Events

• 350 – The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators.
• 713 – The Byzantine emperor Philippicus is blinded, deposed and sent into exile by conspirators of the Opsikion army in Thrace. He is succeeded by Anastasios II, who begins the reorganisation of the Byzantine army.
• 1326 – The Treaty of Novgorod delineates borders between Russia and Norway in Finnmark.
• 1539 – Hernando de Soto claims Florida for Spain.
• 1608 – Samuel de Champlain completes his third voyage to New France at Tadoussac, Quebec.
• 1621 – The Dutch West India Company receives a charter for New Netherland.
• 1665 – James Stuart, Duke of York (later to become King James II of England), defeats the Dutch fleet off the coast of Lowestoft.
• 1781 – Jack Jouett begins his midnight ride to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of an impending raid by Banastre Tarleton.
• 1839 – In Humen, China, Lin Tse-hsü destroys 1.2 million kilograms of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a casus belli to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Philippi (also called the Philippi Races): Union forces rout Confederate troops in Barbour County, Virginia, now West Virginia.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Cold Harbor: Union forces attack Confederate troops in Hanover County, Virginia.
• 1866 – The Fenians are driven out of Fort Erie, Ontario back into the United States.
• 1885 – In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police.
• 1916 – The National Defense Act is signed into law, increasing the size of the United States National Guard by 450,000 men.
• 1940 – World War II: The Luftwaffe bombs Paris.
• 1940 – World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk ends with a German victory and with Allied forces in full retreat.
• 1941 – World War II: The Wehrmacht razes the Greek village of Kandanos to the ground and murders 180 of its inhabitants.
• 1942 – World War II: Japan begins the Aleutian Islands Campaign by bombing Unalaska Island.
• 1943 – In Los Angeles, California, white US Navy sailors and Marines clash with Latino youths in the Zoot Suit Riots.
• 1963 – Soldiers of the South Vietnamese Army attack protesting Buddhists in Huế with liquid chemicals from tear-gas grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalised for blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments.
• 1969 – Melbourne–Evans collision: off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne cuts the US Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half.
• 1984 – Operation Blue Star, a military offensive, is launched by the Indian government at Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs, in Amritsar. The operation continues until 06 June, with casualties, most of them civilians, in excess of 5,000.
• 1989 – The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation.
• 2006 – The union of Serbia and Montenegro comes to an end with Montenegro’s formal declaration of independence.
• 2013 – The trial of United States Army private Chelsea Manning for leaking classified material to WikiLeaks begins in Fort Meade, Maryland.
• 2019 – Khartoum massacre: In Sudan, over 100 people are killed when security forces accompanied by Janjaweed militiamen storm and open fire on a sit-in protest.
• Confederate Memorial Day (Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee: United States).

People (Births)

• 20 BC – Sejanus, Roman soldier and bodyguard (d. 31 AD).
• 1808 – Jefferson Davis, American colonel and politician, President of the Confederate States of America (d. 1889).
• 1818 – Louis Faidherbe, French general and politician, Governor of Senegal (d. 1889).
• 1901 – Zhang Xueliang, Chinese general and warlord (d. 2001).
• 1905 – Martin Gottfried Weiss, German SS officer (d. 1946).
• 1906 – Josephine Baker, French actress, singer, and dancer; French Resistance operative (d. 1975).
• 1930 – George Fernandes, Indian journalist and politician, Minister of Defence for India.
• 1931 – Raúl Castro, Cuban commander and politician, 18th President of Cuba.

People (Deaths)

• 628 – Liang Shidu, Chinese rebel leader.
• 800 – Staurakios, Byzantine general.
• 1397 – William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (b. 1328).
• 1453 – Loukas Notaras, last megas doux of the Byzantine Empire.
• 1615 – Sanada Yukimura, Japanese samurai (b. 1567).
• 1865 – Okada Izō, Japanese samurai (b. 1838).
• 1928 – Li Yuanhong, Chinese general and politician, 2nd President of the Republic of China (b. 1864).
• 1964 – Kâzım Orbay, Turkish general and politician, 9th Turkish Speaker of the Parliament (b. 1887).
• 2013 – Frank Lautenberg, American soldier and politician (b. 1924).