Saturday, 30th May 2026 in Stockholm
Welcome to your daily snapshot of Stockholm! Explore 66 historical events, birthdays, deaths, and milestones that shaped this day in Stockholm. From remarkable moments in local and world history to the people who left their mark — find out what makes today special. Today's weather in Stockholm brings cloudy with temperatures between 8°C and 19°C. Tonight's moon is in its waning crescent phase, and the zodiac sign of the day is Gemini. If you're curious about the history of a day — this page brings together everything worth knowing about this Saturday, 30th May in Stockholm, SE.

Stockholm, Sweden's capital, is located on fourteen islands at the junction of Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea, creating a distinctive archipelago landscape. On 30 May 2026, conditions are cloudy. The date falls under the zodiac sign Gemini, whilst the moon is in its waning crescent phase.
On this day
On 30 May 2008, the Convention on Cluster Munitions was adopted, establishing an international agreement that prohibits the use, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster bombs. This landmark treaty represented a significant step in global efforts to restrict weapons that cause widespread civilian harm. The convention came into force just two years later and has since been ratified by most countries worldwide.
Nearly a century earlier, on 30 May 1922, the Lincoln Memorial officially opened in Washington, D.C., featuring Daniel Chester French's iconic sculpture of the sixteenth U.S. president. The neoclassical structure became one of the most recognisable monuments in the United States. The same day in 1723 marked another significant moment in cultural history when Johann Sebastian Bach assumed his position as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, a role that would define his professional career and lead to the composition of numerous cantatas and sacred works.
DayAtlas provides weather information for any given date and location, alongside a comprehensive record of historical events, notable births, and deaths. Users can explore what occurred on specific dates across centuries of recorded history.
Find out what's happening today in Stockholm.
What the Weather Had in Store for Stockholm on 30th May 2026
The unfinished song remains in memory longer than the completed score.
Fortune of the Day
30th May in the Stars – Star Sign Gemini
Personality Profile
Personality People born on May 30th embody classic Gemini traits with an innovative edge. Uranus influence grants them pronounced originality and an urge to challenge conventions. Their restlessness drives constant exploration and learning, making them natural seekers of knowledge.
Strengths & Weaknesses Their greatest strengths are flexibility, sharp intellect, and infectious communication style. The numerological eight reinforces ambition and success drive. However, superficiality, impatience, and lack of follow-through can become significant obstacles.
Love Those born on this day crave intellectual stimulation and freedom in relationships. They thrive on deep conversations and mental connection, yet often seem emotionally detached. A partner respecting their independence wins their heart.
Caree & Finance Creative and technical professions suit their talents perfectly. Journalism, IT, science, or entrepreneurship offer ideal outlets. Their ambitious energy supports wealth-building, though impulsive decisions can prove costly.
Health These individuals need mental challenge and physical activity for inner balance. Nervous tension and sleep issues arise when restless minds lack stimulation. Meditation and routines help channel their boundless energy productively.
That night, the moon was in its waning crescent phase.
Chinese year of the Horse (Fire).
Fun Facts About 30th May
Name Days in Your Language: Fawn, Ferdinand, Ferdinanda, Ferdinando, Fern, Fernanda, Fernando, Joan, Joani, Joann, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna
Someone born on this day would be just 1 days old today — roughly 26 hours, 1,573 minutes, or 94,427 seconds spent on Earth so far.
It's the 150. day of the year. In 2026, 30th May falls on a Saturday.
There are 215 days still to come.
We’re currently in Week 22 — the year marches on.
Famous Birthdays on 30th May
On this day, 232 notable people were born on 30th May — spanning from 1010 to 2002. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.
30/05/2002
Natty, Thai singer based in South Korea
Anatchaya Suputhipong, known professionally as Natty, is a Thai singer based in South Korea. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Kiss of Life which debuted under S2 Entertainment on July 5, 2023. She was previously a contestant on Mnet's girl group survival programs Sixteen (2015) and Idol School (2017) before debuting as a soloist on May 7, 2020, with the release of her solo single album Nineteen.
30/05/2000
Jared S. Gilmore, American actor
Jared Scott Gilmore is an American actor and Twitch streamer. He is best known for his role in the series Once Upon a Time (2011–2018) as Henry Mills.
30/05/1999
Eddie Nketiah, English footballer
Edward Keddar Nketiah is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Crystal Palace. He has played once for the England national team.
Guanyu Zhou, Chinese race car driver
Zhou Guanyu is a Chinese racing driver who serves as a reserve driver in Formula One for Cadillac. Zhou competed in Formula One from 2022 to 2024, and remains the only Chinese driver to compete in Formula One.
30/05/1997
Jung Eun-bi, South Korean singer and actress
Jung Eun-bi, better known by her stage name Eunha (은하), is a South Korean singer. She is a vocalist in the girl groups GFriend and Viviz.
Charlie Hall, American actor
Charlie Hall is an American television and film actor.
Jake Short, American actor
Jacob Patrick Short is an American actor. His roles have included Fletcher Quimby in the Disney Channel sitcom A.N.T. Farm (2011–2014), Oliver in the Disney XD series Mighty Med (2013–2015) and Lab Rats: Elite Force (2016), and Mattie Sullivan on the British sitcom The First Team (2020).
30/05/1996
Beatriz Haddad Maia, Brazilian tennis player
Beatriz "Bia" Haddad Maia is a Brazilian professional tennis player. She reached career-high rankings of world No. 10 in singles and doubles by the WTA, becoming the first Brazilian woman to enter the top 10 in singles in the Open Era. Her most notable results are a major semifinal at the 2023 French Open and a major quarterfinal at the 2024 US Open. She was also a runner-up with Anna Danilina in a major doubles event, at the 2022 Australian Open. She is currently the No. 1 singles player from Brazil.
30/05/1994
Scott Laughton, Canadian ice hockey player
Scott Laughton is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a free agent.
30/05/1992
Harrison Barnes, American basketball player
Harrison Bryce Jordan Barnes is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels before being selected by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft with the seventh overall pick. Barnes won an NBA championship with the Warriors in 2015. He also won a gold medal as a member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.
Danielle Harold, English actress
Danielle Amy Harold is an English actress. She rose to prominence playing Lola Pearce in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Her portrayal of Lola's glioblastoma brain tumour storyline, that ultimately resulted in the character's death, earned her a win at the National Television Awards for Serial Drama Performance and three nominations at the British Soap Awards, of which she won Best Leading Performer, as well as a TRIC award for Soap Actor and the Inside Soap award for Best Actress. She portrayed the character between 2011 and 2015, and again from 2019 until 2023, as well as appearing in posthumous video recordings up until 2026. Following her exit from the soap, she became a contestant on the twenty-third series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.
Jeremy Lamb, American basketball player
Jeremy "Fly Guy" Emmanuel Lamb is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies, where he was the second-leading scorer on the 2011 national champion UConn Huskies team as a freshman. Lamb was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft.
30/05/1991
Jonathan Fox, English swimmer
Jonathan Andrew Fox is a British Paralympic swimmer.
30/05/1990
Im Yoon-ah, South Korean singer and actress
Lim Yoona, also known mononymously as Yoona, is a South Korean singer and actress. After training for five years, she debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea and one of South Korea's most widely known girl groups worldwide. Apart from her group's activities, Lim has participated in various television dramas, notably You Are My Destiny (2008), which marked her career breakthrough and earned her the Best New Actress award at the 45th Baeksang Arts Awards.
Andrei Loktionov, Russian ice hockey player
Andrei Vyacheslavovich Loktionov is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is currently playing with Sibir Novosibirsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He also played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, and the Carolina Hurricanes. Loktionov was drafted by the Kings in the fifth round, 128th overall, at the 2008 NHL entry draft
Zack Wheeler, American baseball player
Zachary Harrison Wheeler is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Mets.
30/05/1989
Ailee, Korean-American singer and songwriter
Amy Lee, known professionally as Ailee (에일리), is an American singer and songwriter based in South Korea. Amassing digital sales success in South Korea, she has released four studio albums, six extended plays, and twenty one singles, six of which charted within the top five of the Gaon Digital Chart.
Lesia Tsurenko, Ukrainian tennis player
Lesia Viktorivna Tsurenko is a Ukrainian inactive professional tennis player. Tsurenko has won four singles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as ten singles and eight doubles tournaments on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 18 February 2019, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 23. On 28 May 2018, she peaked at No. 115 in the WTA doubles rankings.
30/05/1986
Nikolay Bodurov, Bulgarian international footballer
Nikolay Georgiev Bodurov is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays for Pirin Blagoevgrad and the Bulgaria national team. Bodurov plays mainly as a centre back but has also played as a right back on some occasions.
Will Peltz, American actor
William Peltz is an American actor, known for his roles in the supernatural horror film Unfriended (2014), the comedy-drama film Men, Women & Children (2014), and the supernatural drama television series Manifest (2021).
30/05/1985
Igor Kurnosov, Russian chess player (died 2013)
Igor Kurnosov was a Russian chess grandmaster.
Igor Lewczuk, Polish footballer
Igor Lewczuk is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for III liga club KS CK Troszyn. Besides Poland, he has played in France.
Aaron Volpatti, Canadian ice hockey player
Anthony Aaron Volpatti is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played with the Vancouver Canucks and the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).
30/05/1984
Sham Kwok Fai, Hong Kong footballer
Sham Kwok Fai is a Hong Kong former professional footballer who played as a right back.
Matt Maguire, Australian footballer
Matthew John Maguire is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played with the St Kilda Football Club and the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Alexander Sulzer, German ice hockey player
Alexander Sulzer is a German former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) and National Hockey League (NHL).
30/05/1982
Eddie Griffin, American basketball player (died 2007)
Eddie Jamaal Griffin was an American professional basketball player from Philadelphia. He last played for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, who waived him on March 13, 2007. Months later, he was killed in a car crash.
James Simpson-Daniel, English rugby player
James David Simpson-Daniel is a former English rugby union footballer who played wing or centre for Gloucester Rugby.
Leonid Radvinsky, American businessman (died 2026)
Leonid Saveliyovych Radvinsky was an American billionaire businessman and the majority owner of OnlyFans. Born in the Ukrainian SSR, Radvinsky was the founder of the cam site MyFreeCams, and the majority owner of OnlyFans, a content subscription service website. His website lists his personal investment portfolio. He had an estimated net worth of $4.7 billion at the time of his death, according to Forbes.
30/05/1981
Devendra Banhart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Devendra Obi Banhart is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist. He was born in Texas and grew up in Venezuela and California. In 2000, he dropped out of the San Francisco Art Institute in San Francisco to pursue a musical career. In 2002, Banhart released his debut album and he is best known for his albums in the late 2000s such as Cripple Crow and Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon. He has since expanded his career to incorporate his interest and training in the visual arts.
Gianmaria Bruni, Italian race car driver
Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni is an Italian Porsche factory auto racing driver who drove in the 2004 Formula One World Championship for Minardi. He is a GP2 Series race winner and is now racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship, in which he gained the 2013 and 2014 GT Drivers' Titles whilst driving as a factory Ferrari driver. He won the 2008 FIA GT Championship, 2011 Le Mans Series and 2012 International GT Open and took three class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 2008, 2012 and 2014. He also was successful at the 2009 and 2015 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, 2010 12 Hours of Sebring and 2011 Petit Le Mans.
Ahmad Elrich, Australian footballer
Ahmad Elrich is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a right winger for Australian club Parramatta FC.
Remy Ma, American rapper
Reminisce Kioni Smith, known professionally as Remy Ma, is an American rapper. Discovered by the late rapper Big Pun, she came to prominence for her work as a member of Fat Joe's group, Terror Squad. Her debut solo album, There's Something About Remy: Based on a True Story (2006), sold 37,000 copies in its first week. Ma's most commercially successful songs include "Lean Back", "Conceited", and "All the Way Up".
Lars Møller Madsen, Danish handball player
Lars Møller Madsen is a Danish team handball player. He has played for the Swedish clubs IFK Kristianstad and HIF Karlskrona, Polish Wisla Plock and Danish side Skjern Håndbold. He ended his career in 2008 at the age of 37. He is most famous for scoring the winning goal in quarter final against Iceland in the 2007 World Men's Handball Championship. The score was 41:41 at the time, where he scored Denmarks 42nd goal with 2 seconds remaining.
Hisanori Takada, Japanese footballer
Hisanori Takada was a Japanese professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
30/05/1980
Steven Gerrard, English international footballer and manager
Steven George Gerrard is an English professional football manager and a former player who most recently managed Saudi Pro League club Al Ettifaq. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players, Gerrard spent the majority of his playing career as a central midfielder for Liverpool and the England national team, captaining both.
Ilona Korstin, Russian basketball player
Ilona Kalyuvna Korstin, alternatively spelled Korstine, is a retired Russian basketball forward of Estonian origin, who competed for her native Russia at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2012 Summer Olympics, winning two bronze medals. She ended her career in 2013.
Ryōgo Narita, Japanese author
Ryōgo Narita is a Japanese light novelist and manga writer. He won the Gold Prize in the 9th Dengeki Novel Prize for Baccano!, which was made into an anime television series in 2007. His series Durarara!! was also made into two anime television series, one airing January 2010 and the second in January 2015.
30/05/1979
Mike Bishai, Canadian ice hockey player
Michael Bishai is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Bishai was never drafted but played in the National Hockey League with the Edmonton Oilers.
Clint Bowyer, American race car driver
Clinton Aaron Bowyer is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for NASCAR on Fox.
Francis Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
Francis Lessard is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward who most recently played for the Trois-Rivières Blizzard in the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH). While he had stints in the NHL with the Atlanta Thrashers and Ottawa Senators, the majority of his career was spent in the American Hockey League (AHL). He was widely recognized for his role as an enforcer, known for his tough, physical play and for defending his teammates on the ice.
30/05/1977
Rachael Stirling, English actress
Rachael Atlanta Stirling is a British stage, film, and television actress. She played Nancy Astley in the BBC drama Tipping the Velvet, and Millie in the ITV series The Bletchley Circle. She has also guest-starred in Lewis and one episode of Doctor Who, co-starring with her mother, Diana Rigg. She has been nominated twice for the Laurence Olivier Award for her stage work.
Federico Vilar, Argentinian-Italian footballer
Federico Vilar Baudena is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper.
30/05/1976
Arna Lára Jónsdóttir, Icelandic politician
Arna Lára Jónsdóttir is an Icelandic politician and member of the Althing. A member of the Social Democratic Alliance, she has represented the Northwest constituency since November 2024.
Rasho Nesterović, basketball player
Radoslav "Rasho" Nesterović is a Slovenian former professional basketball player. He holds citizenship in both Slovenia and Greece. During his career in the NBA, Nesterović played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, and Toronto Raptors. He retired in 2011.
Magnus Norman, Swedish tennis player and coach
Magnus Norman is a Swedish former professional tennis player and current coach. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), in June 2000. Norman won twelve ATP Tour singles titles, including a Masters event at the 2000 Rome Masters, and was runner-up at a major at the 2000 French Open.
Margaret Okayo, Kenyan runner
Margaret Okayo is a professional Kenyan marathon runner. She has won four World Marathon Majors with victories in the New York City Marathon, the Boston Marathon and the London Marathon, setting three course records. Okayo's 2003 New York course record of 2:22:31 stood until 2025, despite the challenge of some of the world’s best distance runners having the benefit of improved shoe technology. She has also won the San Diego Marathon on two occasions.
30/05/1975
Evan Eschmeyer, American basketball player
Evan Bruce Eschmeyer is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the New Jersey Nets in the second round of the 1999 NBA draft. He spent six years on the Northwestern University Wildcats, (1993–1999) missing the first two due to a foot injury. He was their 6'11" center, scoring 1,805 points and grabbing 995 rebounds. He led the Wildcats to an NIT berth in 1999 with a 15–14 record. In the 1999 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament, his 8th seeded wildcats nearly beat the #1 seeded Michigan State Spartans but lost to a last second shot by Spartan great Mateen Cleaves. Eschmeyer played in four NBA seasons from 1999 to 2003. He played for the Nets from 1999 to 2001 and the Dallas Mavericks from 2001 to 2003. He averaged 2.9 pts, 3.9 rebs, and 0.6 blocks per game.
Brian Fair, American singer-songwriter
Brian James Fair is an American musician from Massachusetts, best known as lead vocalist of the metalcore band Shadows Fall.
Andy Farrell, English rugby player and coach
Andrew David Farrell is an English professional rugby union coach and former rugby league and rugby union footballer. Farrell has been head coach of the Ireland national rugby union team since 2019.
CeeLo Green, American singer-songwriter
Thomas DeCarlo Callaway-Burton, known professionally as CeeLo Green, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he gained initial prominence as a member of the Southern hip-hop group Goodie Mob in 1991. After three albums with the group, Green signed with Arista Records to release his solo albums Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections (2002) and Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine (2004). He is known for his soul-infused delivery in hip hop and R&B, displayed in his signature song "Crazy" and his solo single "Fuck You".
Marissa Mayer, American computer scientist and businesswoman
Marissa Ann Mayer is an American business executive, software engineer, and investor who served as president and chief executive officer of Yahoo! from 2012 to 2017, when it was sold to Verizon. She was a long-time executive, usability leader and key spokesperson for Google, and was its first woman software engineer. Mayer later co-founded Sunshine, a startup technology company.
