This day in history...

This thread is my record.

 

On May 30, 1431, Joan of Arc is burned at the stake in Rouen, France. Born at the height of the Hundred Years' War, in 1429 the 17-year old Joan presented herself to the Dauphin (the uncrowned heir apparent to the French throne), claiming to have heard the voices of St. Michael, St. Catherine and St. Margaret ordering her to lead the French against the English. After several weeks of questioning by clerics, Joan was given a small army by the Dauphin, and she proceeded to relieve the siege of Orleans, and then capture Reims, the traditional city of French coronation. With the Dauphin now crowned Charles VI, Joan continues to lead French troops until her capture in early 1430. Tried and convicted of heresy, the English order her execution, but relent when Joan agrees to recant her claims of divine inspiration and capitulate to church authority. Her reprieve lasts only a few days. When she is found, in her cell, to have resumed the practice of wearing men's clothing, she says she has again heard the voices of St. Catherine and St. Margaret, reproaching her for capitulating. She is declared a relapsed heretic and executed, but she inspires the French to victory in the war as a martyr. In 1920, Joan is canonized by the Roman Catholic Church; today is her feast day.


On May 30, 1806,Tennessee lawyer and state Senator Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel. Dickinson had accused Jackson of cheating on a horse race bet and then insulted his wife, Rachel. Jackson, who reports say may have participated in as many as 100 duels in his lifetime, survives a gunshot to the chest from Dickinson before killing his foe. He would suffer from chronic pain from the wound for the rest of his life, but it doesn't prevent his later heroism in the Battle of New Orleans and election to the Presidency in 1829.


On May 30, 1911, Ray Harroun wins the inaugural Indianapolis 500. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1906, but failed to draw satisfactory attendence over a series of small races in its first 5 years. In 1911, speedway owner Carl Fisher announces the track will host a single 500-mile race on Memorial Day. Harroun averages about 74 miles per hour in a Marmon Wasp, the only single-seat car in the race. Common practice in car races of the day was for the driver to have a mechanic riding alongside, who also helped the driver spot the surrounding traffic. Without that second pair of eyes in the car, Harroun mounted what is generally accepted to be the first rear view mirror on his car. (seen in the photo directly in front of and above the cockpit)

 

Speed plays a big role in it....at 75 mph and with 2 people in the car, there's a lot more reaction time than at 180.

 

On May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam in Pennsylvania collapses. Lake Conemaugh, formed by the construction of the dam 50 years earlier, inundates nearby Johnstown, PA, killing more than 2,200 people. The dam was part of an extensive canal system that became obsolete as the railroads replaced the canal as a means of transporting goods. As the canal system fell into disuse, maintenance on the dam was neglected.


On May 31, 2005, family members of former FBI Assistant Director W. Mark Felt end decades of speculation in revealing that Felt was "Deep Throat," the source of the leak that helped unravel the Watergate scandal. Former Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are reportedly shocked by the revelation; they had sworn publicly to protect "Deep Throat's" identity for life. His information had been crucial to the reporting that won Woodward and Bernstein a Pulitzer Prize.

On May 31, 1859, "Big Ben" rings out over London for the first time. Although "Big Ben" originally referred to the time-marking bell, it has now become synonymous with the 320-foot Elizabeth Tower, the standout feature of the new English Parliament building constructed after fire destroyed the original in the 1830's.


On May 31, 1916, the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet clash off the Jutland Peninsula, Norway. Over the next two days, the largest naval battle in modern history without the benefit of air cover unfolds. 250 ships are involved, including 28 British battleships and 15 on the German side. The Germans had hoped to use a small force to lure the Grand Fleet into a trap sprung by a larger contingent of ships. The British, however, intercepted radio messages tipping the German hand and devised a counterattack very similar the German plan. More than 8,500 sailors would be killed on both sides, with the British losing 14 ships and the Germans 11. Every capital ship involved survived. It was a tactical victory for the Germans, but the strategic plan failed, and the High Seas Fleet will never again sail to fight en masse. (HMS Lion, flagship of British Admiral David Beatty, burns at Jutland)

 

On June 1, 1990, the leaders of the world's two superpowers, US President George H.W. Bush and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, sign an agreement to end production of chemical weapons. The agreement also calls for each nation to reduce its stockpile of existing chemical weapons by 80%.

