Today in History for May 30, 2018

May 30, 1432 - Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. The 19-year-old, who claimed heavenly voices had urged her to lead France to victory over England, was condemned by the Church and executed for heresy.

May 30, 1539 - Hernando de Soto, the Spanish explorer, landed at Tampa Bay, Florida with 600 soldiers to search for gold.

May 30, 1783 - The first daily newspaper was published in the United States by Benjamin Towner and was called "The Pennsylvania Evening Post."

May 30, 1806 – Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson killed Charles Dickinson in a duel after Dickinson had accused Jackson's wife, Rachel Donelson Robards, of bigamy.

May 30–31, 1825 – During his tour of the United States, the Marquis de Lafayette stayed in Pittsburgh.

May 30, 1842 – John Francis attempted to murder Queen Victoria as she drove down Constitution Hill in London with Prince Albert.

May 30, 1849 – Henry David Thoreau self-published “A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers,” his first book.

May 30, 1854 – The Kansas–Nebraska Act became law, establishing the U.S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas.

May 30, 1861 – Randolph County, Ala. native and Lincoln assassination conspirator Lewis Powell enlisted in Co. I of the Second Florida Infantry in Jasper, in Hamilton County, Fla. at the age of 17.

May 30, 1861 - Union troops occupied Grafton, Va.

May 30, 1861 – During the Civil War, at a convention in Knoxville, a group of Unionists denounced Tennessee's secessionist actions.

May 30, 1862 - The Confederates abandoned the city of Corinth, Mississippi. After the epic struggle at Shiloh, Tennessee, in April 1862, the Confederate army, under the command of P.T. Beauregard, concentrated at Corinth, while the Union army, under Henry Halleck, began a slow advance from the Shiloh battlefield toward the rail center at Corinth. Halleck’s men entered a deserted Corinth later that day. Although an important city had been forfeited to the Union army, Beauregard’s army remained intact and, with it, Confederate hopes in the West.

May 30, 1862 – During the Civil War, Tuscumbia Bridge in Mississippi was destroyed.

May 30, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near Fair Oaks and Front Royal, Virginia and at Tranter's Creek, North Carolina.

May 30, 1863 – During the Civil War, Robert E. Lee restructured his Army of Northern Virginia, creating three corps under James Longstreet, Dick Ewell and A. P. Hill.

May 30, 1863 – The siege of Vicksburg, Miss. entered Day 12.

May 30, 1863 – During the Civil War, an affair occurred at Point Isabel, Texas and a skirmish was fought at Jordan's Store, Tennessee.

May 30, 1864 - Confederates attacked Union troops at Bethesda Church, Va.

May 30, 1864 – During the Civil War, combats occurred at Shady Grove, Old Church and Armstrong's Farm, Virginia, and a skirmish was fought at Greenville, Tennessee.

May 30, 1868 – Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern "Memorial Day") was observed in the United States for the first time (by "Commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic" John A. Logan's proclamation on May 5).

May 30, 1890 - Dave Foutz hit the first Dodger home run.

May 30, 1894 - Bobby Lowe of the Boston Red Sox became the first player to hit four home runs in one game.

May 30, 1895 – The Monroe Journal reported that Alabama Gov. William C. Oates had appointed Capt. Thomas A. Nettles, John I. Watson and Thos. A. Rumbly to serve as members of the Board of Confederate Pension Examiners for Monroe County.

May 30, 1896 – Filmmaker Howard Hawks was born in Goshen, Indiana.

May 30, 1899 - On this day, the amateur bandit Pearl Hart and her boyfriend, Joe Boot, held up an Arizona stagecoach, between the towns of Globe and Florence.

May 30, 1904 - The store of W.S. Oliver in Repton was completely destroyed by fire on this Monday night. The fire was discovered about one o’clock, but it had made such headway that it was impossible to check it and the building with practically all its contents including the post office and fixtures, were soon a pile of ashes. It was with much difficulty that nearby buildings were prevented from burning. This was the fourth fire that had occurred in Repton within the past few weeks.

May 30, 1904 – The Monroe Journal received the first cotton bloom of the 1904 season on this day from F.S. Busey of Claiborne. Busey’s bloom was two days ahead of any the newspaper had seen reported in any of it exchanges and 10 days earlier than the first reported bloom in 1903.

