This Day in History on May 6th

A Brief History

This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 6th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.

Digging Deeper

On May 6, 1882, the United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, banning any further immigration of Chinese workers to the United States for the next 10 years.

On May 6, 1941, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt made its first flight, a maiden flight that would eventually see over 16,000 of the mighty fighter aircraft built, more than any other fighter aircraft produced by the United States in all of aviation history.

On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister became the first human to record a time of less than 4 minutes in the one mile run.

On May 6, 2014, Canadian author Farley Mowat died only a week before turning 93 years old.

On May 6, 1996, the body of former CIA director William Colby washed up on a Maryland beach. He had been missing since April 27 from a solo boating trip.

On May 6, 2001, Pope John Paul II of the Roman Catholic Church became the first pope to ever set foot in a mosque when he entered the Great Omayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, during a visit to that predominantly Muslim country.

On May 6, 2013, three Cleveland women who had been kidnapped got their first taste of freedom in nearly a decade!

On May 6, 2018, we pondered the premise of the incredibly popular movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Avengers: Infinity War.

Question for students (and subscribers): Which event that occurred on today’s date would you like to learn more about? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

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