30/05/1974
Big L, American rapper (died 1999)
Lamont Coleman, known professionally as Big L, was an American rapper and record producer. Emerging from Harlem in New York City in 1992, Big L became known among underground hip-hop fans for his freestyling ability. He was eventually signed to Columbia Records, where, in 1995, he released his debut studio album, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous. He was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in Harlem in 1999.
Kostas Chalkias, Greek footballer
Konstantinos "Kostas" Chalkias is a Greek retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Panathinaikos, Apollon Athens, Iraklis, Portsmouth, Real Murcia, Aris, PAOK and Panachaiki.
Shin Ha-kyun, South Korean actor
Shin Ha-kyun is a South Korean actor. He first gained recognition for his role in Joint Security Area (2000), followed by notable performances in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Save the Green Planet! (2003), and Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005). Shin has also been active in television, earning praise for his roles in Brain (2011), Less Than Evil (2018–2019), and Beyond Evil (2021), the latter of which earned him the Baeksang Arts Award for Best Actor.
David Wilkie, American ice hockey player and coach
David John Wilkie is an American former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, and New York Rangers. He played defense and shot right-handed.
30/05/1972
Manny Ramirez, Dominican-American baseball player and coach
Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida is a Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays before playing one season at the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan. Ramirez is recognized for having great batting skill and power. He was a nine-time Silver Slugger and was one of 28 players to hit 500 career home runs. His 21 grand slams are third all-time, and his 29 postseason home runs are the most in MLB history. He appeared in 12 All-Star Games, with a streak of eleven consecutive games beginning in 1998 that included every season that he played with the Red Sox.
30/05/1971
Paul Grayson, English rugby player and coach
Paul James Grayson, is the former assistant head coach of Northampton Saints rugby union club. He formerly played at fly-half for Northampton, for whom he was the all-time leading points scorer, and England. He is known as "Larry" or "Grase".
Duncan Jones, English director, producer, and screenwriter
Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones is a British film director, film producer and screenwriter. He directed the films Moon (2009), Source Code (2011), Warcraft (2016), and Mute (2018). For Moon, he won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. He is the son of English singer-songwriter David Bowie and Cypriot-born American model, actress, and journalist Angie Bowie.
Idina Menzel, American singer-songwriter and actress
Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Broadway", Menzel is known for her commanding stage presence, powerful mezzo-soprano voice, and reputation as one of the most influential stage actors of her generation. Having achieved mainstream success across stage, screen, and music, her accolades include a Tony Award and a Daytime Emmy Award.
Jiří Šlégr, Czech ice hockey player and politician
Jiří Šlégr is a Czech professional ice hockey executive and player who is the general manager of the Czech men's national team. Playing as a defenceman, he was a member of the 2001–02 Detroit Red Wings that won the 2002 Stanley Cup after he was acquired in a late-season trade. Šlégr was inducted into the Czech Ice Hockey Hall of Fame on 12 December 2019.
Adrian Vowles, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
Adrian Vowles is a former professional Scotland international rugby league footballer who played as a loose forward or centre in the 1990s and 2000s. He played in Australia for several years, gaining State of Origin selection in 1994, but spent the majority of his career in the Super League.
30/05/1969
Naomi Kawase, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
Naomi Kawase is a Japanese film director. She was also briefly known as Naomi Sento , with her former husband's surname. Many of her works have been documentaries, including Embracing, about her search for the father who abandoned her as a child, and Katatsumori, about the grandmother who raised her.
Ryuhei Kitamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
Ryuhei Kitamura is a Japanese film director, producer, and screenwriter. Kitamura relocated to Sydney, Australia at age 17 and attended a school for visual arts for two years. In 1997, Kitamura directed and produced the short film Down to Hell, which received a positive response from students, teachers, and an award which motivated Kitamura to seriously pursue a film career. He went on to independently finance and direct his feature film debut Versus (2000). The film proved to be successful within the film festival circuit and opened doors for Kitamura to direct more high-profile films such as Alive (2002), Sky High (2003), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), The Midnight Meat Train (2008), No One Lives (2012), the live-action adaptation of Lupin the 3rd (2014), and several other Japanese and Hollywood productions.
30/05/1968
Jason Kenney, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Premier of Alberta
Jason Thomas Kenney is a former Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022, and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Calgary-Lougheed from 2017 until 2022. Kenney was the last leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party before the party merged with the Wildrose Party to form the UCP. Prior to entering Alberta provincial politics, he served in various cabinet posts under Prime Minister Stephen Harper from 2006 to 2015.
Zacarias Moussaoui, French citizen, sentenced to life in prison related to September 11 attacks
Zacarias Moussaoui is an Islamic terrorist who was a member of the al-Qaeda militant organization. He likely planned to participate in the September 11 attacks (9/11) in 2001, in which 19 members of al-Qaeda hijacked four American airliners in an attempt to crash them into U.S. landmarks.
30/05/1967
Tim Burgess, English singer-songwriter
Timothy Allan Burgess is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band the Charlatans.
Rechelle Hawkes, Australian hockey player
Rechelle Margaret Hawkes is an Australian former field hockey player. Hawkes spent eight years as the captain of the Australian Women's Hockey Team, the Hockeyroos, and became the second Australian woman after swimmer Dawn Fraser to win three Olympic gold medals at three separate Olympic Games: Seoul 1988, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.
Sven Pipien, German-American bass player
Sven Pipien is a musician best known as the bassist of the southern rock band The Black Crowes.
30/05/1966
Sonya Curry, mother of American basketball players
Sonya Alicia Curry is an American educator and author. She is the mother of professional basketball players Stephen Curry and Seth Curry.
Thomas Häßler, German footballer and manager
Thomas Jürgen "Icke" Häßler is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. At club level, he made a century of appearances for four teams: 1. FC Köln, Karlsruher SC and 1860 Munich in Germany and Roma in Italy, and spent a season apiece with Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and SV Salzburg. Häßler also appeared over 100 times for the Germany national team.
Stephen Malkmus, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Stephen Joseph Malkmus is an American musician best known as the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement. Beginning as a duo, Pavement subsequently grew to a quintet. The band released five studio albums before breaking up in 1999.
30/05/1965
Troy Coker, Australian rugby player
Troy Coker is a former Australian international rugby union player. He played as a number 8 and was capped 27 times for Australia between 1987 and 1997. He was a member of the winning Australian squad at the 1991 Rugby World Cup and was also in the squad at the 1987 and 1995 Rugby World Cup. He is married and has two daughters, Ella and Ava. "Profile". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
Billy Donovan, American basketball player and coach
William John Donovan Jr. is an American professional basketball coach and former player who most recently was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before moving to the NBA, he served as the head basketball coach at the University of Florida from 1996 to 2015, and led his Florida Gator teams to back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007, as well as an NCAA championship appearance in 2000. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2025.
Iginio Straffi, Italian animator and producer, founded Rainbow S.r.l.
Iginio Straffi is an Italian animator and former comic book author. He is the founder and president of Rainbow SpA, which he co-owned alongside the American media company Paramount Global from 2011 until 2023. Straffi is the creator of the studio's animated series Winx Club and Huntik: Secrets & Seekers, as well as the co-creator of its comic book series Maya Fox.
30/05/1964
Wynonna Judd, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
Wynonna Ellen Judd Moser, known simply as Wynonna, is an American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country musicians in history. She has had 19 No. 1 singles, including those with The Judds. She first rose to fame in the 1980s alongside her mother, Naomi, in their mother-daughter country music duo, The Judds. They released seven albums on Curb Records, in addition to 26 singles, of which 14 were No. 1 hits.
Andrea Montermini, Italian race car driver
Andrea Montermini is an Italian racing driver. He drove in Formula One from 1994 to 1996.
Tom Morello, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
Thomas Baptist Morello is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and political activist. He is known for his tenure with the rock bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello was a member of the supergroup Prophets of Rage. Morello is also an occasional touring musician with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Under the moniker the Nightwatchman, Morello released his solo work. Together with Boots Riley, he formed Street Sweeper Social Club. Morello co-founded Axis of Justice, which airs a monthly program on Pacifica Radio station KPFK in Los Angeles.
30/05/1963
Michel Langevin, Canadian drummer and songwriter
Michel "Away" Langevin is a Canadian musician, best known as a founding member and drummer of heavy metal band Voivod. He has been a constant member of the band since its formation in 1982. Langevin is credited with the creation of the mythology of the post-apocalyptic vampire lord Voivod, about which the band originally coalesced, and is largely responsible for its continuing science fiction themes.
Élise Lucet, French journalist
Élise Lucet is a French journalist and television host. Known for her investigative journalism work on France Télévisions shows such as Pièces à Conviction, Cash Investigation and Envoyé spécial, she has been dubbed France's "incorruptible journalist". In 2008, she was named Knight of the Legion of Honour. Lucet's work for Cash Investigation garnered her and her crew around twenty international awards including a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for their investigation on the Panama Papers.
Helen Sharman, English chemist and astronaut
Helen Patricia Sharman is a British chemist and cosmonaut who became the first British person, first Western European woman and first privately funded woman in space, as well as the first woman to visit the Mir space station, in May 1991.
30/05/1962
Kevin Eastman, American author and illustrator, co-created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Kevin Brooks Eastman is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine Heavy Metal.
Richard Fuller, English lawyer and politician
Richard Quentin Fuller is a British politician who has been Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury since November 2024, having previously served as the interim Chairman of the Conservative Party from July to November 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for North Bedfordshire, formerly North East Bedfordshire, since 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he represented Bedford from 2010 to 2017.
Tim Loughton, English businessman and politician
Timothy Paul Loughton, is a British politician and former banker who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for East Worthing and Shoreham from 1997 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families from 2010 to 2012 and has twice served as the Acting Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee in 2016 and 2021, following the respective resignations of Keith Vaz and Yvette Cooper.
Tonya Pinkins, American actress and singer
Tonya Pinkins is an American actress and filmmaker.
30/05/1961
Harry Enfield, English actor, director, and screenwriter
Henry Richard Enfield is an English comedy actor and writer known in particular for his television work. His shows include Harry Enfield's Television Programme, Harry Enfield & Chums and Harry & Paul, across which he created and portrayed characters such as Kevin the Teenager, Loadsamoney, Smashie and Nicey, The Scousers, Tim Nice-But-Dim and Mr "You Don't Want to Do It Like That".
John Terlesky, American actor
John Todd Terlesky is an American actor, film director, television director and screenwriter. As an actor, he is known for playing Deathstalker in the 1987 film Deathstalker II, and Mike in Chopping Mall (1986).
Bob Yari, Iranian-American director and producer
Bob Yari is an Iranian-born American film producer and director.
30/05/1959
Phil Brown, English footballer, coach, and manager
Philip Brown is an English former professional footballer and coach who is currently director of football at Southern League Premier Division Central club Peterborough Sports.
Randy Ferbey, Canadian curler
Randy S. Ferbey is a Canadian retired curler from Sherwood Park, Alberta. Ferbey is a six-time Canadian champion and a four-time World Champion. He recently coached the Rachel Homan women's team.
Frank Vanhecke, Belgian politician
Frank Arthur Hyppolite Vanhecke is a Belgian politician. Vanhecke started his career in Belgian politics as a student by joining the Jong Studentenverbond and later the Nationalistische Studentenvereniging. He gave up his membership of the Volksunie in 1977 after it acceded to a much-debated package of federal reforms. Vanhecke subsequently joined the Vlaams Nationale Partij, the predecessor of the Vlaams Blok.
30/05/1958
Eugene Belliveau, Canadian football player
Eugene Belliveau is a Canadian former professional football defensive lineman.
Marie Fredriksson, Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2019)
Gun-Marie Fredriksson was a Swedish singer, songwriter, pianist, and lead vocalist of pop-rock duo Roxette, which she formed in 1986 with Per Gessle. The duo achieved international success in the late 1980s and early 1990s with their albums Look Sharp! (1988) and Joyride (1991), and had multiple hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including four number ones.
Steve Israel, American lawyer and politician
Steven Jay Israel is an American political commentator, lobbyist, author, bookseller, and former politician. He served as a U.S. representative from New York from 2001 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected in New York's 2nd congressional district until 2013 and New York's 3rd congressional district until his retirement. At the time of his departure from Congress, his district included portions of northern Nassau County and Suffolk County on Long Island, as well as a small portion of Queens in New York City.
Michael López-Alegría, Spanish-American captain, pilot, and astronaut
Michael López-Alegría is an astronaut, test pilot and commercial astronaut with dual nationality, American and Spanish; a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission. He is known for having performed ten spacewalks so far in his career, presently holding the second longest all-time EVA duration record and having the fifth-longest spaceflight of any American at the length of 215 days; this time was spent on board the ISS from September 18, 2006, to April 21, 2007. López-Alegría commanded Axiom-1, the first all-private team of commercial astronaut mission to the International Space Station, which launched on April 8, 2022, and spent just over 17 days in Earth's orbit.
Ted McGinley, American actor
Theodore Martin McGinley is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jefferson D'Arcy on the television sitcom Married... with Children, Charley Shanowski on the ABC sitcom Hope & Faith, and Derek Bishop on the Apple TV comedy drama series Shrinking. He was a late regular on Happy Days, Dynasty and The Love Boat and is known for playing the villainous role of Stan Gable in the film Revenge of the Nerds and several made-for-television sequels.
30/05/1957
Mike Clayton, Australian golfer
Michael Andrew Clayton is an Australian professional golfer, golf course architect and commentator on the game. He won the 1984 Timex Open on the European Tour and won six times on the PGA Tour of Australasia between 1982 and 1994.
30/05/1956
Tim Lucas, American author, screenwriter, and critic
Timothy Ray Lucas is an American film critic, biographer, novelist, screenwriter and blogger, best known for publishing and editing the video review magazine Video Watchdog.
Jonathan Idema, American soldier, mercenary, con artist, vigilante, and criminal (died 2012)
Jonathan Keith "Jack" Idema was an American con artist, mercenary and former United States Army reserve non-commissioned officer, known for his vigilante activities during the War in Afghanistan.
30/05/1955
Topper Headon, English drummer and songwriter
Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon is an English drummer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of the Clash in 2003.
Jacqueline McGlade, English-Canadian biologist, ecologist, and academic
Jacqueline Myriam McGlade is a British-born Canadian marine biologist and environmental informatics professor. Her research concerns the spatial and nonlinear dynamics of ecosystems, climate change and scenario development. She is currently professor of resilience and sustainable development at the University College London Institute for Global Prosperity and Faculty of Engineering, UK, and professor at Strathmore University in the Institute for Public Policy and Governance, Kenya.
Caroline Swift, English lawyer and judge
Dame Caroline Jane Swift, Lady Openshaw,, formerly styled The Hon. Mrs Justice Swift, is a British barrister and former High Court judge. She was leading counsel to the Inquiry in the Shipman Inquiry, which began in 2001.
Colm Tóibín, Irish novelist, poet, playwright, and critic
Colm Tóibín is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet.
Jake Roberts, American professional wrestler
Aurelian Smith Jr. better known by the ring name Jake "the Snake" Roberts, is an American actor, podcaster and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he serves as a special advisor for AEW's community outreach program, AEW Together. He is also signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his two stints in the World Wrestling Federation ; the first between 1986 and 1992, and the second between 1996 and 1997. He wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance in 1983, World Championship Wrestling in 1992, and the Mexico-based Asistencia Asesoría y Administración between 1993 and 1994 and again in 1997. He appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling during the summer of 1997 and made appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling from 2006 through 2008.
30/05/1953
Jim Hunter, Canadian skier
James Mark Hunter, nicknamed "Jungle Jim", is a Canadian former alpine ski racer who represented Canada at two Winter Olympic Games in 1972 and 1976, and won a bronze medal in the 1972 World Championships. He was a member of the Canadian Men's Alpine Ski Team nicknamed the "Crazy Canucks", and is considered to be the original Crazy Canuck.
Colm Meaney, Irish actor
Colm J. Meaney is an Irish actor. Known for his performances across screen and stage, he has received seven nominations from the Irish Film & Television Academy, winning twice for 2001's How Harry Became a Tree, and 2016's The Journey. Other film credits include Roddy Doyle's Barrytown franchise, Con Air, Layer Cake, The Damned United, Get Him to the Greek, and The Snapper, for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical, and won the Silver Hugo Award for Best Actor at the 1993 Chicago International Film Festival.
30/05/1952
Daniel Grodnik, American screenwriter and producer
Daniel Grodnik is an American film producer living in Los Angeles, California.
Kerry Fraser, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and sportscaster
Kerry Fraser is a hockey analyst, broadcaster and former senior referee in the National Hockey League. During his career, he called 1,904 regular season games, 12 Stanley Cup Finals, and over 261 Stanley Cup playoff games.
30/05/1951
Zdravko Čolić, Bosnian Serb singer-songwriter
Zdravko Čolić is a Bosnian and Serbian pop singer who is widely considered one of the greatest vocalists and cultural icons of the former Yugoslavia. He has been compared to Paul McCartney and Tom Jones by music critics and the general public. He has garnered fame in Southeastern Europe for his emotionally expressive tenor voice, fluent stage presence and numerous critically and commercially acclaimed albums and singles.