On June 1, 1779, General Benedict Arnold is court martialled on 13 counts of misbehavior, including misusing government wagons and illegally buying and selling goods. Arnold would eventually be cleared of most of the charges, and his penalty amounted to a reprimand from General Washington. But the incident fueled the resentment that would lead to his treason the following year.


On June 1, 1980, CNN (Cable News Network), the world’s first 24-hour television news network, debuts from its headquarters in Atlanta, GA. The brainchild of Robert "Ted" Turner, who had built a failing local TV station into "superstation" TBS in the early 70's, CNN would change the notion that news could only be reported at fixed times throughout the day.

On June 1, 1941, the last surviving Allied troops are evacuated from the island of Crete, leaving Germany in complete control of Greece. In late 1940, the Greek army, reinforced by the British air force, decisively repulsed an Italian invasion of their nation. But they were no match for Hitler's Wehrmacht, which invaded in April and swept across the nation in less than 2 months.

On June 1, 1967, The Beatles release their 8th studio album, "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Legend has it Paul McCartney played the album for Bob Dylan, who's reaction was, "Oh, I get it. You don't want to be cute anymore." McCartney apparently agreed, saying in an interview decades later that the album marked the band's transition from the girl-scream kings of their early days into serious performers.

 

On June 2, 1774, Parliament renews the Quartering Act of 1765, with a proviso. The original act merely required the colonies to provide barracks for British soldiers. The renewed act, considered the last of the Coercive Acts, requires colonist to allow soldiers to board in their occupied private homes if no other quarters are available.

On June 2, 1997, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. He will be sentenced to death two months later.

On June 2 ,1924, Congress passes the Indian Citizenship Act, confering citizenship on all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the country.

On June 2, 1865, the Civil War officially comes to an end when Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of Confederate forces west of the Mississippi, signs the terms of surrender. Although the war in effect ended with Lee's surrender in April, Smith's surrender dissolves the last still-organized Confederate army.

On June 2, 1935, Babe Ruth ends his Major League playing career after 22 seasons, 10 World Series and 714 home runs. The following year, Ruth will be one of the first five players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Although his home run record will fall in 1974, his career slugging percentage of .690 still stands as the Major League record to this day.

 

On June 3, 1965, Edward H. White becomes the first American to "walk" in space. During the Gemini 4 mission, and at an altitude of 120 miles above the Earth, White's tethered EVA lasts about 20 minutes.

 

On June 4, 1989, the Chinese government brings 3 weeks of student demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square to a decisive, brutal halt. Nearly a million Chinese, mostly students, had been calling for the resignation of several Communist Party leaders and for a transition to a more democratic form of government. The government replies with troops and tanks. Press from around the world are present as hundreds are killed and an estimated 10,000 arrested. The image of a single, unidentified student blocking a column of tanks has become one of the most iconic photos of the 20th century.


On June 4, 1919, the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, is approved by Congress and sent to the states for ratification.

On June 4, 1942, the Japanese Navy attacks Midway Atoll, a pair of small islands at roughly the halfway point of the Pacific between the US and Japan. The American naval installation at Midway is considered second in importance only to Pearl Harbor among American assets in the Pacific. The Japanese send an invasion force supported by 4 aircraft carriers to take Midway, not knowing that American intelligence had broken enough Japanese radio codes to have advance notice of the attack. Two US task forces built around 3 aircraft carriers are lurking north of Midway. Their first attacks against the Japanese fleet are disastrous, but by day's end, all 4 Japanese carriers suffer fatal hits. Though the battle cost the American navy the carrier Yorktown, the enemy is forced to cancel the invasion. Midway is a major victory, and stems the Japanese momentum long enough for the Americans to begin mounting meaningful offensive campaigns in the Pacific.


On June 4, 2003, TV icon Martha Stewart is indicted on 9 counts including securities fraud and obstruction of justice. The CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia built a media empire around her TV show, in which she gave cooking tips and advice for making the common tasks of managing a household easier. In 2001, one day before the FDA declined approval of a new cancer drug developed by ImClone, Stewart had sold her 4,000 shares of ImClone stock, a $230,000 transaction. Prosecutors would successfully argue that Stewart had gained insider knowledge of events from her stockbroker, who was also convicted. Stewart would eventually spend 4 months in a federal prison, and 5 months under house arrest.