Once Upon A Time – June 6 – 1882 – Electric Iron Patented By New York Inventor Henry W. Seely

1523 Gustav Vasa is elected King of Sweden, marking the end of the Kalmar Union

1716 French transports the 1st African slaves to Louisiana

1916 The death of Yuan Shikai, ruler of much of China since 1912, causes central government to virtually collapse in the face of pressure from warlords, and from political reformers 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

Historical Events Today Events in 2023

Today in 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

Today in Music

1986 “Storms of Life” debut album by Randy Travis is released (Billboard Album of the Year, 1987)

Today 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

1882 Electric iron patented by New York inventor Henry W. Seely. It weighed almost 15 pounds and was very slow to heat up.

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.

Famous Weddings

1857 Sophia of Nassau marries the future King Oscar II of Sweden-Norway

1942 “The Thin Man” actress Myrna Loy (36) weds John Hertz Jr. in New York City

1956 Three-time Olympic Champion figure skater Sonja Henie (44) weds Norwegian shipping magnate and art patron Niels Onstad (47)

The D-Day Allied invasion of France triggered the end of the Second World War. But it could not have worked without a massive subterfuge operation in England – June 6, 1944