Fernando Lugo, Paraguayan bishop and politician, President of Paraguay
Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez is a Paraguayan politician and laicized Catholic bishop who was President of Paraguay from 2008 to 2012. Previously, he was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop, serving as Bishop of the Diocese of San Pedro from 1994 to 2005. He was elected as president in 2008, an election that ended 61 years of rule by the Colorado Party.
Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor, singer, and director
Stephen Harold Tobolowsky is an American character actor and writer. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in Memento, as well as such television characters as Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood, Bob Bishop in Heroes, Sandy Ryerson in Glee, Stu Beggs in Californication and White Famous, "Action" Jack Barker in Silicon Valley, Dr. Leslie Berkowitz in One Day at a Time, Principal Earl Ball in The Goldbergs, and Dr. Schulman in The Mindy Project.
30/05/1950
Bertrand Delanoë, French politician, 14th Mayor of Paris
Bertrand Delanoë is a French retired politician who served as Mayor of Paris from 2001 to 2014. A member of the Socialist Party (PS), he previously served in the National Assembly from 1981 to 1986 and in the Senate from 1995 until 2001.
Paresh Rawal, Indian actor, producer, and politician
Paresh Rawal is an Indian actor film producer and former politician, known for his works primarily in Hindi films. Considered as one of the finest actors of Hindi cinema, he has appeared in over 240 films and is the recipient of various accolades including a National Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards. He was honoured with Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2014.
Joshua Rozenberg, English lawyer, journalist, and author
Joshua Rufus Rozenberg KC (hon) is a British solicitor, legal affairs commentator, and journalist.
30/05/1949
P.J. Carlesimo, American basketball player and coach
Peter John Carlesimo is an American former basketball coach who coached in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and college basketball for nearly 40 years. He is also a television broadcaster and has worked with ESPN, The NBA on TNT, Westwood One, Fox Sports Southwest, Pac-12 Network, The NBA on NBC, and CSN New England.
Paul Coleridge, English lawyer and judge
Sir Paul James Duke Coleridge is a retired judge of the High Court of England and Wales. He is currently the Chairman of the Marriage Foundation.
Bob Willis, English cricketer and sportscaster (died 2019)
Robert George Dylan Willis was an English cricketer, who represented England between 1971 and 1984. A right-handed fast bowler, Willis is regarded by many as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He was a part of the English squad that finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World Cup.
30/05/1948
Johan De Muynck, Belgian former professional road racing cyclist
Johan De Muynck is a former Belgian professional road racing cyclist who raced from 1971 to 1983. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1978 Giro d'Italia. Other Grand Tour highlights include a very strong performance in the closely contested 1976 Giro d'Italia where he held the Maglia Rosa until the final time trial finishing on the podium in 2nd just nineteen seconds behind Felice Gimondi. He also rode well in the 1980 and 1981 editions of the Tour de France where he finished 4th and 7th respectively. Until Remco Evenepoel's victory at the 2022 Vuelta a España, De Muynck was the last Belgian rider to win a Grand Tour.
Michael Piller, American screenwriter and producer (died 2005)
Michael Piller was an American television scriptwriter and producer, who was best known for his contributions to the Star Trek franchise.
David Thorpe, Australian rules footballer
David Thorpe is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray and Richmond in the VFL.
30/05/1947
Jocelyne Bourassa, Canadian golfer (died 2021)
Jocelyne Bourassa, CM was a Canadian professional golfer, who had a distinguished amateur career. She was Rookie of the Year on the LPGA Tour in 1972 and ended her career with one victory on the tour.
30/05/1946
Allan Chapman, English historian and author
Allan Chapman was a British historian of science.
Dragan Džajić, Serbian and Yugoslav footballer
Dragan Džajić is a Serbian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the Football Association of Serbia from 14 March 2023.
30/05/1945
Gladys Horton, American singer (died 2011)
Gladys Catherine Horton was an American R&B and pop singer, notable for being the founder and lead singer of the all-female vocal group the Marvelettes, the first successful Motown girl group.
30/05/1944
Lenny Davidson, English guitarist and songwriter
The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark was the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964, they had their first UK top-ten single, "Glad All Over", which knocked the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" off the top of the UK Singles Chart. It peaked at No. 6 in the United States in April 1964. Although this was their only UK No. 1, they topped the US chart in December 1965, with their cover of Bobby Day's "Over and Over". Their other UK top-ten hits include "Bits and Pieces", "Can't You See That She's Mine", "Catch Us If You Can", "Everybody Knows", "The Red Balloon", "Good Old Rock 'n' Roll", and a version of Chet Powers' "Get Together".
Meredith MacRae, American actress (died 2000)
Meredith Lynn MacRae was an American actress, singer and talk show host. She is known for her roles as Sally Morrison on My Three Sons (1963–1965) and as Billie Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction (1966–1970).
Stav Prodromou, Greek-American engineer and businessman
Stavro Evangelo "Stav" Prodromou is a Palestinian Greek American businessman, and the founder and former chief executive officer of Poqet Computer Corporation. Prodromou has been CEO of Alien Technology, Peregrine Semiconductor, and Integrated Circuit Systems and Executive Vice President of Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation.
30/05/1943
James Chaney, American civil rights activist (died 1964)
James Earl Chaney was an American civil rights activist. He was one of three civil rights workers murdered in Philadelphia, Mississippi, by members of the Ku Klux Klan on June 21, 1964. The others were Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner from New York City.
Anders Michanek, Swedish motorcycle racer
Anders Michanek is a Swedish Speedway rider. In 1974 he won the Speedway World Championship in his Swedish homeland with a maximum score of 15 points. He earned 101 caps for the Sweden national speedway team.
Gale Sayers, American football player and philanthropist (died 2020)
Gale Eugene Sayers was an American professional football halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). Sayers played for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1971, though injuries effectively limited him to five seasons of play. Elusive, agile, and very fast, he was regarded by his peers as one of the most difficult players to tackle. Sayers was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977 at age 34 and remains the youngest person to have received the honor.
30/05/1942
John Gladwin, English bishop
John Warren Gladwin is a retired Anglican bishop. From 2004 to 2009, he was the Bishop of Chelmsford in the Church of England. He stands in the open evangelical tradition.
Carole Stone, English journalist and author
Carole Stone, CBE is a British author and freelance radio and television broadcaster. Stone spent 27 years at the BBC beginning as a newsroom secretary and eventually becoming the producer of Radio 4's flagship discussion programme Any Questions? In 2018, Stone established The Carole Stone Foundation to support her belief that connecting people, exchanging ideas and building friendships around the world is essential to help make a fairer society.
30/05/1940
Jagmohan Dalmiya, Indian cricket administrator (died 2015)
Jagmohan Dalmiya was an Indian cricket administrator and businessman from the city of Kolkata. He was the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India as well as the Cricket Association of Bengal. He had also served as the President of the International Cricket Council.
Gilles Villemure, Canadian-American ice hockey player
Joseph Hector Gilles Villemure is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played for the New York Rangers and Chicago Black Hawks in the 1960s and 1970s.
30/05/1939
Michael J. Pollard, American actor (died 2019)
Michael J. Pollard was an American character actor. With his distinctive bulbous nose, dimpled chin and smirk, he gained a cult following, usually portraying quirky, off-beat, simplistic but likeable supporting characters. He was best known for his role as C. W. Moss, in the film Bonnie and Clyde (1967), which earned him critical acclaim along with nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Other notable appearances include The Wild Angels (1966), Hannibal Brooks (1969), Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1970), Dirty Little Billy (1972), Roxanne (1987), American Gothic (1988), and Tango & Cash (1989).
Dieter Quester, Austrian race car driver
Dietrich Erwin Quester is an Austrian former racing driver. Quester participated in 53 24-Hour Races. He competed in a single Formula One race in which he finished ninth.
Tim Waterstone, Scottish businessman, founded Waterstones
Sir Timothy John Stuart Waterstone is a British bookseller, businessman and author. He is the founder of Waterstones, the United Kingdom-based bookseller retail chain, the largest in Europe.
30/05/1938
Billie Letts, American author and educator (died 2014)
Billie Dean Letts was an American novelist and educator. She was a professor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
30/05/1937
Christopher Haskins, Anglo-Irish businessman, life peer, and British politician
Christopher Robin Haskins, Baron Haskins was an Irish-born businessman and life peer, who was a member of the British House of Lords from 1998 to 2020.
Rick Mather, American-English architect (died 2013)
Rick Mather was an American-born architect working in England. Born in Portland, Oregon and awarded a B.arch. at the University of Oregon in 1961, he came to London in 1963 and worked at the architectural firm Lyons Israel Ellis for two years. He became a leading figure at the Architectural Association in the 1970s, and in 1973 founded his own practice, Rick Mather Architects.
30/05/1936
Keir Dullea, American actor
Keir Atwood Dullea is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey and its 1984 sequel, 2010: The Year We Make Contact.
30/05/1935
Ruta Lee, Canadian-American actress and dancer
Ruta Lee is a Canadian-born American actress and dancer of Lithuanian descent. She was born in Montreal, Canada, to Lithuanian immigrant parents. Ruta Lee appeared as one of the brides in the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. She had roles in films including Billy Wilder's crime drama Witness for the Prosecution and Stanley Donen's musical comedy Funny Face, and also is remembered for her guest appearance in a 1963 episode of Rod Serling's sci-fi series The Twilight Zone called "A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain".
Guy Tardif, Canadian academic and politician (died 2005)
Guy Tardif was a Canadian politician. He was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1976 to 1985 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of René Lévesque and Pierre-Marc Johnson. He is the grandfather of professional gridiron football guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.
30/05/1934
Alexei Leonov, Russian general, pilot, and cosmonaut (died 2019)
Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov was a Soviet and Russian cosmonaut and aviator, Air Force major general, writer, and artist. On 18 March 1965, he became the first person to conduct a spacewalk, exiting the capsule during the Voskhod 2 mission for 12 minutes and 9 seconds. He was also selected to be the first Soviet person to land on the Moon although the project was eventually cancelled.
Alketas Panagoulias, Greek footballer and manager (died 2012)
Alketas 'Alkis' Panagoulias was a Greek association football player and manager. He managed the national teams of both Greece and the United States. He also managed several clubs, including Aris, his birthplace team, and Olympiacos with whom he won three Alpha Ethniki championships.
30/05/1932
Ray Cooney, English actor and playwright
Raymond George Alfred Cooney OBE is a retired English playwright, actor, and director.
Pauline Oliveros, American accordion player and composer (died 2016)
Pauline Oliveros was an American composer and accordionist.
Ivor Richard, Baron Richard, Welsh politician and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations (died 2018)
Ivor Seward Richard, Baron Richard, was a British Labour politician who served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1964 until 1974. He was also a member of the European Commission and latterly sat as a life peer in the House of Lords.
30/05/1931
Larry Silverstein, American real estate magnate
Larry A. Silverstein is an American billionaire businessman. Among his real estate projects, he is the developer of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City, as well as one of New York's tallest residential towers at 30 Park Place, where he owns a home. As of December 2024, he had an estimated net worth of US$1 billion according to Forbes.
30/05/1930
Mark Birley, English businessman, founded Annabel's (died 2007)
Marcus Oswald Hornby Lecky Birley was a British entrepreneur known for his investments in the hospitality industry.
Robert Ryman, American painter (died 2019)
Robert Ryman was an American painter identified with the movements of monochrome painting, minimalism, and conceptual art. He was best known for abstract, white-on-white paintings. He lived and worked in New York City.
30/05/1929
Georges Gilson, French archbishop (died 2024)
Georges Robert Edmond Gilson was a French Roman Catholic archbishop.
30/05/1928
Pro Hart, Australian painter (died 2006)
Kevin Charles "Pro" Hart, MBE, was an Australian artist, born in Broken Hill, New South Wales, who was considered the father of the Australian Outback painting movement and his works are widely admired for capturing the true spirit of the outback. He grew up on his family's sheep farm in Menindee and was nicknamed "Professor" during his younger days, when he was known as an inventor.
Agnès Varda, Belgian-French director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2019)
Agnès Varda was a Belgian-born French filmmaker, artist, and photographer.
Radoslav Rotković, Montenegrin historian (died 2013)
Radoslav Rotković was a Montenegrin historian, philologist and academician. He is known for his works in Montenegrin history and literature.
30/05/1927
Joan Birman, American mathematician
Joan Sylvia Lyttle Birman is an American mathematician, specializing in low-dimensional topology. She has made contributions to the study of knots, 3-manifolds, mapping class groups of surfaces, geometric group theory, contact structures and dynamical systems. Birman is research professor emerita at Barnard College, Columbia University, where she has been since 1973.
Clint Walker, American actor and singer (died 2018)
Norman Eugene "Clint" Walker was an American actor. He rose to stardom for playing the title character in the Western series Cheyenne (1955–1962).
Billy Wilson, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 1993)
William Alfred Wilson was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. An Australia national and New South Wales state representative front-row forward, he captained the national team in two Tests against New Zealand in 1963 and captained-coached several of his club sides during a record length top-grade career over twenty seasons from 1948 to 1967. Much of his New South Wales Rugby League premiership career was spent with Sydney's St. George club where he was a pivotal member for the first half of that club's 11-year consecutive premiership run from 1956. Billy Wilson won six consecutive premierships with the Dragons between 1956 and 1962.
30/05/1926
Johnny Gimble, American country/western swing musician (died 2015)
John Paul Gimble was an American country musician associated with Western swing. He was considered one of the most important fiddlers in the genre. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 in the early influences category as a member of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys.
30/05/1925
John Henry Marks, English physician and author (died 2022)
John Henry Marks was an English medical doctor who was Chairman of the British Medical Association, a position he held from 1984 to 1990.
30/05/1924
Anthony Dryden Marshall, American CIA officer and diplomat (died 2014)
Anthony Dryden Marshall was an American theatrical producer and C.I.A. intelligence officer and ambassador. After being convicted of financially exploiting his mother Brooke Astor, Marshall was sentenced to prison, and stayed there for only eight weeks in 2013 before receiving medical parole. He died on November 30, 2014, at the age of 90.
30/05/1922
Hal Clement, American author and educator (died 2003)
Harry Clement Stubbs, better known by the pen name Hal Clement, was an American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre. He also painted astronomically oriented artworks under the name George Richard.
30/05/1920
Franklin J. Schaffner, Japanese-American director and producer (died 1989)
Franklin James Schaffner was an American film, television, and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for Patton (1970), and is known for the films Planet of the Apes (1968), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), Papillon (1973), and The Boys from Brazil (1978). He served as president of the Directors Guild of America between 1987 and 1989.
30/05/1919
René Barrientos, Bolivian general and politician, 55th President of Bolivia (died 1969)
René Emilio Barrientos Ortuño was a Bolivian military officer and politician who served as the 47th president of Bolivia from 1964 to 1965 and 1966 to 1969. During his first term, he shared power with Alfredo Ovando as co-president of a military junta and was the 30th vice president of Bolivia in 1964.
30/05/1918
Pita Amor, Mexican poet and author (died 2000)
Guadalupe Teresa Amor Schmidtlein, who wrote as Pita Amor, was a Mexican poet.
Bob Evans, American businessman, founded Bob Evans Restaurants (died 2007)
Robert Lewis Evans was an American restaurateur and marketer of pork sausage products. He founded a restaurant chain bearing his name. The company also owns Owens Country Sausage.
30/05/1916
Justin Catayée, French soldier and politician (died 1962)
Justin Catayée was a French politician who served in the French National Assembly from 1958 to 1962 and was the founder of the Guianese Socialist Party and fought in World War II. He was born in Cayenne, French Guiana, and died in the crash of Air France Flight 117 into a mountain in Guadeloupe on 22 June 1962.
Mort Meskin, American illustrator (died 1995)
Morton Meskin was an American comic book artist best known for his work in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books, well into the late-1950s and 1960s Silver Age.
30/05/1915
Len Carney, English footballer and soldier (died 1996)
Leonard Francis Carney was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward.
30/05/1914
Akinoumi Setsuo, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 37th Yokozuna (died 1979)
Akinoumi Setsuo , born Nagata Setsuo , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Hiroshima. He was the sport's 37th yokozuna.
30/05/1912
Julius Axelrod, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2004)
Julius Axelrod was an American biochemist. He won a share of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1970 along with Bernard Katz and Ulf von Euler. The Nobel Committee honored him for his work on the release and reuptake of catecholamine neurotransmitters, a class of chemicals in the brain that include epinephrine, norepinephrine, and, as was later discovered, dopamine. Axelrod also made major contributions to the understanding of the pineal gland and how it is regulated during the sleep-wake cycle.
Erich Bagge, German physicist and academic (died 1996)
Erich Rudolf Bagge was a German scientist. Bagge, a student of Werner Heisenberg for his doctorate and Habilitation, was engaged in German Atomic Energy research and the German nuclear energy project during the Second World War. He worked as an Assistant at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Physik in Berlin. Bagge, who became associated professor at the University of Hamburg in 1948, was in particular involved in the usage of nuclear power for trading vessels, and he was one of the founders of the Society for the Usage of Nuclear Energy in Ship-Building and Seafare.
Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (died 1980)
Hugh Emrys Griffith was a Welsh actor. Described by BFI Screenonline as a "wild-eyed, formidable character player", Griffith appeared in more than 100 theatre, film, and television productions in a career that spanned over 40 years. He was the second Welsh-born actor to win an Academy Award, winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Ben-Hur (1959), with an additional nomination for Tom Jones (1963).
Millicent Selsam, American author and academic (died 1996)
Millicent Ellis Selsam was an American children's author.
Joseph Stein, American playwright and author (died 2010)
Joseph Stein was an American playwright best known for writing the books for such musicals as Fiddler on the Roof and Zorba.
30/05/1910
Harry Bernstein, English-American journalist and author (died 2011)
Harry Louis Bernstein was a British-born American writer. Bernstein lived in Brick Township, New Jersey. He died at the age of 101, on June 3, 2011.
30/05/1909
Jacques Canetti, French music executive and talent agent (died 1997)
Nessim Jacques Canetti was a French music executive and a talent agent. Born into a Sephardic Jewish family, his parents were Jacques Elias (Elieser) and Mathilde (Mazal) Canetti. He was the brother of the Nobel Prize-winning author Elias Canetti (1905–1994) and of Georges Canetti (1911–1971), a researcher and professor at the Pasteur Institute. Canetti studied at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales.
Freddie Frith, English motorcycle road racer (died 1988)
Frederick Lee Frith OBE was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion. A former stonemason and later a motor cycle retailer in Grimsby, he was a stylish rider and five times winner of the Isle of Man TT. Frith was one of the few to win TT races before and after the Second World War. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1950 Birthday Honours.
Benny Goodman, American clarinet player, songwriter, and bandleader (died 1986)
Benjamin David Goodman was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially.
30/05/1908
Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1995)
Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén was a Swedish electrical engineer, plasma physicist and winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). He described the class of MHD waves now known as Alfvén waves. He was originally trained as an electrical power engineer and later moved to research and teaching in the fields of plasma physics and electrical engineering. Alfvén made many contributions to plasma physics, including theories describing the behavior of aurorae, the Van Allen radiation belts, the effect of magnetic storms on the Earth's magnetic field, the terrestrial magnetosphere, and the dynamics of plasmas in the Milky Way galaxy.
Mel Blanc, American voice actor (died 1989)
Melvin Jerome Blanc was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over sixty years. Referred to as "The Man of a Thousand Voices", he is regarded as the greatest and most influential voice actor of all time. Blanc is best known for providing voices for Looney Tunes cartoons by Warner Bros. during the golden age of American animation.
30/05/1907
Germaine Tillion, French anthropologist and academic (died 2008)
Germaine Tillion was a French ethnologist, known for her work in Algeria in the 1950s on behalf of the Government of France. A member of the French Resistance in World War II, she spent time in Ravensbrück concentration camp.
30/05/1906
Bruno Gröning, German mystic and author (died 1959)
Bruno Gröning was a German mystic who rose to fame in the late 1940s for performing faith healings.
30/05/1903
Countee Cullen, American poet and author (died 1946)
Countee Cullen was an American poet, novelist, children's writer, and playwright, particularly well known during the Harlem Renaissance.
30/05/1902
Stepin Fetchit, American actor and dancer (died 1985)
Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry, better known by his stage name Stepin Fetchit, was an American vaudevillian, comedian, and film actor of Jamaican and Bahamian descent, considered to be the first black actor to have a successful film career. His highest profile was during the 1930s in films and on stage, when his persona of Stepin Fetchit was billed as the "Laziest Man in the World".
30/05/1901
Alfred Karindi, Estonian pianist and composer (died 1969)
Alfred Karindi was an Estonian organist and composer.
Cornelia Otis Skinner, American actress and author (died 1979)
Cornelia Otis Skinner was an American writer and actress.
30/05/1899
Irving Thalberg, American screenwriter and producer (died 1936)
Irving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather production staff, and make profitable films, including Grand Hotel, China Seas, A Night at the Opera, Mutiny on the Bounty, Camille, and The Good Earth. His films carved out an international market, "projecting a seductive image of American life brimming with vitality and rooted in democracy and personal freedom", states biographer Roland Flamini.
30/05/1898
John Gilroy, English artist and illustrator (died 1985)
John Thomas Young Gilroy was an English artist and illustrator, best known for his advertising posters for Guinness, the Irish stout. He signed many of his works, simply, "Gilroy".
30/05/1897
Frank Wise, Australian politician, 16th Premier of Western Australia (died 1986)
Frank Joseph Scott Wise AO was a Labor Party politician who was the 16th Premier of Western Australia. He took office on 31 July 1945 in the closing stages of the Second World War, following the resignation of his predecessor due to ill health. He lost the following election two years later to the Liberal Party after Labor had held office for fourteen years previously.
30/05/1896
Howard Hawks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1977)
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. The critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." Roger Ebert called Hawks "one of the greatest American directors of pure movies, and a hero of auteur critics because he found his own laconic values in so many different kinds of genre material." He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for Sergeant York (1941) and earned the Honorary Academy Award in 1974.
30/05/1895
Maurice Tate, English cricketer (died 1956)
Maurice William Tate was an English cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s and the leader of England's Test bowling attack for a long time during this period. He was also the first Sussex cricketer to take a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket.
30/05/1894
Hubertus van Mook, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (died 1965)
Hubertus Johannes "Huib" van Mook was a Dutch administrator in the East Indies. During the Indonesian National Revolution, he served as the lieutenant governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1942 to 1948. Van Mook also had a son named Cornelius van Mook who studied marine engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also wrote about Java - and his work on Kota Gede is a good example of a colonial bureaucrat capable of examining and writing about local folklore.
30/05/1892
Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter (died 1972)
Fernand Amorsolo y Cueto was a portraitist and painter of rural Philippine landscapes. Nicknamed the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Art," he was the first-ever to be recognized as a National Artist of the Philippines. He was recognized as such for his "pioneering use of impressionistic technique" as well as his skill in the use of lighting and backlighting in his paintings, "significant not only in the development of Philippine art but also in the formation of Filipino notions of self and identity."
30/05/1890
Roger Salengro, French soldier and politician, French Minister of the Interior (died 1936)
Roger Henri Charles Salengro was a French politician. He achieved fame as Minister of the Interior during the Popular Front government in 1936. He committed suicide a few months after taking office, after being hounded by a calumny campaign orchestrated by extreme right-wing newspapers.
30/05/1887
Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian-American sculptor and illustrator (died 1964)
Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko was a Ukrainian-American avant-garde artist, sculptor, and graphic artist, active in France and the United States. He was one of the first to apply the principles of Cubism to architecture, analyzing human figures into geometrical forms.
Emil Reesen, Danish pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1964)
Emil Reesen was a Danish composer, conductor and pianist. Aside from composing for ballets and operas he was also a noted film score composer. He is remembered mainly for his operetta Farinelli (1942), which is still popular today.
30/05/1886
Laurent Barré, Canadian lawyer and politician (died 1964)
Laurent Barré was a Quebec author, politician and Cabinet Minister for 16 years.
Randolph Bourne, American theorist and author (died 1918)
Randolph Silliman Bourne was a progressive writer and intellectual born in Bloomfield, New Jersey, and a graduate of Columbia University. He is considered to be a spokesman for the young radicals living during World War I. His articles appeared in journals including The Seven Arts and The New Republic. Bourne is best known for his essays, especially his unfinished work "The State," discovered after he died. From this essay, which was published posthumously and included in Untimely Papers, comes the phrase "war is the health of the state" that laments the success of governments in arrogating authority and resources during conflicts.
30/05/1885
Villem Grünthal-Ridala, Estonian poet and linguist (died 1942)
Villem Grünthal-Ridala, born Wilhelm Grünthal was an Estonian poet, translator, linguist and folklorist.
30/05/1884
Siegmund Glücksmann, German soldier and politician (died 1942)
Siegmund Glücksmann was a German-Jewish socialist politician. In the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most prominent figures of the German minority socialist movement in Poland, functioned as its 'party ideologue' and represented the more Marxist oriented wing of the movement.
30/05/1883
Sandy Pearce, Australian rugby league player (died 1930)
Sidney Charles Pearce, better known as Sandy, was a pioneer Australian rugby league footballer and boxer. He is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century. In 1907 he played for New South Wales in the first rugby match run by the newly created 'New South Wales Rugby Football League' which had just split away from the established New South Wales Rugby Football Union. He made his first national representative appearance in 1908.
30/05/1882
Wyndham Halswelle, English runner and soldier (died 1915)
Wyndham Halswelle was a British athlete. He won the controversial 400 m race at the 1908 Summer Olympics, becoming the only athlete to win an Olympic title by a walkover.
30/05/1881
Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (died 1968)
Georg Carl Wilhelm Friedrich von Küchler was a German Generalfeldmarschall of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. He commanded the 18th Army and Army Group North during the Soviet-German war of 1941–1945.
30/05/1879
Colin Blythe, English cricketer and soldier (died 1917)
Colin Blythe, also known as Charlie Blythe, was an English first-class cricketer, active from 1899 to 1914. Born in Deptford, he played for Kent as a slow left arm orthodox (SLA) bowler and a right-handed batsman. He played in nineteen Test matches for England from 1901 to 1910.
Konstantin Ramul, Estonian psychologist and academic (died 1975)
Konstantin Ramul was an Estonian professor of psychology and longtime chair of psychology at the University of Tartu. He is best known for his work on the history of experimental psychology.
30/05/1875
Giovanni Gentile, Italian philosopher and academic (died 1944)
Giovanni Gentile was an Italian pedagogue, philosopher, and politician.
30/05/1874
Ernest Duchesne, French physician (died 1912)
Ernest Duchesne was a French physician who noted that certain molds kill bacteria. He made this discovery 32 years before Alexander Fleming discovered the antibiotic properties of penicillin, a substance derived from those molds, but his research went unnoticed.
30/05/1869
Grace Andrews, American mathematician (died 1951)
Grace Andrews was an American mathematician. She, along with Charlotte Angas Scott, was one of only two women listed in the first edition of American Men of Science, which appeared in 1906.
30/05/1862
Mirza Alakbar Sabir, Azerbaijani philosopher and poet (died 1911)
Mirza Ali-Akbar Tahirzada, commonly known by his pseudonym Sabir (صابر), was a satirist and poet in the Russian Empire, who played a leading role in development of Azerbaijani literature.
30/05/1846
Peter Carl Fabergé, Russian goldsmith and jeweler (died 1920)
Peter Carl Gustavovich Fabergé was a Russian goldsmith and jeweller. He is best known for creating Fabergé eggs made in the style of genuine Easter eggs, but using precious metals and gemstones rather than more mundane materials. He was one of the sons of Gustav Fabergé, the founder of the House of Fabergé.
30/05/1845
Amadeo I, Spanish king (died 1890)
Amadeo I, also known as Amadeus, was an Italian prince who reigned as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873. The only king of Spain to come from the House of Savoy, he was the second son of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy and was known for most of his life as the Duke of Aosta, the usual title for a second son in the Savoyard dynasty.
30/05/1844
Félix Arnaudin, French poet and photographer (died 1921)
Félix Arnaudin was a French poet, photographer, and specialist in Haute-Lande folklore. In Gascony, M. Arnaudin created his collection of tales by attending gatherings, as well as eddings nd various agricultural festivals. He left 3,000 photos to the Musée d'Aquitaine in Bordeaux.
30/05/1835
Alfred Austin, English author, poet, and playwright (died 1913)
Alfred Austin was an English poet who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1896, after an interval following the death of Tennyson, when the other candidates had either caused controversy or refused the honour. It was claimed that he was being rewarded for his support for the Conservative leader Lord Salisbury in the General Election of 1895. Austin's poems are little remembered today, his most popular work being prose idylls celebrating nature. Wilfred Scawen Blunt wrote of him, "He is an acute and ready reasoner, and is well read in theology and science. It is strange his poetry should be such poor stuff, and stranger still that he should imagine it immortal."
30/05/1820
Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Quebec (died 1890)
Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau was a Canadian lawyer and politician. Chauveau was the first premier of Quebec, following the establishment of Canada in 1867. Appointed to the office in 1867 as the leader of the Conservative Party, he won the provincial elections of 1867 and 1871. He resigned as premier and his seat in the provincial Legislative Assembly in 1873.
30/05/1819
William McMurdo, English general (died 1894)
Sir William Montagu Scott McMurdo was a British Army officer who rose to the rank of general. He saw active service in India, helped to run a military railway in the Crimean War and then managed various groups of volunteers working with the army. He was eventually knighted.
30/05/1814
Mikhail Bakunin, Russian philosopher and theorist (died 1876)
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin was a Russian revolutionary anarchist and political philosopher. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, social anarchist, and collectivist anarchist tendencies. Bakunin's prestige as a revolutionary also made him one of the most famous ideologues in Europe, gaining substantial influence among radicals throughout Russia and Europe.
Eugène Charles Catalan, Belgian-French mathematician and academic (died 1894)
Eugène Charles Catalan was a French and Belgian mathematician who worked on continued fractions, descriptive geometry, number theory and combinatorics. His notable contributions included discovering a periodic minimal surface in the space ; stating the famous Catalan's conjecture, which was eventually proved in 2002; and introducing the Catalan numbers to solve a combinatorial problem.
30/05/1800
Henri-Marie-Gaston Boisnormand de Bonnechose, French cardinal (died 1883)
Henri-Marie-Gaston Boisnormand de Bonnechose was a French Catholic and senator. He was the last surviving cardinal to have been born in the 18th century.
30/05/1797
Georg Amadeus Carl Friedrich Naumann, German mineralogist and geologist (died 1873)
Georg Amadeus Carl Friedrich Naumann, also known as Karl Friedrich Naumann, was a German mineralogist and geologist. The crater Naumann on the Moon is named after him.
30/05/1768
Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty, French general (died 1815)
Étienne-Marie-Antoine Champion, comte de Nansouty was a French cavalry commander during the French Revolutionary Wars who rose to the rank of General of Division in 1803 and subsequently held important military commands during the Napoleonic Wars.
30/05/1757
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1844)
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth was a British Tory statesman who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804 and as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1789 to 1801.
30/05/1719
Roger Newdigate, English politician (died 1806)
Sir Roger Newdigate, 5th Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1742 and 1780. He was a collector of antiquities.
30/05/1718
Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (died 1793)
Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire,, known as the 2nd Viscount Hillsborough from 1742 to 1751 and as the 1st Earl of Hillsborough from 1751 to 1789, was a British politician of the Georgian era.
30/05/1686
Antonina Houbraken, Dutch illustrator (died 1736)
Antonina Houbraken was an 18th-century Dutch draughtswoman who is known for her many topographical drawings of Dutch sites. She also drew landscapes. She is recorded as a skilled portraitist.
30/05/1623
John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (died 1686)
John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater, PC, was an English nobleman from the Egerton family.
30/05/1599
Samuel Bochart, French Protestant biblical scholar (died 1667)
Samuel Bochart was a French biblical scholar and Reformed minister, a student of Thomas Erpenius and the teacher of Pierre Daniel Huet. His two-volume Geographia Sacra seu Phaleg et Canaan exerted a profound influence on seventeenth-century Biblical exegesis.
30/05/1580
Fadrique de Toledo, 1st Marquis of Villanueva de Valdueza (died 1634)
Fadrique de Toledo Osorio, 1st Marquess of Valdueza, was a Spanish Navy officer and nobleman. He was a Knight of the Order of Santiago and became Captain General of the Spanish Navy at the age of 37.
30/05/1464
Barbara of Brandenburg, Bohemian queen (died 1515)
Barbara of Brandenburg, a member of the German House of Hohenzollern, was by birth Margravine of Brandenburg, and by her two marriages, Duchess of Głogów from 1472 to 1476, and Queen of Bohemia after her secon marriage from 1476 to 1490/1500 though she never traveled to Bohemia to be crowned and her marriage to King Vladislaus II remained unconsummated.
30/05/1423
Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (died 1461)
Georg von Peuerbach was an Austrian astronomer, poet, mathematician and instrument maker, best known for his streamlined presentation of Ptolemaic astronomy in the Theoricae Novae Planetarum. Peuerbach was instrumental in making astronomy, mathematics and literature simple and accessible for Europeans during the Renaissance and beyond.
30/05/1201
Theobald IV, count of Champagne (died 1253)
Theobald I, also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famous as a trouvère, and was the first Frenchman to rule Navarre.
30/05/1010
Ren Zong, Chinese emperor (died 1063)
Emperor Renzong of Song, personal name Zhao Zhen, was the fourth emperor of the Northern Song dynasty of China. He reigned for about 41 years from 1022 to his death in 1063, making him the longest reigning Song dynasty emperor. He was the sixth son of his predecessor, Emperor Zhenzong, and was succeeded by his cousin's son, Zhao Shu who took the throne as Emperor Yingzong because his own sons died prematurely.
Lives Remembered on 30th May
On 30th May, 128 remarkable people passed away — from 531 to 2025. Remember the lives and legacies of those we lost on this day.
