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30th May

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1431: Joan of Arc martyred


At Rouen, Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who became the saviour of France, is burned at the stake for heresy. At the age of 16, voices of Christian saints told Joan to aid Charles, the French dauphin, in gaining the French throne and expelling the English from France. Convinced of the validity of her divine mission, Charles furnished Joan with a small force of troops. During the next two months, Joan led the French into a series of stunning victories over the English. In July 1429, Reims, the traditional city of coronation, was captured, and Charles VII was crowned king, with Joan kneeling at his feet. In 1430, while leading another military expedition against the English, Bourguignon soldiers captured her and sold her to the English, who tried her for heresy. One of the great heroes of French history, Joan of Arc was canonised by the Roman Catholic Church in 1920.

2001

In France, former Foreign Minister Roland Dumas is jailed for six months for accepting illegal payments from an oil company during his period in office.

1990

The French Government bans imports of British beef and live cattle because of fears over BSE.

1989

In China, the Tiananmen Square protests continue as a giant statue, the “Goddess of Democracy”, is unveiled by the protesters.

1982

Spain joins NATO.  

1981

President Zia Rahman is assassinated an attempted coup in Bangladesh fails.

1972

In Northern Ireland the Official IRA declares a cease-fire. 

1971

Launch of the US space probe Mariner 9 on its mission to Mars. It is able to send more than 7,000 pictures of the planet back to Earth.

1967

The breakaway state of Biafra proclaims its independence from Nigeria.

1967

Jordon and Egypt sign a defence agreement.

1942

The RAF carries out its first 1,000 plus bombing raid of Germany - sending 1,047 aircraft to bomb Cologne.

1913

The Treaty of London is signed which settled the territorial disputes arising out of the end of the First Balkan War.

1868

The first Decoration Day, now known as Memorial Day, commemorating U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country is observed.

1814

The Treaty of Paris is signed which returns France to its 1792 borders.

1635

The Peace of Prague is signed between the Holy Roman Empire and most of the Protestant states of the Empire.

1536

King Henry VIII of England marries his third wife, Jane Seymour - 11 days after the execution of wife number two, Anne Boleyn.

1927

American TV and film actor Clint Walker.

1909

American jazz clarinettist Benny Goodman.

1896

Film director and producer Howard Hawks.

1835

English Poet Laureate Alfred Austin.

1672

Peter the Great , Emperor of Russia, born in Moscow.

1967

British actor Claude Rains.

1960

Russian writer Boris Pasternak, author of Doctor Zhivago, dies in Moscow.

1912

American air pioneer Wilbur Wright.

1778

French philosopher and writer Voltaire.

1744

British poet Alexander Pope.

1593

English playwright Christopher Marlowe is killed in a tavern brawl.

1431

Joan of Arc, the French peasant girl who became a national heroine leading French troops against the English, is burnt at the stake in Rouen for heresy. She is canonised in 1920 on the anniversary of her death.