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On This Day in History — August 30
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Highlights of August 30
- 2025 — Ukrainian politician Andriy Parubiy (pictured) was assassinated in Lviv, Ukraine. Read more
- 2007 — A heavy bomber that had been unintentionally loaded with nuclear missiles flew them from North Dakota to Louisiana before they were recognized. Read more
- 1990 — Gulf War: US General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. issued General Order No. 1 prohibiting US troops from consuming alcohol or possessing pornographic material. Read more
- 1984 — Discovery, the third orbiter of NASA's Space Shuttle program, lifted off on its maiden voyage from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Read more
- 1981 — Iranian president Mohammad-Ali Rajai and prime minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar were assassinated in a bombing committed by the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran. Read more
- 1974 — An express train carrying foreign workers from Yugoslavia to West Germany derailed in Zagreb, killing 153 people. Read more
- 1974 — A bomb exploded at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries headquarters in Marunouchi, Tokyo, killing eight people. Read more
- 1967 — Thurgood Marshall was confirmed as the first African-American Supreme Court justice. Read more
- 1959 — South Vietnamese opposition figure Phan Quang Đán was elected to the National Assembly, despite soldiers being bussed in to vote multiple times for President Ngô Đình Diệm's candidate. Read more
- 1959 — Writer and politician Abdul Muis became the first person to be awarded the posthumous title of National Hero of Indonesia. Read more
- 1942 — Second World War: German field marshal Erwin Rommel launched the last major Axis offensive of the Western Desert campaign, attacking British positions near El Alamein, Egypt. Read more
- 1942 — British and Australian prisoners of war in Singapore revolted against their Japanese captors, who required them to pledge not to escape. Read more
- 1914 — World War I: The Battle of Tannenberg resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russian 2nd Army by the German 8th Army. Read more
- 1896 — Philippine Revolution: In the Battle of San Juan del Monte, the first real battle of the war, a Katipunan force temporarily captured a powder magazine before being beaten back by a Spanish garrison. Read more
- 1800 — Gabriel Prosser planned to hold a slave rebellion in Virginia, U.S., but it was postponed due to rain; he was captured before he could reschedule it. Read more
- 1594 — King James VI of Scotland held a masque at the baptism of Prince Henry, his first child. Read more
- 1574 — Guru Ram Das (pictured) became the fourth of the Sikh gurus, the spiritual masters of Sikhism. Read more
- 70 — First Jewish–Roman War: Roman forces led by Titus set fire to the Second Temple during the siege of Jerusalem. Read more
Events
- 2023 — Gabonese coup d'état: After Ali Bongo Ondimba's reelection, a military coup ousts him, ending 56 years of Bongo family rule in Gabon. Read more
- 2021 — The last remaining American troops leave Afghanistan, ending U.S. involvement in the war. Read more
- 2014 — Prime Minister of Lesotho Tom Thabane flees to South Africa as the army allegedly stages a coup. Read more
- 2008 — A Conviasa Boeing 737 crashes into Illiniza Volcano in Ecuador, killing all three people on board. Read more
- 2002 — Rico Linhas Aéreas Flight 4823 crashes on approach to Rio Branco International Airport, killing 23 of the 31 people on board. Read more
- 1998 — Second Congo War: Armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and their Angolan and Zimbabwean allies recapture Matadi and the Inga dams in the western DRC from RCD and Rwandan troops. Read more
- 1995 — Bosnian War: NATO launches Operation Deliberate Force against Bosnian Serb forces. Read more
- 1992 — The 11-day Ruby Ridge standoff ends with Randy Weaver surrendering to federal authorities. Read more
- 1991 — Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Azerbaijan declares independence from Soviet Union. Read more
- 1984 — STS-41-D: The Space Shuttle Discovery takes off on its maiden voyage. Read more
- 1983 — Aeroflot Flight 5463 crashes into Dolan Mountain while approaching Almaty International Airport in present-day Kazakhstan, killing all 90 people on board. Read more