30/05/2025
Étienne-Émile Baulieu, French biochemist and endocrinologist (born 1926)
Étienne-Émile Baulieu was a French biochemist and endocrinologist who was best known for his research in the field of steroid hormones and their role in reproduction and aging. He has been nicknamed the “father” of the abortion pill mainly as a result of his work on the abortion-inducing drug RU486 (Mifepristone). Baulieu also worked to determine if dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) was a prohormone and if it and other hormonal substitutions also increased longevity in humans.
Valerie Mahaffey, American actress (born 1953)
Valerie Mahaffey was a Canadian-American actress. She began her career starring in the NBC daytime soap opera The Doctors (1979–81), for which in 1980 she was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Loretta Swit, American actress and singer (born 1937)
Loretta Swit was an American stage and television actress. She was widely known for her character roles, especially her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on M*A*S*H, for which she was nominated for Emmy Awards in each season of the long-running show, and won two, in 1980 and 1982.
John E. Thrasher, American politician (born 1943)
John E. Thrasher was an American politician and state legislator in Florida. He was a businessman, lawyer, and lobbyist who served as the 15th president of Florida State University. He was approved by the Florida Board of Governors on November 6, 2014, and took office on November 10, 2014. On September 11, 2020, Thrasher and the university board of trustees announced his retirement in a joint statement. In May 2021, Richard McCullough was chosen by Florida State University's board of trustees to succeed Thrasher.
30/05/2024
Geneviève de Galard, French nurse (born 1925)
Geneviève de Galard was a French nurse who was dubbed l'ange de Dien Bien Phu during the French war in Indochina by the press in Hanoi, although in the camp she was known simply as Geneviève.
Drew Gordon, American professional basketball player (born 1990)
Drew Edward Gordon was an American professional basketball player. He spent most of his career playing overseas in Europe but also played domestically in the NBA G League and with the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
30/05/2021
Jason Dupasquier, Swiss motorcycle road racer (born 2001)
Jason Dupasquier was a Swiss motorcycle rider who competed in the Moto3 class in the motorcycle world championship until his death after a crash during qualifying at the 2021 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix. He was the son of Motocross rider Philippe Dupasquier.
30/05/2020
Michael Angelis, British actor (born 1944)
Nicolas Michael Angelis was an English actor. He was best known for his television roles as Chrissie Todd in Boys from the Blackstuff, Martin Niarchos in G.B.H. and as the longest-running narrator of the British children's series Thomas & Friends from 1991 to 2012, as well as several other products and media related to the franchise.
30/05/2019
Thad Cochran, American lawyer and politician (born 1937)
William Thad Cochran was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator for Mississippi from 1978 to 2018. A Republican, he previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 to 1978.
Jason Marcano, Trinidadian footballer (born 1983)
Jason Marcano was a Trinidad and Tobago international footballer who played as a forward.
30/05/2016
Tom Lysiak, Polish-Canadian ice hockey player (born 1953)
Thomas James Lysiak was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Selected in the first round, second overall, of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft by the Atlanta Flames, he was additionally selected by the Houston Aeros in the second round of the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft at 23rd overall.
Rick MacLeish, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1950)
Richard George MacLeish was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings. He played 12 seasons in Philadelphia, winning the Stanley Cup twice with the Flyers in 1974 and 1975. His 53 goals in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the Flyers is a franchise record that he shares with Bill Barber.
30/05/2015
Beau Biden, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 44th Attorney General of Delaware (born 1969)
Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III was an American politician, lawyer, and Army National Guard officer who served as the 44th attorney general of Delaware from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Biden family and the Democratic Party, he was the eldest child of 46th U.S. president Joe Biden and Neilia Hunter Biden.
Joël Champetier, Canadian author and screenwriter (born 1957)
Joël Champetier was a French-Canadian science fiction and fantasy author.
L. Tom Perry, American religious leader and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1922)
Lowell Tom Perry was an American businessman and religious leader who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1974 until his death.
30/05/2014
Hienadz Buraukin, Belarusian poet, journalist, and diplomat (born 1936)
Hienadz Mikalaevich Buraukin was a Belarusian poet, journalist and diplomat.
Henning Carlsen, Danish director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1927)
Henning Carlsen was a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer most noted for his documentaries and his contributions to the style of cinéma vérité. Carlsen's 1966 social-realistic drama Hunger (Sult) was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film. Carlsen also won the Bodil Award the following year for the comedy People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart. Acting as his own producer since 1960, Carlsen has directed more than 25 films, 19 for which he wrote the screenplay. In 2006, he received the Golden Swan Lifetime Achievement Award at the Copenhagen International Film Festival.
Joan Lorring, British actress (born 1926)
Joan Lorring was an American actress and singer known for her work in film and theatre. For her role as Bessy Watty in The Corn Is Green (1945), Lorring was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Lorring also originated the role of Marie Buckholder in Come Back, Little Sheba on Broadway in 1950, for which she won a Donaldson Award.
Leonidas Vasilikopoulos, Greek admiral (born 1932)
Leonidas Vasilikopoulos was a Greek Navy officer, who served as Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff in 1986–1989 and then as head of the Greek National Intelligence Service in 1993–1996. A distinguished officer, he is also notable for his participation in resistance groups against the Greek military junta of 1967–1974, being repeatedly imprisoned and exiled as a consequence.
30/05/2013
Jayalath Jayawardena, Sri Lankan physician and politician (born 1953)
Ruban Canistus Jayalath Jayawardena MP, commonly as Jayalath Jayawardena, was a medical doctor who was elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka for the opposition United National Party (UNP) in 1994. Jayawardena was known as a human rights activist. Jayawardena is also popular for his sheer commitment and loyalty for the UNP.
Larry Jones, American football player and coach (born 1933)
Larry Bruce Jones was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Florida State University from 1971 to 1973, compiling a record of 15–19. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Jones played as a linebacker and center at Louisiana State University (LSU). He also served as an assistant coach as his alma mater, LSU, and at the University of South Carolina, the United States Military Academy, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Kansas.
30/05/2012
John Fox, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (born 1957)
John Fox was an American comedian.
Andrew Huxley, English physiologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1917)
Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley was an English physiologist and biophysicist. He was born into the prominent Huxley family. After leaving Westminster School in central London, he went to Trinity College, Cambridge, on a scholarship, after which he joined Alan Hodgkin to study nerve impulses. Their eventual discovery of the basis for propagation of nerve impulses earned them the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1963. They made their discovery from the giant axon of the Atlantic squid. Soon after the outbreak of the Second World War, Huxley was recruited by the British Anti-Aircraft Command and later transferred to the Admiralty. After the war he resumed research at the University of Cambridge, where he developed interference microscopy that would be suitable for studying muscle fibres.
Gerhard Pohl, German economist and politician (born 1937)
Gerhard Pohl was a German politician and a member of the East German CDU. He served as Minister of Economics from April to August 1990, in the cabinet of Lothar de Maizière.
Jack Twyman, American basketball player and sportscaster (born 1934)
John Kennedy Twyman was an American professional basketball player and sports broadcaster. During his career, he was a caregiver for his disabled teammate Maurice Stokes and both are the namesakes of the NBA's Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year Award. Twyman was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
30/05/2011
Isikia Savua, Fijian police officer and diplomat (born 1952)
Isikia Rabici Savua was a senior Fijian diplomat who had a distinguished career in the military and police forces before taking up his last post as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations on 4 March 2003.
Saleem Shahzad, Pakistani journalist (born 1970)
Syed Saleem Shahzad was a Pakistani investigative journalist who wrote widely for leading European and Asian media. He served as the Pakistan Bureau Chief of Asia Times Online and Italian news agency Adnkronos (AKI).
Marek Siemek, Polish philosopher and historian (born 1942)
Marek Jan Siemek was a Polish philosopher and historian of German transcendental philosophy. He was a professor at the Institute of Philosophy of the University of Warsaw and the director of its Department of Social Philosophy.
Clarice Taylor, American actress (born 1917)
Clarice Taylor was an American stage, film and television actress. She is best known for playing Cousin Emma on Sanford and Son; Anna Huxtable, the mother of Cliff Huxtable, on The Cosby Show; and Mrs. Brooks in Five on the Black Hand Side (1973).
Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1921)
Rosalyn Sussman Yalow was an American medical physicist, and a co-winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for development of the radioimmunoassay technique. She was the second woman, and the first American-born woman, to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
30/05/2010
Yuri Chesnokov, Russian volleyball player and coach (born 1933)
Yuri Borisovich Chesnokov was a Russian volleyball player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1964 Summer Olympics. He was born in Moscow.
Dufferin Roblin, Canadian commander and politician, 14th Premier of Manitoba (born 1917)
Dufferin "Duff" Roblin was a Canadian businessman and politician. He served as the 14th premier of Manitoba from 1958 to 1967. Roblin was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. In the government of Brian Mulroney, he served as government leader in the Senate. He was the grandson of Sir Rodmond Roblin, who also served as Manitoba Premier. His ancestor John Roblin served in the Upper Canada assembly.
30/05/2009
Torsten Andersson, Swedish painter and illustrator (born 1926)
Otto Torsten Andersson was a Swedish modernist painter, best known for his theme of the realistic depiction of abstract sculptures, and two-dimensional exploration of three-dimensional objects, where the colors seem to be superimposed on a random and perfunctory manner.
Susanna Haapoja, Finnish politician (born 1966)
Aino Maria Susanna Haapoja was a Finnish politician in the Centre Party. Haapoja was born in Kauhava and became a Member of Parliament in 2003 and was elected for a second term in 2007. In 2005, she became the chair of the Kauhava city council. She was an agrologist by training.
Ephraim Katzir, Israeli biophysicist and politician, 4th President of Israel (born 1916)
Ephraim Katzir was an Israeli biophysicist and Labor Party politician. He was the president of Israel from 1973 until 1978.
30/05/2007
Jean-Claude Brialy, Algerian-French actor and director (born 1933)
Jean-Claude Brialy was a French actor and film director.
Birgit Dalland, Norwegian politician (born 1907)
Birgit Ellenora Johanne Dalland was a Norwegian politician for the Communist Party.
Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, Indian poet and critic (born 1927)
Gunturu Seshendra Sarma B.A. B.L., also known as Yuga Kavi, was a Telugu poet, critic and litterateur. He is well known for his works Naa Desam, Naa Prajalu and Kaala Rekha. He authored over fifty works which have been translated into English, Kannada, Urdu, Bengali, Hindi, Nepali and Greek.
30/05/2006
Shohei Imamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1926)
Shōhei Imamura was a Japanese film director. His main interest as a filmmaker lay in the depiction of the lower strata of Japanese society. A key figure in the Japanese New Wave, who continued working into the 21st century, Imamura is the only director from Japan to win two Palme d'Or awards, doing so with The Ballad of Narayama (1983) and The Eel (1997).
David Lloyd, New Zealand biologist and academic (born 1938)
David Graham Lloyd was an evolutionary biologist and the seventh New Zealander to be elected as a fellow of the Royal Society in London. He did pioneering work in the field of plant reproduction.
Robert Sterling, American actor (born 1917)
Robert Sterling was an American actor. He was best known for starring in the television series Topper (1953–1955).
30/05/2005
Gérald Leblanc, Acadian poet (born 1945)
Gérald Leblanc was an Acadian poet notable for seeking his own Acadian roots and the current voices of Acadian culture. Leblanc was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick. He studied at the Université de Moncton and lived in Moncton, where he died in 2005. He also spent a good part of his life in New York City, which he loved.
Tomasz Pacyński, Polish journalist and author (born 1958)
Tomasz Pacyński was a Polish fantasy and science fiction writer, born in Warsaw. He was one of the creators and, from 2004, the chief editor of Fahrenheit, the first Polish Internet science fiction fanzine. He published short stories in such magazines as Science Fiction, SFera, and Fantasy, and in Internet fanzines such as Fahrenheit, Esensja, Fantazin and Srebrny Glob. He also wrote articles published in SFera and Science Fiction.
Alma Ziegler, American baseball player and stenographer (born 1918)
Alma Ziegler was an infielder and pitcher who played from 1944 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m), 125 lb., Ziegler batted and threw right-handed.
30/05/2001
Denis Whitaker, Canadian general and historian (born 1915)
Brigadier William Denis Whitaker, was a Canadian athlete, soldier, businessman, and author.
30/05/2000
Tex Beneke, American saxophonist and bandleader (born 1914)
Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. His band is also associated with the careers of Eydie Gormé, Henry Mancini, and Ronnie Deauville. Beneke also solos on the recording the Glenn Miller Orchestra made of their popular song "In the Mood" and sings on another popular Glenn Miller recording, "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Jazz critic Will Friedwald considers Beneke to be one of the major blues singers who sang with the big bands of the early 1940s.
30/05/1999
Kalju Lepik, Estonian poet and author (born 1920)
Kalju Lepik was an Estonian poet who lived as an exile for most of his life.
30/05/1996
Léon-Étienne Duval, French cardinal (born 1903)
Léon-Étienne Duval was a French prelate and cardinal. He served as Archbishop of Algiers from 1954 to 1988, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965.
Alo Mattiisen, Estonian composer (born 1961)
Alo Mattiisen was an Estonian musician and composer.
30/05/1995
Ted Drake, English footballer and manager (born 1912)
Edward Joseph Drake was an English football player and manager. As a player, he first played for Southampton but made his name playing for Arsenal in the 1930s, winning two league titles and an FA Cup, as well as five caps for England. Drake is Arsenal's joint fifth highest goalscorer of all time. He also holds the record for the most goals scored in a top flight game in English football, with seven against Aston Villa in December 1935. A former centre forward, Drake has been described as a "classic number 9" and as a "strong, powerful, brave and almost entirely unthinking" player who "typified the English view."
Lofty England, English-Austrian engineer (born 1911)
Frank Raymond Wilton "Lofty" England was an engineer and motor company manager from Britain. He rose to fame as the manager of the Jaguar Cars sports car racing team in the 1950s, during which time Jaguar cars won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race on five occasions. After the company's withdrawal from racing England moved into the mainstream management of Jaguar Cars, later succeeding Sir William Lyons as its chairman and Chief Executive, before retiring in 1974.
Bobby Stokes, English footballer (born 1951)
Robert William Thomas Stokes was an English footballer, best known for scoring the winning goal in the 83rd minute of the FA Cup Final for Southampton against Manchester United in 1976.
30/05/1994
Ezra Taft Benson, American religious leader, 13th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1899)
Ezra Taft Benson was an American farmer, federal government official, and religious leader. He served as the 15th United States Secretary of Agriculture during the entirety of both presidential terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower; he was the 13th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1985 until his death in 1994.
Marcel Bich, Italian-French businessman, co-founded Société Bic (born 1914)
Marcel Bich, Baron Bich was an Italian-French manufacturer and co-founder of Bic, the world's leading producer of ballpoint pens, lighters and razors.
Agostino Di Bartolomei, Italian footballer (born 1955)
Agostino Di Bartolomei was an Italian football player, who played as a midfielder or as a defender, in a sweeper role. Famed for his elegance on the ball and playmaking skills, he is regarded as one of A.S. Roma's greatest players ever, and one of the greatest Italian players never to have been capped by the Italy national team.
30/05/1993
Sun Ra, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (born 1914)
Le Sony'r Ra, better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific output, and theatrical performances. For much of his career, Ra led The Arkestra, an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up.
30/05/1990
Cécile Chabot, Canadian poet and illustrator (born 1907)
Cécile Chabot was a Canadian poet and illustrator.
30/05/1986
Perry Ellis, American fashion designer, founded his own eponymous fashion brand (born 1940)
Perry Edwin Ellis was an American fashion designer who founded his eponymous sportswear house in the mid-1970s. Ellis's influence on the fashion industry has been called "a huge turning point" because he introduced new patterns and proportions to a market which was dominated by more traditional men's clothing.
30/05/1984
Manuel Buendía, Mexican journalist and political columnist (born 1926)
Manuel Buendía Tellezgirón was a Mexican journalist and political columnist who last worked for the daily Excélsior, one of the most-read newspapers in Mexico City. His direct reporting style in his column Red Privada, which publicly exposed government and law enforcement corruption, organized crime, and drug trafficking, was distributed and read in over 200 newspapers across Mexico.
30/05/1982
Albert Norden, German journalist and politician (born 1904)
Albert Norden was a German communist politician, academic and journalist who held several senior positions in the ruling Socialist Unity Party of East Germany from the 1950s until his retirement in 1981. Among his responsibilities were domestic and foreign propaganda, the Party Academy "Karl Marx", and the National Front. He also edited the Braunbuch, published in 1965, in which nearly 2,000 leading West Germans were named as former Nazis.
30/05/1981
Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1955)
Donald Allan Ashby was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who was a centre for six seasons in the National Hockey League from 1975–76 until 1980–81.
Ziaur Rahman, Bangladeshi general and politician, 7th President of Bangladesh (born 1936)
Ziaur Rahman was a Bangladeshi military leader and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of the country's independence war, Zia broadcast the Bangladeshi declaration of independence in March 1971 from Chittagong. In the aftermath of the Sipahi-Janata revolution in 1975, he consolidated power to lead Bangladesh with pragmatic policies through economic liberalization and civic nationalism that significantly contributed to the economic recovery of the country. He is often referred to as the ‘‘Shaheed President’’ in Bangladesh. He also founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
30/05/1980
Carl Radle, American bass player and producer (born 1942)
Carl Dean Radle was an American bassist who toured and recorded with many of the most influential recording artists of the late 1960s and 1970s. Radle is best remembered for his work with Eric Clapton from 1969 to 1979, including as a member of his band Derek and the Dominos. Radle is sometimes called Clapton's "right hand man" as he helped him during dark periods of his life battling drug addiction.
