June 6th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Jun 6, 1944: D-Day

Although the term D-Day is used routinely as military lingo for the day an operation or event will take place, for many it is also synonymous with June 6, 1944, the day the Allied powers crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, beginning the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control during World War II. Within three months, the northern part of France would be freed and the invasion force would be preparing to enter Germany, where they would meet up with Soviet forces moving in from the east.

With Hitler's armies in control of most of mainland Europe, the Allies knew that a successful invasion of the continent was central to winning the war. Hitler knew this too, and was expecting an assault on northwestern Europe in the spring of 1944. He hoped to repel the Allies from the coast with a strong counterattack that would delay future invasion attempts, giving him time to throw the majority of his forces into defeating the Soviet Union in the east. Once that was accomplished, he believed an all-out victory would soon be his.

On the morning of June 5, 1944, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe gave the go-ahead for Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious military operation in history. On his orders, 6,000 landing craft, ships and other vessels carrying 176,000 troops began to leave England for the trip to France. That night, 822 aircraft filled with parachutists headed for drop zones in Normandy. An additional 13,000 aircraft were mobilized to provide air cover and support for the invasion.

By dawn on June 6, 18,000 parachutists were already on the ground; the land invasions began at 6:30 a.m. The British and Canadians overcame light opposition to capture Gold, Juno and Sword beaches; so did the Americans at Utah. The task was much tougher at Omaha beach, however, where 2,000 troops were lost and it was only through the tenacity and quick-wittedness of troops on the ground that the objective was achieved. By day's end, 155,000 Allied troops--Americans, British and Canadians--had successfully stormed Normandy’s beaches.

For their part, the Germans suffered from confusion in the ranks and the absence of celebrated commander Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, who was away on leave. At first, Hitler, believing that the invasion was a feint designed to distract the Germans from a coming attack north of the Seine River, refused to release nearby divisions to join the counterattack and reinforcements had to be called from further afield, causing delays. He also hesitated in calling for armored divisions to help in the defense. In addition, the Germans were hampered by effective Allied air support, which took out many key bridges and forced the Germans to take long detours, as well as efficient Allied naval support, which helped protect advancing Allied troops.

Though it did not go off exactly as planned, as later claimed by British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery--for example, the Allies were able to land only fractions of the supplies and vehicles they had intended in France--D-Day was a decided success. By the end of June, the Allies had 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy and were poised to continue their march across Europe.

The heroism and bravery displayed by troops from the Allied countries on D-Day has served as inspiration for several films, most famously The Longest Day (1962) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). It was also depicted in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers (2001).
















Jun 6, 1977: Vance affirms Carter's interest in human rights

In the face of recent Soviet crackdowns on human rights activists, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance assures skeptics in the United States that the administration of President Jimmy Carter will hold the Soviet Union accountable for its actions.  

On June 1, 1977 the Soviets charged Anatoly Shcharansky, a computer expert and leader of the human rights movement in Russia, with treason and arrested him. Shcharansky was a leading member of the so-called "Helsinki group" in the Soviet Union, a collection of dissidents whose goal was to monitor the Soviet government's compliance with the 1975 Helsinki accords between the United States and Russia. One part of those accords had been a statement that recognized the right of all people to enjoy basic human rights. Shcharansky and other Soviet dissidents, as well as international human rights groups such as Amnesty International, argued that the Soviets had never complied with this part of the accords. When Jimmy Carter entered the presidency in 1977, he stressed his commitment to human rights and particularly condemned the Soviet Union for its refusal to allow Russian Jews to emigrate. Many in the West saw Shcharansky's arrest as a direct challenge to Carter's emphasis on human rights.  

Just a few days after Shcharansky was charged with treason, Secretary of State Vance met with members of the U.S. commission on human rights, headed by Representative Dante Fascell. They were skeptical of the Carter administration's commitment to pushing the issue of human rights with the Soviets, particularly in the face of the recent crackdowns on dissent in Russia. A recently released report prepared by the Carter White House indicated that the Soviets were not complying with the human rights sections of the Helsinki accords. Vance assured the commission that "The United States will not back down with respect to its position on human rights." The Carter record on this matter, however, remained mixed. While the president publicly condemned Russia's human rights policies, and sometimes even instigated sanctions (such as a halt on the sale of computer equipment to the Soviet Union), he was never as aggressive with the Soviets as he was with smaller and less powerful nations, such as Guatemala and El Salvador.

