On This Day: 6 June

Constantine VII, the 8–year–old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire, under the regency of a seven–man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed by Constantine's uncle Alexander III on his deathbed		913
Gustav Vasa, the Swedish regent, is elected King of Sweden, marking a symbolic end to the Kalmar Union and making this the national day of Sweden		1523
Francis Drake's forces sack and burn St. Augustine, in Spanish Florida, after his sergeant major is killed by the rearguard as the Spanish inhabitants flee the city		1586
As the Ming dynasty collapses, Beijing is taken by Qing dynasty Manchu forces led by the Shunzhi Emperor		1644
The Ashmolean Museum, the first public museum, is founded by Elias Ashmole		1683
British forces begin a siege of Havana, Cuba, and temporarily capture the city		1762
Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, is crowned King of Spain		1808
Sweden promulgates a new Constitution, restoring political power to the Riksdag of the Estates after 20 years of enlightened absolutism. Charles XIII is elected to succeed Gustav IV Adolf as King of Sweden		1809
The June Rebellion in Paris is put down by the National Guard		1832
The YMCA is founded in London by George Williams		1844
The Glaciarium, the world's first mechanically frozen ice rink, opens in Grafton Street, off Tottenham Court Road, in London		1844
Queensland is established as a separate colony from New South Wales (making this Queensland Day)		1859
The Hague Convention establishes the three–mile territorial coastal limit		1882
More than 100,000 inhabitants of Bombay are reportedly killed in the so–called 'Bombay Cyclone of 1882', but this has proved a hoax and did not happen		1882
The centre of Seattle is destroyed in a fire		1889
The Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad ("the 'L'") begins revenue service, when a steam locomotive pulling four wooden coaches, carrying more than a couple of dozen people, leaves the 39th Street station and arrives at the Congress Street Terminal 14 minutes later – over tracks that are still in use		1892
Governor Davis H. Waite orders the Colorado state militia to protect and support the miners engaged in the Cripple Creek miners' strike		1894
Henkel et Cie, of Dusseldorf, markets Persil – the first household detergent		1907
England play their first ever overseas match, beating Austria 6–1		1908
The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska – the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century – begins		1912
With the death of Yuan Shikai, who has ruled much of China since 1912, the central government virtually collapses in the face of warlords who assert themselves, including Sun Yat–sen		1916
Battle of Belleau Wood: the US Marine Corps suffers its worst single day's casualties while attempting to recapture the wood at Château–Thierry		1918
Finland declares war on the Soviet Union		1919
Southwark Bridge in London is opened to traffic by King George V and Queen Mary		1921
Over 300 die in a heat wave in the USA		1925
The first drive–in cinema opens in Camden, New Jersey		1933
Gatwick Airport opens		1936
In the Battle of Midway. US Navy dive bombers sink the Japanese cruiser Mikuma and four Japanese carriers		1942
The Allied invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord) begins with the landing of 155,000 troops on the beaches (Operation Neptune, commonly referred to as D–Day) – the largest amphibious military operation in history		1944
George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty–Four is published for the first time		1949
Eurovision begins with a relay networked direct from Montreux		1954
US archaeologist Hiram Bingham – discoverer of the Inca city of Macchu Pichu – dies		1956
Princess Margaret marries Anthony Armstrong–Jones in Westminster Abbey		1960
The Beatles meet record producer George Martin for the first time		1962
The Rolling Stones' debut single – Come On – is released		1963
James Meredith, the first black man to brave the colour bar at the University of Mississippi, is shot and wounded after entering Mississippi on a solo civil rights march from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi. He spends some time in hospital, but his injuries turn out to be superficial and he recovers well enough to complete the march. His assailant is sentenced to five years impsironment		1966
50 lives are lost when a Hughes Airwest Douglas DC–9 jetliner and a US Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas F–4 Phantom II jet fighter collide in mid–air near Duarte, California		1971
Sweden becomes a parliamentary monarchy		1974
A passenger train jumps the tracks at a bridge crossing the Bagmati River, in the Indian state of Bihar. The official death toll is placed at 268 plus another 300 missing, but it is generally believed that the death toll is closer to 1,000		1981
The Lebanon War (named Operation Peace for the Galilee by the Israeli government) begins, as Israeli forces under Defence Minister Ariel Sharon invade Southern Lebanon, eventually reaching as far north as the capital Beirut		1982
Over 400 die when troops of the Indian army storm the Sikh Golden Temple at Amritsar		1984
Remains exhumed from the grave of "Wolfgang Gerhard" in Embu, Brazil, on this day are (later) proved to be those of Josef Mengele, Auschwitz's 'Angel of Death', who is thought to have drowned while swimming in February 1979		1985
Ayatollah Khomeini is buried in Teheran		1989
Croatia and Slovenia proclaim themselves "independent and sovereign" republics		1991
Mongolia holds its first direct presidential elections		1993
Brian Lara scores 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston – still (in 2019) the highest individual score in first–class cricket		1994
A near–Earth asteroid, with an estimated diameter of ten meters, explodes over the Mediterranean between Greece and Libya. The explosion is estimated to have a force of 26 kilotons – the Hiroshima atomic bomb was 15 kilotons, Nagasaki 20 kilotons		2002

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On This Day: 6 June