June 02

Thursday 02, 2005:

Sun Microsystems announces it will purchase Storage Technology Corporation for US$4.1 billion.

Wednesday 02, 2004:

The first episode of Ken Jennings' incredible reign as Jeopardy! champion airs. He starts out with $37,201 and would go on to win more than two million dollars.

Monday 02, 2003:

Thousands of defeated Iraqi troops march on the U.S. occupation headquarters in Baghdad, demanding pay.

Wednesday 02, 1999:

The Bhutan Broadcasting Service finally brings television transmissions to the Kingdom for the first time.

Tuesday 02, 1998:

The CIH computer virus is discovered in Taiwan.

Monday 02, 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.

Friday 02, 1995:

United States Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady's F-16 is shot down over Bosnia while patrolling the NATO no-fly zone.

Sunday 02, 1985:

R.J. Reynolds and Nabisco propose a merger

Saturday 02, 1979:

Pope John Paul II visits his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country.

Monday 02, 1969:

In Ottawa, Canada the National Arts Center opens its doors to the public for the first time.

Friday 02, 1967:

Protests in West Berlin against the arrival of the Shah of Iran turn into fights, during which Benno Ohnesorg is killed by a police officer. His death results in the founding of the terrorist group Movement 2 June.

Thursday 02, 1966:

Surveyor program: Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarumon the Moon, becoming the first US spacecraft to soft land on another world.

Wednesday 02, 1965:

Vietnam War: The first contingent of Australian combat troops arrives in South Vietnam.

Thursday 02, 1955:

USSR and Yugoslavia sign the Belgrade declaration and thus normalize relations between both countries, discontinued since 1948.

Tuesday 02, 1953:

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, the first to be televised.

Sunday 02, 1946:

Birth of the Italian Republic: 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.

Sunday 02, 1935:

Baseballer Babe Ruth announces he is going to retire from the sport.

Tuesday 02, 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.

Monday 02, 1924:

U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.

Wednesday 02, 1909:

Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.

Wednesday 02, 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."

Tuesday 02, 1896:

Guglielmo Marconi receives a patent for his newest invention: the radio

Wednesday 02, 1886:

U.S. President Grover Cleveland marries Frances Folsom in the White House, becoming the only president to wed in the executive mansion.

Friday 02, 1865:

Forces under Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith surrender at Galveston, Texas, becoming the last to do so.

Saturday 02, 1855:

the Portland Rum Riot occurs in Portland, Maine

Friday 02, 1848:

Slavic congress in Prague begins.

Tuesday 02, 1835:

P.T. Barnum and his circus begins first tour of the U.S.

Monday 02, 1800:

First smallpox vaccination in North America, at Trinity, Newfoundland.

Sunday 02, 1793:

Jean Paul Marat recites the names of 29 people to the French National Convention. Almost all of these are guillotined, followed by 17,000 more over the course of the next year during the Reign of Terror.

Friday 02, 1780:

The Derby, horse race, was first held.

Thursday 02, 1774:

Intolerable Acts: The Quartering Act, requiring American colonists to let British soldiers into their homes, is reenacted.

Thursday 02, 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.

Tuesday 02, 1615:

First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France.

Tuesday 02, 657:

St. Eugene I becomes Pope.

Sunday 02, 576:

Benedict I becomes Pope.

Wednesday 02, 455:

The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks.

More on June, 02

• People Born on June, 02
• They left us on June, 02