2nd June...

...is (as stated on Wikipedia) the 153rd day of the year,  Of course, in a leap year, it would be the 154th!  Here are some of the events that happened on this day - which just happens to be tomorrow.

1840 - Thomas Hardy, author of Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Return of the Native (1878), and Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891), was born in Higher Bockhampton, in Dorset.

1857 - Seventeen years after the birth of Hardy came the birth of another English genius, the composer, Sir Edward Elgar.  Born in the village of Lower Broadheath, Worcestershire, Elgar is best remembered for his Variations on an Original Theme (Enigma), and the Pomp and Circumstance marches.  The first of these five marches is known to Americans for its use at Graduations, but with words by Christopher Benson, it has become the unofficial English National Anthem, Land of Hope and Glory.

1910 - You have probably heard of Charles Rolls, one of the co-founders of the famed Rolls Royce car company.  What you probably didn't know, was that - on 2nd June, 1910 - he became the first person to complete a non-stop DOUBLE crossing of the English Channel by plane.

1949 - English astronomer Heather Couper was born.  A well-known figure on British television in the 1980's and '90's, Couper was President of the British Astronomical Society from 1984 to 1986.

1953 - Sixty two years ago today, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom (plus Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc) at London's Westminster Abbey.  This was the first major international event to be televised.

1999 - Asteroid 3922 Heather was named in honour of astronomer Heather Couper (see above).

2000 - Actor Rex Harrison died from pancreatic cancer, at the age of 82.  Born in Huyton, Liverpool, Harrison starred in many films, including The Ghost and Mrs Muir (1947), Cleopatra (1963), My Fair Lady (1964), and Doctor Dolittle (1967).  Harrison received an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in My Fair Lady.

2010 - The English county of Cumbria saw one of the worst mass shootings in British history.  Fifty-two-year-old Derrick Bird killed twelve people and injured eleven others, in a series of targeted and random shootings in various locations throughout the county.  He then took his own life.