Wikipedia: June 2

June 2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

June 2 is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining.

Events

455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks. They depart with countless valuables, spoils of the Temple in Jerusalem brought to Rome by Titus, and the Empress Eudoxia and her daughters Eudocia and Placidia.
575 - Benedict I becomes Pope
657 - St. Eugene I becomes Pope
1615 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France.
1800 - First smallpox vaccination in North America, at Trinity, Newfoundland
1865 - With the surrender of the forces of General Edmund Kirby Smith at Galveston, Texas, the American Civil War comes to an end
1886 - President Grover Cleveland marries Frances Folsom in the White House
1897 - Mark Twain, responding to rumors that he was dead, is quoted by the New York Journal as saying, "The report of my death was an exaggeration."
1912 - Carl Laemmle creates Universal Studios
1924 - The government of the United States confers citizenship on all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the country
1925 - Wally Pipp, first baseman of the New York Yankees, asks for a day off due to a headache. He is replaced in the lineup by Lou Gehrig, who also starts the next 2,128 consecutive games.
1946 - In a referendum Italians decide to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After this referendum the king of Italy Umberto II di Savoia was exiled.
1952 - Television broadcasting begins in Canada, at Montreal, Quebec.
1953 - Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, the first to be televised
1954 - Senator Joseph McCarthy charges that Communists have infiltrated the Central Intelligence Agency
1965 - Vietnam War: The first contingent of Australian combat troops arrives in South Vietnam
1967 - Protests in West Berlin against the arrival of the Shah of Iran turn into fights, during which young Benno Ohnesorg is killed by a police officer. His death results in the founding of the terrorist group Movement 2 June
1979 - Pope John Paul II visits his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country
1997 - Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Births

1740 - Marquis de Sade, author (+ 1814)
1773 - John Randolph, politician
1835 - Pope Pius X (+1914)
1836 - Mily Balakirev, composer (+ 1910)
1840 - Thomas Hardy, poet, novelist (+ 1928)
1857 - Edward Elgar, composer (+ 1934)
1899 - Lotte Reiniger, film director (+ 1981)
1904 - Johnny Weissmuller, Olympic gold medalist in swimmer, actor (+ 1984)
1917 - Heinz Sielmann, scientific publicist
1920 - Marcel Reich-Ranicki, critic
1929 - Norton Juster, author and architect
1941 - Charlie Watts, rock musican ("The Rolling Stones")
1941 - Stacy Keach, actor
1942 - Barry Levinson, producer
1943 - Peter Heisterkamp, aka Palermo, artist (+ 1977)
1944 - Marvin Hamlisch, composer, musician
1948 - Todd Rundgren, singer and producer
1953 - Craig Stadler, golfer
1955 - Dana Carvey, actor, comedian
1960 - Kyle Petty, NASCAR driver

Deaths

815 - Saint Nicephorus
1941 - Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees baseball player
1956 - Jean Hersholt, actor and humanitarian
1961 - George S. Kaufman, playwright
1967 - Benno Ohnesorg, student of Roman languages and literature
1970 - Bruce McLaren, car racer, designer, manufacturer
1982 - Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani politician
1990 - Rex Harrison, actor
1996 - Ray Combs, game show host, comedian
2001 - Imogene Coca, actress
2003 - Fred Blassie, former professional wrestler

Holidays and observances

The Greek Orthodox Church commemorates Saint Nicephorus' death - see also March 13
June 2 is Italy's Festa della Repubblica (Republic Fest), which commemorates the birth of the Repubblica Italiana and the end of the monarchy.

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