May 30 May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). There are 215 days remaining. Events 1400-1899 1416 - The Catholic Church burns Jerome of Prague as a heretic. 1431 - In Rouen, France, 19-year old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by a pro-English tribunal. 1539 - In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold. 1574 - Henry III becomes King of France. 1588 - The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel. 1806 - Andrew Jackson kills a man in a duel after the man had accused Jackson's wife of bigamy. 1814 - The First Treaty of Paris is signed returning French borders to their 1792 extent. Napoleon I of France is exiled to Elba on the same day. 1854 - The Kansas-Nebraska Act becomes law establishing the US territories of Nebraska and Kansas. 1871 - The Paris Commune falls. 1868 - Memorial Day (then known as "Decoration Day") is observed in the United States for the first time (it was proclaimed on May 5 by General John Logan). 1876 - Ottoman sultan Abd-ul-Aziz is deposed and succeeded by his nephew Murat V. 1879 - New York City's Gilmores Garden is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Vanderbilt and is opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue. 1883 - In New York City, a rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge is going to collapse causes a stampede which crushes twelve people. 1900-1999 1911 - At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first Indianapolis 500 ends with Ray Harroun becoming the first winner of the 500-mile auto race. 1913 - First Balkan War: A peace treaty is signed in London ending the war. Albania becomes an independent nation. 1922 - In Washington, D.C., the Lincoln Memorial is dedicated. 1935 - Babe Ruth plays in his last baseball game, in the uniform of the Boston Braves. 1941 - World War II: Germany captures Crete. 1942 - World War II: 1000 British bombers launch a 90-minute attack on Cologne, Germany. 1948 - A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. 15 people die and tens of thousands are left homeless. 1958 - The bodies of several unidentified soldiers killed in action during World War II and the Korean War are buried at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. 1967 - At the Ascot Speedway in Gardena, California, daredevil Evel Knievel jumps his motorcycle over 16 cars lined-up in a row. 1967 - The Nigerian state of Biafra secedes, sparking a civil war. 1971 - Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched toward Mars. 1972 - The Angry Brigade goes on trial. 1972 - Members of the Japanese Red Army carry out the Lod Airport Massacre 1982 - Baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr plays the first of 2,632 consecutive games. His streak will end on September 20, 1998. 1982 - Spain becomes the 16th member of NATO and the first nation to enter the alliance since West Germany's admission in 1955. 1989 - Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The 33-foot high "Goddess of Democracy" statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators. 1998 - A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hits northern Afghanistan, killing up to 5,000. 1999 - Kenny Bräck wins the 83rd Indianapolis 500 2000-2099 2004 - Buddy Rice wins a rain-shortened 88th Indianapolis 500 Births 1600-1899 1672 - Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia (d. 1725) 1814 - Michael Bakunin, anarchist (d. 1876) 1882 - Wyndham Halswelle, British runner 1896 - Howard Hawks, director (d. 1977) 1899 - Irving Thalberg, producer (d. 1936) 1900-1999 1901 - Cornelia Otis Skinner, Broadway producer, writer, director, actress (d. 1979) 1902 - Stepin Fetchit, dancer, actor (d. 1985) 1907 - Elly Beinhorn, pilot 1908 - Mel Blanc, voice for Barney Rubble, Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird, others (d. 1989) 1909 - Benny Goodman, clarinetist, bandleader (d. 1986) 1910 - Inge Meysel, actress 1912 - Julius Axelrod, American biochemist, Nobel Prize winner 1912 - Joseph Stein, playwright 1912 - Hugh Griffith, actor (d. 1980) 1920 - Franklin Schaffner, film director (d. 1989) 1920 - Ralph Metcalfe, athlete (d. 1978) 1922 - Hal Clement, science fiction writer (d. 2003) 1926 - Christine Jorgensen, transsexual (d. 1989) 1927 - Clint Walker, actor 1934 - Aleksei Leonov, cosmonaut and first person to walk in space 1936 - Keir Dullea, actor 1939 - Michael J. Pollard, actor 1943 - Gale Sayers, American football star 1951 - Stephen Tobolowsky, actor 1951 - Zdravko Čolić, Yugoslavian singer 1953 - Colm Meaney, Irish actor (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine) 1955 - Topper Headon, musician ("The Clash") 1964 - Wynonna Judd, singer 1972 - Manny Ramirez, baseball player 1986 - Claudia Beni, Croatian singer Deaths 1400-1899 1416 - Jerome of Prague, Czech theologian 1431 - Joan of Arc, burned at the stake by a pro-English tribunal. (b. 1412) 1576 - Harada Naomasa, Japanese retainer and samurai under Oda Nobunaga 1593 - Christopher Marlowe, playwright (b. 1564) 1640 - Peter Paul Rubens, painter (b. 1577) 1744 - Alexander Pope, poet, and writer (b. 1688) 1778 - Voltaire, philosopher, author (b. 1694) 1900-1999 1951 - Hermann Broch, Austrian author (b. 1886) 1953 - Dooley Wilson, musician, actor 1960 - Boris Pasternak, author (b. 1890) 1961 - Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic (b. 1891) 1964 - Leó Szilárd, nuclear physicist (b. 1898) 1967 - Claude Rains, actor (b. 1889) 1975 - Steve Prefontaine, distance runner (b. 1951) 1986 - Perry Ellis, fashion designer 1993 - Sun Ra, musician (b. 1914) 2000-2099 2000 - Tex Beneke, bandleader, singer, saxophone player 2003 - Mickie Most, musician (b. 1938) 2003 - Hans Peter Willberg, literature critic Holidays and observances United States - Memorial Day (originally - currently last Monday in May) May 29 - May 31 - April 30 - June 30 - listing of all days nds:30 Mai FAVORITE ARTICLES: History of the World    History of the United States    History of Europe    Ancient History    History    Military History    World War I    Bombing of Dresden    California    US Constitution    Frank Sinatra    Boston    Marbury v. 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