On this day in 1002, German King Henry II the Saint was crowned. In 1859 on this day in Australia, Queensland was established as a separate colony from New South Wales (recognized as Queensland Day). A massive cyclone on this day in 1882 in the Arabian Sea near Bombay, India, drowned an estimated 100,000 people. In 1906 on this day, the Paris Métro Line 5 was inaugurated with a first section from Place d'Italie to the Gare d'Orléans (today known as Gare d'Austerlitz). The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska began on this day in 1912. It would become the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. On this day in 1944 during World War II, the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, by Allied forces opposing Axis rule over Europe took place. An estimated 150,000 Allied Expeditionary Force landed and stormed the Normandy beaches on that day. In 1960 on this day during the apartheid era of white supremacy in South Africa, the Ingquza Hill massacre took place.  This was a significant incident during the Pondoland Revolt. In 1962, the Beatles met their producer George Martin for the first time. Then, they recorded "Besame Mucho" with Peter Best on drums.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in 1002, German King Henry II the Saint was crowned.

1242 - 24 wagonloads of Talmudic books burned in Paris

1391 - Inhabitants of Seville, Spain, massacres 5,000 Jews

1513 - Battle at Novara: Habsburgers vs Valois

1520 - France & England sign treaty of Scotland

1523 - Gustav Vasa is elected King of Sweden, marking the end of the Kalmar Union.

• 1536 - Mexico begins its inquisition

1639 - Massachusetts grants 500 acres of land to erect a gunpowder mill

1654 - Queen Christina of Sweden resigns & converts to Catholicism

1660 - Denmark & Sweden sign peace treaty

1664 - New Amsterdam renamed New York

1665 - Battle at Monte Carlo: English & Portuguese army beat Spain

1673 - France & Brandenburg sign peace treaty

1683 - The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, opens as the world's first university museum.

1716 - 1st slaves arrive in Louisiana

1744 - France & Prussia sign peace treaty

1752 - 3rd great fire in Moscow in 2 weeks; 1/3 of city destroyed

• 1772 - Haitian explorer Jean Baptiste-Pointe Dusable settles Chicago

1795 - Fire destroy 1/3 of Copenhagen; 18,000 injured

1801 - Peace of Badajoz: Spain-Portugal

1809 - Sweden declares independence, constitutional monarchy established with a new constituion empowering Riksdag after 20 years of absolute monarchy

• 1813 - US invasion of Canada halted at Stoney Creek (Ont)

1816 - 10" snowfall in New England, "year without a summer" (Mount Tambora)

1831 - 2nd national black convention (Phila)

1832 - The barricades fall and the Paris student uprisings of 1832 end.

1844 - Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) forms in London

Fashion Designer Levi StraussFashion Designer Levi Strauss 1850 - Levi Strauss make his 1st pair of blue jeans

• In 1859 on this day in Australia, Queensland was established as a separate colony from New South Wales (recognized as Queensland Day).

1861 - Lincoln's cabinet declares Union government will pay for expenses once states have mobilized volunteers

1862 - Battle of Memphis-city is surrendered

1862 - Battle of Port Royal, SC (Port Royal Ferry)

1862 - Skirmish at Harrisonburg, PA

1863 - Battle of Milliken's Bend, LA & Williamsport, MD

1864 - Battle of Lake Chicot, AR (Dutch Bayou)

1875 - Netherlands goes on the gold standard

• A massive cyclone on this day in 1882 in the Arabian Sea near Bombay, India, drowned an estimated 100,000 people.

1882 - Electric iron patented by Henry W Seely, NYC

1882 - The Shewan forces of Menelik defeat the Gojjame army in the Battle of Embabo. The Shewans capture Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, and heir victory leads to a Shewan hegemony over the territories south of the Abay River.

1885 - 19th Belmont: Paul Duffy aboard Tyrant wins in 2:43

1885 - Opera "Lakmé" is produced (Paris)

1889 - Great Fire in Seattle destroys 25 downtown blocks

1890 - United States Polo Association forms, NYC

1892 - Chicago South Side Elevated Railroad opens (1st 3.6 miles)

1896 - 21st Preakness: Henry Griffin aboard Margrave wins in 1:51

1896 - Frank Samuelsen and George Harbo leave NY harbor to row across Atlantic; their 55 day record for rowing was not broken for 114 year

1904 - National Tuberculosis Association organized, Atlantic City, NJ

1905 - French Foreign minister Delcasse resigns on German request

• In 1906 on this day, the Paris Métro Line 5 was inaugurated with a first section from Place d'Italie to the Gare d'Orléans (today known as Gare d'Austerlitz).

