On this day, June 2 …



1979: Pope John Paul II arrives in his native Poland on the first visit by a pope to a Communist country.

Also on this day:

1897: Mark Twain is quoted by the New York Journal as saying from London that “the report of my death was an exaggeration.” (Twain was responding to a report in the New York Herald that he was “grievously ill” and “possibly dying.”

Mark Twain is quoted by the New York Journal as saying from London that “the report of my death was an exaggeration.” (Twain was responding to a report in the New York Herald that he was “grievously ill” and “possibly dying.” 1924: Congress passes, and President Calvin Coolidge signs, a measure guaranteeing full American citizenship for all Native Americans born within U.S. territorial limits.

1941: Baseball's "Iron Horse," Lou Gehrig, dies at age 37 in New York of a degenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); the illness would become known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”

1953: The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II takes place in London's Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father, King George VI.

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II takes place in London's Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father, King George VI. 1986: For the first time, the public can watch the proceedings of the U.S. Senate on television as a six-week experiment begins.