Discover what happened on June 6 in history, along with notable events that shaped transportation, business, entertainment, military history, and life in Michigan.
What Happened on June 6 in History?
Important events on this day include the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II, the opening of the first drive-in movie theater, the founding of Chrysler Corporation, the debut of Meijer’s first Thrifty Acres store in Grand Rapids, and the release of the classic video game Tetris.
JUNE 6 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1833 – Andrew Jackson became the first President to ride in a train. It was a B&O passenger train.
1844 – The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) 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.
1892 – The “L” commuter rail system in Chicago, IL began operation.
1904 – The National Tuberculosis Association was formed in Atlantic City, NJ.
1921 – The Detroit Stars’ Bill Greenwood pitched the first no-hitter in Negro Baseball League history, topping the Cuban Stars,4-0.
1925 – Chrysler Corporation was founded by Walter Percy Chrysler.
1932 – The first federal tax on gasoline in the U.S. went into effect. It was a penny per gallon.
1933 – In Camden, NJ, the first drive-in movie theater opened. They were originally referred to as “park-in theaters”. Here is a blog about Drive-ins in the Grand Rapids, MI area.
1934 – President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Securities Exchange Act, which established the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
1942 – The first nylon parachute jump was made by Adeline Gray in Hartford, CT.
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.
1944 – The first glider to land airborne troops in the Normandy invasion landed. It was made by Gibson Refrigerator Co. of Greenville, MI and paid for by the war bond sales of Greenville school children.
1946 – The Basketball Association of America was formed in New York City, NY, with eleven teams.
1962 – The first Meijer “Thrifty Acres” opened in Grand Rapids, MI at the corner of 28th Street and Kalamazoo Avenue.
1968 – Senator Robert F. Kennedy died at 1:44 am 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 – The television news program “20/20” debuted on ABC.
1983 – The PBS TV show “Reading Rainbow”, hosted by LeVar Burton, debuted. The show, that encouraged children to read, ran until November 2006.
1984 – Tetris, one of the best selling video games of all time, was released.
1985 – The Senate authorized non-military aid to the Contras. The vote authorized $38 million over two years.
1991 – Actress Dana Plato (from TV’s “Different Strokes”) was given a six year suspended sentence for robbing a Las Vegas, NV video store.
2001 – A Los Angeles, CA jury awarded more than $3 billion in damages from the Philip Morris tobacco company to a man who claimed he had smoked Marlboros for 40 years.
2001 – Timothy J. McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, was executed by lethal injection in an Indiana federal prison for the deaths of 168 people on April 19th, 1995.
2005 – The United States Supreme Court ruled that federal authorities could prosecute sick people who smoke marijuana on doctor’s orders in the case of Gonzales v. Raich. The ruling concluded that state medical marijuana laws did not protect uses from the federal ban on the drug.
2008 – The Dreamworks animated movie “Kung Fu Panda” opened in theaters.
2012 – A solar airplane, called “The Solar Impulse”, landed in Morocco after completing the world’s first intercontinental flight powered by the sun.
2024 – The launch of SpaceX Starship integrated flight test 4 (IFT-4).
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON JUNE 6:
David Scott – 94 years old (1932) – Colonel, engineer, and astronaut who was the commander of Apollo 15
Gary U.S. Bonds – 87 years old (1939) – Singer-songwriter
Marian Wright Edelman – 87 years old (1939) – Child rights activist
Phillip Allen Sharp – 82 years old (1944) – Molecular biologist; 1993 Nobel Prize laureate (Physiology or Medicine)
Tommie Smith – 82 years old (1944) – Sprinter and football player; winner of 1968 Olympic 200m gold medal in a world record time
Tony Levin – 80 years old (1946) – Bass player and songwriter
Robert Englund – 79 years old (1947) – Actor; best known for Nightmare on Elm Street
Arlene Harris – 78 years old (1948) – Entrepreneur, inventor, investor and policy advocate
Holly Near – 77 years old (1949) – Folk singer and songwriter
Harvey Fierstein – 74 years old (1952) – Actor and playwright; winner of four Tony Awards
Sandra Bernhard – 71 years old (1955) – Stand-up comic and actress
Colin Quinn – 67 years old (1959) – Comedian and actor
Steve Vai – 66 years old (1960) – Musician
Paul Giamatti – 59 years old (1967) – Actor and producer
Natalie Morales – 54 years old (1972) – Television journalist and NBC News anchor
Uncle Kracker – 52 years old (1974) – Musician
Sonya Walger – 52 years old (1974) – British-American actress
Pete Hegseth – 46 years old (1980) – Author, political commentator and 29th United States Secretary of Defense
Becky Sauerbrunn – 41 years old (1985) – Footballer; twice a winner of the FIFA Women's World Cup , also an Olympic gold medallist
Anthony Rendon – 36 years old (1990) – Baseball player
DeAndre Hopkins – 34 years old (1992) – Football player
Vic Mensa – 33 years old (1993) – Rapper and singer
Julian Green – 31 years old (1995) – Soccer player
Kenny Pickett – 28 years old (1998) – Football player
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR JUNE 6:
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For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
