June 2nd

Events -

455 - The 2nd sack of Rome.  A prior peace treaty between Rome and the Vandals included the engagement of Huneric, son of the Vandal King Genseric, and Eudocia, daughter of Roman Emperor Valentinian IIIthe Vandal King Genseric.  Valentinian III was killed in 455 and the throne usurped by Petronius Maximus, who married Valentinian's widow and had his son Palladius married to Eudocia.  The Vandals used the broken betrothal of Huneric and Eudocia as an excuse to proclaim the treaty invalid and set sail for Rome.  According to a chronicler of the time, Genseric reached an agreement with Pope Leo I not to destroy the city or murder its citizens, so the city gates were opened to him upon his arrival.  Rather than fight Genseric, Petronius tried to flee the city, but was killed by a Roman mob.  Palladius was believed killed around the same time, which allowed the marriage of Huneric and Eudocia to go forth as originally planned.

1946 - Italy held a constitutional referendum to determine whether the country should continue under a monarchy or whether the head of state should be elected by popular vote.  The monarchy had been damaged by King Victor Emmanuel III association with the Fascist government of Mussolini.  Not even the King's abdication in favor of his son Umberto II would prevent the ouster of the monarchy.  With an 89.1% turnout, Italians voted for a republic by 54.3% over 45.7%.  The new constitution which was later adopted forever banned the male descendants of the Savoy family from entering Italy, a provision which was finally overturned in October 2002.

1953 - Queen Elizabeth II is crowned queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories and head of the Commonwealth.  Elizabeth had ascended to the throne on the death of her father over a year earlier, on February 6, 1952.  The coronation was the first major international event to be televised.  60 years later, the Queen is still on the British throne, about to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee.

Born on this Date -

1838 - Alexandra Frederika Wilhelmina of Oldenburg, daughter of  Duke Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg and  Princess Therese of Nassau-Weilburg.  She married Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaevich of Russia, the third son of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.  Among her children was Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaevich, known as Nicholasha within the Romanov family, and Commander of the Russian army during the first part of World War I.  After time, the marriage disintigrated and Alexandra retired first to Kiev and later to a convent, refusing to grant her husband a divorce so he could marry his mistress.  Although Grand Duke Nicholas had hopes of outliving his wife, the ill Alexandra managed to outlive both her husband and his mistress.  Alexandra died of stomach cancer at the Kievo Pechersky Monastery on April 25, 1900.

1940 - King Constantine II of Greece (Κωνσταντῖνος Βʹ, Τέως Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων), the last reigning King of Greece before the monarchy was abolished for the final time in 1973. He became King of Greece on March 6, 1964 with the death of his father.  Just three years later, he was forced to flee the country in December 1967 after a failed counter-coup against the military, which had seized power in April 1967.  He remained king until June 1, 1973, when the military abolished the monarchy.  Although not permanently banished from Greece, he has been discouraged against returning, and has returned for brief visits periodically.  However, in 1994, his Greek citizenship and passport were stripped from him until he adopts a surname, which he has refused to do.  When he does travel to Greece, he does so on a Danish diplomatic passport, which he is entitled to as a descendant of King Christian IX of Denmark.

Died on this Date - 

910 - Richilde of Provence, born about 845 as the daughter of Bivin, count of the Ardennes.  She married Charles the Bald, King of the Franks, in 870, after the death of Charles' first wife.  She served as regent when her husband was away at war, and after the death of Charles' successor, Louis the Stammerer, whose sons were too young to rule.  She was forced out after the nobility refused to recognize her authority, although she attempted two additional times to rule, after the deaths of Louis' sons in 882 and 884.  After the latter attempt, she was forced to return to Provence, where she died at the age of c.65.

