July 30 in History

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake hits Russia, causing tsunamis over the Pacific Ocean.

A series of landslides occurs in Kerala, India, causing over 420 fatalities.

NASA's Mars 2020 mission is launched on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Twenty killed and 150 are trapped after a landslide in Maharashtra, India.

A train fire kills 32 passengers and injures 27 on the Tamil Nadu Express in Andhra Pradesh, India.

A power grid failure in Delhi leaves more than 300 million people without power in northern India.

Marriage of Queen Elizabeth II's eldest granddaughter Zara Phillips to former rugby union footballer Mike Tindall.

The world's longest running music show Top of the Pops is broadcast for the last time on BBC Two. The show had aired for 42 years.

An Israeli airstrike kills 28 Lebanese civilians, including 16 children.

In Mexico, the last 'old style' Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line.

Three years after the death of the last Pyrenean ibex, Celia, a clone of her is born only to subsequently die from lung defects. Within minutes, the Pyrenean ibex becomes the first and so far only species to have ever gone de-extinct as well as go extinct twice.

Ian Gow, Conservative Member of Parliament, is assassinated at his home by the IRA in a car bombing after he assured the group that the British government would never surrender to them.

As many as 50,000 demonstrators, mostly women and children, take to the streets in Łódź to protest food ration shortages in Communist Poland.

Vanuatu gains independence.

Israel's Knesset passes the Jerusalem Law.

The 730: Okinawa Prefecture changes its traffic on the right-hand side of the road to the left-hand side.

Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, at about 2:30 p.m. He is never seen or heard from again.

Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon releases subpoenaed White House recordings after being ordered to do so by the Supreme Court of the United States.

Apollo program: On Apollo 15, David Scott and James Irwin in the Apollo Lunar Module Falcon land on the Moon with the first Lunar Rover.

An All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 and a Japanese Air Force F-86 collide over Morioka, Iwate, Japan, killing 162.

Vietnam War: U.S. president Richard Nixon makes an unscheduled visit to South Vietnam and meets with President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and U.S. military commanders.

England defeats West Germany to win the FIFA World Cup at Wembley Stadium 4–2 after extra time.

U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.

The Trans-Canada Highway, the then-longest national highway in the world, is officially opened.

A joint resolution of the U.S. Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing In God We Trust as the U.S. national motto.

World War II: Japanese submarine I-58 sinks the USS Indianapolis, killing 883 seamen. Most die during the following four days, until an aircraft notices the survivors.

Premiere of Walt Disney's Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon short to use Technicolor and the first Academy Award winning cartoon short.

In Montevideo, Uruguay wins the first FIFA World Cup by beating Argentina.

The Black Tom explosion in New York Harbor kills several people and destroys some $20,000,000 worth of military goods.

Japan's Emperor Meiji dies and is succeeded by his son Yoshihito, who is now known as the Emperor Taishō.

The Staten Island Ferry Westfield's boiler explodes, killing over 85 people.

Armed Confederate veterans in New Orleans riot against a meeting of Radical Republicans, killing 48 people and injuring another 100.

The steamboat Brother Jonathan sinks off the coast of Crescent City, California, killing 225 passengers, the deadliest shipwreck on the Pacific Coast of the U.S. at the time.

American Civil War: Battle of the Crater: Union forces attempt to break Confederate lines at Petersburg, Virginia by exploding a large bomb under their trenches.

American Indian Wars: Representatives of the United States and tribal leaders including Chief Pocatello (of the Shoshone) sign the Treaty of Box Elder.

The Valuev Circular bans the publication of religious, educational and training books in Ukrainian in the Russian Empire.

First ascent of Grand Combin, one of the highest summits in the Alps.

Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, leader of the Mexican insurgency, is executed by the Spanish in Chihuahua City, Mexico.

In Saint Petersburg, Bartolomeo Rastrelli presents the newly built Catherine Palace to Empress Elizabeth and her courtiers.

The first Masonic Grand Lodge in the future United States is constituted in Massachusetts.

Founding of Baltimore, Maryland.

Nathaniel Bacon issues the "Declaration of the People of Virginia", beginning Bacon's Rebellion against the rule of Governor William Berkeley.

The Battle of Warsaw ends with a Swedish-Brandenburger victory over a larger Polish-Lithuanian force.

