Discover what happened on July 6 in history, featuring memorable milestones in transportation, technology, entertainment, sports, government, and American life.
What Happened on July 6 in History?
Important events on this day include the first Republican Party convention in Jackson, Michigan, Louis Pasteur’s successful rabies vaccine test, the first Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Anne Frank’s family going into hiding, Forrest Gump arriving in theaters, and the release of Pokémon Go.
JULY 6 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1785 – The dollar was unanimously chosen as the monetary unit for the United States.
1854 – In Jackson, MI, the Republican Party held its first convention.
1858 – Lyman Blake patented the shoe manufacturing machine.
1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully tested his anti-rabies vaccine on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog. The child used in the test later became the director of the Pasteur Institute.
1898 – Mackinac Island Village Council members banned “horseless carriages” on the island. They were afraid the sputtering motor cars would scare their horses.
1905 – Fingerprints were exchanged for the first time between officials in Europe and the U.S. The person in question was John Walker.
1919 – A British dirigible landed in New York, NY, at Roosevelt Field. It completed the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship.
1928 – The very first full-length all-talking movie, “Lights of New York”, was released by Warner Bros.
1932 – The postage rate for first class mail in the U.S. went from 2-cents to 3-cents.
1933 – The first All-Star baseball game was held in Chicago, IL, at Comiskey Park. The American League beat the National League 4-2.
1942 – Diarist Anne Frank and her family took refuge from the Nazis in Amsterdam.
1945 – President Harry Truman signed an order creating the Medal of Freedom.
1948 – Frieda Hennok became the first woman to serve as the commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission.
1953 – The game show “Name That Tune” premiered on CBS. It started as a radio program in 1952 on NBC radio.
1955 – America’s first seat belt law was signed in Illinois.
1957 – Althea Gibson won the Wimbledon women’s singles tennis title. She was the first black athlete to win the event.
1957 – As teenagers, John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time, three years before forming The Beatles.
1974 – The song “Rock the Boat”, by the Hues Corporation, became the first disco song to top the Hot 100 chart.
1976 – Women were admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy for the first time.
1981 – The Dupont Company announced an agreement to purchase Conoco, Inc. (Continental Oil Co.) for $7 billion. At the time it was the largest merger in corporate history.
1983 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that retirement plans could not pay women smaller monthly payments solely because of their gender.
1986 – Davis Phinney became the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour de France.
1988 – Several popular beaches were closed in New York, NY, due to medical waste and other debris washing up on the shores.
1994 – The movie “Forrest Gump”, starring Tom Hanks, debuted in theaters.
1997 – The Mars Pathfinder released Sojourner, a robot rover on the surface of Mars. The spacecraft landed on the red planet on July 4th.
2000 – A jury awarded former NHL player Tony Twist $24 million for the unauthorized use of his name in the comic book “Spawn” and the HBO cartoon series. Co-defendant HBO settled with Twist out of court for an undisclosed amount.
2014 – An EF-1 tornado touched ground in Wyoming and Kentwood, MI at about 10:20 pm. The storm caused $5 million in damages.
2016 – The augmented reality game “Pokémon Go” was released.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON JULY 6:
Gene Chandler – 89 years old (1937) – Singer-songwriter and producer
Burt Ward – 81 years old (1945) – Actor
George W. Bush – 80 years old (1946) – Businessman and politician, 43rd President of the United States
Fred Dryer – 80 years old (1946) – Football player and actor
Sylvester Stallone – 80 years old (1946) – Actor, director, and screenwriter
Brad Park – 78 years old (1948) – Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
Michael Shrieve – 77 years old (1949) – Composer, drummer, and percussionist
John Byrne – 76 years old (1950) – English-American author and illustrator
Rick Sternbach – 75 years old (1951) – Illustrator and concept designer
Phil Mallow – 69 years old (1957) – Politician
Peter Hedges – 64 years old (1962) – Author, screenwriter, and director
Inspectah Deck – 56 years old (1970) – Rapper and producer
50 Cent – 51 years old (1975) – Rapper and actor
Ioana Dumitriu – 50 years old (1976) – Romanian-American mathematician and academic
Adam Busch – 48 years old (1978) – Actor, director, and producer
Tamera Mowry – 48 years old (1978) – Actress and producer
Tia Mowry – 48 years old (1978) – Actress and producer
Kevin Hart – 47 years old (1979) – Comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
Joell Ortiz – 46 years old (1980) – Rapper
Nnamdi Asomugha – 45 years old (1981) – Football player
Brandon Jacobs – 44 years old (1982) – Football player
David Karp – 40 years old (1986) – Businessman, founded Tumblr
Sophie Auster – 39 years old (1987) – Singer-songwriter and actress
Manteo Mitchell – 39 years old (1987) – Runner
Jae Crowder – 36 years old (1990) – Basketball player
Manny Machado – 34 years old (1992) – Dominican-American baseball player
Andrew Benintendi – 32 years old (1994) – Baseball player
Ludwig Ahgren – 31 years old (1995) – YouTuber and live streamer
Comethazine – 28 years old (1998) – Rapper
Zion Williamson – 26 years old (2000) – Basketball player
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR JULY 6:
No events found for this date.
For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
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