History of 30 June
1912 – Belgian workers went on strike to demand universal suffrage.
1913 – Fighting broke out between Bulgaria and Greece and Serbia. It was the beginning of the Second Balkan War.
1915 – During World War I, the Second Battle Artois ended when the French failed to take Vimy Ridge.
1921 – U.S. President Warren G. Harding appointed former President William Howard Taft chief justice of the United States.
1922 – Irish rebels in London assassinate Sir Henry Wilson, the British deputy for Northern Ireland.
1930 – France pulled its troops out of Germany’s Rhineland.
1934 – Adolf Hitler purged the Nazi Party by destroying the SA and bringing to power the SS in the “Night of the Long Knives.”
1935 – Fascists caused an uproar at the League of Nations when Haile Selassie of Ethiopia speaks.
1936 – Margaret Mitchell’s book, “Gone with the Wind,” was published.
1950 – U.S. President Harry Truman ordered U.S. troops into Korea and authorizes the draft.
1951 – On orders from Washington, General Matthew Ridgeway broadcasts that the United Nations was willing to discuss an armistice with North Korea.
1952 – CBS-TV debuted “The Guiding Light.”
1953 – The first Corvette rolled off the Chevrolet assembly line in Flint, MI. It sold for $3,250.
1955 – The U.S. began funding West Germany’s rearmament.
1957 – The American occupation headquarters in Japan was dissolved.
1958 – The U.S. Congress passed a law authorizing the admission of Alaska as the 49th state in the Union.
1960 – The Katanga province seceded from Congo (upon Congo’s independence from Belgium).
1962 – Los Angeles Dodger Sandy Koufax pitched his first no-hitter in a game with the New York Mets.
1964 – The last of U.N. troops left Congo after a four-year effort to bring stability to the country.
1970 – The Cincinnati Reds moved to their new home at Riverfront Stadium.
1971 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government could not prevent the Washington Post or the New York Times from publishing the Pentagon Papers.
1971 – The Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 11 returned to Earth. The three cosmonauts were found dead inside.
1971 – The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified when Ohio became the 38th state to approve it. The amendment lowered the minimum voting age to 18.
1974 – Russian ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defected in Toronto, Canada.
1974 – The July 4th scene from the Steven Spielberg movie “Jaws” was filmed.
1977 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced his opposition to the B-1 bomber.
1984 – The longest professional football game took place in the United States Football League (USFL). The Los Angeles Express beat the Michigan Panthers 27-21 after 93 minutes and 33 seconds.
1985 – Yul Brynner left his role as the King of Siam after 4,600 performances in “The King and me.”
1986 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states could outlaw homosexual acts between consenting adults.
1994 – The U.S. Figure Skating Association stripped Tonya Harding of the 1994 national championship and banned her from the organization for life for an attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan.
1998 – Officials confirmed that the remains of a Vietnam War serviceman buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery were identified as those of Air Force pilot Michael J. Blassie.
2000 – U.S. President Clinton signed the E-Signature bill to give the same legal validity to an electronic signature as a signature in pen and ink.
2004 – The international Cassini spacecraft entered Saturn’s orbit. The craft had been on a nearly seven-year journey.
2005 – Due to MTV launching a new channel in Canada, Razer took over MTV Canada.
2007 – A Jeep Cherokee filled with propane canisters drives into the entrance at Glasgow Airport, Scotland in a failed terrorist attack. This was linked to the 2007 London car bombs that had taken place the day before.
2009 – Yemenia Flight 626, an Airbus A310-300, crashes into the Indian Ocean near Comoros, killing 152 of the 153 people on board. A 14-year-old girl named Bahia Bakarisurvives the crash.
2013 – Nineteen firefighters die controlling a wildfire in Yarnell, Arizona.
2013 – Protests begin around Egypt against President Mohamed Morsi and the ruling Freedom and Justice Party, leading to their overthrow during the 2013 Egyptian coup d’état
2015 – A Hercules C-130 military aircraft with 113 people on board crashes in a residential area in Medan, Indonesia, resulting in at least 116 deaths.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Can Artam, Turkish race car driver
- 1981 – Matt Kirk, Canadian football player
- 1981 – Barbora Spotakova, Czech javelin thrower
- 1981 – Ben Utecht, American football player
- 1982 – Lizzy Caplan, American actress
- 1982 – Ignacio Carrasco, Mexican footballer
- 1983 – Marcus Burghardt, German cyclist
- 1983 – Katherine Ryan, UK-based Canadian comedian, presenter
- 1983 – Cheryl, English singer and TV personality
- 1984 – Fantasia Barrino, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1984 – Tunku Ismail Idris, Crown Prince of Johor, Malaysia
- 1985 – Trevor Ariza, American basketball player
- 1985 – Michael Phelps, American swimmer
- 1985 – Fabiana Vallejos, the Argentinian footballer
- 1986 – Alicia Fox, American wrestler, model, and actress
- 1986 – Fredy Guarín, Colombian footballer
- 1986 – Nicola Pozzi, Italian footballer
- 1986 – Allegra Versace, Italian-American businesswoman
- 1987 – Ryan Cook, American baseball player
- 1987 – Andrew Hedgman, New Zealand runner
- 1988 – Elisa Jordana, American singer-songwriter, radio, and TV personality
- 1989 – Asbel Kiprop, Kenyan runner
- 1989 – Steffen Liebig, German rugby player
- 1989 – David Myers, Australian footballer
- 1990 – N, South Korean singer
- 1998 – Tom Davies, English footballer