Summary of the Day ✨ 2 June (02/06)
A devastating train collision in Balasor, India claimed 296 lives and injured over 1,200 people, while Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak received a life sentence for his role in killing protesters during the 2011 revolution. In other developments, Telangana became India’s 29th state, the United Nations officially changed Turkey’s name to “Türkiye” at Ankara’s request, and Europe launched its historic first mission to Mars with the Mars Express probe departing from Kazakhstan.
Historical 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 changed 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.
- 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 15 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 Movement 2 June.
- 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 had to intervene multiple times in fights between Chilean and Italian players in one of the most violent games in football history.
Famous Births 👶
- 2002: Madison Hu, American actress
- 2002: Fonua Pole, New Zealand rugby league player
- 2001: Kysaiah Pickett, Australian rules footballer
- 2000: Jay Idzes, Indonesian footballer
- 1999: Campbell Graham, Australian rugby league player
- 1997: Scott Wozniak, American YouTuber
- 1996: Morissette, Filipina singer-songwriter
- 1993: Adam Taggart, Australian footballer
- 1992: Pajtim Kasami, Swiss footballer
- 1990: Dane Rampe, Australian rules footballer
- 1989: Steve Smith, Australian cricketer
- 1988: Sergio Agüero, Argentine footballer
- 1988: Awkwafina, American actress, rapper, and comedian
- 1988: Staniliya Stamenova, Bulgarian canoeist
- 1987: Clayton Bartolo, Maltese politician
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Larry Allen, American football player (born 1971)
- 2024: Rob Burrow, English rugby league footballer (born 1982)
- 2024: David Levy, Israeli politician (born 1937)
- 2024: Janis Paige, American actress and singer (born 1922)
- 2017: Peter Sallis, English actor (born 1921)
- 2015: Fernando de Araújo, East Timorese politician, President of East Timor (born 1963)
- 2015: Irwin Rose, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1926)
- 2014: Ivica Brzić, Serbian footballer and manager (born 1941)
- 2014: Nikolay Khrenkov, Russian bobsledder (born 1984)
- 2014: Alexander Shulgin, American pharmacologist and chemist (born 1925)
- 2013: Mario Bernardi, Canadian pianist and conductor (born 1930)
- 2013: Chen Xitong, Chinese politician, 8th Mayor of Beijing (born 1930)
- 2013: Mandawuy Yunupingu, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1956)
- 2012: Adolfo Calero, Nicaraguan businessman and political activist (born 1931)
- 2012: Richard Dawson, English-American soldier, actor, television personality, and game show host (born 1932)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Children’s Day (North Korea)
- Christian feast day:
Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church) - Christian feast day:
Alexander (martyr) - Christian feast day:
Elmo - Christian feast day:
Felix of Nicosia - Christian feast day:
Marcellinus and Peter - Christian feast day:
Martyrs of Lyon, including Blandina - Christian feast day:
Pope Eugene I - Christian feast day:
Pothinus - Christian feast day:
June 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Civil Aviation Day (Azerbaijan)
- Coronation of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, also Social Forestry Day (Bhutan)
- Day of Hristo Botev (Bulgaria)
- Decoration Day (Canada)
- Festa della Repubblica (Italy)