TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Tuesday, June 2, the 153rd day of 2015. There are 212 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 2, 1995, a U.S. Air Force F-16C was shot down by a Bosnian Serb surface-to-air missile while on a NATO air patrol in northern Bosnia; the pilot, Capt. Scott F. O’Grady, was rescued by U.S. Marines six days later.
On this date:
In 1863, during the Civil War, Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman wrote a letter to his wife, Ellen, in which he commented, “Vox populi, vox humbug” (The voice of the people is the voice of humbug).
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, 61, was quoted by the New York Journal as saying from London that “the report of my death was an exaggeration.”
In 1924, Congress passed a measure that was then signed by President Calvin Coolidge 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 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 1966, the U.S. space probe Surveyor 1 landed on the moon and began transmitting detailed photographs of the lunar surface.
In 1975, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller said his commission had found no widespread pattern of illegal activities at the Central Intelligence Agency.
In 1983, half of the 46 people aboard an Air Canada DC-9 were killed after fire broke out on board, forcing the jetliner to make an emergency landing at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
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 1990, actor Sir Rex Harrison died in New York at 82.
In 1997, Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder and conspiracy in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. (McVeigh was executed in June 2001.)
Ten years ago: Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, completing a pledge made under a cease-fire agreement. Closing arguments took place in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial in Santa Maria, California. (Jackson was acquitted.) Georgia’s “runaway bride,” Jennifer Wilbanks, pleaded no contest to faking her own abduction; she was sentenced to probation and community service and fined. Thirteen-year-old Anurag
Kashyap from Poway, California, won the national spelling bee championship in Washington, D.C., by correctly spelling “appoggiatura,” which means melodic tone.
Five years ago: Amid the Deepwater Horizon oil spill crisis, BP chief executive Tony Hayward apologized for having told reporters, “I’d like my life back,” calling the remark hurtful and thoughtless in a statement posted on Facebook. Taxi driver Derrick Bird went on a murderous rampage across a tranquil part of rural England, leaving 12 dead before committing suicide. Pitcher Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers lost his bid for a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians with two outs in the ninth inning on a call that first base umpire Jim Joyce later admitted he’d blown. (The Tigers beat the Indians, 3-0.)
One year ago: The Justice Department announced charges against 30-year-old Evgeniy Bogachev, the alleged mastermind of a band of hackers that authorities said had implanted viruses on hundreds of thousands of computers around the world, secretly seized customer bank information and stole more than $100 million from businesses and consumers. Spain’s King Juan Carlos, who’d led the transition from dictatorship to democracy but faced damaging scandals amid a financial meltdown, announced he would abdicate in favor of his more popular son Felipe.
Today’s Birthdays: Actresssinger Sally Kellerman is 78. Actor Ron Ely is 77. Actor Stacy Keach is 74. Rock musician Charlie Watts is 74. Singer William Guest (Gladys Knight & The Pips) is 74. Actor Charles Haid is 72. Movie director Lasse (LAH’-suh) Hallstrom is 69. Actor Jerry Mathers is 67. Actress Joanna Gleason is 65. Actor Dennis Haysbert is 61. Comedian Dana Carvey is 60. Actor Gary Grimes is 60. Pop musician Michael Steele is 60. Rock singer Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) is 55. Actor Liam Cunningham is 54. Actor Navid Negahban is 51. Singer Merril Bainbridge is 47. Rapper B-Real (Cypress Hill) is 45. Actress Paula Cale is 45. Actor Anthony Montgomery is 44. Actor-comedian Wayne Brady is 43. Actor Wentworth Miller is 43. Rock musician Tim Rice-Oxley (Keane) is 39. Actor Zachary Quinto is 38. Actor Dominic Cooper is 37. Actress Nikki Cox is 37. Actor Justin Long is 37. Actor Deon Richmond is 37. Actress Morena Baccarin is 36. Rhythm-and-blues singer Irish Grinstead (702) is 35. Rock musician Fabrizio Moretti (The Strokes) is 35. Olympic gold medal soccer player Abby Wambach is 35. Country singer Dan Cahoon (Marshall Dyllon) is 32. Singer-songwriter ZZ Ward is 29. Actress Brittany Curran is 25. Actor Sterling Beaumon is 20.
Thought for Today: “Heroism is not only in the man, but in the occasion.”—Calvin Coolidge, American president (1872-1933).