June 2Birthdays & History

On this day: June 2 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 260Sima Zhao's regicide of Cao Mao: The figurehead Wei emperor Cao Mao personally leads an attempt to oust his regent, Sima Zhao; the attempted coup is crushed and the emperor killed.Asia
2. 455Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks.Europe
3. 575Pope Benedict I is consecrated after obtaining imperial approval from Constantinople.EuropeMiddle East
4. 1098First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later.Middle EastEurope
5. 1259Wedding of Manfred, King of Sicily, and Byzantine princess Helena Angelina Doukaina.Europe
6. 1608The Colony of Virginia gets a charter, extending borders from "sea to sea".North America
7. 1615The first Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France.North AmericaEurope
8. 1676Franco-Dutch War: France ensures the supremacy of its naval fleet for the remainder of the war with its victory in the Battle of Palermo.Europe
9. 1692Bridget Bishop is the first person to be tried for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts; she is found guilty the same day and hanged on June 10.North America
10. 1763Pontiac'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.North America
11. 1774Intolerable Acts: The Quartering Act of 1774 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.North AmericaEurope
12. 1780The anti-Catholic Gordon Riots in London leave an estimated 300 to 700 people dead.Europe
13. 1793French 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.Europe
14. 1805Napoleonic Wars: A Franco-Spanish fleet recaptures from the British the island of Diamond Rock, which guards the entrance to the bay leading to Fort-de-France, Martinique.Europe
15. 1848The Slavic Congress opens in Prague.North AmericaEurope
16. 1866The Fenians defeat Canadian forces at Ridgeway and Fort Erie, but the raids end soon after.North America
17. 1878Nobiling assassination attempt by anarchist Karl Nobiling targeting the German Kaiser, Wilhelm I.Europe
18. 1896Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his wireless telegraph.Europe
19. 1909Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.Oceania
20. 1910Charles 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.Europe
21. 1919Anarchists simultaneously set off bombs in eight separate U.S. cities.North America
22. 1924U.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.North AmericaAsia
23. 1941World War II: German paratroopers murder Greek civilians in the villages of Kondomari and Alikianos.Europe
24. 1946Birth 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.Europe
25. 1953The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey becomes the first British coronation, and one of the first major international events, to be televised.Europe
26. 1955The USSR and Yugoslavia sign the Belgrade declaration and thus normalize relations between the two countries, discontinued since 1948.Europe
27. 1958Aeronaves de México Flight 111 crashes on approach to Guadalajara International Airport, killing 45.Latin America
28. 1962During the FIFA World Cup, police intervene multiple times in fights between Chilean and Italian players in one of the most violent games in football history.Latin AmericaEurope
29. 1964The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is formed.Middle East
30. 1966Surveyor program: Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world.North America
31. 1967Protests in West Berlin against the arrival of the Shah of Iran are brutally suppressed, during which Benno Ohnesorg is killed by a police officer. His death results in the founding of the terrorist group 2 June Movement.EuropeMiddle East
32. 1967Luis Monge is executed in Colorado's gas chamber, in the last pre-Furman execution in the United States.North America
33. 1979Pope John Paul II starts his first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country.Europe
34. 1983After 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.North America
35. 1990The Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak spawns 66 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 12.North America
36. 1997In Denver, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 11 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, in which 168 people died. He was executed four years later.North America
37. 1998Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-91, the final mission of the Shuttle-Mir program.World
38. 2003Europe launches its first voyage to another planet, Mars. The European Space Agency's Mars Express probe launches from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.EuropeAsia
39. 2010Twelve people are killed and eleven others injured in a spree shooting in Cumbria, England, before the perpetrator takes his own life.Europe
40. 2012Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.Middle East
41. 2014Telangana officially becomes the 29th state of India, formed from ten districts of northwestern Andhra Pradesh.Asia
42. 2022Following a request from Ankara, the United Nations officially changes the name of the Republic of Turkey in the organization from what was previously known as "Turkey" to "Türkiye".Middle East
43. 2023A collision between two passenger trains and a parked freight train near the city of Balasor, Odisha in eastern India, results in 296 deaths and more than 1,200 people injured.Asia

Source: Wikipedia "June 2" / CC BY-SA 4.0