June 6

in History

Child Emperor Takes Throne — An eight-year-old rules Byzantium in name

Constantinople, Byzantine EmpireMedieval

913

Child Emperor Takes Throne

An eight-year-old rules Byzantium in name

Upon the deathbed of his uncle Alexander, the eight-year-old Constantine VII was proclaimed ruler of the Byzantine Empire, beginning one of the most unusual reigns in imperial history. A child raised among scholars rather than soldiers, he would spend decades as a nominal ruler while regents and co-emperors wielded real power. Yet Constantine would ultimately prove himself a brilliant scholar-emperor, producing encyclopedic works on imperial ceremonies, foreign diplomacy, and provincial administration.

913 AD

Jan Struther Was Born — The creator of Mrs. Miniver

London, EnglandEarly 20th Century

1901

Jan Struther Was Born

The creator of Mrs. Miniver

In London, Joyce Anstruther was born -- the writer who would become Jan Struther and create one of the most beloved characters of the World War II era. Her newspaper columns about the fictional Mrs. Miniver, an ordinary English woman facing the war with grace and courage, were credited with helping to shift American public opinion toward supporting Britain. The subsequent film starring Greer Garson won six Academy Awards and became a propaganda tool that Winston Churchill valued above a fleet of warships.

1901 AD

World War II operation in FranceEarly 20th Century

1944

World War II

World War II: Commencement of Operation Overlord: The Allied invasion of Normandy begins with the execution of.

Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Normandy landings. A 1,200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August.

1944 AD