June 2

Birthdays:

1951 ~ Gilbert Baker (d. Mar. 31, 2017), American gay activist who created the rainbow flag.  He died at age 65.

1948 ~ Jerry Mathers, American actor.

1944 ~ Marvin Hamlisch (d. Aug. 6, 2012), American composer, conductor and pianist who rewrote Hollywood’s songbook.  He died of respiratory failure at age 68.

1941 ~ Charlie Watts, English drummer and member of The Rolling Stones.

1937 ~ Sally Kellerman, American actress.

1935 ~ Carol Shields (d. July 16, 2003), American-born Canadian novelist.  She is best known for her novel, The Stone Diaries.  She died at age 68.

1926 ~ Milo O’Shea (d. Apr. 2, 2013), Irish character actor.  He died at age 86.

1923 ~ Lloyd Shapley (d. Mar. 12, 2016), American mathematician and economist.  He was the recipient of the 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science.  He died at age 92.

1922 ~ Charles “Charlie” Sifford (d. Feb. 3, 2015), African-American professional golfer who shattered racial barriers.  He was the first African-American to play on the PGA tour.  He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.  He died at age 92.

1916 ~ George Houser (d. Aug. 19, 2015), American minister and civil rights activist who led the First Freedom Ride.  He was 99 years old.

1904 ~ Johnny Weissmuller (né Johann Peter Weissmüller, d. Jan. 20, 1984), Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor, best known for his role as Tarzan in the movies.  He died at age 79 of pulmonary edema.

1899 ~ Charlotte Reiniger (d. June 19, 1981), German film director and pioneer in silhouette animation.  She died less than 3 weeks after her 82^nd birthday.

1857 ~ Karl Adolph Gjellerup (d. Oct. 13, 1919), Danish writer and recipient of the 1917 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 62.

1857 ~ Sir Edward Elgar, 1^st Baronet (d. Feb. 23, 1934), English composer, best known for Pomp and Circumstance.  He died at age 76.

1840 ~ Thomas Hardy (d. Jan. 11, 1928), English writer best known for his novels, Jude the Obscure and Far from the Madding Crowd.  He died at age 87.

1835 ~ Pope Pius X (né Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, d. Aug. 20, 1914).  He died at age 79.

1740 ~ Marquis de Sade (né Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, d. Dec. 2, 1814), French author, politician and philosopher.  He died at age 74.

1535 ~ Pope Leo XI (né Alessandro Ottaviano de’ Medici, d. Apr. 27, 1605).  He was Pope for less that a month, from April 1 until April 27, 1605.  He died at age 69.

Events that Changed the World:

2012 ~ Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (b. 1928) was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.  Following the ouster of his successor, Mohamed Morsi, Mubarak was released from prison in August 2013.  He was retried, and in May 2015, he and his sons were convicted of corruption and sent to prison.  He was acquitted and released from prison in March 2017.

2004 ~ Ken Jennings began his 74-game winning streak on the game show, Jeopardy!

1953 ~ Queen Elizabeth II was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories.  This event was the first major international event to be televised.  She had ascended to the throne a year earlier, following the death of her father.

1946 ~ In a referendum, Italians voted to make Italy a republic instead of a monarchy.  Following this decision, Umberto II di Savoia (1904 ~ 1983), King of Italy, was exiled.

1924 ~ President Calvin Coolidge (1872 ~ 1933) signed the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.

1896 ~ Guglielmo Marconi (1874 ~ 1963) applied for a patent for his invention of the radio.

1886 ~ President Grover Cleveland (1837 ~ 1908) married Frances Folsom (1864 ~ 1947) in the White House.  He was 27 years older that his new wife.  He is the only US President to marry while in office.

1855 ~ The Portland Rum Riots began in Portland, Maine.  The riots were in response to the law that prohibited the sale and manufacture of alcohol in Maine.

1835 ~ P.T. Barnum (1810 ~ 1891) and his circus began the first tour of the United States.

1692 ~ Bridget Bishop (1632 ~ 1692) became the first person to go to trial in the Salem Witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts.  She was found guilty and was hanged on June 10, 1692.

1098 ~ The first Siege of Antioch ended when Crusaders, during the First Crusade, took the city by force.  The Second Siege would begin 6 days later, on June 7.

455 ~ The traditional date attributed to when Vandals entered Rome and sacked the city for two weeks.

Good-Byes:

2015 ~ Irwin Rose (b. July 16, 1926), American biologist and recipient of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He was 88 years old.

2014 ~ Alexander Shulgin (b. June 17, 1925), American chemist and pharmacologist who introduced the world to Ecstasy.  He died 15 days before his 89^th birthday.

2012 ~ Richard Dawson (b. Nov. 20, 1932), English-American actor, comedian and game-show host.  He died of esophageal cancer at age 79.

2012 ~ Adolfo Calero (b. Dec. 22, 1931), Nicaraguan who lead the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, the largest contras rebel group opposing the Sandinista government.  He died of complications of pneumonia and kidney disease at age 80.

2008 ~ Bo Diddley (né Ellas Otha Bates, b. Dec. 30, 1928), American musician.  He died at age 79.

2008 ~ Mel Ferrer (né Melchor Gastón Ferrer, b. Aug. 25, 1917), American actor. Audrey Hepburn was one of his wives.  He died of heart failure at age 90.

2001 ~ Imogene Coca (b. Nov. 18, 1908), American actress.  She died at age 92.

2000 ~ Gerald James Whitrow (b. June 9, 1912), English mathematician.  He died 7 days before his 88^th birthday.

1990 ~ Sir Rex Harrison (né Reginald Carey Harrison, b. Mar. 5, 1908), English actor best known for his role of Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady.  He died at age 82.

1987 ~ Sammy Kaye (né Samuel Zarnocay, Jr., b. Mar. 13, 1910), American musician and saxophonist.  He died at age 77.

1962 ~ Vita Sackville-West, Lady Nicolson (née Victoria Mary Sackville-West, b. Mar. 9, 1892), English writer.  She died at age 70.

1961 ~ George S. Kaufman (b. Nov. 16, 1889), American playwright.  He died at age 71.

1942 ~ Andrew Forsyth (b. June 18, 1858), British mathematician.  He died 2 weeks before his 84^thbirthday.

1941 ~ Lou Gehrig (né Henry Louis Gehrig, b. June 19, 1903), American baseball player.  He died 17 days before his 38^th birthday.  He had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), now often referred to as Lou Gehrig Diseases.

1785 ~ Jean Paul de Gua de Malves (b. 1713), French mathematician.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.

657 ~ Pope Eugene I.  He was Pope from August 654 until his death 3 years later.  The date of his birth is unknown.