Today in History

Today is Monday, May 30, the 150th day of 2022. There are 215 days left in the year. This is Memorial Day.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On May 30, 1989, student protesters in Beijing erected a “Goddess of Democracy” statue in Tiananmen Square (the statue was destroyed in the Chinese government’s crackdown).

On this date:

In 1431, Joan of Arc, condemned as a heretic, was burned at the stake in Rouen (roo-AHN’), France.

In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was dedicated in a ceremony attended by President Warren G. Harding, Chief Justice William Howard Taft and Robert Todd Lincoln.

In 1935, Babe Ruth played in his last major league baseball game for the Boston Braves, leaving after the first inning of the first of a double-header against the Philadelphia Phillies, who won both games (Ruth announced his retirement three days later).

In 1937, ten people were killed when police fired on steelworkers demonstrating near the Republic Steel plant in South Chicago.

In 1958, unidentified American service members killed in World War II and the Korean War were interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

In 1968, the Beatles began recording their “White Album” at EMI Recording Studios in London, starting with the original version of “Revolution 1.”

In 1971, the American space probe Mariner 9 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on a journey to Mars.

In 1972, three members of the Japanese Red Army opened fire at Lod Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 26 people. Two attackers died; the third was captured.

In 1994, Mormon Church president Ezra Taft Benson died in Salt Lake City at age 94.

In 2002, a solemn, wordless ceremony marked the end of the agonizing cleanup at ground zero in New York, 8 1/2 months after 9/11.

In 2015, Vice President Joe Biden’s son, former Delaware attorney general Beau Biden, died at age 46 of brain cancer.

In 2020, tense protests over the death of George Floyd and other police killings of Black people grew across the country; racially diverse crowds held mostly peaceful demonstrations in dozens of cities, though many later descended into violence, with police cars set ablaze. Street protests in New York City over police killings spiraled into the city’s worst day of unrest in decades, as fires burned, windows were smashed and confrontations between demonstrators and officers flared. A rocket ship built by Elon Musk’s SpaceX took off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral to carry two Americans to the International Space Station; it ushered in a new era of commercial space travel.

Ten years ago: A gunman in Seattle fatally shot four people inside a cafe and a fifth victim in a carjacking before killing himself. Kicking off her first trip abroad in nearly a quarter-century, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (ahng sahn soo chee) offered encouragement to impoverished migrants in neighboring Thailand.

Five years ago: The Pentagon scored an important success in a test of its oft-criticized missile defense program, destroying a mock warhead over the Pacific Ocean with an interceptor. Kathy Griffin appeared in a brief video holding what looked like President Trump’s bloody, severed head; the comic ended up apologizing, saying she had gone way too far.

One year ago: A restrictive voting bill in Texas that was on the verge of reaching Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk failed to pass after Democrats walked out of the House chamber before a midnight deadline. (After months of Democratic protests, the Republican-controlled legislature would enact sweeping changes in the state’s election code in August.) Helio Castroneves joined the exclusive club of four-time Indianapolis 500 winners, holding off Alex Palou to win the 105th running of the race in front of 135,000 fans; it was the biggest crowd at any sports event in the world since the pandemic began 18 months earlier. Naomi Osaka was fined $15,000 for skipping a news conference after her first-round victory at the French Open. (Osaka, who said she experienced anxiety before speaking to the media, would withdraw from the tournament before her next match.)

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Ruta Lee is 87. Actor Keir Dullea is 86. Rock musician Lenny Davidson (The Dave Clark Five) is 78. Actor Stephen Tobolowsky is 71. Actor Colm Meaney is 69. Actor Ted McGinley is 64. Actor Ralph Carter is 61. Actor Tonya Pinkins is 60. Country singer Wynonna Judd is 58. Rock musician Tom Morello (Audioslave; Rage Against The Machine) is 58. Actor Mark Sheppard is 58. Movie director Antoine Fuqua is 57. Actor John Ross Bowie is 51. Rock musician Patrick Dahlheimer (Live) is 51. Actor Idina Menzel is 51. Rapper Cee Lo Green is 47. Rapper Remy Ma is 42. Actor Blake Bashoff is 41. Christian rock musician James Smith (Underoath) is 40. Actor Javicia Leslie is 35. Actor Jake Short is 25. Actor Sean Giambrone is 23. Actor Jared Gilmore is 22.

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