicos Islands)
- Memorial Day (South Korea)
- National Cow Day (Norway)
- National Day (Sweden)
- Queensland Day (Queensland, Australia)
- Russian Language Day (United Nations)
- St. Martha’s Day (Orthodox Christianity)
- Teacher’s Day (Bolivia)
Informal and made-up holidays include Be-Bop-A-Lula Day, Bonza Bottler Day, Child Health Day (US), Drive-In Movie Day (first drive-in theater opens, June 6, 1933), Fairies’ Judgment Day, Gardening Exercise Day, Helicopter Day, National Applesauce Cake Day, Philatetic Writers Day, Woodmen of the World Founders Day, and Yo-Yo Day (birth of the inventor of the modern yo-yo)
June 6 is the 157the day of the year (158th in leap years). There are 206 days remaining until the end of the year.