December 30

December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 1 day remaining. }}

Events

• 1460 - Wars of the Roses: The Duke of York is defeated at the Battle of Wakefield
• 1853 - Gadsden Purchase: The United States buys land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest
• 1853 - 20-strong dinner party held inside life-size model of Iguanodon created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and Sir Richard Owen in south London.
• 1862 - USS Monitor sinks off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
• 1879 - The Pirates of Penzance is first performed (Paignton, Devon, England)
• 1880 - The Transvaal becomes a republic and Paul Kruger, its first president
• 1896 - José Rizal was executed by firing squad in Manila.
• 1897 - Natal annexes Zululand.
• 1903 - A fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois kills 600.
• 1919 - Lincoln's Inn in London admits its first female bar student.
• 1922 - The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is formed.
• 1924 - Edwin Hubble announces the existence of other galaxies.
• 1927 - The Ginza Line, the oldest subway line in Asia, opened in Tokyo.
• 1936 - The United Auto Workers union stages its first sit-down strike.
• 1940 - California opens its first Freeway: the Arroyo Seco Parkway.
• 1943 - Chandra Bose raises the flag of Indian independence at Port Blair.
• 1944 - King George II of Greece declares a regency, leaving his throne vacant
• 1947 - King Michael of Romania abdicates
• 1948 - The play Kiss Me, Kate opens for the first of 1,077 performances.
• 1953 - The first color television sets go on sale for about USD $1,175.
• 1965 - Ferdinand Marcos becomes President of the Philippines
• 1972 - Vietnam War: The US halts heavy bombing of North Vietnam.
• 1976 - The Smothers Brothers play their last show (Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas).
• 1980 - After 25 years, the longest-running prime-time TV series The Wonderful World of Disney is cancelled by NBC.
• 1981 - Wayne Gretzky scores his 50th goal in 39 games, an NHL record to this day.
• 1993 - Israel and the Vatican establish diplomatic relations.
• 1995 - The lowest ever UK temperature of -27.2°C was recorded at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands. This equalled the record set at Braemar, Aberdeenshire on February 11, 1895 and January 10, 1982.
• 1996 - In the Indian state of Assam, a passenger train is bombed by Bodo separatists, killing 26.
• 1996 - Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut down services across Israel.
• 1997 - In the worst incident in Algeria's insurgency, the Wilaya of Relizane massacres of December 30, 1997, 400 people are killed from four villages.
• 2000 - Rizal Day bombings: A series of bombs explode in various places in Metro Manila, Philippines within a span of a few hours, killing 22 and injuring about a hundred.