1911 - Nicaragua signs treaty turning over customs to US (not ratified)

• The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska began on this day in 1912. It would become the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.

1913 - Rabbit Maranville, is thrown out trying to steal home 3 times

1914 - 1st air flight out of sight of land (Scotland to Norway)

1916 - Voters in East Cleveland approves women suffrage

1918 - Battle of Belleau Wood, 1st US victory of WW I

1919 - Assent is given to an Act to amend the Canadian Currency Act, 1910

1919 - Finland declares war on bolsheviks

1919 - The Republic of Prekmurje ends.

1920 - Gen Wrangel opens offensive against red Army

1921 - Detroit Stars' Bill Gatewood pitches the 1st no-hitter in Negro League history, defeating the Cuban Stars 4-0

1921 - Southwark Bridge in London is opened to traffic by King George V and Queen Mary.

1924 - 28th US Golf Open: Cyril Walker shoots a 297 at Oakland Hills CC Mich

1925 - Walter Percy Chrysler founded Chrysler Corp (Iacocca is 8 months old)

1926 - Egyptian government of Adly Pasha forms

1931 - "There Ought To Be A Moonlight Saving Time" by Guy Lombardo hits #1

1931 - Yanks turn triple-play but lose 7-5 to Indians

1932 - Carlos Davila coup against pres Juan Montero of Chile

1932 - Ijsselmeervogels soccer team forms in Spakenburg

1932 - US Federal gas tax enacted

1932 - The Revenue Act of 1932 is enacted, creating the first gas tax in the United States, at a rate of 1 cent per US gallon (1/4 ¢/L) sold.

1933 - 1st drive-in theater opens (Camden NJ)

1933 - US Employment Service created

1934 - Securities & Exchange Commission established

1934 - Yankee Myrl Hoag hits 6 singles in one game

1936 - 40th US Golf Open: Tony Manero shoots a 282 at Baltusrol GC NJ

1936 - 68th Belmont: James Stout aboard Granville wins in 2:30

1936 - Aviation gasoline 1st produced commercially Paulsboro NJ

1937 - Phillies trailing 8-2 to St Louis, forfeit game

Father of Psychology Sigmund FreudFather of Psychology Sigmund Freud 1938 - Sigmund Freud arrives in London

1939 - NY Giants beat Reds 17-3, with 5 HRs in 4th inning

1939 - NY supreme court justice J F Crater legally declared dead

1941 - 1st navy vessel constructed as mine layer Terror launched

1941 - Giants use plastic batting helmets for 1st time

1942 - 1st nylon parachute jump (Hartford Ct-Adeline Gray)

1942 - 74th Belmont: Eddie Arcaro aboard Shut Out wins in 2:29.2

1942 - Japanese forces retreat, ending Battle of Midway

1942 - Japanese troop land on Kiska, Aleutians

1944 - 82nd Airborne division D-day-landing at Ste Mere Eglise

1944 - Baseball cancels all games honoring D-Day invasion

Statue of an American Soldier at the World War II Memorial in Trenton, New Jersey

• On this day in 1944 during World War II, the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, by Allied forces opposing Axis rule over Europe took place. An estimated 150,000 Allied Expeditionary Force landed and stormed the Normandy beaches on that day.

1944 - Nazi troops executed 96 prisoners by firing squad

1944 - Theodore Roosevelt Jr receives congressional medal of honor

1944 - U-955, U-970, U-629, U-373 sink in Gulf of Biskaje

1944 - Alaska Airlines commences operations.

1945 - "Free People" premieres in Amsterdam

1946 - 11 Basketball of America Association teams meet to schedule 1st season

1946 - Henry Morgan is 1st to take off shirt on TV

1946 - Martin Kresses begins publishing "Eric the Viking" comic strip

1946 - The Basketball Association of America is formed in New York City.

1947 - Treaty drawn for establishment of Intl Patent Institute

1949 - "It Pays To Be Ignorant" game show debut on CBS-TV

1949 - WKY (now KTVY) TV channel 4 in Oklahoma City, OK (NBC) 1st broadcast

1950 - German DR & Poland sign treaty about Oder-Neisse border

1950 - Turkey: The Adhan in Arabic is legalized.

