On This Day May 30

1993
First blind woman to climb Mt. McKinley: 54-year-old American Joni Phelps - blind since age 30 - reaches the summit. She and her two sons completed the climb in 16 days.

1992
Southfork: the Ewing family ranch from the TV show Dallas is sold for $2.6 million to Rex Maughan.

1967
Evel Knievel jumps 16 cars on a motorcycle, at Ascot Speedway in California.

1951
Down You Go debuts on DuMont. It was one of only four shows to appear on all four major TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, DuMont).

1930
First woman to run 100 yards in under 11 seconds, Stella Walsh in 10.8 seconds.

1922
The Lincoln Memorial, in Washington D.C., is dedicated. It houses a seated statue of Lincoln, created by Daniel Chester French.

1912
Indianapolis 500: Ralph De Palma was winning when he engine quit. He and his passenger pushed the Mercedes the last five-eighths of a mile to the finish line.

1911
First running of the Indianapolis 500, won by Ray Harroun with an average speed of 74.59 mph.

1909
National Conference of the Negro, led to the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

1806
Future U.S. president Andrew Jackson shoots and kills Charles Dickinson in a duel. Jackson suffered a broken rib.

1975
Michael Peter Fay, American teenager, vandal. In 1994, he received four lashes with a rattan rod from Singapore authorities for spray painting cars and other vandalism.

1968
Zacarias Moussaoui, French Al Qaeda member, "The 20th Hijacker." He was taken into custody by the FBI, several weeks before the September 11, 2001 attacks, after his flight school instructor expressed concerns about his motivation for taking lessons. In 2006, he was sentenced to life in prison.

1958
Ted McGinley, American actor. TV: The Love Boat (Ace the photographer), Married¼ With Children (Jefferson D'Arcy), and Hope & Faith (Charley Shanowski). Film: Revenge of the Nerds (1984, Stan Gable, Alpha Beta/President of Greek Council).

1940
David Ackroyd, actor. TV: Another World (Dr. Dave Gilchrest) and Saturday Night Live.

1939
Michael J. Pollard (Michael J. Pollack), American actor. Film: Bonnie and Clyde (1967, C.W. Moss - the duo's dimwitted partner).

1926 d. 1989
Christine Jorgensen (George Jorgensen), American sex change recipient (1952). The first to go public.

1909 d. 1986
Benny Goodman (Benjamin David Goodman), American band leader, called "The King of Swing."

1908 d. 1989
Mel Blanc (Melvin Jerome Blanc), American cartoon voice, man of a thousand voices, Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Barney Rubble to name just a few.

1846 d. 1920
Peter Carl Faberge, Russian goldsmith, jeweler, created the Faberge eggs.

1967 b. 1889
Claude Rains, English actor. Film: The Invisible Man (1933, title role) and Casablanca (1942, the police chief).

1960 b. 1890
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak, Russian author. Writings: Dr. Zhivago (1955). He rejected the 1958 Nobel Prize for literature after his nomination caused criticism from the Communist Party and his expulsion from the Soviet Writers union.

1912 b. 1867
Wilbur Wright, American aviator. He and his brother Orville built and flew the first manned heavier-than-air flying machine (1903).

1806 b. ????
Charles Dickinson, shot and killed in a duel with Andrew Jackson.

1778 b. 1694
Jean Francois Marie Voltaire, French author, philosopher, to whom the quote "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" is attributed.

1574 b. 1550
Charles IX, King of France (1560-74). Responsible for the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572) in which thousands of Huguenots were killed.

1431 b. 1412
Joan of Arc (Jeanne D'Arc), French patriot. She led the French armies against the English. Condemned by the Church, she was burned at the stake. She was canonized in 1920.

May 30

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