1418 - Catherine of Lancaster, born on March 31, 1373, the daughter of John of Gaunt (son of Edward III of England) and Constance of Castile (daughter of King Pedro of Castile).  Catherine's parents attempted to press Constance's right to the throne of Castile.  Constance was eventually persuaded to renounce her claims to the throne in exchange for the marriage of her daughter Catherine to the future Enrique III of Castile.  Catherine and Enrique were married before September 17, 1388.  She became a joint-regent for her son, Juan II, who was a year and a half old at his father's death.  She eventually relinquished the regency due to ill-health, and died of a stroke at the age of 45, when her son was 13.

1567 - Seán Ó Néill, King of Tír Eógain in Ireland.  He was born around 1530 as the son of King Conn Bacach O'Neill and Alice FitzGerald.  He was murdered, about age 37, by the MacDonnell family after the battle of Farsetmore as he attempted to flee.

June 1st

Events -

987 - Hugh Capet, founder of the House of Capet which would rule France from 987 to 1328, was elected King of France.  Hugh would rule France until his death on October 24, 996 and was succeeded by his son, Robert II.  Later French Kings from the House of Valois and House of Bourbon, although all male-line (agnatic) descendants of Hugh Capet due to Salic Law, were descended from younger sons in the line.  The current rulers of Spain (King Juan Carlos I) and Luxembourg (Grand Duke Henri) are members of the House of Bourbon, a cadet branch of the House of Capet.

1204 - King Philippe II Augustus of France conquered Rouen.  The city was the capital of the Duchy of Normandy, which was under the control of King John of England.  On June 24th, Philippe entered the city and annexed Normandy to the French crown.  The city would come under English control again in 1419, when the city surrendered to King Henry V of England during the Hundred Years' War.  Thirty years later, the city would be conquered again by French king Charles VII, bring it under permanent French control.

1215 - The Battle of Zhongdu ended with the capture of the city of Zhongdu (present-day Beijing) by Genghis Khan.  Zhongdu was the capital of the Jin Dynasty, which ruled parts of northern China from 1115-1234.  Emperor Jin Xuanzong (金宣宗) was forced to move his capital to Kaifeng.

1252 - Alfonso X was elected King of Castile and Léon one day after the death of his father Ferdinand III.  He would rule until his death on April 4, 1284 and was succeeded by his son, Sancho IV.

1533 - Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, was crowned Queen of England.  She would remain queen until her marriage to Henry was annulled on May 17, 1536, two days before her execution.  She was the mother of Queen Elizabeth I.

1670 - England, under King Charles II, and France, under King Louis XIV, signed the Treaty of Dover.  The treaty had two aims - France was to help bring England back to the Roman Catholic Church and England was to assist France in its conquest of the Dutch Republic.  The treaty, which remained secret until 1830, resulted in the Third Anglo-Dutch War.

1815 - Napoléon I swore to uphold the Charter of 1815, which was adopted by a direct vote of the French people as France's new constitution.  After his return from exile on Elba, Napoléon requested that a new constitution be written.  Due to his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo less than three weeks later, the constitution was never fully implemented.

1918 - The Battle of Belleau Wood began near the Marne River in France.  The German troops were lead by Crown Prince Wilhelm.  One June 26, 1918, the battle ended when the Allied troops under American generals Pershing and Harbord cleared Belleau Wood of enemy troops.  Pershing later said "the Battle of Belleau Wood was for the U.S. the biggest battle since Appomattox and the most considerable engagement American troops had ever had with a foreign enemy."

Born on this date -

1076 - Mistislav I, Grand Prince of Kiev, son of Vladimir II of Kiev and Gytha of Wessex.  He ruled Kiev from his father's death in 1125 until his own death on April 14, 1132 at the age of 55.

1134 - Geoffrey FitzEmpress, Count of Nantes, son of Geoffrey V of Anjou and Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England.  He became Count of Nantes in 1156 at the suggestion of his brother King Henry II of England, after the previous count was deposed.  He died July 27, 1158 at the age of 24. 

1300 - Thomas of Brother, 1st Earl of Norfolk, son of King Edward I of England and Margaret of France.  He became the 1st Earl of Norfolk in 1312.  He died August 4, 1338 at the age of 38.

