December 30 facts for kids

December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; one day remains until the end of the year.

Every day is special, and December 30th has seen many important events throughout history! From ancient laws to modern discoveries, and the births of famous people to the passing of others, this date is full of interesting moments. Let's explore some of the exciting things that happened on December 30th.

Important Events in History

Early Times (Before 1600)

• 534 – A very old set of laws called the Code of Justinian was officially put into use in the Byzantine Empire. This was like a major update to their rulebook!
• 999 – In Ireland, a big battle called the Battle of Glenmama took place. The armies of Munster and Meath, led by King Brian Boru, won a huge victory against the forces from Leinster and Dublin.
• 1419 – During the Hundred Years' War, a naval battle known as the Battle of La Rochelle happened.
• 1460 – In England, during the Wars of the Roses, a battle at Wakefield was fought. The Lancastrians won, and the Duke of York was killed.

From 1600 to 1900

• 1702 – During Queen Anne's War, James Moore, the Governor of Carolina, stopped trying to capture St. Augustine in Florida.
• 1813 – In the War of 1812, British soldiers set fire to the city of Buffalo, New York.
• 1816 – The Treaty of St. Louis was announced. This was an agreement between the United States and the united Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi Native American tribes.
• 1825 – Another Treaty of St. Louis was made public, this time between the United States and the Shawnee Nation.
• 1853 – The Gadsden Purchase happened. The United States bought land from Mexico to help build railroads in the Southwest.
• 1896 – José Rizal, a Filipino hero and reformer, was executed by a Spanish firing squad in Manila. He fought for his country's freedom.
• 1896 – Canadian ice hockey player Ernie McLea scored the first ever "hat-trick" (three goals in one game) in a Stanley Cup match! His team, the Montreal Victorias, won the Cup.
• 1897 – The British Colony of Natal took control of Zululand in Southern Africa.

Modern Times (1901-Present)

• 1902 – The Discovery Expedition, led by Robert Falcon Scott, reached the furthest south anyone had ever been in Antarctica at that time.
• 1906 – The All-India Muslim League was created in Dacca (now Dhaka, Bangladesh). This group worked for the rights of Muslims in British India.
• 1916 – Grigori Rasputin, a famous Russian mystic and advisor to the Tsar, was killed by a group of loyalists.
• 1916 – The last ever coronation in Hungary took place for King Charles IV and Queen Zita.
• 1922 – The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was officially formed.
• 1927 – The Ginza Line opened in Tokyo, Japan. It was the first subway line in all of Asia!
• 1936 – The Flint sit-down strike began at General Motors factories. Workers sat down and refused to leave, demanding better conditions.
• 1943 – Subhas Chandra Bose raised the flag of Indian independence in Port Blair.
• 1947 – During the Cold War, King Michael I of Romania was forced to give up his throne by the Communist government, which was supported by the Soviet Union.
• 1954 – The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation was created. This agency combines criminal investigation and intelligence work in Finland.
• 1972 – The Vietnam War's Operation Linebacker II came to an end.
• 1993 – Israel started diplomatic relations with Vatican City and also improved its relations with Ireland.
• 1996 – Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu caused huge protests. About 250,000 workers went on strike across Israel.
• 2005 – Tropical Storm Zeta formed in the Atlantic Ocean. It tied the record for the latest tropical storm to form in that area.
• 2006 – Madrid–Barajas Airport in Spain was bombed.
• 2006 – The Indonesian passenger ferry MV Senopati Nusantara sank in a storm, leading to many deaths.
• 2006 – Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein was executed.
• 2009 – A pipeline in China broke, and about 150,000 liters (about 40,000 US gallons) of diesel oil spilled into the Wei River, eventually reaching the Yellow River.
• 2013 – More than 100 people were killed when anti-government forces attacked important buildings in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

People Born on This Day

Born Before 1900

• AD 39 – Titus, a Roman emperor.
• 159 – Empress Dowager Bian, an important figure in ancient China.
• 1371 – Vasily I of Moscow, a Grand Prince of Moscow.
• 1490 – Ebussuud Efendi, an Ottoman lawyer and judge.
• 1578 – Ulrik of Denmark, a Danish prince-bishop.
• 1673 – Ahmed III, an Ottoman sultan.
• 1678 – William Croft, an English organist and composer.
• 1722 – Charles Yorke, an English lawyer and politician.
• 1724 – Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, a French painter.
• 1819 – Theodor Fontane, a German author and poet.
• 1849 – John Milne, an English scientist who studied earthquakes.
• 1851 – Asa Griggs Candler, an American businessman who was once the Mayor of Atlanta.
• 1865 – Rudyard Kipling, a famous Indian-English author and poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. He wrote The Jungle Book!
• 1869 – Stephen Leacock, an English-Canadian political scientist and author.
• 1873 – Al Smith, an American lawyer and politician, and a former Governor of New York.
• 1879 – Ramana Maharshi, an Indian spiritual teacher and philosopher.
• 1884 – Hideki Tōjō, a Japanese general and former Prime Minister of Japan.
• 1890 – Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, a Mexican soldier and former President of Mexico.
• 1899 – Helge Ingstad, a Norwegian explorer and lawyer.

