What happened today in history
June
What happened on June 6
On June 6 history recorded 39 notable events. 120 people who left a mark were born on this day, and 53 died. Here is the full almanac.
- 39events
- 120births
- 53deaths
- 17observances
Highlights
Highlights
1513War of the League of Cambrai: Milanese forces with Swiss mercenaries defeated the French in Novara, forcing them to withdraw from the Duchy of Milan and Italy.
The War of the League of Cambrai, also known by its second stage as the War of the Holy League, was fought from December 1508 to December 1516, as part of the wider Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fought for its entire duration
1674Shivaji, who led a resistance to free the Maratha from the Bijapur Sultanate and the Mughal Empire, was crowned the first chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire.
Shivaji I was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji inherited a fiefdom from his father who served as a retainer for the Sultanate of Bijapur, which later formed the genesis of the Maratha Kingdom. In 1674, he was formally crowned the Ch
1749A plot by Muslim slaves in Malta to assassinate Manuel Pinto da Fonseca of the Knights Hospitaller was uncovered.
The Conspiracy of the Slaves was a failed plot by Muslim slaves in Hospitaller Malta to rebel and assassinate Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca of the Order of St John, in an attempt to facilitate the capture of Malta by the Ottoman Empire in June 1749.
June 6
On this day
X century
- 913
913Constantine 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.
XVI century
- 1505
1505The M8.2–8.8 Lo Mustang earthquake affects Tibet and Nepal, causing severe damage in Kathmandu and parts of the Indo-Gangetic plain. - 1513
1513War 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. - 1523
1523Swedish 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.
XVII century
XVIII century
XIX century
- 1813
1813War 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. - 1822
1822Alexis St Martin is accidentally shot in the stomach, leading to William Beaumont's studies on digestion. - 1832
1832The June Rebellion in Paris is put down by the National Guard. - 1844
1844The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) is founded in London. - 1859
1859Queensland is established as a separate colony from New South Wales. The date is still celebrated as Queensland Day. - 1862
1862American 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. - 1882
1882The 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. - 1889
1889The Great Seattle Fire destroys all of downtown Seattle. - 1892
1892The Chicago "L" elevated rail system begins operation. - 1894
1894Governor Davis H. Waite orders the Colorado state militia to protect and support the miners engaged in the Cripple Creek miners' strike.
XX century
- 1912
1912The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska begins. It is the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. - 1918
1918World 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). - 1925
1925The original Chrysler Corporation is founded by Walter Chrysler from the remains of the Maxwell Motor Company. - 1933
1933The first drive-in theater opens in Camden, New Jersey. - 1934
1934New Deal: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 into law, establishing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. - 1942
1942World 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. - 1944
1944World 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
1944World 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.) - 1966
1966March 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. - 1971
1971Soyuz 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
1971Hughes 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. - 1975
1975British referendum results in continued membership of the European Economic Community, with 67% of votes in favour. - 1976
1976Chief 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. - 1982
19821982 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. - 1985
1985The 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. - 1992
1992Copa Airlines Flight 201 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes into the Darién Gap in Panama, killing all 47 aboard. - 1993
1993Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat wins the first presidential election in Mongolia. - 1994
1994China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 crashes near Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, killing all 160 people on board.
XXI century
- 2002
2002Eastern 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. - 2017
2017Syrian civil war: The Battle of Raqqa begins with an offensive by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to capture the city from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). - 2023
2023Russo-Ukrainian war: The Kakhovka Dam is destroyed. - 2024
2024The launch of SpaceX Starship integrated flight test 4 (IFT-4)
Best known
Born on June 6
Best known
Died on June 6
1134Norbert of Xanten
German Catholic bishop, founder of the Premonstratensian order
1217Henry I of Castile
King of Castile and Toledo from 1214 to 1217
1251William II of Flanders
Count of Flanders
1480Vecchietta
Italian painter
1548João de Castro
Portuguese explorer
1583Nakagawa Kiyohide
Japanese warlord (daimyō; 1542–1583)
Holidays and observances
- Christian feast day: Bessarion of Egypt
- Christian feast day: Claudius of Besançon
- Christian feast day: Iarlaithe mac Loga
- Christian feast day: Ini Kopuria (Anglican Church of Melanesia, Church of England, Episcopal Church)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Innocent Guz
- Christian feast day: Marcellin Champagnat
- Christian feast day: Blessed Maria Laura Mainetti
- Christian feast day: Norbert
- Christian feast day: June 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- D-Day Invasion Anniversary
- Engineer's Day in Taiwan
- Korean Children's Union Foundation Day in North Korea
- Memorial Day in South Korea
- National Day of Sweden, marking the end of the Kalmar Union and the coronation of King Gustav Vasa
Frequently asked questions
What happened on June 6?
39 documented historical events happened on June 6, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: War of the League of Cambrai: Milanese forces with Swiss mercenaries defeated the French in Novara, forcing them to withdraw from the Duchy of Milan and Italy. On the same day, in another year: Shivaji, who led a resistance to free the Maratha from the Bijapur Sultanate and the Mughal Empire, was crowned the first chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire. On Almanaccolo every event is listed in chronological order, grouped by century, and links to the Wikipedia article it comes from, so you can always read further or check the source. Alongside the events you find who was born and who died on this date, and which observances are celebrated around the world.
Who was born on June 6?
120 people with a Wikipedia article were born on June 6, including Regiomontanus, Diego Velázquez, Pierre Corneille. The list spans every era and every field — art, science, politics, sport, entertainment — ordered by year of birth, from the earliest to the most recent. The six featured people are those most has been written about: the ordering uses the length of their Wikipedia article as an indicator of prominence. For each one you find their occupation, year of birth and a link to the full biography.
Who died on June 6?
53 people with a Wikipedia article died on June 6, including Norbert of Xanten, Henry I of Castile, William II of Flanders. The list is in chronological order by year of death and spans all of documented history, from antiquity to the present day. For each person you find their occupation, the year and a link to the Wikipedia biography, where the full story and its sources can be read.
What is celebrated on June 6?
17 observances are celebrated on June 6 around the world: Christian feast day: Bessarion of Egypt, Christian feast day: Claudius of Besançon, Christian feast day: Iarlaithe mac Loga, Christian feast day: Ini Kopuria (Anglican Church of Melanesia, Church of England, Episcopal Church), Christian feast day: Blessed Innocent Guz, Christian feast day: Marcellin Champagnat. The list gathers national holidays, international days and religious or civil observances falling on this date in different countries, as recorded on Wikipedia. Some are fixed and recur on the same day every year; others depend on the local calendar. Each links to the article explaining its origin and meaning.
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Source: Wikipedia · Calendar