1937: The Hindenburg crashes in flames in New Jersey, killing 97. On May 6, 1937, the hydrogen-filled German airship Hindenburg caught fire and crashed while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey; 35 of the 97 people on board were killed along with a crewman on the ground.
1954: Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes. The British athlete took 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds to cover 1609 meters. The current record by Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj stands at 3:43.13 (as of February 2014).
1976: A massive earthquake hits northeast Italy. 939 people died and 157,000 were left homeless in Italy’s worst earthquake, which measured 6.5 on the Richter scale.
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1994: English Channel tunnel opens. In a May 6, 1994 ceremony presided over by England’s Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand, a rail tunnel under the English Channel is officially opened, connecting Britain and the European mainland for the first time since the Ice Age. It measures just over 50 km (31 mi) and is the tunnel with the world’s longest undersea portion.
1994: Paula Jones accuses Bill Clinton of sexual harassment. Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state clerk, filed suit against President Bill Clinton in the federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas, on May 6, 1994, asking for $700,000 in damages. The Paula Jones case was one of four major scandals that coalesced to threaten Clinton’s second term. While working on the Paula Jones investigation, independent prosecutor Kenneth Starr uncovered Clinton’s alleged affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
1997: The Bank of England was given independence from political control. It was the most significant change in its 300-year history.
1998: Steve Jobs with an iMac
Steve Jobs introduced Apple’s first iMac, a personal computer that became hugely successful and helped revive the struggling company.
1992: Marlene Dietrich
German American actress Marlene Dietrich—whose beauty, voice, aura of sophistication, and languid sensuality made her one of the world’s most glamorous film stars—died at the age of 90.
2002: Falcon 1 rocket
South African-born American entrepreneur Elon Musk founded the aerospace company SpaceX, which helped usher in the era of commercial spaceflight.
2010: Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was sworn in as President of Nigeria, hours after the death of incumbent, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
2023: The newly crowned royal couple. In the first British coronation in some seven decades, Charles III and Camilla were crowned king and queen, respectively.
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY: May 6
Tony Blair, 71 Years
British Labour Party leader Tony Blair, who in 1997 became the youngest British prime minister since 1812, was born.
George Clooney, 63 years
American actor George Clooney—who emerged in the 1990s as a popular leading man, known for his good looks and versatility, and who later became a respected director and screenwriter—was born.
Sigmund Freud (6 May 1856 -: 23 September 1939)
Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in the psyche, through dialogue between patient and psychoanalyst, and the distinctive theory of mind and human agency derived from it. He died at the age of 83.
Ojo Maduekwe (6 May 1945 – 29 June 2016)
Nigerian politician and Foreign Minister (2007-2010), Nigeria was born on this day. As Minister of Tourism, he strongly advocated the use of bicycles by Nigerians, despite public perception that drivers made the roads unsafe for cyclists. He cycled to work daily, even after a bus pushed him into a ditch. He died at the age of 71.
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