Births

• 39 - Roman Emperor Titus (d. 81)
• 1552 - Simon Forman, English occultist and astrologer (d. 1611)
• 1642 - Vicenzo da Filicaja, Italian poet (d. 1707)
• 1673 - Ahmed III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1736)
• 1678 - William Croft, English composer (d. 1727)
• 1722 - Charles Yorke, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1770)
• 1819 - Theodor Fontane, German writer (d. 1898)
• 1838 - Émile Loubet, 7th President of France (b.1929)
• 1865 - Rudyard Kipling, British writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1936)
• 1873 - Al Smith, American politician (d. 1944)
• 1884 - Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)
• 1897 - Alfredo Bracchi, Italian author (d. 1976)
• 1899 - Helge Ingstad, Norwegian explorer (d. 2001)
• 1904 - Dmitri Kabalevsky, Russian composer (d. 1987)
• 1906 - Carol Reed, English film director (d. 1976)
• 1910 - Paul Bowles, American composer and author (d. 1999)
• 1914 - Bert Parks, American television host (d. 1992)
• 1917 - Seymour Melman, American industrial engineer (d. 2004)
• 1920 - Jack Lord, American actor (d. 1998)
• 1928 - Bo Diddley, American singer and musician
• 1931 - Skeeter Davis, American singer (d. 2004)
• 1934 - John Norris Bahcall, American physicist (d. 2005)
• 1934 - Joseph P. Hoar, U.S. general
• 1934 - Del Shannon, American singer (d. 1990)
• 1934 - Russ Tamblyn, American actor, dancer, and singer
• 1935 - Omar Bongo, President of Gabon
• 1935 - Sandy Koufax, baseball player
• 1937 - Gordon Banks, British footballer
• 1937 - John Hartford, American musician (d. 2001)
• 1937 - Jim Marshall, American football player
• 1937 - Paul Stookey, American singer
• 1938 - Joseph Bologna, American actor
• 1941 - Mel Renfro, American football player
• 1942 - Vladimir Bukovsky, Russian author and dissident
• 1942 - Michael Nesmith, American singer and musician (The Monkees)
• 1942 - Fred Ward, American actor
• 1945 - Davy Jones, American singer (The Monkees)
• 1946 - Patti Smith, American singer
• 1947 - Michael Burns, Ph.D., American actor and history professor
• 1947 - Jeff Lynne, English singer and musician (ELO)
• 1952 - June Anderson, American soprano
• 1956 - Suzy Bogguss, American singer
• 1957 - Matt Lauer, American newscaster
• 1959 - Tracey Ullman, English actress and singer
• 1961 - Douglas Coupland, Canadian author
• 1961 - Sean Hannity, American talk radio host and political commentator
• 1961 - Ben Johnson, Canadian athlete
• 1963 - Chandler Burr, American author
• 1963 - Michelle Douglas, Canadian human rights activist
• 1965 - Zoe Kelli Simon, American actress
• 1969 - Dave England, American television personality
• 1969 - Jay Kay, English musician and singer (Jamiroquai)
• 1972 - Kerry Collins, American football player
• 1973 - Jason Behr, American actor
• 1973 - Ato Boldon, West Indian athlete
• 1975 - Tiger Woods, American golfer
• 1976 - Meredith Monroe, American actress
• 1978 - Tyrese, American singer
• 1980 - Eliza Dushku, American actress
• 1982 - Kristin Kreuk, Canadian actress
• 1984 - LeBron James, American basketball player

Deaths

• 1218 - Richard de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford, English politician (b. 1162)
• 1460 - Richard, Duke of York, claimant to the English throne (killed in battle) (b. 1411)
• 1525 - Jacob Fugger, German banker (b. 1459)
• 1572 - Galeazzo Alessi, Italian architect (b. 1512)
• 1573 - Giovanni Battista Giraldi, Italian writer (b. 1504)
• 1591 - Pope Innocent IX (b. 1519)
• 1640 - John Regis, French saint (b. 1597)
• 1644 - Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist (b. 1577)
• 1662 - Archduke Ferdinand Charles of Austria (b. 1628)
• 1691 - Robert Boyle, Irish scientist (b. 1627)
• 1769 - Nicholas Taaffe, 6th Viscount Taaffe, Austrian soldier (b. 1685)
• 1803 - Francis Lewis, signer of the American Declaration of Independence (b. 1713)
• 1896 - José Rizal, national hero of the Philippines (b. 1861)
• 1941 - El Lissitzky, Russian artist and architect (b. 1890)
• 1944 - Romain Rolland, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
• 1954 - Eugen, Archduke of Austria, Austrian field marshal (b. 1863)
• 1967 - Vincent Massey, Governor-General of Canada (b. 1887)
• 1968 - Trygve Lie, first United Nations Secretary General (b. 1896)
• 1970 - Sonny Liston, American boxer (b. 1932)
• 1971 - Melba Rae, American actress (b. 1922)
• 1979 - Richard Rodgers, American composer (b. 1902)
• 1986 - Era Bell Thompson, American journalist (b. 1905)
• 1988 - Yuli Daniel, Russian writer (b. 1925)
• 1995 - Doris Grau, American actress (b. 1924)
• 1996 - Lew Ayres, American actor (b. 1908)
• 2001 - Eileen Heckart, American actress (b. 1919)
• 2002 - Mary Wesley, English novelist (b. 1912)
• 2003 - David Bale, South African-born activist (cancer) (b. 1941)
• 2003 - John Gregory Dunne, American writer (b. 1932)
• 2003 - Anita Mui, Hong Kong singer and actress (b. 1963)
• 2004 - Artie Shaw, American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1910)

Holidays and observances

• The fifth day of Christmas in Western Christianity.
• Philippines - Rizal Day
• Guided by Voices Day in Chicago, Illinois.