Today is Monday, June 2, the 154th day of 2008. There are 212 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On June 2, 1953, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain was crowned in Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father, King George VI.

On this date:

n In 1897, Mark Twain, 61, was quoted by the New York Journal as saying from London that “the report of my death was an exaggeration.”

n In 1924, Congress passed a measure that was then signed by President Coolidge granting American citizenship to all U.S.-born American Indians.

n In 1941, baseball’s “Iron Horse,” Lou Gehrig, died in New York of a degenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; he was 37.

n In 1966, the U.S. space probe Surveyor 1 landed on the moon and began transmitting detailed photographs of the lunar surface.

Ten years ago: Voters in California passed Proposition 227, which effectively abolished the state’s 30-year-old bilingual education program by requiring that all children be taught in English.

Five years ago: The Federal Communications Commission eased limits on media ownership.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress-singer Sally Kellerman is 71. Actor Ron Ely is 70. Actor Stacy Keach is 67. Rock musician Charlie Watts is 67. Singer William Guest (Gladys Knight & The Pips) is 67. Composer Marvin Hamlisch is 64. Actor Jerry Mathers is 60. Comedian Dana Carvey is 53. Singer Merril Bainbridge is 40. Rapper B-Real (Cypress Hill) is 38. Actor-comedian Wayne Brady is 36. Actor Wentworth Miller is 36. Rock musician Tim Rice-Oxley (Keane) is 32. Actor Zachary Quinto is 31. Actress Nikki Cox is 30. Actor Justin Long is 30. Actor Deon Richmond is 30. Rhythm-and-blues singer Irish Grinstead (702) is 28. Rock musician Fabrizio Moretti (The Strokes) is 28. Country singer Dan Cahoon (Marshall Dyllon) is 25.

Thought for Today: “Experience isn’t interesting till it begins to repeat itself—in fact, till it does that, it hardly is experience.” —Elizabeth Bowen, Irish-born author (1899-1973).