Today in history

On June 2, 1953, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place in London’s Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father, King George VI.

In 1886, President Grover Cleveland, 49, married Frances Folsom, 21, in the Blue Room of the White House. (To date, Cleveland is the only president to marry in the executive mansion.)

In 1897, Mark Twain was quoted by the New York Journal as saying from London that “the report of my death was an exaggeration.” (Twain was responding to a report in the New York Herald that he was “grievously ill” and “possibly dying.”)

In 1924, Congress passed, and President Calvin Coolidge signed, a measure guaranteeing full American citizenship for all Native Americans born within U.S. territorial limits.

In 1941, baseball’s “Iron Horse,” Lou Gehrig, died in New York of a degenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; he was 37.

In 1946, Italy held a referendum which resulted in the Italian monarchy being abolished in favor of a republic.

In 1966, U.S. space probe Surveyor 1 landed on the moon and began transmitting detailed photographs of the lunar surface.

In 1986, for the first time, the public could watch the proceedings of the U.S. Senate on television as a six-week experiment began.

In 1997, Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder and conspiracy in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people. (McVeigh was executed in June 2001.)

In 2002, a fire broke out at Buckingham Palace, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people and marring the four-day celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s 50 years on the throne.

Ten years ago: Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy underwent 3 1/2 hours of risky and delicate surgery to cut out as much of his cancerous brain tumor as possible. The space shuttle Discovery linked up with the international space station, and the 10 space travelers immediately got ready to install the Japanese lab Kibo. Bo Diddley, 79, a founding father of rock ‘n’ roll, died in Archer, Florida, at age 79.

One year ago: Environmental campaigners protested President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord, while nations around the world pledged to double down on their efforts to curb global warming. Three former Penn State administrators were handed jail and house-arrest sentences ranging up to nearly two years for burying child sexual abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky.