June 2 is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 212 days remaining until the end of the year.
Holidays
- Anniversary of the Dos de Mayo Uprising (Community of Madrid, Spain)
- Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo, also Teachers’ Day (Bhutan)
- Christian feast day:
- Flag Day (Poland)
- National Education Day (Indonesia)
- Teachers’ Day (Iran)
- The last day of the Festival of Ridván (Bahá’í Faith)
History
In 455, Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks
In 1010, The Battle of Aqbat al-Bakr took place in the context of the Fitna of al-Andalus resulting in a defeat for the Caliphate of Cordoba.
In 1098, First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city. The second siege would later start on June 7.
In 1615, The first Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France.
In 1676, Franco-Dutch War: France ensured the supremacy of its naval fleet for the remainder of the war with its victory in the Battle of Palermo.
In 1692, Bridget Bishop is the first person to go to trial in the Salem witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Found guilty, she is hanged on June 10.
In 1763, Pontiac’s Rebellion: At what is now Mackinaw City, Michigan, Chippewas capture Fort Michilimackinac by diverting the garrison’s attention with a game of lacrosse, then chasing a ball into the fort.
In 1774, Intolerable Acts: The Quartering Act is enacted, allowing a governor in colonial America to house British soldiers in uninhabited houses, outhouses, barns, or other buildings if suitable quarters are not provided.
In 1793, French Revolution: François Hanriot, leader of the Parisian National Guard, arrests 22 Girondists selected by Jean-Paul Marat, setting the stage for the Reign of Terror.
In 1805, Napoleonic Wars: A Franco–Spanish fleet recaptures Diamond Rock, an uninhabited island at the entrance to the bay leading to Fort-de-France, from the British.
In 1833, Simon Byrne, Irish boxer (b. 1806) died of injuries. He, nicknamed “The Emerald Gem”, was an Irish bare-knuckle prize fighter. The heavyweight boxing champion of Ireland, he was drawn to England by the larger sums of prize money on offer and his hopes of becoming the heavyweight champion there as well. He became one of only six fighters ever to have been involved in fatal fights as both survivor and deceased since records began in 1741. Byrne fought in an era when English boxing, although illegal, was patronised by many powerful individuals. Its patronage and popularity did not, however, free it from corruption, heavy betting, and staged fights. Byrne fought eight recorded matches, but accounts of his career focus on the last three, against the Scottish champion Alexander McKay, the English champion Jem Ward, and James Burke for the vacant championship of England. The injuries McKay received in his fight with Byrne resulted in his death the following day, and rioting in his home country of Scotland. Byrne went on to lose his next match against Jem Ward, which some commentators believed he was not sufficiently in condition to fight. His final contest in May 1833 was a gruelling 99 rounds against James Burke that lasted for 3 hours and 6 minutes, the longest ever recorded prize fight. Byrne died three days later as the result of damage to his brain caused by the beating he had received. Burke was arrested and tried for manslaughter but was acquitted. Following the death in 1838 of another fighter, William Phelps, also known as Brighton Bill, the London Prize Ring Rules were introduced to more clearly define the rules of prize fighting and to introduce certain safety measures, rules that still form the basis for the modern sport of boxing.
In 1835, P. T. Barnum and his circus start their first tour of the United States.
In 1848, The Slavic congress in Prague begins.
In 1855, The Portland Rum Riot occurs in Portland, Maine.
In 1866, Fenian raids: the Fenians are victorious over Canadian forces in both the Battle of Ridgeway and the Battle of Fort Erie.
In 1876, Hristo Botev, a national revolutionary of Bulgaria, is killed in Stara Planina
In 1886, The U.S. President Grover Cleveland marries Frances Folsom in the White House, becoming the only president to wed in the executive mansion.
In 1896, Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his newest invention, the radio.
In 1902, Hugh Anderson was elected Mayor of Jackson, TN on June 2nd in 1902. He was a banker; born McNairy Co., TN. He was of Scotch-Irish descent; son of William Taylor and Mahala (Wisdom) Anderson. He was educated at West Tennessee College, Jackson. Tenn., and Cumberland University, Lebanon, graduated from latter Law department with B. L. degree in 1873; entered the practice of law early life at Jackson, TN. He was a Democrat and spent fifteen years as Mayor of Jackson, 1893-1906. He also served in the Senate of Tennessee, 59th General Assembly, 1915-1917, but died in office as Speaker.
In 1909, Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.
In 1910, Charles Rolls, a co-founder of Rolls-Royce Limited, becomes the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane.
In 1919, Anarchists simultaneously set off bombs in eight separate U.S. cities.
In 1924, The U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.
In 1941, World War II: German paratoopers murder Greek civilians in the village of Kondomari.
