12 History Lessons + 2 Births & 6 Deaths for May 30, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1431 – Joan of Arc is burned at the stake in Rouen, France, at age 19.
- 1539 – Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto lands in Florida, beginning his North American expedition.
- 1854 – The Kansas–Nebraska Act is signed into law, intensifying the debate over slavery in the U.S.
- 1868 – The first official Memorial Day (then called Decoration Day) is observed in the U.S.
- 1911 – The inaugural Indianapolis 500 is held; Ray Harroun wins in his Marmon Wasp.
- 1922 – The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
- 1935 – Babe Ruth plays his final major league baseball game for the Boston Braves.
- 1942 – The Holocaust: 1,800 Jews are sent from Paris to Auschwitz.
- 1967 – East Jerusalem is reunified under Israeli control during the Six-Day War.
- 1971 – NASA’s Mariner 9 is launched toward Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.
- 1982 – Spain becomes the 16th member of NATO and its first member outside of the traditional North Atlantic region.
- 2005 – France rejects the proposed European Constitution in a national referendum.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1971 – Idina Menzel, American actress and singer (Frozen, Wicked) (54)
- 1980 – Steven Gerrard, English footballer and Liverpool FC legend (45)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1431 – Joan of Arc, French heroine and Catholic saint, executed by burning (Age 19)
- 1778 – Voltaire, French Enlightenment writer and philosopher (Candide) (Age 83)
- 1912 – Wilbur Wright, aviation pioneer and co-inventor of the airplane (Age 45)
- 1960 – Boris Pasternak, Russian author and Nobel Laureate (Doctor Zhivago) (Age 70)
- 1986 – Hank Mobley, American jazz saxophonist (Age 55)
- 2019 – Leon Redbone, eclectic singer-songwriter and performer (Age 69)
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