12 History Lessons + 5 Births & 6 Deaths for May 23, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured by Burgundian forces while attempting to relieve Compiègne.
- 1533 – The marriage of England’s King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.
- 1618 – The Second Defenestration of Prague sparks the Thirty Years’ War in Europe.
- 1701 – Captain William Kidd is hanged in London for piracy and murder.
- 1934 – American criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are ambushed and killed by police in Louisiana.
- 1945 – Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, commits suicide after being captured by Allied forces.
- 1949 – The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) is established.
- 1960 – Tsunami generated by a massive Chilean earthquake hits Japan, killing over 100 people.
- 1969 – The Who release their rock opera album Tommy.
- 1995 – The first version of the Java programming language is released by Sun Microsystems.
- 2002 – The “Sherpa 2002” team becomes the first to successfully climb Everest from the Tibetan side after China lifted restrictions.
- 2013 – A British soldier is murdered in a terrorist attack in Woolwich, London, shocking the nation.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1933 – Joan Collins, English actress (Dynasty) (92)
- 1958 – Drew Carey, comedian and host of The Price Is Right (67)
- 1974 – Jewel, American singer-songwriter (You Were Meant for Me) (51)
- 1980 – Lane Garrison, American actor (Prison Break) (45)
- 1994 – Sam Smith, British singer and Grammy Award winner (Stay With Me) (31)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola, Italian friar and reformer, executed in Florence (Age 45)
- 1934 – Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, notorious American outlaws (Ages 23 & 25)
- 1945 – Heinrich Himmler, Nazi SS leader, suicide after capture (Age 44)
- 1992 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian anti-Mafia judge, assassinated in Sicily (Age 53)
- 2006 – Lloyd Bentsen, U.S. Senator and Treasury Secretary (Age 85)
- 2015 – Anne Meara, American actress and comedian, part of “Stiller and Meara” (Age 85)
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