On This Day in History - June 2nd - Almanac

Today is Tuesday, June 2, the 153rd day of 2015 with 212 to follow.

The moon is full. Morning stars are Mercury, Neptune and Uranus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini. They include Martha Washington, the first U.S. first lady, in 1731; French writer Marquis de Sade in 1740; English novelist Thomas Hardy in 1840; English composer Edward Elgar ("Pomp and Circumstance") in 1857; Olympic gold-medal swimmer and "Tarzan" movie star Johnny Weissmuller in 1904; actor/composer Max Showalter in 1917; Hall of Fame football executive Tex Schramm in 1920; astronaut Charles "Pete" Conrad of Apollo 12 in 1930; actor Sally Kellerman in 1937 (age 78); drummer Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones) 1941 (age 74); actor Stacy Keach in 1941 (age 74); actor Charles Haid in 1943 (age 72); composer/pianist Marvin Hamlisch in 1944; actor Jerry Mathers ("Leave It To Beaver ") in 1948 (age 67); political commentator Frank Rich in 1949 (age 66); NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in 1952 (age 63); comedian Dana Carvey in 1955 (age 60); comedian Wayne Brady in 1972 (age 43); actor Justin Long in 1978 (age 37); Olympic gold medal soccer player Abby Wambach in 1980 (age 35); soccer player Freddy Adu in 1989 (age 26).

On this date in history:

In 1865, the Civil War officially came to an end when Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of Confederate forces west of the Mississippi, signed the surrender terms offered by Union negotiators.

In 1886, U.S. President Grover Cleveland, 49, married Frances Folsom, the 21-year-old daughter of his former law partner, in a White House ceremony. The bride became the youngest first lady in U.S. history.

In 1924, Congress granted U.S. citizenship to all American Indians.

In 1946, in a national referendum, voters in Italy decided the country should become a republic rather than return to a monarchy.

In 1953, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in London's Westminster Abbey by the archbishop of Canterbury.

In 1992, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton clinched the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 1995, a U.S. F-16 fighter-jet was shot down by a Serb-launched missile while on patrol over Bosnia. The pilot, Air Force Capt. Scott O'Grady, ejected safely and landed behind Serb lines. (He was rescued six days later.)

In 1997, a federal jury in Denver convicted Timothy McVeigh in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people. (He was sentenced to death and executed June 11, 2001.)

In 2004, Ken Jennings won his first game on "Jeopardy!" (It started a string that ended after a record 74 wins and more than $2.5 million in winnings.)

In 2009, Mauricio Funes, whose political party used to be a guerilla group, was sworn in as president of El Salvador.

In 2010, a 52-year-old British taxi driver was accused of a shooting rampage in which 13 people were slain and 11 others wounded before he killed himself.

In 2012, U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan said he feared Syria was heading toward "all-out civil war."

In 2013, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking of the role of social media in growing anti-government protests, said: "There is now a menace which is called Twitter. The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society."

In 2014, Seattle's City Council approved a $15 hourly minimum wage -- highest in the United States.

A thought for the day: Bill Clinton said in 2013 "a great democracy does not make it harder to vote than to buy an assault weapon."