May 30 has produced turning points in politics, science, culture, war, law, and technology. This timeline collects notable events recorded for this calendar day.
The list below is generated from public historical datasets and refreshed automatically by date.
Timeline for May 30
2024Donald Trump
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.
2020Crew Dragon Demo-2
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.
2013Nigeria
Nigeria passes a law banning same-sex marriage.
2012Liberia
Former Liberian president Charles Taylor is sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in atrocities committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
2008Convention on Cluster Munitions
Convention on Cluster Munitions is adopted.
2008TACA Flight 390
TACA Flight 390 overshoots the runway at Toncontín International Airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and crashes, killing five people.
2003Depayin massacre
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.
1999Nyamiha stampede
53 people are killed in a stampede at the Nyamiha metro station in Minsk, Belarus.
1998May 1998 Afghanistan earthquake
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.
1998Nuclear weapons testing
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.
1990Croatian Parliament
Croatian Parliament is constituted after the first free, multi-party elections, today celebrated as the National Day of Croatia.
19891989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The 10-metre high "Goddess of Democracy" statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators.
1982Cold War
Cold War: Spain joins NATO.
1979Downeast Airlines Flight 46
Downeast Airlines Flight 46 crashes on approach to Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland, Maine, killing 17.
1975European Space Agency
European Space Agency is established.
1974Airbus A300
The Airbus A300 passenger aircraft first enters service.
1972The Angry Brigade
The Angry Brigade goes on trial over a series of 25 bombings throughout the United Kingdom.
1972Ben Gurion Airport
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.
1971Mariner program
Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched to map 70% of the surface, and to study temporal changes in the atmosphere and surface, of Mars.
1968Charles de Gaulle
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.
1967Nigeria
The Nigerian Eastern Region declares independence as the Republic of Biafra, sparking a civil war.
1966Democratic Republic of the Congo
Former Congolese Prime Minister, Évariste Kimba, and several other politicians are publicly executed in Kinshasa on the orders of President Joseph Mobutu.
1963Buddhist crisis
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.
1961Rafael Trujillo
The long-time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
1961Viasa Flight 897
Viasa Flight 897 crashes after takeoff from Lisbon Airport, killing 61.
1959Auckland Harbour Bridge
The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened by Governor-General Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham.
1958Korean War
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.
19481948 Columbia River flood
A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
1943The Holocaust
The Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer of the Zigeunerfamilienlager (Romani family camp) at Auschwitz concentration camp.
1942Bombing of Cologne in World War II
World War II: One thousand British bombers launch a 90-minute attack on Cologne, Germany.
1941World War II
World War II: Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas climb the Athenian Acropolis and tear down the German flag.
19371937 Memorial Day massacre
Memorial Day massacre: Chicago police shoot and kill ten labor demonstrators.
1925May Thirtieth Movement
May Thirtieth Movement: Shanghai Municipal Police Force shoot and kill 13 protesting workers.
1922Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
1914Cunard Line
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.
1913Treaty of London (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.
1911Indianapolis Motor Speedway
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.
1899Pearl Hart
Pearl Hart, a female outlaw of the Old West, robs a stage coach 30 miles southeast of Globe, Arizona.
1883Brooklyn Bridge
In New York City, 12 people are killed in a stampede on the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge.
1876Abdulaziz
Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz is deposed and succeeded by his nephew Murad V.
1876Ems Ukaz
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.
1868Memorial Day
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).
1866Bedřich Smetana
Bedrich Smetana's comic opera The Bartered Bride premiered in Prague.
1862American Civil War
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.
1854Kansas–Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act becomes law establishing the U.S. territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
1845Fatel Razack
The Fatel Razack coming from India, lands in the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and Tobago carrying the first Indians to the country.
1842Queen Victoria
John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria as she drives down Constitution Hill in London with Prince Albert.
1834Joaquim António de Aguiar
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".
1815East Indiaman
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.
1814Treaty of Paris (1814)
The First Treaty of Paris is signed, returning the French frontiers to their 1792 extent, and restoring the House of Bourbon to power.
1806Andrew Jackson
Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel.
1796War of the First Coalition
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.
1723Johann Sebastian Bach
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.
1642Charles I of England
From this date all honors granted by Charles I of England are retroactively annulled by Parliament.
1635Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War: The Peace of Prague is signed.
1631La Gazette (France)
Publication of Gazette de France, the first French newspaper.
1588Spanish Armada
The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.
1574Henry III of France
Henry III becomes King of France.
1539Florida
In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold.
1536Henry VIII
King Henry VIII of England marries Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives.
1510Zhengde Emperor
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.
1434Hussite Wars
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.
1431Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War: In Rouen, France, the 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal.
1416Council of Constance
The Council of Constance, called by Emperor Sigismund, a supporter of Antipope John XXIII, burns Jerome of Prague following a trial for heresy.
1381Peasants' Revolt
Beginning of the Peasants' Revolt in England.
70AD 70
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).
