TODAY IN HISTORY

Saturday, June  02, 2012 AP Highlight in History:  On June 2, 1953, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain was crowned in Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father, King George VI.   AP Photo
On this date in: 1851 Maine became the first state to enact a law prohibiting alcohol. 1886 President Grover Cleveland, 49, married Frances Folsom, 21, in a White House ceremony. 1897 Mark Twain was quoted by the New York Journal as saying "the report of my death was an exaggeration." 1924 Congress granted U.S. citizenship to all American Indians. 1941 Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig died at age 37 of a degenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 1946 The Italian monarchy was abolished in favor of a republic. 1966 The U.S. space probe Surveyor 1 landed on the moon and began transmitting detailed photographs of the lunar surface. 1979 Pope John Paul II arrived in his native Poland on the first visit by a pope to a Communist country. AP Photo 1981 The Japanese video arcade game "Donkey Kong" made its U.S. debut. 1987 President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating economist Alan Greenspan to succeed Paul Volcker as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. 1995 A U.S. Air Force F-16C was shot down by Bosnian Serbs while on a NATO air patrol in northern Bosnia; the pilot, Capt. Scott F. O'Grady, was rescued six days later. 1997 Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder and conspiracy in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people. 1998 Voters in California passed Proposition 227, requiring that all schoolchildren be taught in English. 2010 Amid the Deepwater Horizon oil spill crisis, BP chief executive Tony Hayward apologized in a statement posted on Facebook for having told reporters, "I'd like my life back." 2010 Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga lost his bid for a perfect game against Cleveland with two outs in the ninth inning on a call that first base umpire Jim Joyce later admitted he'd blown. 2011 Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination during an appearance in New Hampshire.		Video Highlights of This Day in History Today's Birthdays: Actor Justin Long turns 34 years old today. AP Photo/Dan Steinberg Name Profession Age Sally Kellerman Actress 75 Stacy Keach Actor 71 Charlie Watts Rock musician (Rolling Stones) 71 Charles Haid Actor ("Hill Street Blues") 69 Marvin Hamlisch Composer 68 Jerry Mathers Actor ("Leave it to Beaver") 64 Joanna Gleason Actress 62 Dennis Haysbert Actor ("24") 58 Dana Carvey Comedian ("Saturday Night Live") 57 Michael Steele Rock musician (The Bangles) 57 Kyle Petty Auto racer 52 Wayne Brady Actor, comedian ("Whose Line is it Anyway") 40 Wentworth Miller Actor ("Prison Break") 40 Zachary Quinto Actor ("Heroes") 35 Nikki Cox Actress 34 Actor Dominic Cooper turns 34 years old today. AP Photo/Victoria Will