A Day in the Past

On this day: 30 May

145 things happened on 30 May, from AD 727 to 2024. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 6

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Around the world 32

1796 230 years ago

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.

War & peace Find out more: War of the First Coalition (Wikipedia)
1862 164 years ago

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.

War & peace Find out more: American Civil War (Wikipedia)
1876 150 years ago

The secret decree of Ems Ukaz is issued by Russian Tsar Alexander II in the German city of Bad Ems, aimed at stopping the printing and distribution of Ukrainian-language publications in the Russian Empire.

Kings & queens Find out more: Ems Ukaz (Wikipedia)
1913 113 years ago

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.

War & peace Find out more: Treaty of London (1913) (Wikipedia)
1963 63 years ago

Buddhist crisis: A protest against pro-Catholic discrimination was held outside the National Assembly of South Vietnam in Saigon, the first open demonstration against President Ngô Đình Diệm.

Find out more: Buddhist crisis (Wikipedia)
1968 58 years ago

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 the May 1968 events in France.

InventionsTransport Find out more: Charles de Gaulle (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “Jane Seymour, a former lady-in-waiting, married King Henry VIII”?

    1. 1536
    2. 1588
    3. 1963
    Show the answer

    A: 1536. 1536 — that’s 490 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “RMS Aquitania, the last surviving four-funnel ocean liner, departed from”?

    1. 1980
    2. 1381
    3. 1914
    Show the answer

    C: 1914. 1914 — that’s 112 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. Jane Seymour, a former lady-in-waiting, married King Henry VIII
    2. RMS Aquitania, the last surviving four-funnel ocean liner, departed from
    3. From this date all honors granted by Charles I of England are retroactively
    Show the answer

    A: Jane Seymour, a former lady-in-waiting, married King Henry VIII. 1536: Jane Seymour, a former lady-in-waiting, married King Henry VIII · 1914: RMS Aquitania, the last surviving four-funnel ocean liner, departed from · 1642: From this date all honors granted by Charles I of England are retroactively Find it on the page

  4. “From this date all honors granted by Charles I of England are retroactively” happened in 1642. How many years ago was that?

    1. 384 years
    2. 374 years
    3. 394 years
    Show the answer

    A: 384 years. 2026 − 1642 = 384. Find it on the page

Born on this day 37

Famous people whose birthday is 30 May.

Remembering 22

Well-known people who died on 30 May.

Special days 14

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 30 May somewhere in the world.

For older readers 34 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.

Where these facts come from

Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “May 30” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.