Born 1901-Present

• 1904 – Dmitry Kabalevsky, a Russian composer.
• 1906 – Carol Reed, an English film director.
• 1910 – Paul Bowles, an American composer and author.
• 1911 – Jeanette Nolan, an American actress.
• 1914 – Bert Parks, an American television host.
• 1921 – Rashid Karami, a Lebanese lawyer and politician, who was Prime Minister of Lebanon many times.
• 1924 – Yvonne Brill, a Canadian-American engineer who worked on rocket propulsion.
• 1928 – Bo Diddley, an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, famous for his unique rhythm.
• 1930 – Tu Youyou, a Chinese chemist and pharmacist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her work on malaria treatments.
• 1931 – Skeeter Davis, an American country singer.
• 1934 – John N. Bahcall, an American astrophysicist who helped develop the Hubble Space Telescope.
• 1934 – Del Shannon, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1935 – Omar Bongo, a Gabonese politician who was President of Gabon for many years.
• 1935 – Sandy Koufax, an American baseball player, considered one of the greatest pitchers ever.
• 1937 – Gordon Banks, a famous English footballer (soccer player).
• 1939 – Felix Pappalardi, an American musician and producer.
• 1942 – Michael Nesmith, an American singer-songwriter and actor, known for being in The Monkees.
• 1945 – Davy Jones, an English singer and actor, also from The Monkees.
• 1946 – Patti Smith, an American singer-songwriter and poet, often called the "punk poet laureate."
• 1947 – Jeff Lynne, an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer, known for Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).
• 1950 – Bjarne Stroustrup, a Danish computer scientist who created the C++ programming language.
• 1953 – Meredith Vieira, an American journalist and TV host.
• 1956 – Suzy Bogguss, an American country singer.
• 1956 – Sheryl Lee Ralph, an American actress and singer.
• 1957 – Matt Lauer, an American journalist and TV host.
• 1959 – Tracey Ullman, an English-American actress, singer, and comedian.
• 1961 – Douglas Coupland, a German-Canadian author.
• 1961 – Bill English, a New Zealand farmer and former Prime Minister of New Zealand.
• 1961 – Sean Hannity, an American radio and television host.
• 1961 – Ben Johnson, a Jamaican-Canadian sprinter.
• 1963 – Mike Pompeo, an American diplomat and politician, who was the 70th United States Secretary of State.
• 1969 – Jay Kay, an English singer and songwriter, lead singer of Jamiroquai.
• 1969 – Kersti Kaljulaid, the current President of Estonia.
• 1975 – Tiger Woods, one of the most famous American golfers of all time.
• 1977 – Laila Ali, an American boxer and actress, daughter of Muhammad Ali.
• 1978 – Tyrese Gibson, an American singer-songwriter and actor.
• 1980 – Eliza Dushku, an American actress.
• 1982 – Kristin Kreuk, a Canadian actress.
• 1983 – Kevin Systrom, an American computer programmer who co-founded Instagram.
• 1984 – LeBron James, a famous American basketball player, producer, and businessman.
• 1986 – Ellie Goulding, an English singer-songwriter.
• 1986 – Caity Lotz, an American actress.
• 1989 – Ryan Sheckler, an American skateboarder.
• 1990 & Joe Root, an English cricketer.
• 1995 – V, a South Korean singer from the band BTS.

People Who Passed Away on This Day

Passed Away Before 1900

• 274 – Pope Felix I.
• 717 – Egwin of Evesham, an English bishop.
• 1331 – Bernard Gui, a famous inquisitor.
• 1460 – Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, an English nobleman.
• 1525 – Jakob Fugger, a very rich German banker.
• 1591 – Pope Innocent IX.
• 1644 – Jan Baptist van Helmont, a Flemish chemist and physician.
• 1803 – Francis Lewis, a Welsh-American merchant and politician.
• 1896 – José Rizal, the Filipino hero mentioned earlier.

Passed Away 1901-Present

• 1906 – Josephine Butler, an English feminist and social reformer.
• 1916 – Grigori Rasputin, the Russian mystic.
• 1944 – Romain Rolland, a French author and playwright who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1947 – Alfred North Whitehead, an English-American mathematician and philosopher.
• 1967 – Vincent Massey, a Canadian lawyer and politician, who was a Governor General of Canada.
• 1968 – Trygve Lie, a Norwegian politician who was the first Secretary-General of the United Nations.
• 1970 – Sonny Liston, a famous American boxer.
• 1971 – Vikram Sarabhai, an Indian physicist known as the father of the Indian space program.
• 1979 – Richard Rodgers, an American composer who wrote many famous musicals.
• 1988 – Isamu Noguchi, an American sculptor and landscape designer.
• 1992 – Romeo Muller, an American screenwriter, known for classic animated TV specials.
• 1999 – Sarah Knauss, an American supercentenarian who lived to be 119 years old!
• 2004 – Artie Shaw, an American clarinet player and bandleader.
• 2006 – Saddam Hussein, the former President of Iraq.
• 2009 – Abdurrahman Wahid, a former President of Indonesia.
• 2010 – Bobby Farrell, a Dutch dancer and performer from the group Boney M.
• 2012 – Rita Levi-Montalcini, an Italian neurologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
• 2014 – Luise Rainer, a German-born American-British actress who won two Academy Awards.
• 2022 – Barbara Walters, a pioneering American journalist and TV host.
• 2023 – Tom Wilkinson, an English actor.

Special Days and Celebrations

• Christian feast day:
  • Abraham the Writer
  • Anysia of Salonika
  • Egwin of Evesham
  • Frances Joseph-Gaudet (Episcopal Church)
  • Liberius of Ravenna
  • Pope Felix I
  • Ralph of Vaucelles
  • Roger of Cannae
  • December 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Day of the Declaration of Slovakia as an Independent Ecclesiastic Province (Slovakia)
• Rizal Day (Philippines) – A national holiday in the Philippines honoring José Rizal.
• The fifth day of Kwanzaa (United States) – A celebration of African-American culture.
• The sixth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)

See also

In Spanish: 30 de diciembre para niños