These historical events took place on June 6th:
1861: Lincoln’s cabinet declares Union government will pay for expenses once states have mobilized volunteers.
1862: Battle of Memphis fought on the Mississippi River, Union forces defeat Confederate fleet leading to the city’s surrender.
1900: United States Congress passed an act authorizing a civil code and government for the territory of Alaska after gold discoveries bring lawlessness and disorder to the area.
1912: The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska begins, the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.
1923: Gangster Albert Anastasia is convicted of illegal possession of a firearm and sentenced to two years in prison.
1931: George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin’s musical “Girl Crazy” starring Ginger Rogers and featuring the debut of Ethel Merman, closes at the Alvin Theater, New York City, after 272 performances, and making the stars of Rogers and Merman.
1933: Richard Hollingshead opens the world’s first Drive-In movie theater on Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Pennsauken, New Jersey.
1944: Operation Overlord: As part of the D-Day landings, the 82nd Airborne Division arrives at the French town of Sainte-Mère-Église. Operation Overlord: D-Day begins as the 156,000-strong Allied Expeditionary Force lands in Normandy, France, during World War II.
1971: Air West flight 706 collides with a United States Marine Corps F-4B Phantom jet over Los Angeles killing all 49 aboard the DC-6 and the pilot of the F-4B.