On June 6, 1944, during World War II, nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy, France, on D-Day as they launched Operation Overlord to liberate German-occupied Western Europe. More than 4,400 Allied troops were killed on D-Day, including 2,501 Americans.
Additional historical events on this date include: - In 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in London. - In 1889, an industrial accident sparked a fire in Seattle, Washington, destroying 120 acres of the city center, including the majority of the city’s commercial district and waterfront. - In 1912, Novarupta, a volcano on the Alaska peninsula, began a three-day eruption, sending ash nearly 19 miles (30 kilometers) high; it was the most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century and the largest ever recorded in North America. - In 1933, the first drive-in movie theater opened in Camden, New Jersey. - In 1939, the first Little League Baseball game was played in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. - In 1966, civil rights activist James Meredith was shot and wounded during a march from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi. - In 2015, American Pharoah became the first horse in 37 years to win horse racing’s Triple Crown, winning the Belmont Stakes by 5 ½ lengths.
Notable birthdays on this date include singer-songwriter Gary U.S. Bonds and civil rights activist Marian Wright Edelman, both turning 87.