May 30, 1906 – Snow Hill native James Wright Groom (Winston Groom’s great-great-grandfather) died at his family home in Mobile at the age of 74. Born in Snow Hill in 1832, he joined the Fourth Mississippi Cavalry Regiment at Meridian, Miss. in 1862 and served at the siege of Vicksburg. After the war, Groom moved to Mobile, where he became a marine engineer. According to the May 31, 1906 edition of The Mobile Register, “he won a high standing in this profession and was one of the best-known engineers on the river.” The newspaper also noted that he was a “highly respected citizen of Mobile.” He is buried in Mobile’s Magnolia Cemetery beside his wife, Mary E. Groom.

May 30, 1909 – W. Roach, who lived near Castleberry, Ala., allegedly killed his wife and child on this night with a shotgun. He claimed he did so in self defense and surrendered to the Conecuh County Sheriff, who put him in jail.

May 30, 1911 – At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first Indianapolis 500 ended with Ray Harroun in his Marmon Wasp becoming the first winner of the 500-mile auto race. Harroun's average speed was 74.59 miles per hour.

May 30, 1913 - On this day, a peace treaty was signed ending the First Balkan War, in which the newly aligned Slavic nations of Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece had driven Turkish forces out of Macedonia, a territory of the Ottoman Empire located in the tumultuous Balkans region of southeastern Europe.

May 30, 1915 – Monroe County High School’s four-day fourth-annual commencement exercises began on this Sunday at 11 a.m. with a commencement sermon delivered by Dr. B.F. Riley of Birmingham, Ala.

May 30, 1916 – Senior Class Exercises of the Second District Agricultural School in Evergreen, Ala. were scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.

May 30, 1917 - The commencement exercises of the Conecuh County High School ended on this Wednesday morning with the graduation exercises. The following students received diplomas: C. Matilda Albreast, W.B. (Otto) Castleberry, Verna M. Castleberry, Sibyl DeLoney, Kate Holland, Haskew Page, Marguerite Page, Mendenhall Page. Mrs. L.M. Baskinsky of Troy made the address to the graduates.

May 30, 1917 - A camp of the Modern Woodmen of America was organized on this Wednesday night at Vredenburgh by District Deputy G.B. Morgan, assisted by Messrs. L.Y. Moore and W.H. Drew, who had been very active in the organizing of this camp, and deserve much credit for such a large membership to start on, as the camp was organized with over 50 new members. The meeting nights were to be on Monday night of each week.

May 30, 1922 – The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C.

May 30, 1922 - Max Flack of the Chicago Cubs and Cliff Heathcote of the St. Louis Cardinals were traded for each other between the morning and afternoon games of a Memorial Day twin bill. They played one game for each team.

May 30, 1927 - Walter Johnson recorded his 113th career shutout. It was also the final shutout of his career.

May 30, 1927 - Jim Cooney of the Chicago Cubs became the sixth player to record an unassisted triple play against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He caught Paul Waner's line drive, stepped on second to double Lloyd Waner and then tagged Clyde Barnhart coming from first.

May 30, 1927 - Johnny Neun of the Detroit Tigers became the seventh player to record an unassisted triple play.

May 30, 1932 - The New York Yankees dedicated a plaque to Miller Huggins.

May 30, 1933 – Alabama Attorney General Thomas E. Knight Jr. issued a press release about Conecuh County, Alabama’s “lion” incidents.

May 30, 1935 - Babe Ruth of the Braves played in his final game. He went hitless against the Phillies.

May 30, 1937 - Pitcher Carl Hubbell got his 24th consecutive victory.

May 30, 1939 – The Mills Brothers - Carl and Thomas Mills - announced on this Tuesday that they had taken over the Crystal Café which had been operated for the previous year by ‘Skin’ Hyde. They announced that a number of interior improvements would be made at an early date.

May 30, 1941 - Author Maud McKnight Lindsay died in Tuscumbia, Ala.

May 30, 1943 – Pro Football Hall of Fame running back and punt returner Gale Sanders was born in Witchita, Kansas. He went on to play for Kansas and the Chicago Bears. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1977.

May 30, 1946 - Carvel William "Bama" Rowell of the Braves hit a home run that shattered the Bulova clock in Ebbets Field.

May 30, 1947 - One of the largest classes to graduate from Evergreen High School was to be awarded diplomas by Prof. J.C. Harper at the graduation program at the auditorium on this Friday evening. There were 52 to receive diplomas. Of this number 15 were boys and 37 girls.

