Birthdays in History on June 2

  • 926 Murakami, Emperor of Japan (d. 967)
  • 1504 George/Joris van Egmont, bishop of Utrecht
  • 1535 Leo XI, [Alessandro O de' Medici], Italian Pope (1605)
  • 1624 Jan III Sobieski, King of Poland (1674-96)

Person of interestMartha Washington

1731 Martha Washington, 1st US First Lady (1789-97), born in Kent County, Virginia (d. 1802)

1st US First Lady Martha Washington
1st US First Lady
Martha Washington

Person of interestMarquis de Sade

1740 Marquis de Sade, French philosopher and writer (Justine). The words sadism and sadist are derived from his name., born in Paris, France

Philosopher and Writer Marquis de Sade
Philosopher and Writer
Marquis de Sade
  • 1758 Cornelis R T Krayenhoff, Dutch fortress engineer/cartographer
  • 1759 Jan Ekels, the Young, Dutch painter
  • 1773 John Randolph [of Roanoke], American planter, Congressman (Virginia) and Minister to Russia, born in Cawsons, Virginia (d. 1833)
  • 1774 William Lawson, explorer of New South Wales, Australia (d. 1850)
  • 1802 Adrian van der Hoop Jr, Dutch poet/critic
  • 1815 Philip Kearny, American Major General (Union Army), born in NYC, New York (d. 1862)
  • 1821 Ion Bratianu, (Lib), premier of Romania (1876-88)
  • 1823 Gédéon Ouimet, French Canadian politician (d. 1905)
  • 1824 Samuel Wilks, British Physician and founding father of clinical science, born in London, England
  • 1831 Benjamin Hardin Helm, Brigadier General (Conf)/Lincoln's brother-in-law

  • 1835 Pius X, [Giuseppe Sarto], 257th Roman Catholic pope (1903-14)
  • 1838 Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna (d. 1900)
  • 1840 Thomas Hardy, poet and novelist (Far from the Madding Crowd), born in Higher Bockhampton, Dorset (d. 1928)
  • 1842 Constantly AM Cap, Flemish poet/etcher
  • 1849 Paul-Albert Besnard, French painter and graphic artist (La femme), born in Paris, France (d. 1909)
  • 1857 Karl Adolph Gjellerup, poet (Poutnici Svetem, Nobel 1917), born in Roholte, Denmark (d. 1919)
  • 1879 Adolf Herckenrath, Flemish playwright/poet (Avondvlam)
  • 1883 Bokke R S Pollema, Dutch Frisian journalist/author (Lock of Hair)
  • 1891 Thurman Arnold, American attorney and jurist (d. 1969)
  • 1899 Tan Malaka, Indonesian philosopher and founder (Indonesian Communist), born in Limapuluh Koto, Dutch East Indies (d. 1949)
  • 1904 Frank Runacres, English artist (d. 1
  • 1907 Dorothy West, US journalist/author (Living is Easy)
  • 1911 Xiao Hong, Chinese writer (The Field of Life and Death), born in Hulan County, Heilongjiang Province (d. 1942)
  • 1913 Barbara Pym, romantic author (Very Private Eye), (d. 1980)
  • 1915 Lester del Rey, American sci-fi author (Moon Trilogy, Marooned on Mars)
  • 1915 Walter Tetley, American animation voice (Sherman-Bullwinkle Show), born in NYC, New York
  • 1915 Alexandru Nicolschi, Russian communist (d. 1992)
  • 1915 Florence Holway, Massachusetts, 75 year old rape victim and activist, (d. 2012)
  • 1918 Robert Manry, American copy editor of the Cleveland newspaper editor who sailed the Atlantic (Tinkerbelle), born in Landour, India (d. 1971)
  • 1918 Ruth Atkinson, American cartoonist (d. 1997)
  • 1919 Nat Mayer Shapiro, American painter (d. 2005)
  • 1920 Michael James O'Hehir, commentator/journalist
  • 1920 Marcel Reich-Ranicki, Polish-born cr
  • 1920 Frank G. Clement, Governor of Tennessee (d. 1969)
  • 1921 Alexander Salkind, producer (Superman)

  • 1923 Lloyd Shapley, Mathematician (2012 Nobel Prize Game Theory), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts (d. 2016)
  • 1924 June Callwood, Canadian jounalist and activist (d. 2007)
  • 1927 Phillip Burton, historian (Vanishing Eagles)
  • 1928 John Anthony Bowden Cuddon, writer/teacher
  • 1929 Willaim Brown, television executive
  • 1929 Norton Juster, American author, architect and children's author (The Dot and the Line), born in New York City
  • 1930 Charles Pete Conrad Jr, USN/astro (Gem 5 11, Ap 12, Skylab 2), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 1932 Yaroslav Kirillovich Golovyanov, cosmonaut
  • 1935 Carol Shields, American-born novelist (d. 2
  • 1935 Dimitri Kitsikis, Greek turkologist
  • 1938 Frits Wols, [Eugene W Wong Loi Sing], Suriname, Secretary-General (UNESCO)
  • 1940 Constantine II, deposed King of Greece (1964-73)
  • 1941 Oda Mayumi, resident artist (Green Gulch Zen Center), born in Tokyo, Japan
  • 1943 John Lilipaly, Dutch 2nd Chamber member (PvdA)
  • 1943 Maarten B Engwirda, Dutch 2nd Chamber member (D66)
  • 1946 Peter Sutcliffe, English murderer "The Yorkshire Ripper"
  • 1949 Heather Couper, British astron
  • 1951 Gilbert Baker, American gay activist, designed the rainbow flag, born in Canute, Kansas (d. 2017)
  • 1952 Gary Bettman, American National Hockey League commissioner
  • 1955 Chantal Hochuli, Swiss-born socialite
  • 1956 Mark L Polansky, pilot/astronaut, born in Paterson, New Jersey
  • 1956 Malcolm Garrett, English graphic designer
  • 1957 Mark Lawrenson, English Football Pundit
  • 1965 Jim Knipfel, American autobiographer and journa
  • 1968 Beetlejuice, member of Howard Stern's Wack
  • 1971 Kateřina Jacques, Czech politician
  • 1974 Matt Serra, American mixed martial ar
  • 1976 Queen 'Masenate Mohato Seeiso, Queen consort of Lesotho
  • 1976 Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brazilian mixed martial artist
  • 1989 Freddy Adu, Ghanaian-American footballer