Today's Highlight in History:
On May 30th, 1431, Joan of Arc, condemned¹ 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 trampled² to death when a rumor³ that the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge was in imminent⁴ danger of collapsing⁵ triggered a stampede.

In 1911, Indianapolis saw its first long-distance auto⁶ race; Ray Harroun was the winner.

In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated⁷ 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 Cemetery⁸.

In 1971, the American space probe "Mariner⁹ Nine" blasted off from Cape¹⁰ 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: Soviet¹¹ 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 exterior¹² 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 racing¹³ legend A.J. Foyt.