30/05/1978
Jean Deslauriers, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (born 1909)
Jean Deslauriers was a Canadian conductor, violinist, and composer. As a conductor he had a long and fruitful partnership with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; conducting orchestras for feature films and television and radio programs for more than 40 years. He also worked as a guest conductor with orchestras and opera companies throughout Canada and served on the conducting staff of the Opéra du Québec. The Canadian Encyclopedia describes him as "a conductor with a sober but efficient technique, who was always faithful to the written score [and] equally at ease conducting concerts, opera, and lighter repertoire." His best-known compositions are his Prélude for strings and the song, La Musique des yeux. He is the father of soprano Yolande Deslauriers-Husaruk.
30/05/1976
Max Carey, American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1890)
Maximillian George Carnarius, also known as Max George Carey, was an American professional baseball center fielder and manager. Carey played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1910 through 1926 and for the Brooklyn Robins from 1926 through 1929. He managed the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932 and 1933.
Mitsuo Fuchida, Japanese captain (born 1902)
Mitsuo Fuchida was a Japanese captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and a bomber observer in the Imperial Japanese Navy before and during World War II. He is perhaps best known for leading the first wave of air attacks on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Working under the fleet commander, Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, Fuchida was responsible for the coordination of the aerial attack.
30/05/1975
Steve Prefontaine, American runner (born 1951)
Steve Roland Prefontaine was an American long-distance runner who set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters from a period of 1973 to 1975. He competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and he was preparing for the 1976 Olympics with the Oregon Track Club at the time of his death in 1975.
Tatsuo Shimabuku, Japanese martial artist, founded Isshin-ryū (born 1908)
Tatsuo Shimabuku was an Okinawan, Japanese martial artist. He is the founder of Isshin-ryū style of karate.
Michel Simon, Swiss-born French actor (born 1895)
Michel Simon was a Swiss actor of German origin active primarily in France. He appeared in many notable French films, including La Chienne (1931), Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932), L'Atalante (1934), Port of Shadows (1938), The Head (1959), and The Train (1964). Charlie Chaplin said he was ‘the greatest actor in the world’.
30/05/1971
Marcel Dupré, French organist and composer (born 1886)
Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue.
30/05/1967
Claude Rains, English-American actor (born 1889)
William Claude Rains was a British and American character actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. He was the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor, and is considered one of the screen's great character stars who played cultured villains during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
30/05/1965
Louis Hjelmslev, Danish linguist and academic (born 1899)
Louis Trolle Hjelmslev was a Danish linguist whose ideas formed the basis of the Copenhagen School of linguistics. Born into an academic family, Hjelmslev studied comparative linguistics in Copenhagen, Prague and Paris. In 1931, he founded the Cercle Linguistique de Copenhague. Together with Hans Jørgen Uldall he developed a structuralist theory of language which he called glossematics, which further developed the semiotic theory of Ferdinand de Saussure. Glossematics as a theory of language is characterized by a high degree of formalism. It is interested in describing the formal and semantic characteristics of language in separation from sociology, psychology or neurobiology, and has a high degree of logical rigour. Hjelmslev regarded linguistics – or glossematics – as a formal science. He was a pioneer of formal linguistics. Hjelmslev's theory became widely influential in structural and functional grammar, and in semiotics.
30/05/1964
Isaac Babalola Akinyele, Nigerian king (born 1882)
Oba Sir Isaac Babalola Akinyele, KBE was the first educated Olubadan of Ibadan, and the second Christian to ascend the throne.
Eddie Sachs, American race car driver (born 1927)
Edward Julius Sachs Jr. was an American racing driver in the United States Auto Club.
Leó Szilárd, Hungarian-American physicist and engineer (born 1898)
Leo Szilard was a Hungarian-born American physicist, biologist and inventor who made numerous important discoveries in nuclear physics and the biological sciences. He conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, and patented the idea in 1936. In late 1939 he wrote the Einstein–Szilard letter for Albert Einstein's signature that resulted in the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb, and then in 1945 wrote the Szilard petition asking president Harry S. Truman to demonstrate the bomb without dropping it on civilians. According to György Marx, he was one of the Hungarian scientists known as The Martians.
30/05/1961
Rafael Trujillo, Dominican soldier and politician, 36th President of the Dominican Republic (born 1891)
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, nicknamed "El Jefe", was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He was the 36th and 39th president from 1930 to 1938 and again from 1942 to 1952. He also served as the first generalissimo, the de facto most powerful position in the country at the time from 1930 until his assassination. Under that position, Trujillo served under figurehead presidents.
30/05/1960
Boris Pasternak, Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1890)
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian and Soviet poet, novelist, and literary translator.
30/05/1957
Piero Carini, Italian race car driver (born 1921)
Piero Carini was a racing driver from Italy. He was born in Genoa and died in Saint-Étienne, France.
30/05/1955
Bill Vukovich, American race car driver (born 1918)
William Vukovich was an American racing driver. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500s, plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races, and died while leading the 1955 Indianapolis 500.
30/05/1953
Dooley Wilson, American actor and singer (born 1886)
Arthur "Dooley" Wilson was an American actor, singer and musician who is best remembered for his portrayal of Sam in the 1942 film Casablanca. In that romantic drama, he performs its theme song "As Time Goes By".
30/05/1951
Hermann Broch, Austrian-American author (born 1886)
Hermann Broch was an Austrian writer, best known for two major works of modernist fiction: The Sleepwalkers and The Death of Virgil.
30/05/1949
Emmanuel Célestin Suhard, French cardinal (born 1874)
Emmanuel Célestin Suhard was a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 1940 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1935. He was instrumental in the founding of the Mission of France and the worker-priest movement, to bring the clergy closer to the people.
30/05/1948
József Klekl, Slovene-Hungarian priest and politician (born 1874)
József Klekl was a Slovene Roman Catholic priest from Prekmurje and politician in Hungary, writer, governor of the Slovene People's Party (Slovenska lüdska stranka), later a delegate in Belgrade. Klekl was an active proponent of the independence of the Slovene March in Hungary (Slovenska krajina), and for some time fusion with the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs.
30/05/1947
Georg von Trapp, Austrian captain (born 1880)
Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Navy who became the patriarch of the Trapp Family Singers. After their naturalisation as US citizens, the family name was changed to 'Trapp' without the 'von'.
30/05/1946
Louis Slotin, Canadian physicist and chemist (born 1910)
Louis Alexander Slotin was a Canadian physicist and chemist who took part in the Manhattan Project. Born and raised in the North End of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Slotin earned both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Manitoba, and his doctorate in physical chemistry at King's College London in 1936. Afterwards, he joined the University of Chicago as a research associate to help design a cyclotron.
30/05/1941
Prajadhipok, Thai king (born 1893)
Prajadhipok, also known as Rama VII was the seventh monarch of the Chakri dynasty and the last king of Siam under the absolute monarchy. He ascended the throne in 1925 and reigned until his abdication in 1935 during his self-imposed exile following his fallout with the new democratic government after the 1932 Siamese Revolution, which brought an end to the country’s absolute monarchy.
30/05/1939
Floyd Roberts, American race car driver (born 1904)
Floyd Marion Roberts was an American racing driver. He won the 1938 Indianapolis 500 with a then-record speed of 117.2 mph (188.6 km/h). He led for 92 laps. The following year, 1939, driving the same car, Roberts was killed in a crash. He was the first defending champion of the race to have been killed in competition.
30/05/1934
Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral (born 1848)
Tōgō Heihachirō , served as a gensui or admiral of the fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and became one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. As Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, he successfully confined the Russian Pacific naval forces to Port Arthur before winning a decisive victory over a relieving fleet at Tsushima in May 1905. Western journalists called Tōgō "the Nelson of the East". He remains deeply revered as a national hero in Japan, with shrines and streets named in his honour.
30/05/1926
Vladimir Steklov, Russian mathematician and physicist (born 1864)
Vladimir Andreevich Steklov was a prominent Russian and Soviet mathematician, mechanician and physicist.
30/05/1925
Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian and author (born 1876)
Arthur Wilhelm Ernst Victor Moeller van den Bruck was a German cultural historian, philosopher, and key intellectual figure of the Conservative Revolution.
30/05/1920
Mirza Muhammad Yusuf Ali, Bengali writer and social activist (born 1858)
Mirza Muhammad Yusuf Ali was a Bengali writer and reformer in British India.
30/05/1918
Georgi Plekhanov, Russian philosopher and theorist (born 1856)
Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov was a Russian Marxist theorist, philosopher, and revolutionary. After beginning his revolutionary career as a populist, in 1883 Plekhanov established the Emancipation of Labour group, the first Russian Marxist political organisation. He is widely regarded as the "father of Russian Marxism", and his theoretical works were instrumental in converting a generation of revolutionaries, including Vladimir Lenin, to the cause.
30/05/1912
Wilbur Wright, American pilot and businessman, co-founded the Wright Company (born 1867)
The Wright brothers, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright, were American aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful airplane. They made the first controlled, sustained flight of an engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft with the Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903, four miles (6 km) south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, at what is now known as Kill Devil Hills. In 1904 the Wright brothers developed the Wright Flyer II, which made longer-duration flights including the first circle, followed in 1905 by the first truly practical fixed-wing aircraft, the Wright Flyer III.
30/05/1911
Milton Bradley, American businessman, founded the Milton Bradley Company (born 1836)
Milton Bradley was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased by Hasbro in 1984, and folded in 1998.
30/05/1901
Victor D'Hondt, Belgian mathematician, lawyer, and jurist (born 1841)
Victor Joseph Auguste D'Hondt was a Belgian lawyer and jurist of civil law at Ghent University. He devised a procedure, the D'Hondt method, which he first described in 1878, for allocating seats to candidates in party-list proportional representation elections. The method has been adopted by a number of countries, including Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Fiji, Finland, Israel, Japan, North Macedonia, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovenia, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Iceland, Uruguay and Wales. A modified D'Hondt system is used for elections to the London Assembly and the Scottish Parliament.
30/05/1892
Mary Hannah Gray Clarke, American author, correspondent, and poet (born 1835)
Mary Hannah Gray Clarke was an American author, correspondent, and poet from Rhode Island. She wrote extensively for magazines and for the public press, and was also the author of many dramas, lyric poems, operettas, stories for the young, and essays. In addition to the operettas, "Just Like Cinderella" and "Jack Frost's Visit to the Fairies", her works included "Effle, Fairy Queen of Dolls," "Prince Pussin-Boots," "Golden Hair and her Knight of the Beanstalk in the Enchanted Forest," "Obed Owler and the Prize Writers," "How I Came to Leave Town and What Came of It," "Edith Morton, the Sensible Young Lady;" "The Story that the Willow Basket Told to Faith Fairchild;" "English Lyrics;" and "Home;" as well as a number of songs, such as "Were it not for Dreams;" "Twittering Swallow;" "Robin, Robin, Bold and Free;" "Down by the River;" "Not to Blame;" and "Our-Leafed Clover."
30/05/1875
Rosa May Billinghurst, "cripple suffragette" (sic)
Rosa May Billinghurst was a British suffragette and women's rights activist. She was known popularly as the "cripple suffragette" as she campaigned in a tricycle.
30/05/1873
Karamat Ali Jaunpuri, Indian Muslim scholar, (born 1800)
Karāmat ʿAlī Jaunpūrī, born as Muḥammad ʿAlī Jaunpūrī, was a nineteenth-century Indian Muslim social reformer and founder of the Taiyuni movement. He played a major role in propagating to the masses of Bengal and Assam via public sermons, and wrote over forty books. Syed Ameer Ali is one of his notable students.
30/05/1867
Ramón Castilla, Peruvian military leader and politician, President of Peru (born 1797)
Ramón Castilla y Marquesado was a Peruvian caudillo who served twice as President of Peru, first in 1845–1851, and then in 1855–1862. He also led a Military junta in 1844, and was interim president for a couple of days in April 1863. His earliest prominent appearance in Peruvian history began with his participation in a commanding role of the army of the Libertadores that helped Peru become an independent nation. Later, he led the country when the economy boomed due to the exploitation of guano deposits. Castilla's governments are remembered for having abolished slavery and modernized the state.
30/05/1865
John Catron, American lawyer and judge (born 1786)
John Catron was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1837 to 1865, during the Taney Court.
30/05/1855
Mary Reibey, Australian businesswoman, (born 1777)
Mary Reibey was an English-born merchant, shipowner and trader who was transported to Australia as a convict. After gaining her freedom, she was viewed by her contemporaries as a community role model and became legendary as a successful businesswoman in the colony.
30/05/1832
James Mackintosh, Scottish historian, jurist, and politician (born 1765)
Sir James Mackintosh FRS FRSE was a Scottish jurist, Whig politician and Whig historian. His studies and sympathies embraced many interests. He was trained as a doctor and barrister, and worked also as a journalist, judge, administrator, professor, philosopher and politician.
30/05/1829
Philibert Jean-Baptiste Curial, French general (born 1774)
Philibert-Jean-Baptiste François Joseph, comte Curial was a general in the French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars.
30/05/1778
Voltaire, French philosopher and author (born 1694)
François-Marie Arouet, known by his pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, philosopher (philosophe), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit and his criticism of Christianity and of slavery, Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state.
José de la Borda, French/Spanish mining magnate in colonial Mexico (born ca. 1700)
José de la Borda was a Spaniard who migrated to New Spain in the 18th century, amassing a great fortune in mines in Taxco and Zacatecas in Mexico. At one point, he was the richest man in Mexico. He is best remembered today through several architectural works that he sponsored, the most monumental being the Santa Prisca Church in Taxco.
30/05/1770
François Boucher, French painter and set designer (born 1703)
François Boucher was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories, and pastoral scenes. He was perhaps the most celebrated painter and decorative artist of the 18th century.
30/05/1744
Alexander Pope, English poet, essayist, and translator (born 1688)
Alexander Pope was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, Pope is best known for his satirical and discursive poetry including An Essay on Criticism (1711), The Rape of the Lock (1712–1717), The Dunciad (1728–1743), and for his translations of Homer.
30/05/1718
Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle, Dutch-English general (born 1670)
Arnold Joost van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle was a Dutch States Army officer who fought for William III of England and became the first Earl of Albemarle. He had a very close relationship with William and proved a capable cavalry commander. In the latter stages of the War of the Spanish Succession he sometimes assumed Dutch supreme command in absence of Claude Frédéric t'Serclaes, Count of Tilly.
30/05/1712
Andrea Lanzani, Italian painter (born 1645)
Andrea Lanzani was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.
30/05/1696
Henry Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Tewkesbury, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1638)
Henry Capell, Baron Capell of Tewkesbury, KB, PC was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1660 and 1692. He was then created Baron Capell.
30/05/1670
John Davenport, English minister, co-founded the New Haven Colony (born 1597)
John Davenport was an English Puritan clergyman and co-founder of the American colony of New Haven.
30/05/1640
Peter Paul Rubens, German-Belgian painter (born 1577)
Sir Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens's highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of classical and Christian history. His unique and immensely popular Baroque style emphasised movement, colour, and sensuality, which followed the immediate, dramatic artistic style promoted in the Counter-Reformation. Rubens was a painter producing altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects. He was also a prolific designer of cartoons for the Flemish tapestry workshops and of frontispieces for the publishers in Antwerp.
30/05/1606
Guru Arjan Dev, fifth of the Sikh gurus (born 1563)
Guru Arjan was the fifth of the ten Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of the Sikh scripture called the Adi Granth, which later expanded into the Guru Granth Sahib. He is regarded as the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith. He is credited for founding the settlements of Kartarpur, Hargobindpur, and Tarn Taran.
30/05/1593
Christopher Marlowe, English poet and playwright (born 1564)
Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the "many imitations" of his play Tamburlaine, modern scholars consider him to have been the foremost dramatist in London in the years just before his mysterious early death. Some scholars also believe that he greatly influenced William Shakespeare, who was baptised in the same year as Marlowe and later succeeded him as the preeminent Elizabethan playwright. Marlowe was the first to achieve critical reputation for his use of blank verse, which became the standard for the era. His plays are distinguished by their overreaching protagonists. Themes found within Marlowe's literary works have been noted as humanistic with realistic emotions, which some scholars find difficult to reconcile with Marlowe's "anti-intellectualism" and his catering to the prurient tastes of his Elizabethan audiences for generous displays of extreme physical violence, cruelty, and bloodshed.
30/05/1574
Charles IX of France (born 1550)
Charles IX was King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II in 1560, and as such was the penultimate monarch of the House of Valois.
30/05/1472
Jacquetta of Luxembourg, daughter of Pierre de Luxembourg (born 1416)
Jacquetta of Luxembourg was a prominent figure in the Wars of the Roses. Through her short-lived first marriage to the Duke of Bedford, brother of King Henry V, she was firmly allied to the House of Lancaster. However, following the emphatic Lancastrian defeat at the Battle of Towton, she and her second husband Richard Woodville sided closely with the House of York. Three years after the battle and the accession of Edward IV of England, Jacquetta's eldest daughter Elizabeth Woodville married him and became queen consort of England. Jacquetta bore Woodville 14 children and stood trial on charges of witchcraft, of which she was exonerated.
