Today in History: June 3, the Zoot Suit Riots begin in Los Angeles

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Today is Wednesday, June 3, the 154th day of 2026. There are 211 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On June 3, 1943, an altercation between U.S. Navy sailors and young Mexican Americans on the streets of Los Angeles led to several days of clashes known as the Zoot Suit Riots as white mobs attacked Mexican Americans across the city, injuring more than 150 people.

Also on this date:

In 1844, the last confirmed specimens of the great auk, a flightless bird, were killed on Eldey island, near Iceland.

In 1888, the poem “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer was first published in the San Francisco Daily Examiner.

In 1935, the French liner SS Normandie set a record on its maiden voyage, arriving in New York after crossing the Atlantic in just four days.

In 1937, Edward, The Duke of Windsor, who had abdicated the British throne, married American socialite Wallis Simpson in a private ceremony in Monts, France.

In 1965, during the Gemini 4, spaceflight, astronaut Edward H. White became the first American to “walk” in space.

In 1989, Chinese army troops entered Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to begin a crackdown on student-led pro-democracy demonstrations, crushing their movement.

In 2016, former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, whose athletic feats and activism placed him among the most revered athletes of all time, died in Scottsdale, Arizona, at age 74.

In 2017, elite rock climber Alex Honnold became the first to climb solo to the top of the massive granite wall known as El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without ropes or safety gear.

In 2017, a terror attack began when a van barreled into pedestrians on London Bridge as attackers killed six people in a series of vehicle and knife attacks before police shot them dead.

Today’s Birthdays: Former Cuban President Raúl Castro is 95. Basketball Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham is 83. Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin is 81. Singer Suzi Quatro is 76. Singer Deniece Williams is 76. Former first lady Jill Biden is 75. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Peter Vidmar is 65. Musician Kerry King (Slayer) is 62. Tennis player Rafael Nadal is 40. Singer Beabadoobee is 26. Actor Louis Partridge is 23.