1431: Joan of Arc is burned at the stake
1868: Decoration Day (later Memorial Day) is first celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery in the United States
1908: Mel Blanc is born
1909: Benny Goodman is born [vids: why sunrise dingdong]
1937: Ten demonstrators are shot and killed by Chicago police during the Memorial Day Massacre
1990: Midnight Oil set up on a flatbed truck outside Exxon’s offices in New York City and play a six-song concert in reaction to the Valdez oil spill; here’s a cover of John Lennon’s “Instant Karma” recorded on that day (via Page 300)