1954 - Patty Berg wins LPGA Triangle Round Robin Golf Tournament

1955 - Bill Haley & Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" hits #1

1956 - David Marshall, Singapore's first Chief Minister, resigns.

1958 - Ozzie Virgil is 1st black to play as a Tiger

French President Charles de GaulleFrench President Charles de Gaulle 1958 - Premier Charles de Gaulle says Algeria will always be French

1960 - Roy Orbison releases "Only the Lonely"

Flag of South Africa during the apartheid era

•  In 1960 on this day during the apartheid era of white supremacy in South Africa, the Ingquza Hill massacre took place.  This was a significant incident during the Pondoland Revolt.

    

• In 1962, the Beatles met their producer George Martin for the first time. Then, they recorded "Besame Mucho" with Peter Best on drums.

1963 - Gasunie established

1964 - 96th Belmont: Manuel Ycaza aboard Quadrangle wins in 2:28.6

1964 - Beatles arrive in Netherlands

1964 - Under a temporary order, the rocket launches at Cuxhaven, Germany, are terminated, though they never resume.

1965 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Blue Grass Golf Invitational

1965 - Yankees Tom Tresh bangs 3 consecutive HRs beating White Sox 12-0

1966 - Activist James Meredith wounded by white sniper in Mississippi

1966 - Gemini 9 completes 45 orbits after rendezvous with "angry alligator"

1966 - NFL & AFL announce their merger

1966 - Stokely Carmichael launches "Black Power" movement

TV Personality, Comedian and Composer Steve AllenTV Personality, Comedian and Composer Steve Allen 1967 - Israeli troops occupy Gaza

1968 - WKHA TV channel 35 in Hazard, KY (PBS) begins broadcasting

1968 - Senator Robert Kennedy dies from his wounds after he was shot the previous night.

1969 - Joe Namath resigns from NFL after Pete Rozelle, football commissioner, said he must sell his stake in a bar

1970 - 102nd Belmont: John Rotz aboard High Echelon wins in 2:34

1971 - "Ed Sullivan Show" last broadcasts on CBS-TV

1971 - Air West filght 706 collides with Navy Phantom jet over LA, 50 die

1971 - John Lennon & Yoko Ono unannounced appearance at Fillmore East in NYC

1971 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Lady Carling Golf Open

1971 - Soyuz 11 takes 3 cosmonauts to Salyut 1 space station

1971 - WHAE (now WGNX) TV channel 46 in Atlanta, GA (CBN) begins broadcasting

1971 - Willie Mays hits record 22nd & last extra inning HR

1972 - David Bowie releases "Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust"

1972 - Explosion at world's largest coal mine kills 427 (Wankie, Rhodesia)

1972 - Gold hits record $60 an ounce in London

Artist & Musician Yoko OnoArtist & Musician Yoko Ono 1972 - US bombs Haiphong, North-Vietnam; 1000s killed

1974 - 47th National Spelling Bee: Julie Ann Junkin wins spelling hydrophyte

1974 - A new Instrument of Government is promulgated making Sweden a parliamentary monarchy.

1975 - British voters decide to remain in Common Market

1975 - Nolan Ryan's bid for 2nd no-hitter broken in 6th inning

1975 - Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam established

1976 - 30th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat Phoenix Suns, 4 games to 2

1976 - Pat Bradley wins LPGA Girl Talk Golf Classic

1977 - "Washington Post" reports US has developed neutron bomb

1977 - Doobie Brothers sponsor a Golf Classic & Concert for United Way

1977 - Joseph L Howze installed as bishop of Roman Catholic diocese (Miss)

1977 - Supreme Court tosses out automatic death penalty laws

1978 - Proposition 13 cuts California property taxes 57%

1979 - 200th running of horse's Derby in England

1979 - Royal Air Force receives 1st F-16

1979 - Willie Horton becomes 43rd player to hit 300 HRs in the majors

1981 - 113th Belmont: George Martens aboard Summing wins in 2:29

1981 - 51st French Womens Tennis: Hana Mandlikova beats Sylvia Hanika (62 64)

1981 - Maya Yang Lin wins competition to design the Vietnam War Memorial

1981 - A passenger train travelling between Mansi and Saharsa, India, jumps the tracks at a bridge crossing the Bagmati river. The government places the official death toll at 268 plus another 300 missing; however, it is generally believed that the actual figure is closer to 1,000 killed.