30/05/1469
Lope de Barrientos, Castilian bishop (born 1389)
Lope de Barrientos (1382–1469), sometimes called Obispo Barrientos, was a powerful clergyman and statesman of the Crown of Castile during the 15th century, although his prominence and the influence he wielded during his lifetime is not a subject of common study in Spanish history.
30/05/1434
Prokop the Great, Czech general (born 1380)
Prokop the Great or Prokop the Bald or the Shaven was a Czech Hussite general and a prominent Taborite military leader during the Hussite Wars. On his mother's side, he came from a German patrician family living in Prague.
30/05/1431
Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint (born 1412)
Joan of Arc is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War. Stating that she acted under divine guidance, she became a military leader who gained recognition as a savior of France.
30/05/1416
Jerome of Prague, Czech martyr and theologian (born 1379)
Jerome of Prague was a Czech scholastic philosopher and theologian. Jerome was one of the chief followers of Jan Hus and was burned for heresy at the Council of Constance.
30/05/1376
Joan of Ponthieu, Dame of Epernon, French noblewoman
Jeanne de Ponthieu, dame d'Épernon, Countess of Vendôme and of Castres, better known in English as Joan of Ponthieu, was a French vassal; she was Dame d'Épernon suo jure by inheritance from 1343 to 1376. She was the youngest daughter of Jean II de Ponthieu, Count of Aumale. She was Countess of Vendôme and of Castres as the wife of Jean VI de Vendôme, Count of Vendôme and of Castres. She acted as regent for her infant granddaughter Jeanne, suo jure Countess of Vendôme from 1371 until the child's premature death in 1372.
30/05/1347
John Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Knayth, English peer (born 1290)
John D'arcy, 1st Baron D'arcy de Knayth was an English peer. He was created 1st Baron Darcy in 1317.
30/05/1252
Ferdinand III, king of Castile and León (born 1199)
Ferdinand III, called the Saint, was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berengaria of Castile. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. Ferdinand III was one of the most successful kings of Castile, securing not only the permanent union of the crowns of Castile and León, but also masterminding the most expansive southward territorial expansion campaign yet in the Guadalquivir Valley, in which Islamic rule was in disarray in the wake of the defeat of the Almohad caliphate at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. His repeated and decisive victories against the Islamic Caliphate earned him the title Athleta Christi, meaning 'Champion of Christ', which was conferred upon him by Pope Gregory IX.
30/05/1159
Władysław II the Exile, High Duke of Poland and Duke of Silesia (born 1105)
Władysław II the Exile was the high duke of Poland and duke of Silesia from 1138 until his expulsion in 1146. He is the progenitor of the Silesian Piasts.
30/05/1035
Baldwin IV, count of Flanders (born 980)
Baldwin IV, called the Bearded, was the count of Flanders from 987 until his death.
30/05/0947
Ma Xifan, king of Chu (born 899)
Ma Xifan, courtesy name Baogui (寶規), also known by his posthumous name as the Prince Wenzhao of Chu (楚文昭王), was the third ruler of the Ma Chu dynasty of China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
30/05/0727
Hubertus, bishop Liège
Year 727 (DCCXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 727 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
30/05/0531
Xiao Tong, prince of the Liang dynasty (born 501)
Xiao Tong, courtesy name Deshi (德施), formally Zhaoming Taizi, was a crown prince of the Chinese Liang dynasty, posthumously honored as Emperor Zhaoming (昭明皇帝). He was the oldest son and heir apparent of Emperor Wu of Liang, whom he predeceased. Xiao Tong's enduring legacy is the literary compendium Wen Xuan.
Celebrations & Special Days Worldwide on 30th May
Anguilla Day, commemorates the beginning of the Anguillian Revolution in 1967. (Anguilla)
Holidays in Anguilla are predominantly religious holidays, with a number of additional national holidays. The most important holiday in the Territory is Separation day, which celebrates the separation of the island from Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Canary Islands Day (Spain)
The Day of the Canary Islands is celebrated annually on 30 May. It is a public holiday in the Spanish autonomous community of the Canary Islands.
Christian feast day: Basil the Elder and Emmelia of Caesarea
Basil the Elder, father of Basil the Great, was raised in Caesarea Mazaca in the Pontus. He died in the year 350, and his feast day is 30 May.
Christian feast day: Dymphna
Dymphna is a saint honoured in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. According to tradition, she lived in the 7th century and was martyred by her father.
Christian feast day: Ferdinand III of Castile
Ferdinand III, called the Saint, was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berengaria of Castile. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. Ferdinand III was one of the most successful kings of Castile, securing not only the permanent union of the crowns of Castile and León, but also masterminding the most expansive southward territorial expansion campaign yet in the Guadalquivir Valley, in which Islamic rule was in disarray in the wake of the defeat of the Almohad caliphate at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. His repeated and decisive victories against the Islamic Caliphate earned him the title Athleta Christi, meaning 'Champion of Christ', which was conferred upon him by Pope Gregory IX.
Christian feast day: Isaac of Dalmatia
Saint Isaac the Confessor, also Isaacius or Isaakios, founder of the Dalmatian Monastery in Constantinople, was a Christian monk who is honored as a saint and confessor. He is sometimes referred to as Isaac the Dalmatian, not because he came from Dalmatia, but because of the monastery which he founded.
Christian feast day: Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War. Stating that she acted under divine guidance, she became a military leader who gained recognition as a savior of France.
Christian feast day: Joseph Marello
Giuseppe Marello was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Acqui from 1889 until his death and was also the founder of the Oblates of Saint Joseph. Marello served as an aide to the Bishop of Asti prior to his episcopal appointment after Pope Leo XIII named him to head the Acqui diocese; the pope had known Marello while a cardinal when the pair participated in the First Vatican Council more than a decade before. He became a proponent for the poor and destitute and never stopped rendering his assistance to those who needed it the most; this was something he undertook even in his childhood. Bishop Marello issued several pastoral letters that dealt with a range of issues such as catechism and organized one big pastoral visitation to visit all parishes in his diocese.
Christian feast day: Luke Kirby
Luke Kirby was an English Catholic priest and martyr from the North of England, executed during the reign of Elizabeth I. He is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Christian feast day: Matiya Mulumba
Matiya Mulumba, also known as Matthias Murumba Kalemba, was a Ugandan Catholic, one of the Martyrs of Uganda, killed on or around May 30, 1886 in his 50s. He, among the other martyrs, underwent the most excruciating pain. He was skinned alive and left to die.
Christian feast day: Blessed Otto Neururer
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. Beati is the plural form, referring to those who have undergone the process of beatification; they possess the title of "Blessed" before their names and are often referred to in English as "a Blessed" or, plurally, "Blesseds".
Christian feast day: May 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
May 29 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - May 31
Indian Arrival Day (Trinidad and Tobago)
Indian Arrival Day is a public holiday that was first started in Trinidad and Tobago to celebrate the East Indian immigrants arrival to the nation during the indentureship period.
Kaamatan, harvest festival in the state of Sabah and the federal territory of Labuan (Malaysia)
Kaamatan is a form of harvest festival celebrated on 30 and 31 May annually in the state of Sabah in Malaysia.
Lod Massacre Remembrance Day (Puerto Rico)
The Lod Airport massacre was an attack that was carried out by the Japanese Red Army on the Lod Airport near Tel Aviv on 30 May 1972. It resulted in the killing of 26 people and the injury of 80 others. Two of the attackers were killed, while a third, Kōzō Okamoto, was captured after being wounded.
Mother's Day (Nicaragua)
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in March or May. It complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Father's Day, Siblings Day, and Grandparents' Day.
Statehood Day (Croatia)
Statehood Day is an annual public holiday and national day celebrated on 30 May in Croatia to celebrate the constitution of the first modern multi-party Croatian Parliament in 1990. As a national day and public holiday, it is a non-working day for all government employees and the majority of the labour force based in Croatia.
What Happened on 30th May?
66 significant events took place on Tuesday, 30th May — stretching from 70 to 2024. Explore the moments that shaped history on this day.
30/05/2024
Donald Trump is convicted of falsifying business records in his New York trial, the first time a former President of the United States has been found guilty in a criminal case.
Donald John Trump is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.
30/05/2020
The Crew Dragon Demo-2 launches from the 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.
Crew Dragon Demo-2 was the first crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft, named Endeavour, launched on May 30, 2020 on a Falcon 9 rocket, and carried NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station in the first crewed orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since the final Space Shuttle mission in 2011, and the first ever operated by a commercial provider. Demo-2 was also the first two-person orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since STS-4 in 1982. Demo-2 completed the validation of crewed spaceflight operations using SpaceX hardware and received human-rating certification for the spacecraft, including astronaut testing of Crew Dragon capabilities on orbit.
30/05/2013
Nigeria passes a law banning same-sex marriage.
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of 923,769 square kilometres (356,669 mi2). With a population of more than 242 million, it is the most populous country in Africa, and the world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where its capital, Abuja, is located. The largest city in Nigeria by population is Lagos, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the largest in Africa.
30/05/2012
Former Liberian president Charles Taylor is sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in atrocities committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It has a population of around 5.5 million and covers an area of 43,000 square miles (111,369 km2). The official language is English, though over 20 indigenous languages are spoken, reflecting the country's ethnic and cultural diversity. The capital and largest city is Monrovia.
30/05/2008
Convention on Cluster Munitions is adopted.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) is an international treaty that prohibits all use, transfer, production, and stockpiling of cluster munitions, a type of explosive weapon which scatters submunitions ("bomblets") over an area. Additionally, the convention establishes a framework to support victim assistance, clearance of contaminated sites, risk reduction education, and stockpile destruction. The convention was adopted on 30 May 2008 in Dublin, and was opened for signature on 3 December 2008 in Oslo. It entered into force on 1 August 2010, six months after it was ratified by 30 states. As of September 2024, a total of 124 states are committed to the goal of the convention, with 112 states that have ratified it, and 12 states that have signed the convention but not yet ratified it.a
TACA Flight 390 overshoots the runway at Toncontín International Airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and crashes, killing five people.
TACA Flight 390 was a scheduled flight on May 30, 2008, by TACA International from San Salvador, El Salvador, to Miami, Florida, United States, with intermediate stops at Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula in Honduras. The aircraft, an Airbus A320-233, overran the runway after landing at Tegucigalpa's Toncontín International Airport and rolled out into a street, crashing into an embankment and smashing several cars in the process.
30/05/2003
Depayin massacre: At least 70 people associated with the National League for Democracy are killed by government-sponsored mob in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi flees the scene, but is arrested soon afterwards.
The Depayin massacre occurred on 30 May 2003 in Tabayin (Depayin), a town in Myanmar's Sagaing Division, when at least 70 people associated with the National League for Democracy were killed by a government-sponsored mob. In an April 2012 interview, Khin Nyunt, formerly the country's prime minister, claimed that he personally intervened to save Aung San Suu Kyi's life during the massacre, by mobilising his men to bring her to a safe location at a nearby army cantonment.
30/05/1999
53 people are killed in a stampede at the Nyamiha metro station in Minsk, Belarus.
A stampede at the Nyamiha metro station in Minsk, Belarus, on 30 May 1999, killed 53 people, mostly young women.
30/05/1998
The 6.5 Mw Afghanistan earthquake shook the Takhar Province of northern Afghanistan with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), killing around 4,000–4,500.
An earthquake occurred in northern Afghanistan on May 30, 1998, at 06:22 UTC in Takhar Province, with a moment magnitude of 6.5 and a maximum modified Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). At the time, the Afghan Civil War was underway; the affected area was controlled by the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan.
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.
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of their explosion. Over 2,000 nuclear weapons tests have been carried out since 1945. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to signal strength. Because of their destruction and fallout, testing has seen opposition by civilians as well as governments, with international bans having been agreed on. Thousands of tests have been performed, with most in the second half of the 20th century.
30/05/1990
Croatian Parliament is constituted after the first free, multi-party elections, today celebrated as the National Day of Croatia.
The Croatian Parliament or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor is composed of 151 members elected to a four-year term on the basis of direct, universal and equal suffrage by secret ballot. Seats are allocated according to the Croatian Parliament electoral districts: 140 members of the parliament are elected in multi-seat constituencies. An additional three seats are reserved for the diaspora and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while national minorities have eight places reserved in parliament. The Sabor is presided over by a Speaker, who is assisted by at least one deputy speaker.
30/05/1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The 10-metre high "Goddess of Democracy" statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators.
Protests led by students and workers, known in China as the June Fourth Incident, were held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between the demonstrators and the Chinese government to find a peaceful resolution, the Chinese government initiated martial law in late May and deployed troops to occupy the square on the night of 3 June in what is referred to as the Tiananmen Square massacre. The events are sometimes called the '89 Democracy Movement, the Tiananmen Square Incident, or the Tiananmen uprising. The Chinese government terms the events as the political turmoil between the spring and summer of 1989.
30/05/1982
Cold War: Spain joins NATO.
The Cold War was a period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc. It began in the aftermath of the Second World War and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The term cold war is used because there was no direct fighting between the two superpowers, though each supported opposing sides in regional conflicts known as proxy wars. In addition to the struggle for ideological and economic influence and an arms race in both conventional and nuclear weapons, the Cold War was expressed through technological rivalries such as the Space Race, espionage, propaganda campaigns, embargoes, and sports diplomacy.
30/05/1979
Downeast Airlines Flight 46 crashes on approach to Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland, Maine, killing 17.
Downeast Airlines Flight 46 was a scheduled airline service in the United States from Boston's Logan International Airport to Rockland, Maine, operated by Downeast Airlines. On May 30, 1979, the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter operating the flight crashed during a nonprecision approach to Rockland's Knox County Regional Airport. All but one of the 18 people on board were killed. The cause of the accident was controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) after the failure of the flight crew to stop the aircraft's descent below the minimum descent altitude for the non-precision approach at Knox County airport. The investigation into the accident looked into the airline's corporate culture as a contributing factor to the crash; this was the first time an investigation took this approach to an air crash.
30/05/1975
European Space Agency is established.
The European Space Agency (ESA), pronounced 'ee-sah', is a 23-member international organisation devoted to space exploration. It has its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 3,000 people globally as of 2025. ESA was founded in 1975 in the context of European integration. Its 2026 annual budget was around €8.3 billion.
30/05/1974
The Airbus A300 passenger aircraft first enters service.
The Airbus A300 is Airbus' first production aircraft and the world's first twin-engine, wide-body airliner. It was developed by Airbus Industrie GIE, now merged into Airbus, and manufactured from 1971 to 2007.
30/05/1972
The Angry Brigade goes on trial over a series of 25 bombings throughout the United Kingdom.
The Angry Brigade was a British terrorist group responsible for a series of armed actions against the establishment in England between 1970 and 1972. Using small bombs, they targeted banks, embassies, a BBC Outside Broadcast vehicle, and the homes of Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs). In total, police attributed 25 bombings to the Angry Brigade. The bombings mostly caused property damage; one person was slightly injured. Of the eight people who stood trial, known as the Stoke Newington Eight, four were acquitted. John Barker, along with Hilary Creek, Anna Mendelssohn and Jim Greenfield, were convicted on majority verdicts, and sentenced to ten years. In a 2014 interview, Barker described the trial as political, but acknowledged that "they framed a guilty man".
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.
Ben Gurion International Airport, commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym Natbag, is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on outskirts north of the city of Lod and directly south of the city of Or Yehuda, it was the busiest airport in the country. It is located 45 kilometres (28 mi) to the northwest of Jerusalem and 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the southeast of Tel Aviv. It was known as Lod Airport until 1973, when it was renamed in honour of David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973), the first prime minister of Israel. The airport serves as a hub for El Al, Israir, Arkia, and Sundor, and is managed by the Israel Airports Authority.
30/05/1971
Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched to map 70% of the surface, and to study temporal changes in the atmosphere and surface, of Mars.
The Mariner program was conducted by the American space agency NASA to explore other planets. Between 1962 and late 1973, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) designed and built 10 robotic interplanetary probes named Mariner to explore the inner Solar System – visiting the planets Venus, Mars and Mercury for the first time, and returning to Venus and Mars for additional close observations.
30/05/1968
Charles 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 turning point of May 1968 events in France.
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces against Nazi Germany and Vichy France in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1946 to restore democracy in France. Following the 1958 Algiers putsch, he came out of retirement at the request of President René Coty, who appointed him Prime Minister. He commissioned a new constitution which was approved by voters in a referendum, establishing the Fifth Republic. He was subsequently elected President of France later that year, a position he held until his resignation in 1969. He is widely regarded as the greatest Frenchman of the 20th century.
30/05/1967
The Nigerian Eastern Region declares independence as the Republic of Biafra, sparking a civil war.
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of 923,769 square kilometres (356,669 mi2). With a population of more than 242 million, it is the most populous country in Africa, and the world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where its capital, Abuja, is located. The largest city in Nigeria by population is Lagos, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the largest in Africa.
