Today in History
June 02
1866 - US President Grover Cleveland marries Frances Folsom in a White House ceremony.
1896 - The world’s first patent for a radio communications device is filed in Britain by Guglielmo Marconi, the Italian-born inventor. 1910 - Charles Rolls becomes the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane.
1917 - Brazil declares war on Germany.
1946 - The Italian monarchy is abolished in favour of a republic. 1949 - Transjordan is renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. 1953 - Queen Elizabeth II of Britain is crowned in Westminster Abbey. 1965 - Almost 200 miners are killed in a coal mine explosion near Fukuoka, Japan.
1966 - Nasa’s space probe Surveyor 1 lands on the Moon to collect data for the Apollo programme.
1974 - Jigme Singye Wangchuk is crowned King of Bhutan at age 18. 1979 - Pope John Paul II arrives in his native Poland on the first visit by a pope to a Communist country. 1987 - Paul Volcker steps down as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
23 killed in midair fire horror
1983 - An Air Canada DC-9 jet with 46 people aboard burst into flames in flight Thursday night and made an emergency landing at Greater Cincinnati airport. Officials said 23 people were killed and at least 18 were injured. Witnesses said the flames burned “numerous holes” in the body of the plane, which came to a halt in the middle of the runway. “There are 23 fatalities”, airport spokeswoman Lynn Sutter said. Other officials said at least 18 people were injured. “The names of the fatalities are being withheld until next of kin are notified,” Air Canada manager James Gedra said. “An investigative team is en route from Montreal,” he said.