Monday 30th of May 1431

Heroine Jeanne d'Arc aka La Pucelle d'Orléans is executed by burning at the stake at the age of 19 in Vieux Marché, Rouen, Haute-Normendie, France.

Her ashes were scattered in the Seine near Pont Mathilde by executioner Geoffroy Thérage.

Saturday 30th of May 1536

45-year-old King of England Henry VIII of England marries 28-year-old Jane Seymour in Palace of Whitehall, London, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Henry's wedding took place 11 days after the execution of his second wife, Anne Boleyn.

Wednesday 30th of May 1640

Painter Peter Paul Rubens dies of chronic gout at the age of 63 in Rubenshuis, Wapper, Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium.

Monday 30th of May 1672

Ruler of the Tsardom of Russia Peter the Great is born in Moscow, Central Federal District, Russia.

Saturday 30th of May 1778

Writer Voltaire dies of unknown causes at the age of 84 in 27 Quai Voltaire, Paris, VIIe, Île-de-France, France.

When asked on his deathbed by a priest to renounce the devil and turn to God Voltaire replied "For God's sake, let me die in peace."

Monday 30th of May 1814

Revolutionary anarchist Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin is born in Pryamukhino, Tver Oblast, Russia.

Friday 30th of May 1845

Duke of Aosta Amadeus I is born in Palazzo Reale, Torino, Piedmontese, Italy.

Monday 30th of May 1881

Cornelia De Hees-Van Der Linden is poisoned with arsenic by serial poisoner Maria Swanenburg aka Goeie Mie in Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands.

Swanenburg and De Hees were sisters in law.

Monday 30th of May 1887

Artist Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko is born in Kiev, Ukraine, Russia.

Saturday 30th of May 1896

1.389 people are trampled to death in a stampede during the festivities following the coronation of 28-year-old Emperor of Russia Nikolai II aka Nikolai the Bloody in Khodynka Field, Moscow, Central Federal District, Russia.

Several thousands of people had gathered to receive free gifts of a bread roll, a piece of sausage, pretzels, gingerbread, and a mug.

Wednesday 30th of May 1906

Heilstrom mystic Bruno Gröning is born in Kiev, Ukraine, Russia.

Sunday 30th of May 1909

Musician and bandleader Benny Benjamin David Goodman aka The King of Swing is born in Maxwell Street, Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Thursday 30th of May 1912

Aviation pioneer Wilbur Wright dies of typhoid fever at the age of 45 in 7 Hawthorn Street, Dayton, Ohio, United States.

Monday 30th of May 1927

35-year-old Jenny Randolph is raped and strangled by serial killer Earle Leonard Nelson aka The Gorilla Murderer in Buffalo, New York, United States.

Thursday 30th of May 1929

Lutheran pastor Oskar Brüsewitz known for his protest against the repression of religion in the Communist state of East Germany is born in Vilkyčiai, Šilutės Rajone, Lithuania.

Wednesday 30th of May 1934

Cosmonaut Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov known for the first spacewalk is born in Listvyanka, Zapadno-Sibirsky Krai, Russia.

Monday 30th of May 1960

Victim of Randall Woodfield aka the I-5 Killer Beth Wilmot is born in Portland, Oregon, United States.

Monday 30th of May 1960

Writer Boris Leonidovich Pasternak dies of lung cancer at the age of 70 in Pasternak House Museum, 3 Pavlenko str, Peredelkino, Moscow Oblast, Russia.

Tuesday 30th of May 1961

61 die in Viasa Douglas DC-8-53 Flight 897 crash in Portela Airport, Lisboa, Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, Portugal.

Tuesday 30th of May 1961

Politician, soldier and dictator Rafael Trujillo aka El Jefe is shot and killed when his blue 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air is ambushed on a road outside the city at the age of 70 in Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic.

Trujillo was the victim of an ambush plotted by a number of men, among them General Juan Tomás Díaz, Pedro Livio Cedeño, Antonio de la Maza, Amado García Guerrero and General Antonio Imbert Barrera.

Thursday 30th of May 1963

Nude model and pornographic performer Shauna Grant aka Callie Aimes is born as Colleen Marie Applegate in Bellflower, California, United States.

Tuesday 30th of May 1972

26 Die and 80 are injured when Okamoto, Tsuyoshi Okudaira, and Yasuyuki Yasuda from the Communist militant group the Japanese Red Army open fire in the passenger terminal in Lod International Airport, Tel Aviv, Gush Dan, Israel.

The members of the Japanese Red Army were recruited by the Palestinian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The attackers arrived at the airport aboard an Air France flight from Rome. Dressed conservatively and carrying slim violin cases, they attracted little attention. As they entered the waiting area, they opened up their violin cases and extracted Czech Vz 58 assault rifles with the butt stocks removed. Immediately afterwards, they began to fire indiscriminately at airport staff and visitors, which included a group of pilgrims from Puerto Rico, tossing grenades as they changed magazines. Yasuda was shot dead by one of the other attackers, and Okudaira moved from the airport building into the landing area, firing at passengers disembarking from an El Al aircraft before being killed by a prematurely exploding grenade. Okamoto was shot by security, brought to the ground by an El Al employee, and arrested as he attempted to leave the terminal.

Tuesday 30th of May 1972

Start of the trial against Anarchist group The Angry Brigade in Old Bailey Criminal Court, London, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Sunday 30th of May 1982

44-year-old Wiener Aktionist Hermann Nitsch performs his 74. Aktion for Pfingsfest in Schloss Prinzendorf, Schloss Straße 1, Prinzendorf an der Zaya, Niederösterreich, Austria.

Nitsch' 74. Aktion for Pfingsfest lasted 12 hours.

Thursday 30th of May 1985

41-year-old Carol Kyle is attacked and raped by serial killer Richard Ramirez aka The Night Stalker in Burbank, California, United States.

Kyle survived. Ramirez simply told her that she looked 'pretty good' for her age and that he would let her live.

Sunday 30th of May 1993

Musician Sun Ra dies of pneumonia at the age of 79 in Birmingham, Alabama, United States.

Monday 30th of May 1994

Manufacturer of the 'Bic' Marcel Bich dies of unknown causes at the age of 80 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Île-de-France, France.

Sunday 30th of May 1999

36-year-old Mass murderer Zhao Lianrong stabs eight migrant women workers to death in Beijing, Hebei, China.

Lianrong's victims were 24-year-old Limei Qi, 22-year-old Jiang Xue Jin, 17-year-old MA Yu Wang, 20-year-old Wusheng Dan, 20-year-old Xu Huijuan, 22-year-old Xiaomei Fang, 21-year-old Sui Flower and 24-year-old Xue Chu Ying.

Thursday 30th of May 2002

Murderer Stanley Allison Baker is executed by lethal injection at the age of 36 in Huntsville Prison, 815 12th Street, Huntsville, Texas, United States.

Tuesday 30th of May 2006

Serial killer Metod Trobec aka The Monster of Dolenja Vas commits suicide by hanging in his cell at the age of 58 in Dob pri Mirni Prison, Slovenska Vas, Dolenjska, Slovenia.

Saturday 30th of May 2009

Chris Burden descending a staircase during his performance 'Beam Drop' in Middelheimmuseum, Antwerpen, Wilrijk, Antwerpen, Belgium.