May 30th

Today's Highlight in History:
On May 30th, 1431, Joan of Arc, condemned as a heretic, was burned at the stake in Rouen, France.

On this date:
In 1539, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto landed in Florida.

In 1854, the territories of Nebraska and Kansas were established.

In 1883, 12 people were trampled to death when a rumor that the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge was in imminent danger of collapsing triggered a stampede.

In 1911, Indianapolis saw its first long-distance auto race; Ray Harroun was the winner.

In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington DC, by Chief Justice William Howard Taft.

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

In 1943, American forces secured the Aleutian island of Attu from the Japanese during World War Two.

In 1958, unidentified soldiers killed in World War Two and the Korean conflict were buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

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

In 1980, Pope John Paul the Second arrived in France on the first visit by the head of the Roman Catholic Church since the early 19th century.

Ten years ago: Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev arrived in Washington for his summit with President Bush.

Five years ago: In a letter to UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic demanded guarantees of no further NATO air attacks and de facto recognition of a self-styled Serb state.

One year ago: Astronauts from the space shuttle "Discovery" rigged cranes and other tools to the exterior of the international space station during a spacewalk; then, the astronauts entered the orbiting outpost for three days of making repairs and delivering supplies. Kenny Brack won the crash-marred Indianapolis 500, driving a car owned by racing legend A.J. Foyt.

"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).