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.
• 1098 – After 5-month siege during the First Crusade, the Crusaders seize Antioch (today’s Turkey).
• 1326 – The Treaty of Novgorod delineates borders between Russia and Norway in Finnmark.
• 1539 – Hernando de Soto claims Florida for Spain.
• 1602 – An English naval force defeats a fleet of Spanish galleys, and captures a large Portuguese carrack at the Battle of Sesimbra Bay.
• 1608 – Samuel de Champlain lands at Tadoussac, Quebec, in the course of his third voyage to New France, and begins erecting fortifications.
• 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 Harbour: Union forces attack Confederate troops in Hanover County, Virginia.
• 1885 – In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police.
• 1916 – The National Defence 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 attack Latino youths in the five-day 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 (refer to the Vietnam War).
• 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; resulting in 74 deaths.
• 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)

• 1808 – Jefferson Davis, American colonel and politician, President of the Confederate States of America from 1861 – 1865 (d. 1889).
• 1818 – Louis Faidherbe, French general and politician, Governor of Senegal (d. 1889).
• 1879 – Vivian Woodward, English footballer and soldier (d. 1954).
• 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).
• 1921 – Forbes Carlile, Australian pentathlete and coach (d. 2016).
• 1930 – George Fernandes, Indian journalist and politician, Minister of Defence for India (d. 2019).
• 1931 – Raúl Castro, Cuban commander and politician, 18th President of Cuba.
• 1931 – Lindy Remigino, American runner and coach (d. 2018).
• 1944 – Edith McGuire, American sprinter and educator.
• 1944 – Eddy Ottoz, Italian hurdler and coach.
• 1962 – Dagmar Neubauer, German sprinter.
• 1965 – Hans Kroes, Dutch swimmer.
• 1967 – Tamás Darnyi, Hungarian swimmer.
• 1979 – Luis Fernando López, Colombian race walker.
• 1979 – Christian Malcolm, Welsh sprinter.
• 1986 – Micah Kogo, Kenyan runner.
• 1989 – Katie Hoff, American swimmer.

People (Deaths)

• 628 – Liang Shidu, Chinese rebel leader.
• 800 – Staurakios, Byzantine general.
• 1397 – William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (b. 1328).
• 1615 – Sanada Yukimura, Japanese samurai (b. 1567).
• 1865 – Okada Izō, Japanese samurai (b. 1838).
• 1921 – Coenraad Hiebendaal, Dutch rower and physician (b. 1879).
• 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).
• 2003 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-American sculptor, designed the Marine Corps War Memorial (b. 1907).
• 2013 – Frank Lautenberg, American soldier and politician (b. 1924).