<p>Discover what happened on September 30 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.</p>


September 30

Discover what happened on September 30 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on September 30 | HISTORY

Home

HISTORY

In 1954, a year of breakthroughs, the first successful polio vaccine rolled out and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional. In England, Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. Two pop-culture titans, movie star Marilyn Monroe and baseball slugger Joe DiMaggio, tied the knot. And Bill Haley and His Comets released “Rock Around the Clock,” one of the earliest and most successful rock ‘n’ roll records.

1954

In 1947, both India and Pakistan won independence from Great Britain. America launched the Marshall Plan to help war-torn Europe rebuild, and the U.N. partitioned Palestine, creating the state of Israel. In the U.S., Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball and test pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the X-1 rocket plane. And in Roswell, New Mexico, a mysterious object crashed in the desert, driving speculation about extraterrestrial life.

1947

1822

1928

1938

World War I ended in 1918, when Germany signed an armistice agreement with the victorious Allies. The war had cost the lives of more than 9 million combatants plus millions of civilians. Meanwhile, an even more deadly threat emerged: the influenza pandemic, which would take another 50 million lives worldwide. Bolshevik revolutionaries executed the Romanov family, ending 300 years of Russian imperial rule. On the U.S. homefront, Congress enacted daylight savings time, only to repeal it the following year.

1918

1962

1927

The nearly 1,000-foot Eiffel Tower opened for business in Paris in 1889, reigning as the tallest structure in the world until 1930. That same year, fire in Seattle destroyed much of the city, while the Johnstown Flood in Pennsylvania swept more than 2,200 to their deaths after a dam collapse. In Japan, the videogame company now known as Nintendo started in business as a maker of playing cards.

1889

1868

2005

The Cold War heated up in 1949 when the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb and Germany split into two separate nations—one aligned with the West, the other with the Soviets. To counteract the threat, the U.S. and European allies signed the NATO charter. In Asia, Communists declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China. George Orwell predicted scarier times ahead with his novel “1984,” and consumers saw the introduction of 45 r.p.m. records, Kraft singles and Lego plastic bricks.

1949

As the Cold War heated up in 1955, the U.S.S.R. and seven of its European satellite countries formed the Warsaw Pact defense alliance to counter NATO. In the U.S., the first McDonald’s restaurant opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, while Disneyland debuted in Anaheim, California and the Mickey Mouse Club premiered on TV. Rosa Parks refused to go to the back of the bus in Alabama, and the racially inspired murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till sparked national outrage.

1955

Few years in U.S. history were more momentous than 1776. The Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence and named the new country the United States of America. As the Revolutionary War raged, General George Washington crossed the Delaware River in a successful surprise attack on British-funded mercenaries. The British hanged 21-year-old spy Nathan Hale. And the first working combat submarine (a one-man vessel called the “Turtle”) attacked a British ship in New York Harbor by attaching a powder keg to its hull. 

1776

<p>America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.</p>


U.S. Presidents

<p>From raising families to leading armies, women such as Catherine the Great, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen Amanirenas, Queen Elizabeth I, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin and countless others have played a vital role in history.</p>


Women’s History

<p>The 1960s was one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history. The era was marked by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and antiwar protests, countercultural movements, political assassinations and the emerging "generation gap."</p>


1960s

<p>Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.</p>


Sports

<p>Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration of the history and culture of the U.S. Latin and Hispanic communities. The event, which spans from September 15 to October 15, commemorates how those communities have influenced and contributed to American society at large.</p>


Hispanic History

<p>The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.</p>


American Revolution

Videos

<p><a href="http://history.com/">HISTORY.com</a> works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including <a href="https://www.history.com/author/amanda-onion">Amanda Onion</a>, <a href="https://www.history.com/author/missy-sullivan">Missy Sullivan</a>, <a href="https://www.history.com/author/matt-mullen">Matt Mullen</a> and Christian Zapata.</p>


History.com Editors

<p>Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.</p>


Art, Literature and Film History

<p>World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.</p>


World War II

<p>The 1950s were a decade marked by the post-World War II boom, the dawn of the Cold War and the civil rights movement in the United States. At this time the U.S. economy was booming and more (mostly white) Americans could afford new cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods. But the 1950s also saw great conflict and division, from the nascent civil rights movement to the crusade against communism at home and abroad in the Korean War.</p>


1950s

<p>The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.</p>


Cold War

<div id="1680273445.167319" class="c-virtual_list__item c-virtual_list__item--initial-activeitem" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1680273445.167319">
<div class="c-message_kit__background p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--default">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__right" role="presentation" data-qa="message_content">
<div class="c-message_kit__blocks c-message_kit__blocks--rich_text">
<div class="c-message__message_blocks c-message__message_blocks--rich_text" data-qa="message-text">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer" data-qa="block-kit-renderer">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper--first">
<div class="p-rich_text_block" dir="auto">
<div class="p-rich_text_section">African Americans have played a central role in shaping U.S. history. From slavery and its abolition to the Great Migration, the civil rights movement and military, scientific, cultural and political achievements, explore key moments, milestones and figures in Black History.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="1680273480.911289" class="c-virtual_list__item" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1680273480.911289">
<div class="c-message_kit__background p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--default">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__left" role="presentation" data-stringify-ignore="true"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>


Black History

<p>The Middle East is a large and diverse region composed of several countries and cultures in north Africa and western Asia. Its complex history includes the Persian Gulf War, the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Yom Kippur War, Zionism and more.</p>


This Day In History: September 30

USS Nautilus—world’s first nuclear submarine—is commissioned

Also on This Day in History September | 30

World Series broadcast on TV for first time

Joseph Marion Hernández becomes the first Hispanic elected to Congress

This Day in History Video: What Happened on September 30

Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and best‑selling author, is born

Munich Pact signed

Lawrence of Arabia leads liberation forces into Damascus

Riots erupt over desegregation of Ole Miss

Babe Ruth hits 60th homer of 1927 season

President Woodrow Wilson speaks in favor of female suffrage

Wyoming legislators write the first state constitution to grant women the vote

First volume of “Little Women” is published

Michael Eisner resigns as Disney CEO

Berlin Airlift ends

James Dean dies in car accident

General George Washington complains about his militia

Also on This Day in History September | 30

Wake Up to This Day in History