On This Day in History – September 30

Major Events

• 1399 – Henry IV is proclaimed King of England after the abdication of Richard II.
• 1791 – The first performance of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute is held in Vienna, Austria.
• 1882 – Thomas Edison’s first commercial hydroelectric power plant begins operation in Appleton, Wisconsin.
• 1938 – The Munich Agreement is signed by Germany, Italy, Britain, and France, ceding the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany.
• 1946 – The International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg delivers verdicts against key Nazi leaders.
• 1949 – The Berlin Airlift officially ends after 15 months of supplying West Berlin.
• 1968 – The Boeing 747 jumbo jet is rolled out for the first time at the Boeing Everett Factory.
• 2005 – Controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad are published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, sparking global protests.
• 2016 – The European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission ends with a controlled impact on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.

Famous Birthdays

• 1207 – Rumi, Persian poet and mystic (d. 1273)
• 1921 – Deborah Kerr, Scottish actress (d. 2007)
• 1924 – Truman Capote, American novelist (d. 1984)
• 1928 – Elie Wiesel, Romanian-American writer and Nobel laureate (d. 2016)
• 1935 – Johnny Mathis, American singer
• 1943 – Johann Deisenhofer, German biochemist and Nobel laureate
• 1945 – Ehud Olmert, Israeli politician
• 1954 – Barry Williams, American actor
• 1964 – Monica Bellucci, Italian actress
• 1980 – Martina Hingis, Swiss tennis player
• 1984 – Keisha Castle-Hughes, New Zealand actress
• 1990 – Ezra Miller, American actor

Notable Deaths

• 420 – Saint Jerome, Christian priest and scholar (b. 347)
• 1207 – John de Courcy, Anglo-Norman knight (b. 1160)
• 1710 – Tsar Ivan V of Russia (b. 1666)
• 1861 – Count Cavour, Italian statesman (b. 1810)
• 1897 – Thérèse of Lisieux, French Catholic nun and saint (b. 1873)
• 1955 – James Dean, American actor (b. 1931)
• 1985 – Charles Richter, American seismologist (b. 1900)
• 2012 – Barry Commoner, American biologist (b. 1917)
• 2020 – Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1929)

Holidays

• Botswana Day (Botswana)
• Blasphemy Day (International)
• Independence Day (Botswana)
• Translation of Saint Gregory the Illuminator (Armenian Apostolic Church)

Fun Facts

1. The Boeing 747’s unveiling revolutionized air travel by introducing wide-body jets to the market.
2. The Nuremberg verdicts marked one of the most significant moments in the establishment of international law.
3. The Magic Flute remains one of Mozart’s most celebrated operas worldwide.
4. The Berlin Airlift’s end marked a major Cold War victory for Western Allies.