tdih

Today:

1. 1431: Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen, France, after being convicted of heresy.

2. 1536: King Henry VIII of England married Jane Seymour, his third wife.

3. 1842: John Francis attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria.

4. 1854: The Kansas-Nebraska Act was signed into law by President Franklin Pierce, creating the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and allowing settlers to determine if they would allow slavery.

5. 1868: The first Decoration Day, later known as Memorial Day, was observed in the United States to honor the soldiers who died in the Civil War.

6. 1911: The first Indianapolis 500 car race was held; Ray Harroun won the inaugural event.

7. 1942: The Royal Air Force launched the first 1,000 bomber raid on Cologne, Germany during World War II.

8. 1967: The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, began.

9. 1989: The 33-foot high Goddess of Democracy statue was erected in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators in China.

10. 2019: The last Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the production line in Puebla, Mexico, ending production of the iconic car model.