1754 - Archduke Ferdinand Karl Anton Joseph Johann Stanislaus of Austria-Este, son of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Austrian Empress Maria Theresa.  He was an older brother of French queen Marie Antoinette.  He was the Duke of Breisgau from 1803 until he ceded the territory to the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1805.  He died on December 24, 1806 at the age of 52.

1815 - Otto Friedrich Ludwig of Bavaria, later King Otto of Greece, son of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.  He was elected the first King of the modern country of Greece in 1832 when he was 17.  He was deposed in 1862 after 30 years of rule.  He died in exile in Bavaria on July 26, 1867, aged 52.

Died on this date - 

 

195 BC - Emperor Gao (高帝), born Liu Bang, first emperor of the Han Dynasty of China.  He was born in either 256 BC or 247 BC, making him either 60-61 or 51-52 at the time of his death.  He became Emperor of China in 202 BC, and was succeeded by his second son Liu Ying on his death.

193 - Marcus Didius Severus Julianus, 20th Emperor of the Roman Empire and the second emperor in the Year of the Five Emperors.  He was born either on January 30, 133 (according to historian Cassius Dio) or February 2, 137 (per Historia Augusta).  He purchased the throne from the Praetorian Guard after the assassination of his predecessor Pertinax on March 28, 193 and was assassinated after a reign of only 3 months.

1432 - Dan II of Wallachia, Voivode of Wallachia, son of Dan I of Wallachia and Maria of Serbia.  He was Prince of Wallachia five times in the early 15th century - 1420–1421, 1421–1423, 1423–1424, 1426–1427, and 1427–1431.  He was killed in battle by the Ottomans.  His son, Basarab II, would be buried alive by Vlad III of Wallachia, known as Vlad the Impaler (the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula).

1434 -  Władysław II Jagiełło, Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377–1434), King consort of Poland (1386–1399) and King regnant of Poland (1399–1434).  He was born around 1362 and was the son of Algirdis of Lithuania and Uliana Alexandrovna of Tver.  He became the King consort of Poland with his marriage to Jadwiga, Queen regnant of Poland.  He became king after Jadwiga's death, strengthening his claim to the throne with his marriage to Anna of Celje, granddaughter of Casimir III of Poland.  His territory was divided between his two sons on his death - Władysław III became King of Poland and Casimir succeeded as Grand Duke of Lithuania.

1879 - Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph Bonaparte, Prince Imperial of France.  He was born on March 16, 1856 as the only son of Emperor Napoléon III of France and Eugénie de Montijo.  He was killed at the age of 23 in battle during the Anglo-Zulu War.

1983 - Charles Théodore Henri Antoine Meinrad of Belgium, Prince Regent from 1944-1950 during the reign of his older brother Leopold III.  He was born on October 10, 1903, the son of King Albert I of Belgium and Elisabeth in Bavaria.  He retired from public life after 1950 and died at the age of 79.

2001 - Nine members of the Nepalese royal family were murdered by Crown Prince Dipendra at a dinner party.  The dead included King Birendra (born December 28, 1945), Queen Aishwarya (born November 7, 1949), Prince Nirajan (born November 6, 1977, son of Birendra and Aishwarya), Princess Shruti (born October 15, 1976, daughter of Birendra and Aishwarya), Prince Dhirendra (brother of Birendra), Princess Jayanti (cousin of Birendra), Princesses Shanti and Sharada (sisters of Birendra) and Kumar Khadga (husband of Princess Sharada).  Five other members of the royal family were wounded.  Dipendra became King on the death of his father, despite having perpetrated the massacre, and died of self-inflicted wounds three days later.

2009 - Pedro Luís of Orléans-Braganza, third in line to the former Brazilian throne after his uncle and father.  He was born on January 12, 1983 and was the son of Prince Antônio of Orléans-Braganza and Christine of Ligne.  He was killed at the age of 26 when Air France 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on a flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, France.