June 6 in History

Union gunboats engaged the Confederate River Defense Fleet on the Mississippi River at Memphis on June 6, 1862, sinking or capturing seven of eight Confederate vessels in a battle watched by thousands of spectators lining the bluffs. Colonel Charles Ellet Jr., commanding a fleet of steam-powered rams (boats designed to collide with and sink enemy vessels), led the attack and was mortally wounded by a pistol ball, the only Union casualty. Memphis surrendered by noon. The victory gave the Union control of the entire Mississippi River except for the 200-mile stretch between Port Hudson, Louisiana, and Vicksburg, Mississippi. The rapid collapse of Confederate river forces demonstrated the futility of improvised naval defense against purpose-built warships and professional crews.

Congress passed the Securities Exchange Act on June 6, 1934, creating the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the stock market and prevent the fraud and manipulation that contributed to the 1929 crash. The act required public companies to file regular financial reports, prohibited insider trading, and established margin requirements for stock purchases. President Roosevelt appointed Joseph P. Kennedy, himself a former stock market speculator, as the SEC's first chairman, reasoning that it took a fox to guard the henhouse. Kennedy proved effective, imposing regulations that his Wall Street friends grudgingly accepted because they came from one of their own. The SEC has since become the primary regulator of American capital markets, overseeing over $90 trillion in securities transactions annually.

The D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, was the largest amphibious military operation in history. Over 156,000 Allied troops landed on five beaches (Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword) along a 50-mile stretch of the French coast. More than 13,000 paratroopers had dropped behind enemy lines the night before. The invasion involved 6,939 naval vessels and 11,590 aircraft. Omaha Beach saw the heaviest casualties, with the US 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions suffering an estimated 2,400 killed, wounded, and missing. Total Allied casualties on D-Day were approximately 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead. German casualties were estimated at 4,000-9,000. The invasion established a permanent Western Front that, combined with the Soviet advance from the east, ensured Germany's defeat within eleven months.

Sirhan Sirhan shot Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968 (Kennedy died the following day, June 6). Kennedy had just won the California Democratic presidential primary and was cutting through the hotel kitchen to reach the press room. Sirhan fired eight rounds from a .22 caliber Iver Johnson revolver. Kennedy was hit three times; five bystanders were also wounded. Conspiracy theories have persisted for decades, partly because forensic evidence suggested 13 shots were fired from two directions, and an audio recording appeared to capture more than eight shots. Sirhan has consistently claimed he cannot remember the shooting. He has been denied parole 16 times. Kennedy's assassination deprived the anti-war movement of its most viable presidential candidate.

Walter Chrysler reorganized the failing Maxwell Motor Company into the Chrysler Corporation on June 6, 1925, launching the Chrysler Six, a car that offered features like a high-compression engine and hydraulic brakes previously found only on luxury vehicles, at a price middle-class buyers could afford. Chrysler had been a railroad mechanic who saved $35,000 to buy and disassemble a Locomobile so he could understand how automobiles worked. He took over the ailing Maxwell company, redesigned its products, and created a new brand that outsold every competitor in its price range within its first year. In 1928, Chrysler acquired Dodge Brothers for $170 million and introduced the Plymouth and DeSoto brands, establishing the Big Three of Detroit (GM, Ford, Chrysler) that dominated the auto industry for the rest of the century.

Swiss mercenaries under Cardinal Matthaeus Schiner routed the French army at the Battle of Novara on June 6, 1513, forcing Louis XII to abandon his claim to the Duchy of Milan. The Swiss deployed their famous pike squares in a dawn assault that caught the French camp unprepared. French cavalry and artillery could not stop the disciplined Swiss advance. The victory temporarily restored Massimiliano Sforza as Duke of Milan under Swiss protection. The battle demonstrated the continuing effectiveness of Swiss pike tactics against combined arms forces, but this dominance was approaching its end. At the Battle of Marignano in September 1515, Francis I's French artillery and cavalry finally defeated the Swiss, leading to the "Perpetual Peace" between France and the Swiss Confederation that endures to this day.