This day in history: 6 april

1652: Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck established a resupply camp at the Cape of Good Hope, which later developed into Cape Town, South Africa.
1812: British forces under the Duke of Wellington assaulted the fortress of Badajoz in Spain, a key moment in the Peninsular War against Napoleonic France.
1896: The first modern Olympic Games were inaugurated in Athens, Greece, marking the revival of the ancient tradition thanks to Pierre de Coubertin.
1920: European powers like Britain, France, and Italy faced mounting challenges after World War I, including nationalist movements and geopolitical pressures across Europe and the Middle East.
1941: Germany launched invasions into Greece and Yugoslavia during World War II. On this same day, Sarajevo was bombed as part of the German attack on Yugoslavia.
1945: Sarajevo was liberated from German forces during World War II by Yugoslav Partisans after fierce battles.

1830: The Church of Christ, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement (later known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church), was organized by Joseph Smith and others in Fayette or Manchester, New York.
1862: The Battle of Shiloh began during the American Civil War. Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant clashed with Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston in Tennessee.
1865: The Battle of Sailor’s Creek took place during the Appomattox Campaign. This was the last major battle fought by Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia before its surrender.
1917: The United States formally declared war on Germany, entering World War I. This marked a turning point in the war as American troops and resources bolstered the Allied effort. President Woodrow Wilson had sought to maintain neutrality but shifted after repeated German submarine attacks on American ships.
1926: Varney Airlines, which later evolved into United Airlines, made its first commercial flight, marking a milestone in American aviation history.

1916: The Central Asian revolt of 1916 began, which was a significant uprising against Russian colonial rule in Central Asia.
1920: The Far Eastern Republic was established in Verkhneudinsk, far eastern Russia, as a buffer state between Soviet Russia and Japan, following the Soviet victory in the Russian Civil War.
1971: In a notable event in U.S.-China relations, China’s ping-pong team invited members of the U.S. team to China, marking the first public sign of warming relations between the two nations.
2010: The Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010 began on April 6, leading to the ousting of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

1652: Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck established a resupply station at the Cape of Good Hope, which later developed into Cape Town, South Africa. This event marked the beginning of European settlement in the region.
1897: The Sultan of Zanzibar abolished slavery, a significant step in ending the practice within his domain.
1960: In South Africa, the pass system was revived as part of apartheid policies. This system restricted the movement of Black South Africans and was a symbol of racial oppression.
1994: The Rwandan genocide began following the assassination of Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira. This tragic event led to the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus over the following months.