30/05/1966
Former Congolese Prime Minister, Évariste Kimba, and several other politicians are publicly executed in Kinshasa on the orders of President Joseph Mobutu.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo or less often Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is the second-largest country in Africa and the eleventh-largest in the world. With a population of around 124 million people, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the fourth-most populous country in Africa and the most populous Francophone country in the world. French is the official and most widely spoken language, though there are over 200 indigenous languages, of which Lingala is the most widely spoken. The capital, largest city, and economic center is Kinshasa. The DRC is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, the Cabinda exclave of Angola, and the South Atlantic Ocean to the west; the Central African Republic and South Sudan to the north; Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania to the east; and Zambia and Angola to the south. Centered on the Congo Basin, most of the country's terrain is covered by dense rainforests and is crossed by many rivers, while the east and southeast are mountainous.
30/05/1963
A protest against pro-Catholic discrimination during the Buddhist crisis is held outside South Vietnam's National Assembly, the first open demonstration during the eight-year presidency of Ngo Dinh Diem.
The Buddhist crisis was a period of political and religious tension in South Vietnam between May and November 1963, characterized by a series of repressive acts by the South Vietnamese government and a campaign of civil resistance, led mainly by Buddhist activists.
30/05/1961
The long-time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, nicknamed "El Jefe", was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He was the 36th and 39th president from 1930 to 1938 and again from 1942 to 1952. He also served as the first generalissimo, the de facto most powerful position in the country at the time from 1930 until his assassination. Under that position, Trujillo served under figurehead presidents.
Viasa Flight 897 crashes after takeoff from Lisbon Airport, killing 61.
Viasa Flight 897 was an international scheduled Rome–Madrid–Lisbon–Santa Maria–Caracas passenger service that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal on 30 May 1961, shortly after takeoff from Portela Airport. There were no survivors among the 61 occupants of the Douglas DC-8-53.
30/05/1959
The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened by Governor-General Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham.
The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motorway bridge over Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It joins St Marys Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote on the North Shore side. It is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway. The bridge is operated by the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). It is the second-longest road bridge in New Zealand, and the longest in the North Island.
30/05/1958
Memorial Day: The remains of two unidentified American servicemen, killed in action during World War II and the Korean War respectively, are buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
The Korean War was an armed conflict fought on the Korean Peninsula between North Korea and South Korea and their allies. North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union, while South Korea was supported by the United Nations led by the United States under the auspices of the United Nations Command (UNC). The conflict was one of the first major proxy wars of the Cold War and one of its deadliest conflicts on noncombatants, as it is estimated that 1.5 to 3 million civilians were killed during the war. The war was the first time the United Nations Security Council authorized the use of force under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.
30/05/1948
A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
The 1948 Columbia River flood was a regional flood that occurred in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. Large portions of the Columbia River watershed were impacted, including the Portland area, Eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, Idaho Panhandle, northwestern Montana, and southeastern British Columbia. A publication of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1949 stated property damage reached $102.7 million, 250,000 acres of farmland were flooded, 20,000 acres of land were damaged or destroyed, and at least 16 died in the flood ; estimates for total deaths from the flood go as high as 102. Among the damage was the complete destruction of Vanport, in the Portland metropolitan area, which was the second largest city in Oregon at the time. The flood was largely caused by rapid melting of above-average snowpack by heavy precipitation and warm temperatures. It remains the second largest flood recorded on the river.
30/05/1943
The Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer of the Zigeunerfamilienlager (Romani family camp) at Auschwitz concentration camp.
The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered around six million Jews across German-occupied Europe, approximately two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population. The murders were committed primarily through mass shootings across Eastern Europe and poison gas chambers in extermination camps, chiefly Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Belzec, Sobibor, Chełmno and Majdanek death camps in occupied Poland. Concurrent Nazi persecutions killed millions of other non-Jewish civilians and prisoners of war (POWs); the term Holocaust is sometimes used to include the murder and persecution of non-Jewish groups, such as the Romani and Soviet POWs.
30/05/1942
World War II: One thousand British bombers launch a 90-minute attack on Cologne, Germany.
The German city of Cologne was bombed in 262 separate air raids by the Allies during World War II, all by the Royal Air Force (RAF). A total of 34,711 long tons (35,268 t) of bombs were dropped on the city causing 20,000 civilian casualties.
30/05/1941
World War II: Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas climb the Athenian Acropolis and tear down the German flag.
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.
30/05/1937
Memorial Day massacre: Chicago police shoot and kill ten labor demonstrators.
In the Memorial Day massacre of 1937, the Chicago Police Department shot and killed ten unarmed demonstrators in Chicago, on May 30, 1937. The incident took place during the Little Steel strike in the United States.
30/05/1925
May Thirtieth Movement: Shanghai Municipal Police Force shoot and kill 13 protesting workers.
The May Thirtieth Movement was a major labor and anti-imperialist movement during the middle-period of the Republic of China era. It began when the Shanghai Municipal Police opened fire on Chinese protesters in Shanghai's International Settlement on 30 May 1925. The shootings sparked international censure and nationwide anti-foreign demonstrations and riots such as the Hands Off China protests in the United Kingdom.
30/05/1922
The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial honoring Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, located on the western end of the National Mall of Washington, D.C. The memorial is built in a neoclassical style in the form of a classical temple. The memorial's architect was Henry Bacon. In 1920, Daniel Chester French designed the large interior Abraham Lincoln statue, which was carved in marble by the Piccirilli brothers. Jules Guérin painted the interior murals, and the epitaph above the statue was written by Royal Cortissoz. Dedicated on May 30, 1922, it is one of several memorials built to honor an American president. It has been a major tourist attraction since its opening, and over the years, has occasionally been used as a symbolic center focused on race relations and civil rights.
30/05/1914
The new, and then the largest, Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, 45,647 tons, sets sails on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City.
The Cunard Line is a British shipping company and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermuda.
30/05/1913
The Treaty of London is signed, ending the First Balkan War between the Balkan allies and the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans cede all their European territories west of a straight line between Enos and Media and Albania becomes an independent nation.
The Treaty of London (1913) was signed on 30 May following the London Conference of 1912–1913. It dealt with the territorial adjustments arising out of the conclusion of the First Balkan War. The London Conference had ended on 23 January 1913, when the 1913 Ottoman coup d'état took place and Ottoman Grand Vizier Kâmil Pasha was forced to resign. Coup leader Enver Pasha withdrew the Ottoman Empire from the Conference, and the Treaty of London was signed without the presence of the Ottoman delegation. Further border changes were ratified in the Treaty of Bucharest in August 1913.
30/05/1911
At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first Indianapolis 500 ends with Ray Harroun in his Marmon Wasp becoming the first winner of the 500-mile auto race.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and formerly the home of the United States Grand Prix and the Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix. It is located six miles (9.7 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis.
30/05/1899
Pearl Hart, a female outlaw of the Old West, robs a stage coach 30 miles southeast of Globe, Arizona.
Pearl Hart was a Canadian-born outlaw of the American Old West. She committed one of the last recorded stagecoach robberies in the United States, and her crime gained notoriety primarily because of her gender. Many details of Hart's life are uncertain, with available reports being varied and often contradictory.
30/05/1883
In New York City, 12 people are killed in a stampede on the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge.
The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It was also the longest suspension bridge in the world when opened, with a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m) and a deck 127 ft (38.7 m) above mean high water. The span was originally called the New York and Brooklyn Bridge or the East River Bridge but was officially renamed the Brooklyn Bridge in 1915.
30/05/1876
Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz is deposed and succeeded by his nephew Murad V.
Abdulaziz was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother Abdulmejid I in 1861.
The secret decree of Ems Ukaz, issued by Russian Tsar Alexander II in the German city of Bad Ems, was aimed at stopping the printing and distribution of Ukrainian-language publications in the Russian Empire.
The Ems Ukaz or Ems Ukase, was an internal decree (ukaz) of Emperor Alexander II of Russia issued on 30 May [O.S. 18 May] 1876 banning the use of the Ukrainian language in print except for reprinting old documents. The ukaz also forbade the import of Ukrainian publications and the staging of plays or lectures in Ukrainian. It was named after the city of Bad Ems, Germany, where it was promulgated. The decree limited the development of the Ukrainian language in the Russian Empire, however it was not fully effective and publishing and importation of Ukrainian-language media continued in a limited way.
30/05/1868
Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern "Memorial Day") is observed in the United States for the first time after a proclamation by John A. Logan, head of the Grand Army of the Republic (a veterans group).
Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May.
30/05/1866
Bedrich Smetana's comic opera The Bartered Bride premiered in Prague.
Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival". He has been regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music. Internationally he is best known for his 1866 opera The Bartered Bride and for the symphonic cycle Má vlast, which portrays the history, legends and landscape of the composer's native Bohemia. It contains the famous symphonic poem "Vltava", also popularly known by its German name "Die Moldau".
30/05/1862
American 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.
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union to preserve slavery in the United States, which they saw as threatened because of the election of Abraham Lincoln and the growing abolitionist movement in the North. The war ended with Union victory, the dissolution of the Confederacy and the abolition of slavery, freeing four million African Americans.
30/05/1854
The Kansas–Nebraska Act becomes law establishing the U.S. territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, passed by the 33rd United States Congress, and signed into law by President Franklin Pierce. Douglas introduced the bill intending to open up new lands to develop and facilitate the construction of a transcontinental railroad. However, the Kansas–Nebraska Act effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, stoking national tensions over slavery and contributing to a series of armed conflicts known as "Bleeding Kansas".
30/05/1845
The Fatel Razack coming from India, lands in the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and Tobago carrying the first Indians to the country.
Fatel Razack was the first ship to bring indentured labourers from India to Trinidad. The ship was built in Aprenade for a trader named Ibrahim Bin Yussef, an Indian Muslim merchant in Bombay. It was constructed from teak and had a carrying capacity of 415 tons. When the British decided they were going to bring Indians to Trinidad in 1845, most of the traditional British ship owners did not wish to be involved. The confusion as to the proper name possibly stems from the name "Futtle Razak", which was on the ship's manifest.
30/05/1842
John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria as she drives down Constitution Hill in London with Prince Albert.
Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days, which was longer than those of any of her predecessors, constituted the Victorian era, a period of industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. In 1876, the British parliament voted to grant her the additional title of Empress of India.
30/05/1834
Minister of Justice Joaquim António de Aguiar issues a law seizing "all convents, monasteries, colleges, hospices and any other houses" from the Catholic religious orders in Portugal, earning him the nickname of "The Friar-Killer".
Joaquim António de Aguiar was a Portuguese politician. He held several relevant political posts during the Portuguese constitutional monarchy, namely as leader of the Cartists and later of the Partido Regenerador. He was three times prime minister of Portugal: between 1841 and 1842, in 1860 and finally from 1865 to 1868, when he entered a coalition with the Partido Progressista, in what became known as the Governo de Fusão.
30/05/1815
The East Indiaman Arniston is wrecked during a storm at Waenhuiskrans, near Cape Agulhas, in present-day South Africa, with the loss of 372 lives.
East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the British, Dutch, French, Danish, Swedish, Austrian or Portuguese East India companies.
30/05/1814
The First Treaty of Paris is signed, returning the French frontiers to their 1792 extent, and restoring the House of Bourbon to power.
The Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 May 1814, ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars, following an armistice signed on 23 April between Charles, Count of Artois, and the allies. The treaty set the borders for France under the House of Bourbon and restored territories to other nations. It is sometimes called the First Peace of Paris, as another one followed in 1815.
30/05/1806
Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel.
Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. He rose to fame as a U.S. Army general and served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. His political philosophy, which dominated his presidency, became the basis for the rise of Jacksonian democracy. His legacy is controversial: he has been praised as an advocate for white working Americans and preserving the union of states, and criticized for his racist policies, particularly towards Native Americans.
30/05/1796
War of the First Coalition: In the Battle of Borghetto, Napoleon Bonaparte manages to cross the Mincio River against the Austrian army. This crossing forces the Austrians to abandon Lombardy and retreat to the Tyrol, leaving the fortress of Mantua as the sole remaining Austrian stronghold in Northern Italy.
The War of the First Coalition was a set of wars between a coalition of several European powers and France fought between 1792 and 1797. The coalition was only loosely allied and fought without much coordination; each power wanted to annex a different part of France should they defeat the French, something that never occurred.
30/05/1723
Johann Sebastian Bach assumed the office of Thomaskantor in Leipzig, presenting his first new cantata, Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75, in the St. Nicholas Church on the first Sunday after Trinity.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the orchestral Brandenburg Concertos; solo instrumental works such as the Cello Suites and Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin; keyboard works such as the Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier; organ works such as the Schübler Chorales and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor; and choral works such as the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. He is known for his mastery of counterpoint, as heard in The Musical Offering and The Art of Fugue. Felix Mendelssohn precipitated the Bach Revival with a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829. Ever since, Bach has been acclaimed as one of the greatest composers of classical music.
30/05/1642
From this date all honors granted by Charles I of England are retroactively annulled by Parliament.
Charles I was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649.
30/05/1635
Thirty Years' War: The Peace of Prague is signed.
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from the effects of battle, famine, or disease, with parts of Germany reporting population declines of over 50%. Related conflicts include the Eighty Years' War, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Franco-Spanish War, the Torstenson War, the Dutch–Portuguese War, and the Portuguese Restoration War.
30/05/1631
Publication of Gazette de France, the first French newspaper.
La Gazette, originally Gazette de France, was the first weekly magazine published in France. It was founded by Théophraste Renaudot and published its first edition on 30 May 1631. It progressively became the mouthpiece of one royalist faction, the Legitimists. With the rise of modern news media and specialized and localized newspapers throughout the country in the early 20th century, La Gazette was finally discontinued in 1915.
30/05/1588
The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.
The Spanish Armada was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, and was the largest engagement of the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War. The Armada was commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat appointed by Philip II of Spain. His orders were to sail up the English Channel, join with the army of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma in Flanders, and escort an invasion force that would land in England and overthrow Elizabeth I. Its purpose was to reinstate Catholicism in England, end English support for the Dutch Republic in the north and prevent attacks by English and Dutch privateers against Spanish interests in the Americas.
30/05/1574
Henry III becomes King of France.
Henry III of France was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589 and, as Henry of Valois, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575. Before he came to these thrones, he was known as the Duke of Angoulême and Duke of Orléans from 1560, then as Duke of Anjou from 1566.
30/05/1539
In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold.
Florida is a state in the Southeastern and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Straits of Florida to the south, and The Bahamas to the southeast. About two-thirds of Florida occupies a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, spanning approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), not including its many barrier islands. It is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of over 23 million, it is the third-most populous state in the United States and ranks seventh in population density as of 2020. Florida spans 65,758 square miles (170,310 km2), ranking 22nd in area among the states. The Miami metropolitan area, anchored by the cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, is the state's largest metropolitan area, with a population of 6.138 million; the most populous city is Jacksonville. Florida's other major population centers include Tampa Bay, Orlando, Cape Coral, and the state capital of Tallahassee.
30/05/1536
King Henry VIII of England marries Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives.
Henry VIII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 22 April 1509, and King of Ireland from 18 June 1542, until his death in 1547.
30/05/1510
During the reign of the Zhengde Emperor, Ming dynasty rebel leader Zhu Zhifan is defeated by commander Qiu Yue, ending the Prince of Anhua rebellion.
The Zhengde Emperor, personal name Zhu Houzhao, was the 11th emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1505 to 1521. He succeeded his father, the Hongzhi Emperor.
30/05/1434
Hussite Wars: Battle of Lipany: Effectively ending the war, Utraquist forces led by Diviš Bořek of Miletínek defeat and almost annihilate Taborite forces led by Prokop the Great.
The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, and European monarchs loyal to the Catholic Church, as well as various Hussite factions. At a late stage of the conflict, the Utraquists changed sides in 1432 to fight alongside Roman Catholics and opposed the Taborites and other Hussite factions. These wars lasted from 1419 to approximately 1434.
30/05/1431
Hundred Years' War: In Rouen, France, the 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal.
The Hundred Years' War was a conflict between the kingdoms of England and France and a civil war in France during the late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a claim to the French throne made by Edward III of England. The war grew into a broader military, economic, and political struggle involving factions from across Western Europe, fuelled by emerging nationalism on both sides. The periodisation of the war typically charts it as taking place over 116 years. However, it was an intermittent conflict which was frequently interrupted by external factors, such as the Black Death, and several years of truces.
30/05/1416
The Council of Constance, called by Emperor Sigismund, a supporter of Antipope John XXIII, burns Jerome of Prague following a trial for heresy.
The Council of Constance was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first ecumenical council convened in the Holy Roman Empire. The council ended the Western Schism by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining papal claimants and by electing Pope Martin V. It was the last papal election to take place outside of Italy until Vatican City became an independent state.
30/05/1381
Beginning of the Peasants' Revolt in England.
The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Uprising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black Death in the 1340s, the high taxes resulting from the conflict with France during the Hundred Years' War, and instability within the local leadership of London. The revolt heavily influenced the course of the Hundred Years' War by deterring later Parliaments from raising additional taxes to pay for military campaigns in France.
30/05/0070
Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometres (9.3 mi).
AD 70 (LXX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vespasian and Titus. The denomination AD 70 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.