30 January

Events

• 1595 - William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is performed for the first time.
• 1649 - King Charles I of England is beheaded.
• 1781 - Articles of Confederation ratified by 13th state, Maryland.
• 1790 - The first boat specialized as a lifeboat is tested on the River Tyne.
• 1820 - Edward Bransfield discovers Antarctica.
• 1835 - Unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Andrew Jackson in the United States Capitol -- first assassination attempt against a President.
• 1847 - Yerba Buena, California is renamed San Francisco.
• 1862 - The first American ironclad warship, the USS Monitor is launched.
• 1900 - United Kingdom forces fighting Boers in South Africa ask for reinforcements.
• 1911 - The destroyer USS Terry makes the first airplane rescue at sea saving the life of James McCurdy 10 miles from Havana, Cuba.
• 1913 - House of Lords rejects Irish Home Rule Bill.
• 1925 - Government of Turkey throws Patriarch Constantine VI out of Istanbul.
• 1933 - Adolf Hitler sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.
• 1933 - The first of 2,956 episodes of The Lone Ranger airs on the radio for the first time.
• 1944 - United States troops invade Majuro, Marshall Islands.
• 1948 - Indian pacifist and leader Mahatma Gandhi is murdered by a Hindu extremist.
• 1948 - 1948 Winter Olympics open in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
• 1962 - Two of the high-wire "Flying Wallendas" are killed when their famous seven-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit, Michigan.
• 1964 - Ranger 6 is launched by NASA. Its mission is it to carry television cameras and to crash-land on the moon.
• 1968 - Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive begins when Viet Cong forces launch series of a surprise attacks in South Vietnam.
• 1969 - The Beatles' last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records. The impromptu concert was broken up by the police.
• 1972 - Bloody Sunday: United Kingdom forces kill thirteen Roman Catholic civil rights marchers in Northern Ireland.
• 1972 - Pakistan withdraws from the British Commonwealth.
• 1983 - Super Bowl XVII: The Washington Redskins defeat the Miami Dolphins, 27-17, thus winning their first NFL championship since 1942.
• 1989 - The American embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan closes.
• 1994 - Péter Lékó becomes the youngest grand master in chess.
• 1994 - The Dallas Cowboys win their fourth Super Bowl title, 30-13 over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII.
• 1995 - Workers from the National Institutes of Health announce the success of clinical trials testing the first preventative treatment for sickle cell anaemia.
• 1996 - Suspected leader of the Irish National Liberation Army Gino Gallagher is killed while in line for his unemployment benefit.
• 2000 - In a dramatic finish to Super Bowl XXXIV, the St. Louis Rams defeat the Tennessee Titans, 23-16.
• 2002 - Slobodan Milosevic accuses the United Nations war crimes tribunal of an "evil and hostile attack" against him.
• 2003 - Belgium legally recognizes same-sex marriage.

Births

• 1687 - Johann Balthasar Neumann, master builder, (d. 1753)
• 1781 - Adelbert von Chamisso, poet, (d. 1838)
• 1882 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States, (d. 1945)
• 1894 - King Boris III of Bulgaria, (d. 1943)
• 1901 - Rudolf Caracciola, driver of racing cars, (d. 1959)
• 1902 - Nikolaus Pevsner, art historian, (d. 1983)
• 1912 - Barbara W. Tuchman, historian, (d. 1989)
• 1914 - David Wayne, actor, (d. 1995)
• 1914 - John Ireland, actor, (d. 1992)
• 1920 - Delbert Mann, director
• 1922 - Dick Martin, comedian
• 1924 - Lloyd Alexander, writer
• 1925 - Dorothy Malone, actress
• 1927 - Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden 1969-1976, 1982-1986, (d. 1986)
• 1928 - Hal Prince, stage producer, director
• 1930 - Gene Hackman, actor
• 1931 - Allan W. Eckert, historian, naturalist and author
• 1931 - Shirley Hazzard, Australian-American author
• 1935 - Richard Brautigan, writer and poet, (d. 1984)
• 1937 - Vanessa Redgrave, actress
• 1937 - Boris Spassky, chess grand master
• 1941 - Dick Cheney, politician
• 1943 - Marty Balin, musician
• 1945 - Michael Dorris, author, (d. 1997)
• 1947 - Steve Marriott, musician ("The Small Faces"), (d. 1991)
• 1951 - Phil Collins, musician
• 1972 - Tim Jones, Gonzo Journalist
• 1974 - Christian Bale, actor

Deaths

• 1649 - King Charles I of England (beheaded) (b. 1600)
• 1889 - Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria (b. 1858) and Baroness Mary Vetsera (b. 1871), at Mayerling
• 1948 - Mohandas Gandhi, Indian politician, (b. 1869)
• 1948 - Orville Wright, aviation pioneer
• 1958 - Jean Crotti, Swiss artist, (b. 1878)
• 1963 - Francis Poulenc, composer, (b. 1899)
• 1980 - Professor Longhair, King of New Orleans music, (b. 1918)
• 1982 - Lightning Hopkins, blues musician
• 1991 - John Bardeen, physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics twice, (b. 1908)
• 1991 - John McIntire, actor
• 1994 - Pierre Boulle, author, (b. 1912)
• 1995 - Gerald Durrell, naturalist, zookeeper, author and television presenter, (b. 1925)
• 1999 - Huntz Hall, actor, (b. 1919)
• 2001 - Jean-Pierre Aumont, actor, (b. 1911)
• 2002 - Daniel Pearl, journalist (one possible date), (b. 1963)

Holidays and observances

January 29 - January 31 - December 30 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Referenced By