In 1941, Lou Gehrig, American baseball player (b. 1903) dies of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was an American baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned for his prowess as a hitter and for his durability, a trait which earned him his nickname “The Iron Horse“. He finished with a career batting average of .340, an on-base percentage of .447, and a slugging percentage of .632, and he tallied 493 home runs and 1,995 runs batted in (RBIs). A seven-time All-Star and six-time World Series champion, Gehrig won the Triple Crown in 1934 and was twice named the American League‘s (AL) Most Valuable Player. Gehrig was the first MLB player to have his uniform number retired, and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. A native of New York City and attendee of Columbia University, Gehrig signed with the Yankees in 1923. He set several major league records during his career, including the most career grand slams (23) (since broken) and most consecutive games played (2,130), a record that stood for 56 years and was long considered unbreakable until surpassed by Cal Ripken, Jr. in 1995. Gehrig’s streak ended in 1939 after he was stricken with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disorder now commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease in North America, which forced him to retire at age 36 and claimed his life two years later. The pathos of his farewell from baseball was capped off by his iconic “Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth” speech at the original Yankee Stadium. Gehrig was voted the greatest first baseman of all time by the Baseball Writers’ Association in 1969, and was the leading vote-getter on the Major League Baseball All-Century Team chosen by fans in 1999. A monument in Gehrig’s honor, originally dedicated by the Yankees in 1941, currently resides in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. The Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, given annually to the MLB player best exhibiting the integrity and character of Gehrig, was named in the first baseman’s honor.In 1946,Birth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After the referendum, King Umberto II of Italy is exiled.
In 1953, The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, who is crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories & Head of the Commonwealth, the first major international event to be televised.
In 1955, The USSR and Yugoslavia sign the Belgrade declaration and thus normalize relations between both countries, discontinued since 1948.
In 1962, During the 1962 FIFA World Cup, police had to intervene multiple times in fights between Chilean and Italian players in one of the most violent games in football history.
In 1966, Surveyor program: Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world.
In 1967, Luis Monge is executed in Colorado‘s gas chamber, in the last pre-Furman execution in the United States.
In 1967, Protests in West Berlin against the arrival of the Shah of Iran turn into riots, during which Benno Ohnesorg is killed by a police officer. His death results in the founding of the terrorist group Movement 2 June.
In 1979, Pope John Paul II starts his first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country.
In 1983, After an emergency landing because of an in-flight fire, twenty-three passengers aboard Air Canada Flight 797 are killed when a flashover occurs as the plane’s doors open. Because of this incident, numerous new safety regulations are put in place.
In 1990, The Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak spawns 66 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 12. Petersburg, Indiana, is the hardest-hit town in the outbreak, with 6 deaths.
In 1990, Sir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison, English actor (b. 1908) dies from pancreatic cancer in June 1990 at the age of 82. He was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, reaching the rank of flight lieutenant. He won his first Tony Award for his performance as Henry VIII in the play Anne of the Thousand Days in 1949. He won his second Tony for the role of Professor Henry Higgins in the stage production of My Fair Lady in 1957. He reprised the role for the 1964 film version, which earned him both a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award for Best Actor.
In addition to his stage career, Harrison also appeared in numerous films, including Anna and the King of Siam (1946), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Cleopatra (1963), and played the title role of the English doctor who talks to animals, Doctor Dolittle (1967). In July 1989, Harrison was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1975, Harrison released his first autobiography. His second, A Damned Serious Business: My Life in Comedy, was published posthumously in 1991. Harrison was married six times and had two sons: Noel and Carey Harrison. He continued working in stage productions until shortly before his death.
In 1994, An RAF Chinook helicopter crashes in Scotland killing all 29 on board. The original cause of the crash is ruled as pilot error, this verdict is overturned in 2011.
In 1995, United States Air Force Captain Scott O’Grady‘s F-16 is shot down over Bosnia while patrolling the NATO no-fly zone.
In 1997, In Denver, Colorado, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was executed four years later.
In 1999, The Bhutan Broadcasting Service brings television transmissions to the Kingdom for the first time.
In 2003, Europe launches its first voyage to another planet, Mars. The European Space Agency‘s Mars Express probe launches from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
In 2004, Ken Jennings begins his 74-game winning streak on the syndicated game show Jeopardy!
In 2010, A 52-year-old man went on a four-hour killing spree in west Cumbria, shooting dead 13 (inc. himself) and injuring 11 others.
In 2012, The former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
In 2014, Two mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave up to 2,500 people missing.
In 2012, An Allied Air cargo plane crashes into a minibus after overshooting the runway at Accra‘s Kotoka International Airport in Ghana killing at least twelve people.
In 2014, Telangana officially becomes the 29th state of India.