1982 - 30,000 Israeli troops invade Lebanon to drive out PLO

1982 - 36th Tony Awards: Life & Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby & Nine win

1982 - 52nd French Mens Tennis: Mats Wilander beats G Vilas (16 76 60 64)

1982 - Bernard Glassman, installed as abbot of Zen Center of NY

1982 - Joanne Carner wins LPGA McDonald 's Golf Classic

1983 - 17th Music City News Country Awards: Marty Robbins & Roy Acuff

1983 - Bottle with note of June 9, 1910 found in Queensland

1983 - Emmy 10th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 4th time

Chinese Communist Party Leader Deng XiaopingChinese Communist Party Leader Deng Xiaoping 1983 - Li Xiannian becomes pres/Deng Xiaoping supreme commander of China PR

1983 - Nicaragua expels 3 US diplomats

1983 - Twins draft pitcher Tim Belcher #1

1984 - 1,200 die in Sikh "Golden Temple" uprising India

1985 - 55th French Womens Tennis: Chris Evert beats Navratilova (63 67 75)

1985 - 58th National Spelling Bee: Balu Natarajan wins spelling milieu

1985 - Body of Nazi concentration camp doctor Dr Josef Mengele located & exhumed

1985 - Dutch 2nd Chamber accepts "status" of Aruba

1985 - Soyuz T-13 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 7 space station

1986 - Jurgen Schull sets world discus record (74.07 m)

1986 - Kathy Ormsby, a 21-year-old member of NC State track team jumps off a bridge permanently paralyzing herself

1987 - 119th Belmont: Craig Perret aboard Bet Twice wins in 2:28.2

1987 - 57th French Womens Tennis Open: Steffi Graf beats M Navratilova (6-4 4-6 8-6)

1987 - NY Yankees play their 13,000th game

1988 - 22nd Music City News Country Awards: Randy Travis & Statler Brothers

Tennis Player Steffi GrafTennis Player Steffi Graf 1988 - 3 giant turtles found in Bronx sewage plant

1988 - George H W Bush makes campaign promise to support reparations for WW II to Japanese-American internees (promise broken, May 1989)

1989 - Mets turn their 1st triple play in 7 years but lose to Cubs 8-4

1990 - 2nd International Rock Awards

1990 - For 2nd time this season, Cecil Fielder belts 3 home runs in a game

1990 - Stump Merrill replaces Bucky Dent as NY Yankee manager

1991 - Albert Belle is shipped to minors for not running out a ground ball

1991 - Dana Plato receives 6 yr suspended sentence for robbing a video store

1991 - NBC announces Jay Leno will replace Johnny Carson on May 25, 1992

1991 - Test Cricket debut of Graeme Hick, v West Indies at Headingley

1992 - 124th Belmont: Eddie Delahoussaye aboard AP Indy wins in 2:26

1992 - 62nd French Womens Tennis Open: Monica Seles beats Steffi Graf (6-2 3-6 10-8)

1992 - Ben Vereen suffers injuries when hit by a car

1992 - NY Met Eddie Murray sets RBI record by a switch hitter

1992 - WLAF World Bowl 2: Sacramento beats Orlando 21-17 (Montreal)

1993 - 47th Tony Awards: Angels in America & Kiss of the Spider Woman win

1993 - 63rd French Mens Tennis: S Bruguera beats Jim Courier (64 26 62 36 63)

1993 - 6th Children's Miracle Network Telethon

1993 - Jane Geddes wins LPGA Oldsmobile Golf Classic

1993 - Punsalmaagiyn Otsjirbat recognized as president of Mongolia

1993 - Ramiro de Leon Carpio elected pres of Guatemala

1994 - 28th Music City News Country Awards: Alan Jackson & Ray Stevens

1994 - 6.0 earthquake/avalanche destroys Toez Colombia (about 1000 killed)

1994 - Brian Lara scores 501 not out for Warwickshire vs Durham

1994 - CD-councillor H Selhorst arrested for hard-drugs trade

1994 - Cricketer Brian Lara hits record 501 not out/390 runs in 1 day

1994 - Tupolev-154M crashes at Xian China, 160 killed

1994 - Warwickshire score 4 for 810 declared against Durham

1998 - 130th Belmont: Gary Stevens aboard Victory Gallop wins in 2:29

1998 - 68th French Womens Tennis:

1999 - 53rd Tony Awards: Fosse & Side Man win

1999 - In Australian Rules Football, Tony Lockett breaks the record for career goals, previously 1299 by Gordon Coventry and which had stood since 1937.

