June 2

Historic Events

2023

A collision between two passenger trains and a parked freight train near the city of Balasor, Odisha in eastern India, results in 296 deaths and more than 1,200 people injured. ›

2022

Following a request from Ankara, the United Nations officially changes the name of the Republic of Turkey in the organization from what was previously known as "Turkey" to "Türkiye". ›

2014

Telangana officially becomes the 29th state of India, formed from ten districts of northwestern Andhra Pradesh. ›

2012

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. ›

2010

Twelve people are killed and eleven others injured in a spree shooting in Cumbria, England, before the perpetrator takes his own life. ›

2003

Europe launches its first voyage to another planet, Mars. The European Space Agency's Mars Express probe launches from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. ›

1998

Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-91, the final mission of the Shuttle-Mir program. ›

1997

In Denver, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 11 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, in which 168 people died. He was executed four years later. ›

1990

The Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak spawns 66 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 12. ›

1983

After an emergency landing because of an in-flight fire, twenty-three passengers aboard Air Canada Flight 797 are killed when a flashover occurs as the plane's doors open. Because of this incident, numerous new safety regulations are put in place. ›

1979

Pope John Paul II starts his first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country. ›

1967

Luis Monge is executed in Colorado's gas chamber, in the last pre-Furman execution in the United States. ›

1967

Protests in West Berlin against the arrival of the Shah of Iran are brutally suppressed, during which Benno Ohnesorg is killed by a police officer. His death results in the founding of the terrorist group 2 June Movement. ›

1966

Surveyor program: Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world. ›

1964

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is formed. ›

1962

During the FIFA World Cup, police intervene multiple times in fights between Chilean and Italian players in one of the most violent games in football history. ›

1958

Aeronaves de México Flight 111 crashes on approach to Guadalajara International Airport, killing 45. ›

1955

The USSR and Yugoslavia sign the Belgrade declaration and thus normalize relations between the two countries, discontinued since 1948. ›

1953

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey becomes the first British coronation, and one of the first major international events, to be televised. ›

1946

Birth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After the referendum, King Umberto II of Italy is exiled. ›

1941

World War II: German paratroopers murder Greek civilians in the villages of Kondomari and Alikianos. ›

1924

U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States. ›

1919

Anarchists simultaneously set off bombs in eight separate U.S. cities. ›

1910

Charles Rolls, a co-founder of Rolls-Royce Limited, becomes the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane. ›

1909

Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time. ›

1896

Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his wireless telegraph. ›

1878

Nobiling assassination attempt by anarchist Karl Nobiling targeting the German Kaiser, Wilhelm I. ›

1866

The Fenians defeat Canadian forces at Ridgeway and Fort Erie, but the raids end soon after. ›

1848

The Slavic Congress opens in Prague. ›

1793

French Revolution: François Hanriot, leader of the Parisian National Guard, arrests 22 Girondists selected by Jean-Paul Marat, setting the stage for the Reign of Terror. ›

1780

The anti-Catholic Gordon Riots in London leave an estimated 300 to 700 people dead. ›

1774

Intolerable Acts: The Quartering Act of 1774 is enacted, allowing a governor in colonial America to house British soldiers in uninhabited houses, outhouses, barns, or other buildings if suitable quarters are not provided. ›

1763

Pontiac's Rebellion: At what is now Mackinaw City, Michigan, Chippewas capture Fort Michilimackinac by diverting the garrison's attention with a game of lacrosse, then chasing a ball into the fort. ›

1692

Bridget Bishop is the first person to be tried for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts; she is found guilty the same day and hanged on June 10. ›

1676

Franco-Dutch War: France ensures the supremacy of its naval fleet for the remainder of the war with its victory in the Battle of Palermo. ›

1615

The first Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. ›

1608

The Colony of Virginia gets a charter, extending borders from "sea to sea". ›

1259

Wedding of Manfred, King of Sicily, and Byzantine princess Helena Angelina Doukaina. ›

1098

First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later. ›

575

Pope Benedict I is consecrated after obtaining imperial approval from Constantinople. ›

455

Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks. ›

260

Sima Zhao's regicide of Cao Mao: The figurehead Wei emperor Cao Mao personally leads an attempt to oust his regent, Sima Zhao; the attempted coup is crushed and the emperor killed. ›