June 2 - PJFD

PJFD

This Day In History

455

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

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.

1835

P. T. Barnum and his circus start their first tour of the United States.

1886

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

1896

Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his newest invention: the radio.

1953

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, who is crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories & Head of the Commonwealth, the first major international event to be televised.

1966

Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft land on another world.

1979

Pope John Paul II's first official visit to his native Poland (the first Pope to visit a Communist country).

2004

Ken Jennings begins his 74-game winning streak on the syndicated game show Jeopardy!

Famous Birthdays

1731

Martha Washington, first American First Lady (d. 1802)

1740

Marquis de Sade, French author (d. 1814)

1835

Pope Pius X (d. 1914)

1840

Thomas Hardy, English writer (d. 1928)

1857

Edward Elgar, English composer (d. 1934)

1904

Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (d. 1984)

1929

Norton Juster, American author (The Phantom Tollbooth) and architect

1930

Pete Conrad, American astronaut (d. 1999)

1938

Helen Oxenbury, English  illustrator of children's books

1944

Marvin Hamlisch, American composer and musician

1950

Joanna Gleason, Canadian actress and singer

1972

Wayne Brady, American actor and comedian
Raúl Ibáñez, American baseball player

1977

Zachary Quinto, American actor

1979

Morena Baccarin, Brazilian actress

1982

Jewel Staite, Canadian actress