On This Day: 30 January

30 January in Indian history

• 1948Mahatma Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement, was fatally shot by Nathuram Godse at Birla House in Delhi.India
• 1908Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is released from prison by Jan C. Smuts after being tried and sentenced to two months in jail earlier in the month.India

30 January in world history

• 2013The Korea Aerospace Research Institute launched Naro-1, South Korea's first carrier rocket and their first launch vehicle to achieve Earth orbit.
• 1975The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is established as the first United States National Marine Sanctuary.
• 1972The Troubles: On Bloody Sunday, members of the British Parachute Regiment shot 26 civil-rights protesters in Derry, Northern Ireland, killing at least 13 people.
• 1972Pakistan leaves the Commonwealth of Nations in protest of its recognition of breakaway Bangladesh.
• 1969The Beatles' last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police.
• 1968Vietnam War: Forces of the Viet Cong and the Vietnamese People's Army launched the Tet Offensive to strike military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam.
• 1964In a bloodless coup, Nguyễn Khánh overthrew Dương Văn Minh's military junta in South Vietnam, less than three months after Minh's own coup.
• 1956In the United States, Civil Rights Movement leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s home is bombed in retaliation for the Montgomery bus boycott.
• 1945World War II: Allied forces liberated more than 500 prisoners of war from a Japanese POW camp near Cabanatuan in the Philippines.
• 1945World War II: The Wilhelm Gustloff, overfilled with German refugees, sinks in the Baltic Sea after being torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, killing approximately 9,500 people.
• 1939During a speech in the Reichstag, Adolf Hitler makes a prediction about the end of the Jewish race in Europe if another world war were to occur.
• 1933Adolf Hitler's rise to power: Hitler takes office as the Chancellor of Germany.
• 1925The Government of Turkey expels Patriarch Constantine VI from Istanbul.
• 1902The first Anglo-Japanese Alliance is signed in London.
• 1661Two years after his death, Oliver Cromwell's remains were exhumed for a posthumous execution and his head was placed on a spike above Westminster Hall in London, where it remained until 1685.
• 1018Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Bolesław I, the Piast ruler of Poland, signed the Peace of Bautzen to end the German–Polish War.

Born on 30 January

• 1980Lena Hall, American actress and singer
• 1949Peter Agre, American physician and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1924S. N. Goenka, Burmese-Indian author and educator (died 2013)India
• 1913Amrita Sher-Gil, Hungarian-Indian painter (died 1941)India
• 1912Werner Hartmann, German physicist and academic (died 1988)
• 1910Chidambaram Subramaniam, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Defence (died 2000)India

Died on 30 January

• 2025Julius Chan, Papua New Guinean politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (born 1939)
• 1968Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Indian poet, playwright, and journalist (born 1889)India
• 1948Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement against British rule (born 1869)India
• 1836Betsy Ross, American seamstress, said to have designed the American Flag (born 1752)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 30 January in history?

2013: The Korea Aerospace Research Institute launched Naro-1, South Korea's first carrier rocket and their first launch vehicle to achieve Earth orbit. 1975: The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is established as the first United States National Marine Sanctuary. 1972: The Troubles: On Bloody Sunday, members of the British Parachute Regiment shot 26 civil-rights protesters in Derry, Northern Ireland, killing at least 13 people. 1972: Pakistan leaves the Commonwealth of Nations in protest of its recognition of breakaway Bangladesh.

What happened on 30 January in Indian history?

1948: Mahatma Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement, was fatally shot by Nathuram Godse at Birla House in Delhi. 1908: Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is released from prison by Jan C. Smuts after being tried and sentenced to two months in jail earlier in the month.

Which famous people were born on 30 January?

Lena Hall, American actress and singer (1980); Peter Agre, American physician and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (1949); S. N. Goenka, Burmese-Indian author and educator (died 2013) (1924); Amrita Sher-Gil, Hungarian-Indian painter (died 1941) (1913).

Which day is observed on 30 January?

Martyrs' Day (Shaheed Diwas); Martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi, and its related observances: Martyrs' Day (India); Day of Azerbaijani customs (Azerbaijan); Day of Saudade (Brazil); Fred Korematsu Day (California, Florida, Hawaii, Virginia).