May 30, 1539

1539 Likely at Tampa Bay on Florida’s western coast, Hernando de Soto’s expedition landed for what would be a four-year exploration across the Southeast. Included in the expedition were approximately 600 foot and mounted soldiers, four priests, four friars, four women, an unknown number of Africans, some woodworkers (for building bridges and boats), swine herders, adventurers, dog handlers, and a pack of large fighting dogs.

May 30, 1739

1739 In London, the Trustees appointed George Whitefield to be the parish minister at Savannah. They also granted Whitefield, who was present at their meeting, 500 acres of land near Savannah for an orphanage.

May 30, 1887

1887 Lawyer and former Confederate general James Phillip Sims died in Covington, Ga.

May 30, 1907

1907 Missionary Young John Allen died in Shanghai, China. Born in Burke County, Georgia, Allen was orphaned as an infant, but his father’s estate provided for his education. He attended Emory College, where he was profoundly affected by several campus revivals. In 1859 he and his family embarked for China with a small group of Methodists. China was racked by the Taiping Rebellion, while the Civil War back home left the small mission group on their own financially. Allen traded in coal and rice to help support the mission. He also learned Chinese and worked as both a teacher and interpreter. His work work helped spread the Christian gospel to thousands of Chinese, and eventually to Japan and Korea as well. Allen edited several periodicals, most notably the newspaper Review of the Times, which circulated among the more influential society members -- including the imperial courts of China, Japan, and Korea. Allen also penned or translated some 250 pieces of literature. In 1906, Allen visited the South, where he spoke at the Methodist Conference in Birmingham, Ala. In his speech, later published as "The Gospel Liberating China," Allen foresaw the revolutions that would sweep and change China. He returned to his mission in Shanghai, where he died the following year.

May 30, 1913

1913 Police took Jim Conley to the National Pencil Factory, where he went over every detail of his story of the day of the murder, including how he and Leo Frank had together loaded Mary Phagan’s body onto the elevator and brought it to the basement. Though no one realized it at the time, evidence existed at the base of the elevator shaft that clearly contradicted Conley’s testimony. Unfortunately, police and Frank’s attorney failed to notice the contradiction -- an oversight that would have terrible consequences for Frank’s defense.

May 30, 1922

1922 The Lincoln Memorial (carved from Georgia marble by Daniel Chester French, who earlier created the monument of James Oglethorpe in Savannah) was dedicated in Washington, D.C.

May 30, 1935

1935 As a Boston Brave, baseball great Babe Ruth played his last major league game. After striking out in the first inning in a game against Philadelphia, Ruth injured his knee in the outfield -- never to play again. He retired several days later.