1523 – Gustav Vasa is elected King of Sweden, marking the end of the Kalmar Union
1716 – French transport the 1st African slaves to Louisiana
1916 – The death of Yuan Shikai, ruler of much of China since 1912, causes the central government to virtually collapse in the face of warlords, including Sun Yat-sen
1944 – Operation Overlord: D-Day begins as the 156,000-strong Allied Expeditionary Force lands in Normandy, France, during World War II
1982 – 30,000 Israeli troops invade Lebanon to drive out the PLO
1993 – Punsalmaagiyn Otsjirbat recognized as President of Mongolia
1995 – Moses Kiptanui of Kenya runs world 5,000m record 12:55.30 in Rome, Italy
2002 – A near-Earth asteroid estimated at 10 metres diameter explodes over the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Libya. Resulting explosion estimated to have a force of 26 kilotons, more powerful than the Nagasaki atomic bomb.
2005 – The United States Supreme Court votes to ban medical marijuana in Gonzales v. Raich.
2012 – Transit of Venus (between Earth & Sun) occurs – last transit of 21st century
2017 – Syrian Democratic Forces backed by the US launch offensive to take Raqqa from Islamic State in Syria
2018 – Convicted drug trafficker, Alice Johnson, granted clemency by US President Donald Trump after Kim Kardashian highlights case
2019 – German serial killer nurse Niels Hoegel jailed for a second life sentence for the murder of 85 more people (previously convicted for six). Germany’s worst post-war serial killer.
2019 – On 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, New York City’s police commissioner James O’Neill apologizes for his department’s actions during the 1969 raid on the Stonewall Inn
2019 – Amir Ohana becomes the first openly gay minister in Israel as acting justice minister
Film & TV:
1998 – TV sitcom “Sex and the City” premieres in the US on HBO, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon
Music:
1972 – David Bowie releases his breakthrough album “The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”
Jun 6 in Sport
1901 – British Open Men’s Golf, Muirfield: Scotsman James Braid wins first of 5 Open titles by 3 strokes from Harry Vardon of Jersey
1987 – French Open Women’s Tennis: 17 year old German Steffi Graf beats World #1 Martina Navratilova 6-4, 4-6, 8-6; Graf’s first Grand Slam victory