English Civil War: Scottish Covenanter forces under the Earl of Leven launch the Siege of Hereford, a remaining Royalist stronghold.

Eighty Years' War: The Siege of Schenkenschans begins; Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, begins the recapture of the strategically important fortress from the Spanish Army.

An earthquake kills about 5,000 people in Gargano, Italy.

In Jamestown, Virginia, the first Colonial European representative assembly in the Americas, the Virginia General Assembly, convenes for the first time.

Beaver Wars: At Ticonderoga (now Crown Point, New York), Samuel de Champlain shoots and kills two Iroquois chiefs on behalf of his native allies.

Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras during his fourth voyage.

First Defenestration of Prague: A crowd of radical Hussites kill seven members of the Prague city council.

The Mor Bar Sauma Monastery is destroyed by a fire.

Baghdad is founded.

Election of pope Vitalian following the death of pope Eugene I in the previous month.

Mark Antony wins a final cavalry battle against Octavian in the battle of Alexandria, but his infantry is defeated and the next day his fleet and troops start to desert to Octavian.

Joey King, American actress

Tom Pidcock, professional cyclist and Olympian

Nina Stojanović, Serbian tennis player

Dylan Larkin, American hockey player

Ariel Atkins, American basketball player

Hirving Lozano, Mexican footballer

Nelydia Senrose, Malaysian actress

Jake Faria, American baseball player

André Gomes, Portuguese footballer

Margarida Moura, Portuguese tennis player

Miho Miyazaki, Japanese singer

Hannah Cockroft, English wheelchair racer

Diana Vickers, English singer-songwriter

Chris Maxwell, Welsh footballer

Tom Morris, Australian journalist

Shekinna Stricklen, American basketball player

Aleix Espargaró, Spanish motorcycle racer

Wayne Parnell, South African cricketer

Wen Chean Lim, Malaysian rhythmic gymnast

Anton Fink, German footballer

Sam Saunders, American golfer

Tiago Alencar, Brazilian footballer

William Zillman, Australian rugby league player

Chris Guccione, Australian tennis player

Daniel Fredheim Holm, Norwegian footballer

Luca Lanotte, Italian ice dancer

Matthew Scott, Australian rugby league player

Alex Goligoski, American ice hockey player

Marko Asmer, Estonian race car driver

Gabrielle Christian, American actress and singer

Ása Berglind Hjálmarsdóttir, Icelandic politician

Trudy McIntosh, Australian artistic gymnast

Kevin Pittsnogle, American basketball player

Gina Rodriguez, American actress

Seán Dillon, Irish footballer

Jehad Al-Hussain, Syrian footballer

James Anderson, English cricketer

Martin Starr, American actor and comedian

Yvonne Strahovski, Australian actress

Nicky Hayden, American motorcycle racer (died 2017)

Juan Smith, South African rugby union footballer

Hope Solo, American soccer player

Indrek Turi, Estonian decathlete

Seth Avett, American folk-rock singer-songwriter and musician

Justin Rose, South African-English golfer

Carlos Arroyo, Puerto Rican basketball player and singer

Chad Keegan, South African cricketer and coach

Graeme McDowell, Northern Irish golfer

Maya Nasser, Syrian journalist (died 2012)

Diana Bolocco, Chilean model and journalist;

Misty May-Treanor, American volleyball player and coach

Jaime Pressly, American actress

Bootsy Thornton, American basketball player

Ian Watkins, Welsh former Lostprophets singer-songwriter and convicted child sex offender (died 2025)

Graham Nicholls, English author and activist

Kate Starbird, American basketball player and computer scientist

Radostin Kishishev, Bulgarian footballer and manager

Jason Robinson, English rugby league footballer, and rugby union footballer and coach

Hilary Swank, American actress and producer

Kenton Cool, English mountaineer

Ümit Davala, Turkish footballer and manager

Anastasios Katsabis, Greek footballer

Markus Näslund, Swedish ice hockey player and manager

Sonu Nigam, Indian playback singer and actor

Clementa C. Pinckney, American minister and politician (died 2015)

