On This Day: 30 May

30 May in world history

• 2020Crew Dragon Demo-2 launches from Kennedy Space Center, becoming the first crewed orbital spacecraft to launch from the United States since 2011 and the first commercial flight to the International Space Station.
• 1998Nuclear Testing: Pakistan conducts an underground test in the Kharan Desert. It is reported to be a plutonium device with yield of 20kt TNT equivalent.
• 1989Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The 10-metre high "Goddess of Democracy" statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators.
• 1972In Ben Gurion Airport (at the time: Lod Airport), Israel, members of the Japanese Red Army carry out the Lod Airport massacre, killing 24 people and injuring 78 others.
• 1968Charles de Gaulle reappears publicly after his flight to Baden-Baden, West Germany, and dissolves the French National Assembly by a radio appeal. Immediately after, less than one million of his supporters march on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. This is the turni
• 1966Former Congolese Prime Minister, Évariste Kimba, and several other politicians are publicly executed in Kinshasa on the orders of President Joseph Mobutu.
• 1959The Auckland Harbour Bridge officially opened, connecting the suburbs of Saint Marys Bay and Northcote in Auckland, New Zealand, across Waitematā Harbour.
• 1948A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
• 1943The Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer of the Zigeunerfamilienlager (Romani family camp) at Auschwitz concentration camp.
• 1922The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., featuring a sculpture of the sixteenth U.S. president Abraham Lincoln by Daniel Chester French, opened.
• 1914RMS Aquitania, the last surviving four-funnel ocean liner, departed from Liverpool on her maiden voyage to New York City.
• 1876The secret decree of Ems Ukaz is issued by Russian Tsar Alexander II in the German city of Bad Ems, aimed at stopping the printing and distribution of Ukrainian-language publications in the Russian Empire.
• 1862American Civil War: The Siege of Corinth ends in a Union victory, with General Henry Halleck capturing the critical rail junction of Corinth, Mississippi from retreating Confederate forces under General P. G. T. Beauregard.
• 1854The Kansas–Nebraska Act became law, establishing the U.S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas, and allowing their settlers to determine if slavery would be permitted.
• 1806In one of several violent incidents involving future U.S. president Andrew Jackson, Charles Dickinson was killed in a duel; Jackson was wounded and carried the bullet for the rest of his life.
• 1723Johann Sebastian Bach assumed the office of Thomaskantor in Leipzig, presenting the cantata Die Elenden sollen essen in St. Nicholas Church.
• 1536Jane Seymour, a former lady-in-waiting, married King Henry VIII, becoming the queen consort of England.
• 1431Hundred Years' War: After being convicted of heresy, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen, France.

Born on 30 May

• 1975Evan Eschmeyer, American basketball player
• 1972Manny Ramirez, Dominican-American baseball player and coach
• 1969Ryuhei Kitamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1950Paresh Rawal, Indian actor, producer, and politicianIndia
• 1940Jagmohan Dalmiya, Indian cricket administrator (died 2015)India
• 1908Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1995)

Died on 30 May

• 1873Karamat Ali Jaunpuri, Indian Muslim scholar, (born 1800)India
• 1606Guru Arjan Dev, fifth of the Sikh gurus (born 1563)India
• 1593Christopher Marlowe, English poet and playwright (born 1564)
• 1252Ferdinand III, king of Castile and León (born 1199)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 30 May in history?

2020: Crew Dragon Demo-2 launches from Kennedy Space Center, becoming the first crewed orbital spacecraft to launch from the United States since 2011 and the first commercial flight to the International Space Station. 1998: Nuclear Testing: Pakistan conducts an underground test in the Kharan Desert. It is reported to be a plutonium device with yield of 20kt TNT equivalent. 1989: Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The 10-metre high "Goddess of Democracy" statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators. 1972: In Ben Gurion Airport (at the time: Lod Airport), Israel, members of the Japanese Red Army carry out the Lod Airport massacre, killing 24 people and injuring 78 others.

Which famous people were born on 30 May?

Evan Eschmeyer, American basketball player (1975); Manny Ramirez, Dominican-American baseball player and coach (1972); Ryuhei Kitamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (1969); Paresh Rawal, Indian actor, producer, and politician (1950).

Which day is observed on 30 May?

Anguilla Day, commemorates the beginning of the Anguillian Revolution in 1967. (Anguilla); Canary Islands Day (Spain); Indian Arrival Day (Trinidad and Tobago); Kaamatan, harvest festival in the state of Sabah and the federal territory of Labuan (Malaysia); Lod Massacre Remembrance Day (Puerto Rico).