Joan of Arc put on trial

Nineteen-year-old “Joan the Maid,” as she was referred to in court records, was put on trial in France on this day in 1431. She faced more than 70 accusations, including murder and heresy, and she eventually confessed, resulting in a life sentence that was later escalated to execution. 1431. 

Mahmoud Abbas was elected president of the Palestinian Authority. 2005. 

Apple introduced iTunes, a digital media player application that, with the year’s later debut of the iPod, revolutionized digital music. 2001. 

Construction began on the Aswan High Dam in Egypt. Upon completion in 1970 it generated enormous amounts of electric power and allowed for the control of the annual Nile flood. 1960. 

Louis Daguerre proclaimed his invention of the daguerreotype, the first commercially successful form of photography. 1839.