Jim McIlvaine, American basketball player and sportscaster

Elvis Crespo, American-Puerto Rican singer

Tom Green, Canadian comedian and actor

Christine Taylor, American actress

Alun Cairns, Welsh businessman and politician

Dean Edwards, American comedian, actor, and singer

Christopher Nolan, English-American director, producer, and screenwriter

Simon Baker, Australian actor, director, and producer

Errol Stewart, South African cricketer and lawyer

Terry Crews, American actor and football player

Robert Korzeniowski, Polish race walker and coach

Sean Moore, Welsh drummer and songwriter

Kerry Fox, New Zealand actress and screenwriter

Craig Gannon, English guitarist and songwriter

Allan Langer, Australian rugby league player and coach

Sean Patrick Maloney, American politician

Louise Wener, English author and singer-songwriter

Tim Munton, English cricketer

Ron Block, American singer-songwriter and banjo player

Vivica A. Fox, American actress

Alek Keshishian, Lebanese-American director, producer, and screenwriter

Jürgen Klinsmann, German footballer and manager

Laine Randjärv, Estonian lawyer and politician, 6th Estonian Minister of Culture

Peter Bowler, English-Australian cricketer

Lisa Kudrow, American actress and producer

Antoni Martí, Andorran architect and politician

Chris Mullin, American basketball player, coach, and executive

Alton Brown, American chef, author, and producer

Jay Feaster, American ice hockey player and manager

Yakub Memon, Indian accountant and terrorist (died 2015)

Laurence Fishburne, American actor and producer

Jennifer Barnes, American-English musicologist and academic

Richard Linklater, American director and screenwriter

Brillante Mendoza, Filipino independent film director

Kate Bush, English singer-songwriter and producer

Liz Kershaw, English radio broadcaster

Daley Thompson, English decathlete and trainer

Antonio Adamo, Italian director and cinematographer

Bill Cartwright, American basketball player and coach

Clint Hurdle, American baseball player and manager

Nery Pumpido, Argentinian footballer, coach, and manager

Delta Burke, American actress

Réal Cloutier, Canadian ice hockey player

Georg Gänswein, German prelate, Prefect of the Pontifical Household, and former personal secretary to Pope Benedict XVI

Anita Hill, American lawyer and academic

Soraida Martinez, American painter and educator

Rat Scabies, English drummer and producer

Christopher Warren-Green, English violinist and conductor

Ken Olin, American actor, director, and producer

Stephen Blackmore, English botanist and author

Alan Kourie, South African cricketer

Gerry Judah, Indian-English painter and sculptor

Harriet Harman, English lawyer and politician

Frank Stallone, American singer-songwriter and actor

Duck Baker, American guitarist

Sonia Proudman, English lawyer and judge (died 2023)

Billy Paultz, American basketball player

Jean Reno, Spanish-French actor

Otis Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Julia Tsenova, Bulgarian pianist and composer (died 2010)

William Atherton, American actor and producer

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, French virologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate

Jonathan Mann, American physician and author (died 1998)

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, and politician, 38th Governor of California

Neil Bonnett, American race car driver and sportscaster (died 1994)

Jeffrey Hammond, English bass player

Patrick Modiano, French novelist and screenwriter, Nobel Prize laureate

David Sanborn, American saxophonist and composer (died 2024)

Gerry Birrell, Scottish race car driver (died 1973)

Peter Bottomley, English politician

Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican reggae singer (died 2025)

Frances de la Tour, English actress

Henri-François Gautrin, Canadian physicist and politician

Pollyanna Pickering, English environmentalist and painter (died 2018)

Paul Anka, Canadian singer-songwriter and actor

Patricia Schroeder, American lawyer and politician (died 2023)

Clive Sinclair, English businessman, founded Sinclair Radionics and Sinclair Research (died 2021)

Peter Bogdanovich, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2022)

Eleanor Smeal, American activist, founded the Feminist Majority Foundation

Hervé de Charette, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs

Terry O'Neill, English photographer (died 2019)

Buddy Guy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz (died 2020)

Bud Selig, 9th Major League Baseball Commissioner

Dominique Lapierre, French historian and author (died 2022)

Marina Popovich, Soviet pilot, engineer and military officer (died 2017)

Sid Krofft, Canadian-American puppeteer and producer (died 2026)

Sulochana Latkar, Indian actress (died 2023)

Joe Nuxhall, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2007)

Richard Johnson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2015)