1999 - At the Putim maximum security prison in Brazil, 345 prisoners run from the main gate in the largest jailbreak in Brazilian history, marking the 10th escape for the three-year-old facility. In the ensuing manhunt, two fugitives are killed and five innocent bystanders are accidentally jailed.

2002 - Eastern Mediterranean Event. A near-Earth asteroid estimated at 10 metres diameter explodes over the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Libya. The resulting explosion is estimated to have a force of 26 kilotons, slightly more powerful than the Nagasaki atomic bomb.

2004 - 58th Tony Awards: Avenue Q & I Am My Own Wife win

2004 - Tamil is established as a Classical language by the President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in a joint sitting of the two houses of the Indian Parliament.

2005 - The United States Supreme Court votes to ban medical marijuana in Gonzales v. Raich.

2009 - 141st Belmont: Kent Desormeaux aboard Summer Bird wins in 2:27.54

2012 - Transit of Venus (between Earth & Sun) occurs

2012 - The Solar Impulse completes the world's first intercontinental flight powered by the sun

Singer Carrie UnderwoodSinger Carrie Underwood 2012 - 46th CMT Music Awards: Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert & Luke Bryan wins

2013 - Kevin Barry's City of Bohane wins the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

1674 - Sivaji crowned himself King of India.   1813 - The U.S. invasion of Canada was halted at Stony Creek, Ontario.   1833 - Andrew Jackson became the first U.S. president to ride in a train. It was a B&O passenger train.   1844 - The Young Men's Christian Association was founded in London.   1882 - The first electric iron was patented by H.W. Seely.   1890 - The United States Polo Association was formed in New York City, NY.   1904 - The National Tuberculosis Association was formed in Atlantic City, NJ.   1924 - The German Reichtag accepted the Dawes Plan. It was an American plan to help Germany pay off its war debts.   1925 - Chrysler Corporation was founded by Walter Percy Chrysler.   1932 - In the U.S., the first federal tax on gasoline went into effect. It was a penny per gallon.   1933 - In Camden, NJ, the first drive-in movie theater opened.   1934 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Securities Exchange Act, which established the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).   1936 - The first helicopter was tested in a building in Berlin, Germany.   1941 - The U.S. government authorized the seizure of foreign ships in U.S. ports.   1942 - The first nylon parachute jump was made by Adeline Gray in Hartford, CT.   1942 - Japanese forces retreated in the World War II Battle of Midway. The battle had begun on June 4.   1944 - The D-Day invasion of Europe took place on the beaches of Normandy, France. 400,000 Allied American, British and Canadian troops were involved.   1946 - The Basketball Association of America was formed in New York City, NY.   1968 - U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy died at 1:44am in Los Angeles after being shot by Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy was was shot the evening before while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination.   1971 - "The Ed Sullivan Show" aired for the last time. It was canceled after 23 years on the air. Gladys Knight and the Pips were the musical guests on show.   1978 - "20/20" debuted on ABC.   1982 - Israel invaded southern Lebanon in an effort to drive PLO guerrillas out of Beirut.   1985 - The body of Nazi war criminal Dr. Josef Mengele was located and exhumed near Sao Paolo, Brazil. Mengele was known as the "Angel of Death."   1985 - The U.S. Senate authorized nonmilitary aid to the Contras. The vote authorized $38 million over two years.   1993 - Mongolia held its first direct presidential elections.   2005 - The United States Supreme Court ruled that federal authorities could prosecute sick people who smoke marijuana on doctor's orders. The ruling concluded that state medical marijuana laws did not protect uses from the federal ban on the drug.

1844 The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in London. 1933 The first drive-in movie theater opened in Camden, New Jersey. 1934 The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was established to protect investors and maintain the integrity of the securities markets. 1944 Thousands of Allied troops invaded the beaches of Normandy, France, on D-Day. 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon to drive out the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). 2001 Vermont Republican Senator James Jeffords left the party to become an independent, handing control of the Senate back to the Democrats. 2002 President Bush proposed a new Cabinet department: The Department of Homeland Security.   

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/jun06.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory