Profession: French Soldier and National Heroine

Why Famous: Nick-named "the maid of Orleans" Joan of Arc was born around 1410 into a peasant family and into a France beset by internal conflicts and under attack from the English. At the age of 12 she claimed to have had her first vision of saints and angels eventually exhorting her to aid France in driving out the English.



Arriving with the French army she successfully led attacks that broke the siege of Orleans in 1430 dressed in a suit of armour. She later helped led the army to Rheims where King Charles VII was crowned.



Joan of Arc was captured during an engagement at Compiegne and she was put on trial by the English supporter the French Bishop Pierre Cauchon. The trial began in January 1431. Joan of Arc withstood days of interrogation before being found guilty of the charge of dressing in men's clothing. Joan agreed to don women's clothing but when she wore men's clothing again to avoid rape she was condemned for heresy and burnt at the stake on the 30th May. A retrial 25 years later found her innocent. She was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1920.

Born: January 15, 1412

Birthplace: Domrémy, duchy of Bar, France

Star Sign: Capricorn

Died: May 30, 1431 (aged 19)

Cause of Death: Executed and burnt at the stake