Pete Schoening, American mountaineer (died 2004)

Victor Wong, American actor (died 2001)

Betye Saar, American artist (died 2026)

George Shanard, American politician and businessman (died 2012)

Stan Stennett, Welsh actor and trumpet player (died 2013)

Alexander Trocchi, Scottish author and poet (died 1984)

C. T. Vivian, American minister, author, and activist (died 2020)

Henry W. Bloch, American banker and businessman, co-founded H&R Block (died 2019)

Grant Johannesen, American pianist and educator (died 2005)

Walter Schuck, German lieutenant and pilot (died 2015)

Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, Irish journalist and author, 6th President of the International Olympic Committee (died 1999)

Lou Darvas, American soldier and cartoonist (died 1987)

Edgar de Evia, Mexican-American photographer (died 2003)

C. Northcote Parkinson, English historian and author (died 1993)

Salvador Novo, Mexican poet and playwright (died 1974)

Alfred Lépine, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 1955)

Gerald Moore, English pianist (died 1987)

Henry Moore, English sculptor and illustrator (died 1986)

Casey Stengel, American baseball player and manager (died 1975)

Smedley Butler, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1940)

Princess Clémentine of Belgium (died 1955)

Henry Ford, American engineer and businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (died 1947)

Nikolai Yudenich, Russian general (died 1933)

Henry Simpson Lunn, English minister and humanitarian, founded Lunn Poly (died 1939)

Thorstein Veblen, American economist and sociologist (died 1929)

Georg Wilhelm von Siemens, German-Swiss businessman (died 1919)

George Lemuel Woods, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 3rd Governor of Oregon (died 1890)

Chaim Aronson, Lithuanian engineer and author (died 1893)

Emily Brontë, English novelist and poet (died 1848)

Jan Heemskerk, Dutch lawyer and politician, 16th and 19th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (died 1897)

Charles Chiniquy, Canadian-American priest and theologian (died 1899)

Maria Aletta Hulshoff, Dutch feminist and pamphleteer (died 1846)

Samuel Rogers, English poet and art collector (died 1855)

Maria Anna Mozart, Austrian pianist (died 1829)

Regnier de Graaf, Dutch physician and anatomist (died 1673)

Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (died 1609)

Giorgio Vasari, Italian painter, historian, and architect (died 1574)

Hongzhi, emperor of the Ming dynasty (died 1505)

David Argue, Australian actor (born 1959)

George Nigh, American politician, 17th and 22nd Governor of Oklahoma (born 1927)

Onyeka Onwenu, Nigerian singer, actress and politician (born 1952)

Paul Reubens, American actor and comedian (born 1952)

Pat Carroll, American actress and comedian (born 1927)

Nichelle Nichols, American actress, singer and dancer (born 1932)

Shona Ferguson, Botswana-born, South African actor and executive producer (born 1974)

Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese politician, President (1988–2000), Vice President (1984–1988) and mayor of Taipei (1978–1981) (born 1923)

Herman Cain, American businessman and political activist (born 1945)

Michael A. Sheehan, American author, former government official and military officer (born 1955)

Gloria DeHaven, American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1925)

Lynn Anderson, American singer (born 1947)

Stuart Baggs, English businessman (born 1988)

Endel Lippmaa, Estonian physicist (born 1930)

Francis Paul Prucha, American historian and academic (born 1921)

Alena Vrzáňová, Czech figure skater (born 1931)

Robert Drew, American director and producer (born 1924)

Harun Farocki, German director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1944)

Julio Grondona, Argentinian businessman (born 1931)

Peter Hall, English geographer, author, and academic (born 1932)

Dick Smith, American make-up artist (born 1922)

Dick Wagner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1942)

Cecil Alexander, American architect, designed the State of Georgia Building (born 1918)

Berthold Beitz, German businessman (born 1913)

Robert Neelly Bellah, American sociologist and author (born 1927)

Harry F. Byrd Jr., American lieutenant, publisher, and politician (born 1914)

Antoni Ramallets, Spanish footballer and manager (born 1924)

Ossie Schectman, American basketball player (born 1919)

Benjamin Walker, Indian-English author, poet, and playwright (born 1913)

Maeve Binchy, Irish author, playwright, and journalist (born 1939)

