This Day In History, May 30th

What happened on this day in history: Joan of Arc is executed in 1431, Natalee Holloway disappears in 2005, and more.

1431: Joan Of Arc Is Burned At The Stake

Execution Of Joan Of Arc

Wikimedia CommonsConvicted of heresy, Joan of Arc was made to stare at a crucifix as she was burned to death.

French warrior Joan of Arc is burned at the stake in Rouen, France at the age of just 19. After allegedly receiving “divine instruction” to help Charles d’Orleans take the French throne, Joan of Arc joined his campaign against the English. But after serving valiantly in battle, she was captured and found guilty of heresy for claiming to receive direct instructions from God.


1539: Christopher Marlowe Is Killed

Today In History May 30

Public DomainA 16th-century portrait of a young man though to be Christopher Marlowe.

Christopher Marlowe is killed in a bar brawl in Deptford, England. A promising playwright who preceded and inspired William Shakespeare, Marlowe penned popular plays like Tamburlaine the Great. He was out on bail following his arrest for “heretical papers” found in his former room when he got in a fight about the bar bill and was stabbed to death. Whether it’s the controversy stemming from his alleged homosexuality or his purported work as a government spy, various fodder fuels conspiracy theories about why and how exactly Marlowe perished to this day.


1913: The First Balkan War Ends

The First Balkan War ends with the signing of a peace treaty in London. The conflict, which pitted the Balkan League countries of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro against the Ottoman Empire, had endured for seven months. It ended with a victory for the Balkan League, and the Ottoman Empire’s loss of almost all its European territory.


2005: Natalee Holloway Disappears

Natalee Holloway's Mother

Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesNatalee Holloway’s mother stands in front of a picture of her daughter, who has been missing since 2005.

Just 18 years old, Natalee Holloway disappears while on a high school graduation trip to Aruba. After visiting a club called Carlos ‘n Charlie’s, Holloway was last seen getting into a car with three men, including Joran van der Sloot, who was later found guilty of an unrelated murder. Declared legally dead in 2012, her remains have never been found.


2014: The Infamous “Slender Man Stabbing”

12-year-olds Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier lure their friend Payton Leutner into the woods as a sacrifice for the Slender Man, an internet horror figure who had grown in popularity thanks to a Photoshop contest on the Something Awful forum.