Wikipedia: May 30

May 30
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151th in leap years). There are 215 days remaining.

Events

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.
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.
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.
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
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, 2000.
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.

Births

1672 - Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia
1814 - Michael Bakunin, anarchist (+ 1876)
1896 - Howard Hawks, director (+ 1977)
1899 - Irving Thalberg, producer (+ 1936)
1901 - Cornelia Otis Skinner, Broadway producer, writer, director, actress (+ 1979)
1902 - Stepin Fetchit, dancer, actor (+ 1985)
1907 - Elly Beinhorn, pilot
1908 - Mel Blanc, voice for Barney Rubble, Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird, others (+ 1989)
1909 - Benny Goodman, clarinetist, bandleader (+ 1986)
1910 - Inge Meysel, actress
1912 - Joseph Stein, playwright
1912 - Hugh Griffith, actor (+ 1980)
1920 - Franklin Schaffner, film director (+ 1989)
1920 - Ralph Metcalfe, athlete (+ 1978)
1922 - Hal Clement, science fiction writer
1926 - Christine Jorgensen, transsexual (+ 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
1953 - Colm Meaney, actor
1955 - Topper Headon, musician ("The Clash")
1964 - Wynonna Judd, singer
1972 - Trey Parker, animator, comedian (South Park)

Deaths

1416 - Jerome of Prague, Czech theologian
1431 - Joan of Arc, burned at the stake
1593 - Christopher Marlowe, playwright
1778 - Voltaire, philosopher, author
1953 - Dooley Wilson, musician, actor
1960 - Boris Pasternak, author
1961 - Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic
1964 - Leo Szilard, nuclear physicist
1967 - Claude Rains, actor
1986 - Perry Ellis, fashion designer
1993 - Sun Ra, musician
2000 - Tex Beneke, bandleader, singer, saxophone player
2003 - Mickie Most, musician
2003 - Hans Peter Willberg, literature critic

Holidays and observances

United States - Memorial Day, currently fourth Monday in May; originally May 30)

See also:

May 29 - May 31 - April 30 - June 30 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December