In this May 6, 1937 file photo, the German dirigible Hindenburg crashes to earth in flames after exploding at the U.S. Naval Station in Lakehurst, N.J. (AP file photo/Murray Becker)

Today in History: May 6, the Hindenburg crashes in flames in New Jersey

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, May 6, the 126th day of 2026. There are 239 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On May 6, 1937, the hydrogen-filled German airship Hindenburg caught fire and crashed while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey; 35 of the 97 people on board and one crew member on the ground were killed.

Also on this date:

In 1882, President Chester Alan Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese laborers from immigrating to the U.S. for 10 years. (The act would remain in effect until 1943.)

In 1889, the Eiffel Tower opened to the public as part of the Paris World’s Fair.

In 1935, the Works Progress Administration was established under an executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1954, medical student Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile at a track meet in Oxford, England, finishing in 3:59.4.

In 1994, the Channel Tunnel connecting England and France beneath the English Channel was officially opened in a ceremony attended by Queen Elizabeth II and French President François Mitterrand.

In 2004, President George W. Bush apologized for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison, but rejected calls for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation.

In 1954, medical student Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile during a track meet in Oxford, England, finishing in 3:59.4.

In 2013, three women who had been kidnapped and held for years are found alive at their captor’s home in Cleveland, Ohio. (Ariel Castro pleaded guilty months later to kidnapping, rape and other offenses and died by suicide weeks after starting a life sentence plus 1,000 years.)

In 2023, King Charles III was crowned at Westminster Abbey in a grandiose ceremony replete with pomp and ritual. Charles was the 40th sovereign enthroned in the abbey — and, at 74, the oldest.

Today’s Birthdays: Rock musician Bob Seger is 81. Country musician Jimmie Dale Gilmore is 81. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is 73. TV host Tom Bergeron is 71. Actor Roma Downey is 66. Actor-director George Clooney is 65. Hockey Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur is 54. Actor Adrianne Palicki is 43. NBA point guard Chris Paul is 41. Actor-comedian Sasheer Zamata is 40. Rapper Meek Mill is 39. Actor-singer Naomi Scott is 33. WNBA forward Angel Reese is 24. Actor Emily Alyn Lind is 24. Soccer player Cole Palmer is 24. Actor Aryan Simhadri is 20.