Today, June 2, is a significant day in world history for a number of reasons. Here are a few of the most notable events that took place on this day:
- 1946: Italy becomes a republic after a referendum in which 54.3% of voters choose to abolish the monarchy.
- 1953: Queen Elizabeth II is crowned in Westminster Abbey, becoming the first British monarch to be crowned on television.
- 1966: The United States spacecraft Surveyor 1 becomes the first spacecraft to land on the Moon.
- 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.
- 1979: Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit a communist country, when he arrives in Poland.
- 1987: Andrés Segovia, the Spanish guitarist and composer, dies at the age of 94.
- 2006: Mel Brooks's musical The Producers, starring Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, wins a record-setting 12 Tony Awards.
- 2016: Muhammad Ali, the American boxer and social activist, dies at the age of 74.
These are just a few of the many notable events that took place on June 2. It is a day that has seen both great triumphs and great tragedies, and it continues to be a day of significance in world history.