May 30, 1947 - Graduation exercises were to be held at Lyeffion High School on this Friday night, beginning at 8 p.m. Dr. H.G. Dowling, President of Talladega Institute for Deaf and Blind, was to deliver the address, according to Prof. Guy Kelly, Principal.

May 30, 1949 - The new building housing the office of the Evergreen Division of the Alabama Highway Patrol was to be dedicated on this Monday, according to Capt. O.T. McDuff. The patrol planned to hold an open house at the new building south of Evergreen on Highway 31 between the hours of two and six on this Monday afternoon. The public was cordially invited to inspect the building and equipment during that time.

May 30, 1955 – Irish novelist Colm Toibin was born in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, in southeast Ireland.

May 30, 1958 – On this Memorial Day, the remains of two unidentified American servicemen, killed in action during World War II and the Korean War respectively, were buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

May 30, 1962 - Pedro Ramos of the Cleveland Indians pitched a three-hitter and hit two home runs in a 7-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. One of his home runs was a grand slam.

May 30, 1963 – Willie Holder, a farmer who lived 2-1/2 miles from Evergreen, Ala. on the Loree Road, brought the first cotton bloom of the 1963 crop by The Courant.

May 30, 1963 – A protest against pro-Catholic discrimination during the Buddhist crisis was held outside South Vietnam's National Assembly, the first open demonstration during the eight-year rule of Ngo Dinh Diem.

May 30, 1966 - In the largest raids since air attacks on North Vietnam began in February 1965, U.S. planes destroyed five bridges, 17 railroad cars and 20 buildings in the Thanh Hoa and Vinh areas (100 and 200 miles south of Hanoi, respectively). Others planes hit Highway 12 in four places north of the Mugia Pass and inflicted heavy damage on the Yen Bay arsenal and munitions storage area, which was located 75 miles northeast of Hanoi.

May 30, 1968 - The Beatles began recording the "White Album."

May 30, 1969 - South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu, concluding a four-day visit to South Korea, told reporters at a news conference that he would “never” agree to a coalition government with the National Liberation Front (NLF).

May 30, 1970 - Voting for baseball's All-Star game was returned to the fans.

May 30, 1971 - Willie Mays hit his 638th home run. He set a National League record of 1,950 runs scored.

May 30, 1976 – National Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Max Carey passed away at the age of 86 in Miami, Fla. During his career, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Brooklyn Robins, and he also managed the Brookly Dodgers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1961.

May 30, 1976 – NBA center Radoslav Nesterović was born in Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia. He went on to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the San Antonio Spurs, the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers.

May 30, 1977 - Dennis Eckersley pitched a 1-0 no-hitter against the California Angels.

May 30, 1981 - Author Howell Vines died in Bessemer, Ala.

May 30, 1981 - The Los Angeles Dodgers became the quickest to get 1,000,000 people to attend games in a season. It took 22 games.

May 30, 1982 – Cal Ripken Jr. made his Major League debut and began his record-setting streak of 2,632 consecutive games played that would last for 17 seasons. The streak ended on Sept. 20, 1998.

May 30, 1983 - Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was suspended for one week for his public criticism of umpires.

May 30, 1987 - Eric Davis of the Cincinnati Reds became the first National League player to hit three grand slams in a month and set a National League record of 19 home runs in April and May.

May 30, 1992 - Scott Sanderson of the New York Yankees became the ninth pitcher to beat all 26 teams.

May 30, 1997 - Sparta Academy was scheduled to hold graduation exercises on this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Stuart-McGehee Field. Members of the class were honor students John Cook, Leslie Shipp, Kristy Booker, valedictorian Kristy Hudson, salutatorian Tammie Goodwin, Cathy Cumagun, Aundria Griffin and Lyle Bell; Jessie Adams, Jeff Myers, Karla Baggett, Michael Pate, Landra Padgett, Jason Miller, Stephanie Smith, Michael Grimes, Carrie Lambert, Marsha Garrett, Josh Pate, Carla Waters, Joey Brewton, Kim Waters, Chris Kervin and Melissa Tranum.

May 30, 2001 - Barry Bonds hit two home runs to move into 11th place on the major league career list with 522.

May 30, 2005 – Natalee Ann Holloway, 18, of Mountain Brook, Ala. disappeared while on a high school graduation trip to Aruba.

May 30, 2006 – “Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee” by Charles Shields published by Henry Holt & Co.