- 1983 — STS-8: The Space Shuttle Challenger takes off on the first night launch of the shuttle program. Guion Bluford becomes the first African-American in space on this mission. Read more
- 1981 — President Mohammad-Ali Rajai and Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar of Iran are assassinated in a bombing. The office of Iran's Prosecutor General blames the People's Mujahedin of Iran. Read more
- 1974 — A Belgrade–Dortmund express train derails at the main train station in Zagreb killing 153 passengers. Read more
- 1974 — A powerful bomb explodes at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries headquarters in Marunouchi, Tokyo. Eight are killed, 378 are injured. Eight left-wing activists are arrested on May 19, 1975, by Japanese authorities. Read more
- 1974 — The Third World Population Conference ends in Bucharest, Romania. At the end of the ceremony, the UN-Romanian Demographic Centre is inaugurated. Read more
- 1967 — Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Read more
- 1963 — The Moscow–Washington hotline between the leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union goes into operation. Read more
- 1962 — Japan conducts a test of the NAMC YS-11, its first aircraft since World War II and its only successful commercial aircraft from before or after the war. Read more
- 1959 — South Vietnamese opposition figure Phan Quang Dan is elected to the National Assembly despite soldiers being bussed in to vote for President Ngo Dinh Diem's candidate. Read more
- 1945 — The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong comes to an end. Read more
- 1945 — The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Douglas MacArthur, lands at Atsugi Air Force Base. Read more
- 1945 — The Allied Control Council, governing Germany after World War II, comes into being. Read more
- 1942 — World War II: The Battle of Alam el Halfa begins. Read more
- 1941 — The Tighina Agreement, a treaty regarding administration issues of the Transnistria Governorate, is signed between Germany and Romania. Read more
- 1940 — The Second Vienna Award reassigns the territory of Northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary. Read more
- 1936 — The RMS Queen Mary wins the Blue Riband by setting the fastest transatlantic crossing. Read more
- 1922 — Battle of Dumlupınar: The final battle in the Greco-Turkish War (Turkish War of Independence). Read more
- 1918 — Fanni Kaplan shoots and seriously injures Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, which, along with the assassination of Bolshevik senior official Moisei Uritsky days earlier, prompts the decree for Red Terror. Read more
- 1917 — Vietnamese prison guards led by Trịnh Văn Cấn mutiny at the Thái Nguyên penitentiary against local French authority. Read more
- 1916 — Ernest Shackleton completes the rescue of all of his men stranded on Elephant Island in Antarctica. Read more
- 1914 — World War I: Germans defeat the Russians in the Battle of Tannenberg. Read more
- 1909 — Burgess Shale fossils are discovered by Charles Doolittle Walcott. Read more
- 1896 — Philippine Revolution: After Spanish victory in the Battle of San Juan del Monte, eight provinces in the Philippines are declared under martial law by the Spanish Governor-General Ramón Blanco y Erenas. Read more
- 1873 — Austrian explorers Julius von Payer and Karl Weyprecht discover the archipelago of Franz Josef Land in the Arctic Sea. Read more
- 1862 — American Civil War: Battle of Richmond: Confederates under Edmund Kirby Smith rout Union forces under General William "Bull" Nelson. Read more
- 1836 — The city of Houston is founded by Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen. Read more
- 1835 — Australia: Melbourne, Victoria is founded. Read more
- 1813 — First Battle of Kulm: French forces are defeated by an Austrian-Prussian-Russian alliance. Read more
- 1813 — Creek War: Fort Mims massacre: Creek "Red Sticks" kill over 500 settlers (including over 250 armed militia) in Fort Mims, north of Mobile, Alabama. Read more
- 1808 — The convention of Cintra allows the defeated French troops to be transported out of Iberia on British ships, including their loot. Read more
- 1800 — Gabriel Prosser postpones a planned slave rebellion in Richmond, Virginia, but is arrested before he can make it happen. Read more
