Today is Saturday, May 30, the 151st day of 2020. There are 215 days left in the year.
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), France.
In 1911, the first Indy 500 took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; the winner was Ray Harroun, who drove a Marmon Wasp for more than 6 1/2 hours at an average speed of 74.6 mph and collected a prize of $10,000.
In 1912, aviation pioneer Wilbur Wright, 45, died in Dayton, Ohio, of typhoid fever more than eight years after he and his brother, Orville, launched their first airplane.
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 game of a double-header against the Philadelphia Phillies, who won both games (Ruth announced his retirement three days later).
In 1943, during World War II, American troops secured the Aleutian island of Attu from Japanese forces.
In 1996, Britain’s Prince Andrew and the former Sarah Ferguson were granted an uncontested decree ending their 10-year marriage.
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.
Five years ago: Vice President Joe Biden’s son, former Delaware attorney general Beau Biden, died at age 46 of brain cancer.
One year ago: President Donald Trump said he was slapping a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports to pressure the country to do more to crack down on Central American migrants trying to cross the U.S. border.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Ruta Lee is 85. Actor Keir Dullea is 84. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers is 77. Rock musician Lenny Davidson (The Dave Clark Five) is 76. Actor Stephen Tobolowsky is 69. Actor Colm Meaney is 67. Actor Ted McGinley is 62. Actor Ralph Carter is 59. Actress Tonya Pinkins is 58. Country singer Wynonna Judd is 56.
Thought for Today: “There are two statements about human beings that are true: that all human beings are alike, and that all are different. On those two facts all human wisdom is founded.” — Mark Van Doren, American poet (1894-1972).
