June 2

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.

June 1 - June 3 - May 2 - July 2 -- listing of all days

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Referenced By