2 JUNE Thought for the day : " Justice delayed is justice denied. " The Feast Day of Erasmus, patron saint of sailors, (also known as St Erasmus, patron saint of stomach pains and women in labour). 0597: Augustine, missionary to England and first archbishop of Canterbury, baptized Saxon king Ethelbert. Afterward, the Christian faith spread rapidly among the Anglos and Saxons. 1491: Birth of Henry VIII King of England (1509-47) 1780: Lord George Gordon led the ‘No Popery’ or ‘Gordon Riots’ in protest at the ending of penalties against Roman Catholics. 1840: Birth of Thomas Hardy England, poet/novelist (Mayor of Casterbridge). 1848: Liverpool's Dock Bill received Royal Assent. 1857: Edward Elgar Broadheath born, England, composer (Pomp & Circumstance) 1868: The Trades Union congress was first held in Manchester. It concluded on 6 June. 1896: Guglielmo Marconi patented his broadcasting system using electromagnetic waves and, in 1924, the first radio conversation between England and Australia was relayed by Marconi’s stations in Cornwall and Sydney. 1909: The ballet Les Sylphides was performed for the first time in Paris with choreography by Fokine to music by Chopin, and the leads danced by Nijinsky and Pavlova. 1910: The Hon. C.S. Rolls became the first Briton to fly across the Channel travelling from Dover to Sangatte and back in a Short-Wright biplane. The following year on this day, the Air Navigation Act came into force to control the requirements of both pilots and machines. 1937: The first performance of Alban Berg’s opera of Wedekind’s play, Lulu, in Zurich. 1937: In London’s Regent’s Park, Robert and Edward Kennedy opened the Children’s Zoo, the first of its type in the world. 1940: Birth of King Constantine II of the Hellenes, who was deposed by a military coup in June 1973. 1943: Leslie Howard, British actor killed, when Nazis shot down his plane. 1950: Birth of Joanna Gleason Toronto Canada, actress (Morgan-Hello Larry) 1953: The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the first to be televised, was watched by millions. 1954: At age 18, Lester Piggott won his first Derby on the 33-1 horse Never Say Die, the first US horse to win the Derby since Iroquois in 1881. 1962: Britain’s first legal casino opened at the Metropole, Brighton. 1964: The PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) was formed in Jerusalem. 1979: Pope John Paul II returned on a visit to his homeland, Poland, becoming the first pope to visit a communist country. 1851: 1st US alcohol prohibition law enacted (Maine) 1858: Donati Comet 1st seen named after it's discoverer 1910: Pygmies discovered in Dutch New Guinea: 1924: US citizenship granted to all American Indians. 1930: 1st baby born on a vessel passing through Panama Canal. 1953: Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey. So, WHY are we celebrating it THIS year? I KNOW it was the year of the Accession, but the CORONATION was 50 years NEXT YEAR! 1983: Toilet catches fire on Air Canada's DC-9, 23 die at Cincinatti. 1985: English football clubs were banned indefinitely from playing in Europe, following continued hooliganism by British fans abroad. 1987: Lindy Chamberlain, the mother in the Australian ‘Dingo’ murder case, was pardoned. 1989: 10,000 Chinese soldiers are blocked by 100,000 citizens protecting students demonstrating for democracy in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. 1990: Frederick Mellinger founder of Fredericks of Hollywood, dies at 76. 1990: Rex Harrison actor (My Fair Lady), dies at 82 of cancer. 1993: Americans held a small ceremony to close down Burtonwood Air Base, after 51 years. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.368 / Virus Database: 204 - Release Date: 29/05/02