Bill Doss, American singer and guitarist (born 1968)

Stig Ossian Ericson, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1923)

Les Green, English footballer and manager (born 1941)

Jonathan Hardy, New Zealand-Australian actor and screenwriter (born 1940)

Bill Kitchen, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1960)

Mary Louise Rasmuson, American colonel (born 1911)

Bob Peterson, American basketball player (born 1932)

Mohammed Yusuf, Nigerian militant leader, founded Boko Haram (born 1970)

Peter Zadek, German director and screenwriter (born 1926)

Anne Armstrong, American businesswoman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (born 1927)

Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian director and screenwriter (born 1912)

Teoctist Arăpașu, Romanian patriarch (born 1915)

Ingmar Bergman, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1918)

Bill Walsh, American football player and coach (born 1931)

Duygu Asena, Turkish journalist and author(born 1946)

Al Balding, Canadian golfer (born 1924)

Murray Bookchin, American philosopher and author (born 1921)

Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordion player and composer (born 1904)

Akbar Mohammadi, Iranian activist (born 1972)

Ray Cunningham, American baseball player (born 1905)

John Garang, Sudanese colonel and politician, 6th President of South Sudan (born 1945)

Steve Hislop, Scottish motorcycle racer (born 1962)

Sam Phillips, American record producer, founded Sun Records (born 1923)

Anton Schwarzkopf, German engineer (born 1924)

Buffalo Bob Smith, American television host (born 1917)

Claudette Colbert, French-American actress (born 1903)

Konstantin Kalser, German-American film producer and advertising executive (born 1920)

Brenda Marshall, Filipino-American actress and singer (born 1915)

Joe Shuster, Canadian-American illustrator, co-created Superman (born 1914)

Ian Gow, British Member of Parliament who was assassinated by the IRA (born 1937)

Lane Frost, American professional bull rider (born 1963)

Julia Robinson, American mathematician and theorist (born 1919)

Howard Dietz, American songwriter and publicist (born 1896)

Lynn Fontanne, English actress (born 1887)

Emory Holloway, American scholar, author, and educator (born 1885)

James Blish, American author and critic (born 1921)

Thomas Hollway, Australian politician, 36th Premier of Victoria (born 1906)

Walter Murdoch, Scottish-Australian academic (born 1874)

George Szell, Hungarian-American conductor and composer (born 1897)

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Japanese author and playwright (born 1886)

Joseph Cook, English-Australian miner and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Australia (born 1860)

Hugo Celmiņš, Latvian politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia (born 1877)

John Derbyshire, English swimmer and water polo player (born 1878)

Joan Gamper, Swiss-Spanish footballer and businessman, founded FC Barcelona (born 1877)

Albert Gustaf Dahlman, Swedish executioner (born 1848)

Joyce Kilmer, American soldier, journalist, and poet (born 1886)

Emperor Meiji of Japan (born 1852)

Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born 1844)

Otto von Bismarck, German lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of Germany (born 1815)

Charlie Absolom, England cricketer (born 1846)

George Pickett, American general (born 1825)

Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian poet and journalist (born 1818)

Lê Văn Duyệt, Vietnamese general, mandarin (born 1763–4)

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican priest and soldier (born 1753)

Thomas Gray, English poet (born 1716)

William Penn, English businessman and philosopher, founded the Province of Pennsylvania (born 1644)

Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, English royal (born 1689)

Daniel Georg Morhof, German scholar and academic (born 1639)

Maria Theresa of Spain (born 1638)

Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory, Irish admiral and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1634)

Charles Amadeus, Duke of Nemours (born 1624)

Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of Lennox, British nobleman (born 1579)

Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, last King of Tyrconnell (born 1575)

Guillaume Rondelet, French doctor (born 1507)

Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, English politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom (born 1505)

Thomas Abel, English priest and martyr (born 1497)

Robert Barnes, English martyr and reformer (born 1495)

John V, Count of Nassau-Siegen (born 1455)

Alberto d'Este, Lord of Ferrara and Modena (born 1347)

Bar Hebraeus, Syrian scholar and historian (born 1226)

Shi Xiancheng, general of the Tang Dynasty

Tatwine, English archbishop (born 670)

Pope Benedict I

Jacob Baradaeus, Greek bishop