On June 2...

in 455, the Vandals entered Rome and plundered the city for a two-week period. Some sections of the Roman community suggest the probable root cause was their own racism and a lack of understanding and respect for those outside the empire. While the Vandals wreak havoc in Rome, other German tribes, the Visigoths and Ostrogoths, stay home to wear black and just hang out at their local mega-markets..

in 1833, Irish bare knuckle fighter Simon Byrne died following a 99-round fight lasting over 3 hours. As one of only six fighters since records were kept to have both killed someone in the ring and then to have died in the ring, Byrne is a remembered fondly by boxing fans for being part of the sport in the days before it became soft.

it is Festa della Republica, celebrating the referendum in which Italians decided to become a republic following WWII. As well as inventing the telephone, mechanical clock, the barometer, thermometer, and optical glasses, Italians were the first nation to install a reverse gear on their army tanks.

it is independence day for Samoa. Economists say the future looks rosy for the Pacific island because of its dependence on the booming area of development aid.