<p>Discover what happened on July 6 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.</p>


July 6

Discover what happened on July 6 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on July 6 | HISTORY

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In 1957, the Soviet Union shot its Sputnik satellite into orbit, launching a space race with the U.S. The Little Rock Nine integrated an Arkansas high school to fierce local opposition, forcing President Eisenhower to send in federal troops to escort them. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first such law since Reconstruction. In Liverpool, England, 16-year-old John Lennon and 15-year-old Paul McCartney met for the first time at a church fair. In the U.S., frisbees flew into popularity.

1957

1785

As the Great Depression continued worldwide, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. Nazis declared a national boycott of Jewish-owned businesses and opened their first concentration camp, Dachau. In the U.S., after President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt narrowly escaped assassination, he inaugurated his New Deal programs, ended Prohibition and began speaking directly to Americans with radio fireside chats. A “monster” appeared in Scotland’s Loch Ness, King Kong loomed large on movie screens and the first drive-in theater opened in New Jersey.

1933

The “shot heard round the world”—the opening salvo of the American Revolution, fired at the Battles of Lexington and Concord—got 1775 off with a bang. Before the year was out, the Second Continental Congress had appointed George Washington to command the troops and Benjamin Franklin to run the post office. Meanwhile in France, King Louis XVI was crowned, likely unaware that he’d one day face his own revolution—and the guillotine.

1775

Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day in 1944, the largest amphibious invasion in history. Weeks later, the Allies liberated Paris from its Nazi occupiers. Meanwhile, Soviet forces battered the Nazis on WWII’s eastern front. In the U.S., Franklin Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth presidential term and Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall starred in their first film together, “To Have and Have Not,” introducing the immortal line, “You know how to whistle, don’t you?” 

1944

1976

In 1942, the U.S. Navy defeated the Japanese Navy in the Battle of Midway, a turning point of the war in the Pacific, while in Germany, Nazi officials met to plan the “Final Solution” and Anne Frank’s family went into hiding. As FDR ordered Japanese Americans into wartime incarceration camps, false reports of a Japanese attack set California skies ablaze with anti-aircraft fire in the “Battle of Los Angeles.” Americans supported the war effort with scrap drives and victory gardens.

1942

1946

1900

1935

1994

Riots in Detroit… San Francisco's Summer of Love… the Six-Day War in the Middle East… Elvis and Priscilla's Vegas wedding... 1967 was a momentous year around the world. It also a year of firsts: the first successful human heart transplant in South Africa (the recipient lasted 18 days), the confirmation of the first Black Supreme Court Justice in the U.S. (Thurgood Marshall) and the first McDonald’s Big Mac (price: 45 cents).

1967

<p>America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.</p>


U.S. Presidents

<p>Religion and spiritual issues, including Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, the Bible, Wicca, Buddhism and more, are at the core of human values and history.</p>


Religion

<p>From raising families to leading armies, women such as Catherine the Great, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen Amanirenas, Queen Elizabeth I, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin and countless others have played a vital role in history.</p>


Women’s History

<p>The years following the American Revolution were challenging for the new nation, which struggled with the Articles of Confederation, Shay's Rebellion, Federalism, the Alien and Sedition Acts and more.</p>


Early U.S.

<p>The Holocaust, during which some 6 million Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and other people were systematically exterminated by Nazi Germany during World War II, was one of the most horrific war crimes ever committed.</p>


Holocaust

<p>Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.</p>


Crime

<p>Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.</p>


Sports

<p>In the early 20th century, America was flexing its economic and political muscle on the international stage. The era was defined by the temperance movement, Progressive-era activism, the sinking of the Titanic and World War I.</p>


Early 20th Century U.S.

<p>The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.</p>


American Revolution

Videos

<p><a href="http://history.com/">HISTORY.com</a> works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including <a href="https://www.history.com/author/amanda-onion">Amanda Onion</a>, <a href="https://www.history.com/author/missy-sullivan">Missy Sullivan</a>, <a href="https://www.history.com/author/matt-mullen">Matt Mullen</a> and Christian Zapata.</p>


History.com Editors

<p>Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.</p>


Art, Literature and Film History

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">African Americans have played a central role in shaping U.S. history. From slavery and its abolition to the Great Migration, the civil rights movement and military, scientific, cultural and political achievements, explore key moments, milestones and figures in Black History.</div>
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Black History

<p>Africa is a large and diverse continent that extends from South Africa northward to the Mediterranean Sea. The continent makes up one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth. Widely recognized as the birthplace of humankind, Africa saw the rise of great kingdoms, faced the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonization and Apartheid.</p>


This Day In History: July 6

Althea Gibson is first African American to win Wimbledon

Also on This Day in History July | 6

Continental Congress sets the dollar as the official U.S. currency

This Day in History Video: What Happened on July 6

Major League Baseball’s first All‑Star Game is held

Congress issues a “Declaration on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms”

Fire engulfs circus big top in Hartford, killing 167

First women inducted into the U.S. Naval Academy

Anne Frank’s family takes refuge

George Walker Bush is born

Warren Earp killed in Arizona

John Lennon meets Paul McCartney for the first time

Dalai Lama, leader of Tibet, is born

“Forrest Gump” opens, winning Tom Hanks a second Oscar

George “Bugs” Moran is arrested

Civil war breaks out in Nigeria

Also on This Day in History July | 6

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