Iceland's Prime Minister Halldór Ásgrímsson resigns after poor showings in local elections. Foreign Minister Geir Haarde takes over. //news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5050768.stm (BBC)
In Brazil, 345 prisoners escape from Putim prison through the front gate.
Friday, June 6, 1997
In Lacey Township, New Jersey, high school senior Melissa Drexler kills her newborn baby in a toilet.
Thursday, June 6, 1996
Leighton W. Smith, Jr. resigns as NATO commander in the face of increasing criticism.
Monday, June 6, 1994
June 8 ndash Ceasefire negotiations for the Yugoslav War begin in Geneva they agree to a 1-month cessation of hostilities (which does not last more than a few days).
Topeka, Kansas is devastated by a tornado that registers as an F5 on the Fujita Scale, the first to exceed US $100 million in damages. Sixteen people are killed, hundreds more injured, and thousands of homes damaged or destroyed.//www.crh.noaa.gov/top/events/66tornado.php NOAA.gov
President John F. Kennedy gives the commencement address at Yale University.
President John F. Kennedy gives the commencement address at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin, with apparent success, escape from the Alcatraz Island prison. Although the men were never heard from again, there is evidence that they survived the attempt and there was to be sightings of them over the years.
Wednesday, June 6, 1956
In Singapore, chief minister David Marshall resigns after the breakdown of talks about internal self-government in London.
Tuesday, June 6, 1950
Turkey: The Adhan in Arabic is legalized.
Monday, June 6, 1949
Red Scare: Celebrities including Helen Keller, Dorothy Parker, Danny Kaye, Fredric March, John Garfield, Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson are named in an FBI report as Communist Party members.
With the passage of the Bodh Gaya Temple Act by the Indian government, Mahabodhi Temple is restored to partial Buddhist control.
WWII ndash Battle of Normandy: "Operation Overlord", commonly known as D-Day, commences with the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy in France. The Allied soldiers quickly break through the Atlantic Wall and push inland, in the largest hibious military operation in history. This operation helps liberate France from Germany, and also weakens the Nazi hold on Europe.
Wednesday, June 6, 1934
New Deal: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Securities Exchange Act into law, establishing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sweden promulgates a new Instrument of Government, which restores political power to the Riksdag of the Estates after authoritarian rule since 1772. On the same day, Duke Charles (uncle of the deposed king Gustav IV Adolf) is elected King under the name Charles XIII.
Saturday, June 6, 1807
An earthquake strikes Lisbon, Portugal.
Wednesday, June 6, 1787
Franklin College, named for Benjamin Franklin, opens in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It later merges with Marshall College to become Franklin and Marshall College.
Saturday, June 6, 1761
A transit of Venus occurs, and is observed from 120 locations around the Earth.
July ndash The Russian Army seizes Smolensk, and the Thirteen Years War starts between Russia and Poland over Ukraine.
Monday, June 6, 1644
The invading Manchu army, with the help of Ming general Wu Sangui, captures Beijing, China. This marks the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (also known as the Manchu Dynasty), the last imperial dynasty of China.
Thursday, June 6, 1630
Swedish warships depart from Stockholm to Germany.
Tuesday, May 27, 1561 (Julianian calendar)
Sweden conquers Livonia (modern Estonia).
Wednesday, May 27, 1523 (Julianian calendar)
Gustav Vasa is elected king of Sweden, finally establishing its full independence from Denmark, marking the end of the Kalmar Union.
Friday, May 27, 1513 (Julianian calendar)
Italian Wars ndash Battle of Novara: Swiss troops defeat the French under Louis de la Tremoille, forcing the French to abandon Milan. Duke Massimiliano Sforza is restored.
Saturday, May 27, 1508 (Julianian calendar)
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces he is forced to sign a 3-year truce and cede several territories to Venice.
August ndash Lebna Dengel succeeds his father Na'od as Emperor of Ethiopia. Due to his young age, his grandmother Eleni acts as regent.
Richard Whittington is nominated as Lord Mayor of London for the first time.
Monday, May 29, 1391 (Julianian calendar)
Anti-Jewish riots erupt in Seville, Spain. Many thousands of Jews are massacred and the violence spreads throughout Spain and Portugal.
Saturday, May 29, 1333 (Julianian calendar)
William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster is murdered and the Burke Civil War begins in Ireland.
Tuesday, May 30, 1217 (Julianian calendar)
King Henry I of Castile dies aged thirteen from the fall of a roof tile in Palencia, an event which his regent, Álvaro Núñez de Lara, attempts to conceal. Henry's sister Berengaria succeeds to the throne.