June 6

Events

1752 - A devastating fire destroys one-third of Moscow, including 18,000 homes.
1844 - The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) is founded in London.
1859 - Australia: Queensland is established as a separate colony from New South Wales (Queensland Day).
1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Memphis - Union forces capture Memphis, Tennessee, from the Confederates.
1889 - The Great Seattle Fire destroys the entirety of downtown Seattle, Washington.
1925 - The Chrysler Corporation is founded by Walter Percy Chrysler.
1944 - World War II: Battle of Normandy begins. D-Day, code named Operation Overlord, commences with the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy in France.
1982 - 1982 Lebanon War begins: Forces under Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invade southern Lebanon in their "Operation Peace for the Galilee," eventually reaching as far north as the capital Beirut.
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.

1755 - Nathan Hale, American writer and patriot (d. 1776)
1869 - Siegfried Wagner, German composer and son of Richard Wagner. (d. 1930)
1894 - John Hargrave, Social Credit activist and founder of the Green Shirts of Great Britain (d. 1982)
1917 - Kirk Kerkorian, American businessman
1941 - Alexander Cockburn, Scottish-born American journalist