Today's Highlight 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; it was the first such ceremony to be broadcast on television.
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.
Local
In 1941, baseball's "Iron Horse," Lou Gehrig, died in New York of a degenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; he was 37.
In 1962, Soviet forces opened fire on striking workers in the Russian city of Novocherkassk; a retired general in 1989 put the death toll at 22 to 24.
In 1966, the U.S. space probe Surveyor 1 landed on the moon and began transmitting detailed photographs of the lunar surface.
In 1979, Pope John Paul II arrived in his native Poland on the first visit by a pope to a communist country.
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 1987, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating economist Alan Greenspan to succeed Paul Volcker as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
In 1997, Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder and conspiracy in the Oklahoma City bombing. (He was executed in June 2001.)
Ten years ago: President George W. Bush, visiting the Middle East, pledged to work unstintingly for the goal of Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side without bloodshed. The Federal Communications Commission eased decades-old limits on media ownership.
Five years ago: Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy underwent 3½ hours of risky and delicate surgery to cut out as much of his cancerous brain tumor as possible. Polygamist sect children began to be reunited with their parents two months after the state of Texas removed the children from the sect's ranch. 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, Fla., at age 79. Actor-director Mel Ferrer died in Santa Barbara, Calif., at age 90.
One year ago: Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison after a court convicted him on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that forced him from power; Mubarak and his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, were acquitted of corruption charges. Character actress Kathryn Joosten, best known as the crotchety, nosey Karen McCluskey on "Desperate Housewives," died in Los Angeles at age 72. Richard Dawson, 79, a British-born entertainer who made his mark in the 1960s television sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" and who later became a popular TV game show host, died in Los Angeles.
Today's Birthdays: Actress-singer Sally Kellerman is 76. Actor Ron Ely is 75. Actor Stacy Keach is 72. Rock musician Charlie Watts is 72. Singer William Guest (Gladys Knight & The Pips) is 72. Actor Charles Haid is 70. Movie director Lasse (LAH'-suh) Hallstrom is 67. Actor Jerry Mathers is 65. Actress Joanna Gleason is 63. Actor Dennis Haysbert is 59. Comedian Dana Carvey is 58. Actor Gary Grimes is 58. Pop musician Michael Steele is 58. Rock singer Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) is 53. Actor Navid Negahban is 49. Singer Merril Bainbridge is 45. Rapper B-Real (Cypress Hill) is 43. Actress Paula Cale is 43. Actor Anthony Montgomery is 42. Actor-comedian Wayne Brady is 41. Actor Wentworth Miller is 41. Rock musician Tim Rice-Oxley (Keane) is 37. Actor Zachary Quinto is 36. Actor Dominic Cooper is 35. Actress Nikki Cox is 35. Actor Justin Long is 35. Actor Deon Richmond is 35. Actress Morena Baccarin is 34. Rhythm-and-blues singer Irish Grinstead (702) is 33. Rock musician Fabrizio Moretti (The Strokes) is 33. Country singer Dan Cahoon (Marshall Dyllon) is 30. Actress Brittany Curran is 23. Actor Sterling Beaumon is 18.
Thought for Today: "Whatever it is that makes a person charming, it needs to remain a mystery." — Rex Harrison, English actor (born 1908, died this date in 1990).
