History for June 2

History for June 2 - On-This-Day.com:
Marquis de Sade 1740 - French aristocrat, revolutionary and writer, Thomas Hardy 1840 - Novelist and poet of the naturalist movement, Johnny Weissmuller 1904 - Olympic swimmer, he was the sixth actor to portray Tarzan in movies


Pete Conrad (Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr.) 1930 - American naval officer, third person to walk on the moon, Jerry Mathers 1948 - Actor ("Leave it to Beaver"), Dana Carvey 1955 - Comedian, actor ("Saturday Night Live," "Moving")


1793 - Maximillian Robespierre initiated the "Reign of Terror". It was an effort to purge those suspected of treason against the French Republic.


1835 - P.T. Barnum launched his first traveling show. The main attraction was Joice Heth. Heth was reputed to be the 161-year-old nurse of George Washington.


1883 - The first baseball game under electric lights was played in Fort Wayne, Indiana.


1897 - Mark Twain, at age 61, was quoted by the New York Journal as saying "the report of my death was an exaggeration." He was responding to the rumors that he had died.


1953 - Elizabeth was crowned queen of England at Westminster Abbey.


1954 - U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy charged that there were communists working in the CIA and atomic weapons plants.


1969 - Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne sliced the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half off the shore of South Vietnam.