What Happened on June 2
Important Events
- 455 King Gaiseric and the Vandals sack Rome - Rome looted for 14 days
- 1862 Robert E. Lee takes command of Confederate armies of North Virginia during the American Civil War
- 1896 Italian engineer and inventor Guglielmo Marconi applies for the first ever patent for a system of wireless telegraphy in the United Kingdom
- 1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey, London, England
- 1989 10,000 Chinese soldiers are blocked by 100,000 citizens in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, protecting students demonstrating for democracy
Jun 2 in Film & TV
- 2002 Crime drama "The Wire" created by David Simon and starring Idris Elba and Dominic West debuts on HBO
Jun 2 in Music
- 1962 Ray Charles' cover "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" from his influential crossover album "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" hits #1 on Billboard
Jun 2 in Sport
Did You Know?
James Gibbs of Virginia, patents the chain-stitch single-thread sewing machine
On June 2, 1857
Famous Birthdays
Marquis de Sade
(1740 - 1814)- Edward Elgar
(1857 - 1934) - Charlie Sifford
(1922 - 2015) - Charlie Watts
79 Years Old - Wayne Brady
48 Years Old - Abby Wambach
40 Years Old
Marquis de Sade
Edward Elgar
Charlie Sifford
Charlie Watts
Wayne Brady
Abby WambachWould You Believe?
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
On June 2, 1763
Famous Weddings
- 1129 Fulco V's son Godfried marries King Henry I's daughter Mathildis
- 1886 U.S. President Grover Cleveland (49) weds Frances Folsom (21), 1st presidential marriage to be held at the White House
- 1919 Theoretical Physicist Albert Einstein (40) weds his cousin Elsa Lowenthal (43)
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Timothy Thomas Fortune
Lou Gehrig
Rex HarrisonArticles, Photos and Quiz
The King is Dead; Long Live the Queen
Princess Elizabeth was in Africa when her father died and she became Queen. Her coronation, on this day in history, could be described as a magnificent washout.
June 2, 1953Goddess of Democracy
Hundreds of thousands of Chinese protest around a 10-meter replica of the Statue of Liberty they called the Goddess of Democracy
June 2, 1989Weekly Quiz June 1 - 7
Who was Kenya's 1st president? What does the TV channel CNN stand for? Who released the album Born in the USA? What epidemic officially began in 1981?
June in History
Testing Time for Drivers
Deaths caused by accidents on UK roads fell by 1,000 within a year of the official driving test being introduced. But was the half-hour test enough?
June 1, 1935The Fire and Fury of Jonathan Martin
Jonathan Martin was a religious extremist who described the clergy as 'vipers from hell' and tried to burn down one of England’s most treasured cathedrals.
June 3, 1838Dunkirk: Military Retreat They Called a Miracle
Trapped on beaches and a sitting target for German fighter planes and bombers, 330,000 Allied troops looked doomed. Then came the "miracle" of Dunkirk.
June 4, 1940Bobby Kennedy Gunned Down on Campaign Trail
Less than five years after President Kennedy was assassinated, his younger brother Bobby, hoping to win the White House, was felled by a gunman on this day.
June 5, 1968
