2 June

1883 Chicago. The first El(evated) trains began to run. We have ridden a few, mostly around the Loop and still have our cards.

1935 George Herman Ruth announced his retirement from baseball. He had acquired the knick-name ‘Babe’ as a teenager for his babyface. He drew so many fans to Yankee games that with the gate proceeds a new stadium was built, often called ‘The House that Ruth Built,’ which lasted until 2008. His batting records stood until the 1960s and 1970s. By the way the Baby Ruth candy bar, it was claimed had nothing to do with George Herman though it came into being in 1920, the year George Herman began hitting prodigious homes runs for the Yankees. The Chicago manufacturer claimed the candy bar was named for President Grover Cleveland’s daughter Ruth, hence Baby Ruth, though there was no connection and Cleveland had left office long before and returned to Buffalo, while Ruth had died. It seems to have been contrived to capitalise on George Herman’s fame without paying him an honorarium.

1953 Westminster. Princess Elizabeth was crowned Queen Elizabeth II in the first televised coronation. Eight thousand guests attended the ceremony, and three million lined the streets. It was broadcast in forty-four languages to millions more even to the antipodes. It remains the last televised British coronation to date.

1962 Paris, Sports: The French Tennis Open was an all-Australian affair. In the Men’s final it was Rod Laver versus Roy Emerson. Laver prevailed, winning three of five sets. But wait, there is more. The Women’s Open was also all-Australian between Margret Court and Lesley Turner with Court winning two of three sets. Court is shown below.

1966 Space. Surveyor I from the United States made the first soft landing on the Moon and began to transmit data with two television cameras and more than a hundred engineering sensors, including radar. It stopped working later in July of 1966.