In History, Today on May 23

Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians at the Siege of Compiègne.

Girolamo Savonarola, an Italian Dominican friar and preacher, was executed in Florence.

The marriage of King Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon was declared null and void.

The Netherlands declared independence from Spain, starting the Eighty Years' War.

The Second Defenestration of Prague took place, triggering the Thirty Years' War.

After being convicted of piracy and murder, Captain William Kidd was hanged in London.

South Carolina ratified the United States Constitution as the eighth American state.

The Associated Press was incorporated in New York as a non-profit news cooperative.

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, infamous American criminals, were ambushed and killed by law enforcement officers in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

Heinrich Himmler, a leading member of the Nazi Party, committed suicide while in Allied custody.

The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was established.

The Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion announced the capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.

The first version of the Java programming language was released by Sun Microsystems.

The Good Friday Agreement was accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland, marking a major step in the peace process.

The '55 parties' clause of the Kyoto Protocol was reached after Iceland ratified the agreement, marking a significant step in international efforts to combat climate change.

The Dewey Decimal Classification system, used in libraries worldwide, was updated to its 22nd edition, reflecting changes in knowledge organization and library science.

The United States handed over control of the Abu Ghraib prison to the Iraqi government following the prisoner abuse scandal.

The Alaskan volcano Mount Cleveland erupted, sending ash clouds into the sky and prompting aviation warnings.

The International Court of Justice ruled in favor of Colombia in a territorial dispute with Nicaragua over the sovereignty of several islands in the Caribbean Sea.

Jamaican security forces launched an operation in Kingston to capture drug lord Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, leading to widespread violence and numerous casualties.

The Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in Washington State collapsed after a truck struck a girder, causing a major transportation disruption.

Ireland became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage through a popular vote, with a referendum passing by a significant margin.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law on the island of Mindanao following clashes between government forces and Islamist militants in Marawi City.