June 6

Today in History
• 640 - Arab Muslim army sent by Caliph Omar begins siege of Heliopolis
• 1242 - 24 wagonloads of Talmudic books burned in Paris
• 1328 - Franciscan theologian William of Ockham excommunicated by Pope John XXII
• 1391 - Inhabitants of Seville, Spain, massacre 5,000 Jews
• 1536 - Mexico begins its inquisition
• 1639 - Massachusetts grants 500 acres of land to erect a gunpowder mill
• 1654 - Queen Christina of Sweden resigns and converts to Catholicism
• 1752 - 3rd great fire in Moscow in 2 weeks; 1/3 of city destroyed


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• D-Day
• Memorial Day in South Korea
• National Drive-In Movie Day
• National Eyewear Day
• National Yo-Yo Day
• Queensland Day
• Russian Language Day
• World Green Roof Day

Birthdays
• 1236 - Wen Tianxiang, Prime Minister of China and scholar-general
• 1502 - Joao III, King of Portugal, 1521-57
• 1621 - Peter Zrinyi, Hungarian ruler of Croatia
• 1622 - Claude-Jean Allouez, French Jesuit missionary and explorer
• 1695 - Adriaen Valckenier, Governor-General Netherlands-Indies, killed 8,000 Chinese
• 1714 - Joseph, King of Portugal (1750-77)
• 1755 - Nathan Hale, hanged patriot, had but one life to give for his country
• 1756 - John Trumbull, U.S. painter, Declaration of Independence