January 30th in History

Michael Dobson | January 30

Ukiyo-e of the Forty-Seven Ronin, by Katsushika Hokusai

Today in History

  • The Second Temple of Jerusalem finishes construction (516 BCE)
  • The Forty-Seven Ronin avenge the death of their master (1703)
  • The world’s first modern suspension bridge opens (1826)
  • The first assassination attempt against a US President (Andrew Jackson) is made. It fails. (1835)
  • Gandhi is released from prison in South Africa (1908)
  • Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany (1933)
  • Martin Luther King, Jr.’s home is bombed in retaliation for the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1956)
  • Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive begins (1968)
  • The Beatles make their last public performance on the roof of Apple Records in London (1969)
  • The first PC virus is written (1982)

Birthdays

  • Livia, wife of Augustus (58 BCE)
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd US President (1882)
  • John Profumo, English politician involved in a scandal (1915)
  • Dick Martin, comedian (1922)
  • Lloyd Alexander, author (1924)
  • Gene Hackman, actor (1930)
  • Richard Brautigan, novelist (1935)
  • Vanessa Redgrave, actress (1937)
  • Boris Spassky, chess grandmaster (1937)
  • Gregory Benford, physicist and author (1941)
  • Marty Balin, founder of Jefferson Airplane (1942)
  • Phil Collins, musician (1951)
  • Payne Stewart, golfer (157)

Deaths

  • Charles I, English monarch (1649)
  • Betsy Ross, seamstress said to have designed the American flag (1836)
  • Mahatma Gandhi, Indian independence leader and philosopher (1948)
  • Orville Wright, aviation pioneer (1948)
  • Ferdinand Porsche, car designer (1951)
  • Ernst Heinkel, aircraft designer (1958)
  • Lightnin’ Hopkins, blues musician (1982)
  • Pierre Boule, author of The Bridge over the River Kwai and Planet of the Apes (1994)
  • Huntz Hall, actor known for the Bowery Boys film franchise (1999)
  • Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King, Jr., activist (2006)
  • Wendy Wasserstein, playwright (2006)
  • Sidney Sheldon, author and screenwriter (2007)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Day of Azerbaijani Customs (Azerbaijan)
  • Saudade (Brazil)
  • Fred Korematsu Day (California, Florida, Hawaii, Virginia)
  • Martyr’s Day (India)
  • Day of Non-Violence and Peace (Spain)
  • Croissant Day (US)

January 30 is the 30th day of the year. There are 335 days (336 in leap years) remaining until the end of the year.