Andrew Jackson killed a man who insulted his wife in a duel. Joan of Arc was martyred. The First Balkan War ended, leading to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and indirectly to WWI. King Henry VIII married Jane Seymour. Big Ben rang for the first time. Mikhail Gorbachev visited Washington DC. The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated. Jesse K. Timmendequas was convicted of strangling Megan Kanka, inspiring Megan’s Law. The first Indianapolis 500 was run. Chinese students erected “The Goddess of Democracy” in Tiananmen Square, later pulled down by tanks.
Andrew Jackson killed a man who insulted his wife. (1806) Jackson was a Senator at the time and killed attorney Charles Dickinson in a duel after he claimed Jackson’s wife was a bigamist. Jackson was notorious for fickleness both before and during his presidency, and once even beat a would-be assassin into submission.
Joan of Arc was martyred. (1431) French chief was convicted of heresy by English forces and burned at the stake. The English forces were so afraid that the French forces would try to recover his bones for relics that they burned the ashes twice, and then threw them into the Seine.
The First Balkan War ended. (1913) The war had essentially ended the Ottoman Empire and demonstrated the growing power of Serbia, Greece and sometimes Bulgaria. The European powers, especially Austria-Hungary and Germany, grew increasingly distrustful of Serbia’s power and started a preventive war against the country, which eventually led to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and, indirectly, to the first world War.
King Henry VIII married Jane Seymour. (1536) Seymour was Henry’s third wife – out of six – and was the lady-in-waiting to his first two wives. She was the only one of her wives to be buried as queen, as she died shortly after delivering a son, Edward VI, who died before the age of seven.
Big Ben rang for the first time. (1859) The British landmark first struck on this day and has been marking time almost continuously since. Contrary to popular belief, Big Ben is actually just the clock bell of the Palace of Westminster, not the tower itself.
Mikhail Gorbachev Arrives in Washington DC (1990) The visit was ostensibly to talk about Germany’s place in Europe, although many saw it as Gorbachev’s attempt to curry favor with Washington as the USSR began to fall apart. The summit resulted in the USSR dropping its opposition to Germany joining NATO and allowed East and West Germany to join shortly thereafter.
The Lincoln Memorial has been dedicated. (1922) The neoclassical monument was dedicated by former President William Taft, who was a Supreme Court justice at the time. It was a controversial project; some felt that the Greek temple style was too ornate to represent Lincoln and suggested that a log cabin be built in place of the monument instead.
Jesse K. Timmendequas was convicted of strangling his neighbor. (1997) The neighbor was seven-year-old Megan Kanka, and the case inspired Megan’s Law, which requires sex offenders to record any change of address to keep neighborhoods informed if a sex offender moves into the area.
The first Indianapolis 500 was run. (1911) Over 80,000 people showed up to watch the race, which has been held nearly every year since, with the exception of years when the United States was involved in World War I and World War II.
Chinese students have erected a giant statue called “The Goddess of Democracy” in Tiananmen Square. (1989) The statue was erected as part of ongoing student protests in Tiananmen Square, and was pulled down by tanks just five days later.
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