July 6
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1957: Althea Gibson wins Wimbledon
On this day in 1957, American tennis player Althea Gibson became the first Black player to win the women’s singles title at Wimbledon, where in 1951, she was the first Black player to compete at the tournament. Between 1956 and 1958, Gibson appeared in 19 major finals—including singles, doubles, and mixed doubles—and won 11 titles. She won the singles title again at Wimbledon in 1958.
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Anne Frank forced into hiding
Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in Amsterdam on this day in 1942 and lived in a secret annex—an experience documented in her diary, which became a classic of war literature—until their capture on August 4, 1944. [Take a tour of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (reproduction no. LC-USZC4-2761)
Sir, I have not yet begun to fight.
John Paul Jones, born this day in 1747 in Scotland, was a naval hero in the American Revolution, renowned for his victory over British warships off the eastern coast of England on September 23, 1779.
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2002
Serena Williams defeated her sister Venus to win her first Wimbledon singles title. [Test your knowledge of tennis.]
© 1977 Paramount Pictures Corporation
2002
John Frankenheimer—who was considered one of the most creatively gifted directors of the 1950s and ’60s, especially noted for such classic movies as The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)—died in Los Angeles. [How well do you know the history of cinema?]
Matej Divizna/Getty Images
1995
Bosnian Serb forces began an attack on Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, ultimately killing more than 7,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) boys and men; the massacre was the worst episode of mass murder in Europe since World War II.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1964
Nyasaland broke from British rule and became the independent country of Malawi within the Commonwealth of Nations. [Explore the history of independence movements in Africa.]
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1957
Paul McCartney met John Lennon for the first time, at a church event in Liverpool, England, where the latter’s band was performing; the duo would later form the Beatles, one of the most influential bands in history. [How much do you know about the Fab Four?]
Eric Draper/White House Photo
1946
George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president of the United States, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about U.S. presidents.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1928
The first full-length all-talking motion picture, Lights of New York, premiered in New York City. [Take our film buff quiz.]
© Album/Alamy
1907
Frida Kahlo, best known for her intense, brilliantly colored self-portraits, was born in Coyoacán, Mexico. [Test your knowledge of art.]
The British Library (Public Domain)
1892
Dadabhai Naoroji won election to the House of Commons from a constituency in London, becoming the first Asian elected to British Parliament. He had previously, in 1885, helped to found the Indian National Congress.
Archives Photographiques, Paris
1885
Louis Pasteur successfully tested an antirabies vaccine. [Learn more about the development of vaccines through history.]
© Roy Johnson/Alamy
1777
A day after American troops abandoned Fort Ticonderoga in New York, British general John Burgoyne and his forces seized it, outraging the leaders of the American Revolution. [Learn how the American colonies gained their independence.]
Photos.com/Getty Images
1535
English humanist and statesman Thomas More was beheaded for refusing to accept King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. [Take our quiz about the Tudor period.]
The Granger Collection, New York
1415
Religious reformer Jan Hus, whose criticisms of the church anticipated the Reformation by more than a century, was burned at the stake for heresy.