On This Day for June 3 - Pro-democracy protest in Tiananmen Square crushed by Chinese military, Josephine Baker is featured, and more

Created: 2020-06-03 10:03 Updated: 2020-06-03 10:03 Notebook: On this Day in History

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June 03

FEATURED BIOGRAPHY

Josephine Baker

FEATURED EVENT

1989

Pro-democracy protest in Tiananmen Square crushed by Chinese military

MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2016: American boxer and social activist Muhammad Ali—who justified his self-proclaimed nickname “the Greatest” by becoming arguably the most admired and dominant heavyweight boxer in the history of the sport—died in Scottsdale, Arizona. [ Take our quiz about the world's greatest athletes.]

2006: Montenegro's parliament declared the republic's independence, severing some 88 years of union with Serbia.

2001: Mel Brooks's musical The Producers, starring Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, won a record-setting 12 Tony Awards. [Test your knowledge of theatre.]

1989: Iranian Shiʿi cleric Ruhollah Khomeini—who led the revolution that overthrew Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1979 and later served as Iran's ultimate political and religious authority—died in Tehrān. [Take our quiz about the geography of Iran.]

1965: Ed White emerged from the orbital spacecraft Gemini 4 and became the first American astronaut to walk in space. [Test your knowledge of famous astronauts and cosmonauts.]

1937: Some six months after abdicating the British throne, Prince Edward, duke of Windsor (formerly Edward VIII), married American socialite Wallis Simpson (who became duchess of Windsor). [ How much do you know about the kings of England?]

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ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY

1865

George V
king of United Kingdom

1967

Anderson Cooper
American television journalist

1986

Rafael Nadal
Spanish tennis player

1808

Jefferson Davis
president of Confederate States of America

1925

Tony Curtis
American actor