- 1799 — The entire Dutch fleet is captured by British forces under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby and Admiral Sir Charles Mitchell during the War of the Second Coalition. Read more
- 1791 — HMS Pandora sinks after having run aground on the outer Great Barrier Reef the previous day. Read more
- 1757 — Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf: Russian force under Field Marshal Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin beats a smaller Prussian force commanded by Field Marshal Hans von Lehwaldt, during the Seven Years' War. Read more
- 1727 — Anne, eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain, is given the title Princess Royal. Read more
- 1721 — The Great Northern War between Sweden and Russia ends in the Treaty of Nystad. Read more
- 1594 — King James VI of Scotland holds a masque at the baptism of Prince Henry at Stirling Castle. Read more
- 1590 — Tokugawa Ieyasu enters Edo Castle. (Traditional Japanese date: August 1, 1590) Read more
- 1574 — Guru Ram Das becomes the Fourth Sikh Guru/Master. Read more
- 1535 — With the papal bull Eius qui immobilis, Pope Paul III excommunicates King Henry VIII of England from the Catholic Church for approving the Acts of Supremacy, although the bull is likely never published. Read more
- 1464 — Paul II succeeds Pius II as pope of the Catholic Church. Read more
- 1363 — The five-week Battle of Lake Poyang begins, in which the forces of two Chinese rebel leaders (Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang) meet to decide who will supplant the Yuan dynasty. Read more
- 1282 — Peter III of Aragon lands at Trapani to intervene in the War of the Sicilian Vespers. Read more
- 1060 — The Mirdasids defeat the Fatimid Caliphate at the Battle of al-Funaydiq, signalling the definitive loss of Aleppo for the Fatimids. Read more
- 1057 — Elderly Byzantine Emperor Michael VI Bringas abdicates after just one year on the throne. Read more
- 70 — Titus ends the siege of Jerusalem after destroying Herod's Temple. Read more
Born on August 30
- 2002 — Fábio Carvalho, Portuguese footballer Read more
- 2002 — Drake Maye, American football player Read more
- 1996 — Mikal Bridges, American basketball player Read more
- 1996 — Trevor Jackson, American actor and singer-songwriter Read more
- 1994 — Monika Povilaitytė, Lithuanian volleyball player Read more
- 1994 — Heo Young-ji, South Korean singer Read more
- 1994 — Kwon So-hyun, South Korean singer-songwriter and actress Read more
- 1992 — Jessica Henwick, British actress Read more
- 1991 — Seriki Audu, Nigerian footballer (died 2014) Read more
- 1991 — Jacqueline Cako, American tennis player Read more
- 1991 — Liam Cooper, Scottish footballer Read more
- 1989 — Simone Guerra, Italian footballer Read more
- 1989 — Ronald Huth, Paraguayan footballer Read more
- 1989 — Bebe Rexha, American singer-songwriter Read more
- 1988 — Ernests Gulbis, Latvian tennis player Read more
- 1987 — Johanna Braddy, American actress Read more
- 1987 — Tania Foster, English singer-songwriter Read more
- 1986 — Theo Hutchcraft, English singer-songwriter Read more
- 1986 — Lelia Masaga, New Zealand rugby player Read more
- 1986 — Ryan Ross, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Read more
- 1986 — Zafer Yelen, Turkish footballer Read more
- 1985 — Duane Brown, American football player Read more
- 1985 — Richard Duffy, Welsh footballer Read more
- 1985 — Joe Inoue, American singer-songwriter Read more
- 1985 — Leisel Jones, Australian swimmer Read more
- 1985 — Éva Risztov, Hungarian swimmer Read more
- 1985 — Steven Smith, Scottish footballer Read more
- 1985 — Eamon Sullivan, Australian swimmer Read more
- 1985 — Anna Ushenina, Ukrainian chess player Read more
- 1985 — Holly Weston, English actress Read more
- 1984 — Anthony Ireland, Zimbabwean cricketer Read more
- 1984 — Joe Staley, American football player Read more
- 1984 — Michael Grant Terry, American actor Read more
- 1983 — Emmanuel Culio, Argentine footballer Read more
- 1983 — Gustavo Eberto, Argentine footballer (died 2007) Read more
- 1983 — Jun Matsumoto, Japanese singer, dancer, and actor Read more
- 1983 — Simone Pepe, Italian footballer Read more
- 1983 — Tian Qin, Chinese canoe racer Read more
- 1983 — Marco Vianello, Italian footballer Read more
- 1982 — Will Davison, Australian race car driver Read more
Died on August 30
- 2024 — Tūheitia Paki, Māori King (born 1955) Read more
- 2024 — Fatman Scoop, American rapper, hype man and radio personality (born 1971) Read more
