Today in History

Today is Saturday, May 30, the 150th day of 2015. There are 215 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 30, 1935, Babe Ruth played in his last major league baseball game for the Boston Braves, leaving after the first inning of the first of a double-header against the Philadelphia Phillies, who won both games (Ruth announced his retirement three days later).

On this date:

In 1431, Joan of Arc, condemned as a heretic, was burned at the stake in Rouen, France.

In 1814, the first Treaty of Paris was signed, ending war between France and the Sixth Coalition (the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, Sweden, Portugal and Prussia).

In 1883, 12 people were trampled to death in a stampede sparked by a rumor that the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge was in danger of collapsing.

In 1911, the first Indy 500 took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; the winner was Ray Harroun, who drove a Marmon Wasp for more than 6 1/2 hours at an average speed of 74.6 mph and collected a prize of $10,000.

In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. was dedicated in a ceremony attended by President Warren G. Harding, Chief Justice William Howard Taft and Robert Todd Lincoln.

In 1937, ten people were killed when police fired on steelworkers demonstrating near the Republic Steel plant in South Chicago.

In 1943, during World War II, American troops secured the Aleutian island of Attu from Japanese forces.

In 1958, unidentified American service members killed in World War II and the Korean War were interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

In 1962, Benjamin Britten's War Requiem had its world premiere at the new Coventry Cathedral in England.

In 1971, the American space probe Mariner 9 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on a journey to Mars.

In 1980, Pope John Paul II arrived in France on the first visit there by the head of the Roman Catholic Church since the early 19th century.

In 1996, Britain's Prince Andrew and the former Sarah Ferguson were granted an uncontested decree ending their 10-year marriage.

Ten years ago: Quoting letters of the fallen from the war in Iraq, President George W. Bush vowed to a Memorial Day audience at Arlington National Cemetery that America would honor its dead by striving for peace and democracy, no matter the cost. American teenager Natalee Holloway vanished in Aruba after leaving a bar with three young men, including the chief suspect in her disappearance, Joran van der Sloot; her fate remains unknown.

Five years ago: Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba, was seen leaving a hotel room in Lima, Peru, where the body of 21-year-old Stephany Flores was found three days later. (Van der Sloot later confessed to murdering Flores, and is serving a 28-year prison sentence.) Dario Franchitti drove 199 nearly flawless laps, then got a huge break from a spectacular crash on the last lap to climb back on top of the open-wheel world with a win at the Indianapolis 500.

One year ago: Beset by growing evidence of patient delays and cover-ups, embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned from President Barack Obama's Cabinet, taking the blame for what he decried as a "lack of integrity" in the sprawling health care system for the nation's military veterans. Six climbers went missing from Washington state's Mount Rainier; they'd apparently fallen to their deaths. Oscar-nominated actress Joan Lorring ("The Corn Is Green") died in Sleepy Hollow, New York, at 88.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Clint Walker is 88. Actress Ruta Lee is 80. Actor Keir Dullea is 79. Actor Michael J. Pollard is 76. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers is 72. Rock musician Lenny Davidson (The Dave Clark Five) is 71. Actor Stephen Tobolowsky is 64. Actor Colm Meaney is 62. Actor Ted McGinley is 57. Actor Ralph Carter is 54. Actress Tonya Pinkins is 53. Country singer Wynonna Judd is 51. Rock musician Tom Morello (Audioslave; Rage Against The Machine) is 51. Movie director Antoine Fuqua is 50. Rock musician Patrick Dahlheimer (Live) is 44. Actress Idina Menzel is 44. Actor Trey Parker (Film: "Newsies") is 43. Rapper Cee Lo Green is 40. Rapper Remy Ma is 35. Actor Blake Bashoff is 34. Christian rock musician James Smith (Underoath) is 33. Actor Jake Short is 18. Actor Sean Giambrone is 16. Actor Jared Gilmore is 15.

Thought for Today: "For happiness one needs security, but joy can spring like a flower even from the cliffs of despair." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American writer (1906-2001).

Copyright 2015, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.