5th June - On this Day

What does the 5th June have to offer, well on this day...

The 5th of June is World Environment Day celebrating the anniversary of the opening of the UN Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972. The General Assembly has urged marking the day with activities that raise attention for the concern for the preservation and enhancement of the environment.

This day is also HIV Long-term survivors day. Created in 2014 by Tez Anderson, this day celebrates those who have defied the odds by living with HIV for decades. The event is held on the 5th in recognition of the date in 1981 when the CDC first noted the disease.

On this day in 1983, the first public demonstration of a hot-air balloon flight took place. Brothers Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier succeeded in launching the 33-foot-diameter globe aerostatic that they had invented. The unmanned balloon took off in Annonay, France, and rose an estimated 1,500 feet and travelled, wind-borne, about 7,500 feet before landing after a 10-minute flight.

In 1977 this day saw the release of the Apple II computer, with 4K of memory, which went on sale for $1,298.

1968, on the 5th of June is the day when Robert F Kennedy was assassinated while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in Los Angeles by Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy died the following day.