- 2022 — Mikhail Gorbachev, 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union (born 1931) Read more
- 2019 — Valerie Harper, American actress and writer (born 1939) Read more
- 2017 — Louise Hay, American motivational author (born 1926) Read more
- 2017 — Skip Prokop, Canadian drummer, guitarist and keyboardist (born 1943) Read more
- 2015 — Wes Craven, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor (born 1939) Read more
- 2015 — Edward Fadeley, American lawyer and politician (born 1929) Read more
- 2015 — M. M. Kalburgi, Indian scholar, author, and academic (born 1938) Read more
- 2015 — Marvin Mandel, American lawyer and politician, 56th Governor of Maryland (born 1920) Read more
- 2015 — Oliver Sacks, English-American neurologist, author, and academic (born 1933) Read more
- 2014 — Charles Bowden, American non-fiction author, journalist and essayist (born 1945) Read more
- 2014 — Bipan Chandra, Indian historian and academic (born 1928) Read more
- 2014 — Igor Decraene, Belgian cyclist (born 1996) Read more
- 2014 — Andrew V. McLaglen, English-American director and producer (born 1920) Read more
- 2014 — Felipe Osterling, Peruvian lawyer and politician (born 1932) Read more
- 2013 — William C. Campbell, American golfer (born 1923) Read more
- 2013 — Howie Crittenden, American basketball player and coach (born 1933) Read more
- 2013 — Allan Gotthelf, American philosopher and academic (born 1942) Read more
- 2013 — Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1939) Read more
- 2013 — Leo Lewis, American football player and coach (born 1933) Read more
- 2010 — J. C. Bailey, American wrestler (born 1983) Read more
- 2010 — Alain Corneau, French director and screenwriter (born 1943) Read more
- 2010 — Myrtle Edwards, Australian cricketer and softball player (born 1921) Read more
- 2010 — Francisco Varallo, Argentine footballer (born 1910) Read more
- 2009 — Klaus-Peter Hanisch, German footballer (born 1952) Read more
- 2008 — Brian Hambly, Australian rugby player and coach (born 1937) Read more
- 2008 — Killer Kowalski, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (born 1926) Read more
- 2007 — Michael Jackson, English author and journalist (born 1942) Read more
- 2007 — Charles Vanik, American soldier and politician (born 1918) Read more
- 2006 — Robin Cooke, Baron Cooke of Thorndon, New Zealand lawyer and judge (born 1926) Read more
- 2006 — Glenn Ford, Canadian-American actor and producer (born 1916) Read more
- 2006 — Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911) Read more
- 2004 — Fred Lawrence Whipple, American astronomer and academic (born 1906) Read more
- 2003 — Charles Bronson, American actor and soldier (born 1921) Read more
- 2003 — Donald Davidson, American philosopher and academic (born 1917) Read more
- 2002 — J. Lee Thompson, English-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1914) Read more
- 2001 — Govan Mbeki, ANC activist and father of President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki (born 1910) Read more
- 1999 — Reindert Brasser, Dutch discus thrower (born 1912) Read more
- 1999 — Raymond Poïvet, French illustrator (born 1910) Read more
Holidays & observances
Christian feast day:
Alexander of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodoxy); Christian feast day:
Blessed Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster; Christian feast day:
Blessed Eustáquio van Lieshout; Christian feast day:
Blessed Stephen Nehmé (Maronite Church / Catholic Church); Christian feast day:
Charles Chapman Grafton (Episcopal Church); Christian feast day:
Fantinus; Christian feast day:
Felix and Adauctus; Christian feast day:
Fiacre; Christian feast day:
Blessed María Rafols Bruna; Christian feast day:
Mary Ward; Christian feast day:
Narcisa de Jesús; Christian feast day:
Pammachius; Christian feast day:
Theodosius of Oria; Christian feast day:
August 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Constitution Day (Kazakhstan); Constitution Day (Turks and Caicos Islands); Independence Day (Tatarstan, Russia not formally recognized); International Day of the Disappeared; International Whale Shark Day; Popular Consultation Day (East Timor); Saint Rose of Lima's Day (Peru); Victory Day (Turkey)
Events, births and deaths from Wikipedia contributors, “August 30”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Lists are selections; the full record lives at the source.