This day in history

[June 02, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, June 2, the 153rd day of 2010. There are 212 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On June 2, 1953, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain was crowned in Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father, King George VI.

On this date:

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 granting American citizenship to all U.S.-born American Indians.

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

In 1969, the American destroyer USS Frank E. Evans was struck and cut in two by the Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne during naval exercises in the South China Sea; 74 crew members from the Frank E. Evans were killed.

In 1975, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller said his commission had found no widespread pattern of illegal activities at the Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1979, Pope John Paul II arrived in his native Poland on the first visit by a pope to a Communist country.

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

In 1990, actor Sir Rex Harrison died in New York at 82.

Ten years ago: President Bill Clinton, visiting Germany, was honored with the prestigious International Charlemagne Prize at Aachen Cathedral.

Five 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, Calif. (Jackson was acquitted.) Georgia's "runaway bride," Jennifer Wilbanks, pleaded no contest to faking her own abduction; she was sentenced to probation, community service and a fine. Thirteen-year-old Anurag Kashyap (AH'-noo-rahg KAHSH'-yahp) won the national spelling bee championship in Washington by correctly spelling "appoggiatura," which means melodic tone.

One year ago: Scott Roeder, an activist abortion opponent, was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kan. (Roeder was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years.)

Today's birthdays: Actor Milo O'Shea is 85. Actress-singer Sally Kellerman is 73. Actor Ron Ely is 72. Actor Stacy Keach is 69. Rock musician Charlie Watts is 69. Singer William Guest (Gladys Knight & The Pips) is 69. Actor Charles Haid is 67. Composer Marvin Hamlisch is 66. Movie director Lasse (LAH'-suh) Hallstrom is 64. Actor Jerry Mathers is 62. Actress Joanna Gleason is 60. Actor Dennis Haysbert is 56. Comedian Dana Carvey is 55. Actor Gary Grimes is 55. Rock singer Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) is 50. Singer Merril Bainbridge is 42. Rapper B-Real (Cypress Hill) is 40. Actress Paula Cale is 40. Actor-comedian Wayne Brady is 38. Actor Wentworth Miller is 38. Rock musician Tim Rice-Oxley (Keane) is 34. Actor Zachary Quinto is 33. Actor Dominic Cooper is 32. Actress Nikki Cox is 32. Actor Justin Long is 32. Actor Deon Richmond is 32. Rhythm-and-blues singer Irish Grinstead (702) is 30. Rock musician Fabrizio Moretti (The Strokes) is 30. Country singer Dan Cahoon (Marshall Dyllon) is 27.

Thought for today: "Only the man who finds everything wrong and expects it to get worse is thought to have a clear brain." -- John Kenneth Galbraith, American economist (1908-2006)

[Associated Press]

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