Discover what happened on May 30 in history, along with notable events that shaped transportation, exploration, entertainment, and space travel.
What Happened on May 30 in History?
Important events on this day include the first Indianapolis 500, the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial, the debut of Finding Nemo, and the historic SpaceX Crew Dragon launch that returned human spaceflight to U.S. soil.
MAY 30 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1783 – The first daily newspaper was published in the U.S. by Benjamin Towner. It was called “The Pennsylvania Evening Post”.
1848 – W.G. Young patented the ice cream freezer.
1854 – The U.S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas were established.
1868 – Memorial Day was observed widely for the first time in the United States. It was originally called Decoration Day.
1879 – William Vanderbilt renamed New York City’s Gilmore’s Garden to Madison Square Garden.
1883 – Because of a rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge was in danger of collapsing, twelve people were trampled to death in New York, NY, in a stampede .
1896 – The first automobile accident occurred in New York, NY.
1903 – In Riverdale, NY, the first American motorcycle hill climb was held.
1911 – Ray Harroun won the first Indianapolis 500. At the time, it was called the International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race. Harroun’s average speed was 74.59 miles per hour.
1922 – The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC.
1958 – Unidentified soldiers killed in World War II and the Korean conflicts were buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
1966 – Surveyor 1 was launched. It would become the first U.S. spacecraft to land on an extraterrestrial body.
1967 – Daredevil Evel Knievel jumped 16 automobiles in a row in a motorcycle stunt at Ascot Speedway in Gardena, CA.
1971 – Blue Ribbon Sport officially became Nike.
1971 – Baseball great Willie Mays scored his 1,950th run.
1971 – Mariner 9, the American deep space probe blasted off on a journey to Mars. It’s mission was to map 70% of the surface and to study temporal changes in the atmosphere and surface of Mars.
1981 – The compact disc was introduced.
1987 – Mike Tyson retained the WBA/WBC heavyweight boxing title with a sixth round TKO over Pinklon Thomas.
1989 – Margaret Ray pleaded guilty to charges of breaking into and entering David Letterman’s Connecticut house. (Ray took his own life in 1998.)
1996 – John Tesh made his last appearance as host of TV’s “Entertainment Tonight” before launching a full-time career as a musician and radio personality.
1997 – Jesse K. Timmendequas was convicted in Trenton, NJ, of raping and strangling a 7-year-old neighbor, Megan Kanka. The 1994 murder inspired “Megan’s Law,” requiring that communities be notified when sex offenders move in.
2002 – In New York, NY, a ceremony were held to officially mark the end of the clean up from the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
2003 – Pixar released it’s animated film “Finding Nemo” in theaters.
2005 – Chef Gordon Ramsay debuted his chef competition television show “Hell’s Kitchen” on Fox.
2008 – The big screen version of “Sex and the City” opened in theaters, four years after airing it’s TV series finale.
2011 – Space Shuttle Endeavor successfully undocked from the International Space Station and return to earth on it’s final mission.
2012 – New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the Portion Cap Rule. The proposed amendment to the city health code would have required that food service establishments limit the size of sugary beverages to 16 ounces. On June 26, 2014, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the New York City Board of Health had exceeded the scope of its regulatory authority.
2020 – The Crew Dragon Demo-2 launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, becoming the first crewed orbital spacecraft to launch from the United States since 2011.
2020 – What started out as a peaceful protest in honor of George Floyd (a black man murdered by the police in Minneapolis, MN) turned into a riot with more about $500,000 worth of damage done in downtown Grand Rapids, MI. Most storefront windows were busted out, stores were looted, and cars were burned on the street.
2020 – The Crew Dragon Demo-2 launched 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.
2024 – Donald Trump was 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.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON MAY 30:
Joan Birman – 99 years old (1927) – Mathematician
Larry Silverstein – 95 years old (1931) – Real estate magnate
Ruta Lee – 91 years old (1935) – Canadian-American actress and dancer
Keir Dullea – 90 years old (1936) – Actor
Gilles Villemure – 86 years old (1940) – Canadian-American ice hockey player
Stav Prodromou – 82 years old (1944) – Greek-American engineer and businessman
P.J. Carlesimo – 77 years old (1949) – Basketball player and coach
Stephen Tobolowsky – 75 years old (1951) – Actor, singer, and director
Daniel Grodnik – 74 years old (1952) – Screenwriter and producer
Jake Roberts – 71 years old (1955) – Professional wrestler
Tim Lucas – 70 years old (1956) – Author, screenwriter, and critic
Steve Israel – 68 years old (1958) – Lawyer and politician
Michael López-Alegría – 68 years old (1958) – Spanish-American captain, pilot, and astronaut
Ted McGinley – 68 years old (1958) – Actor
John Terlesky – 65 years old (1961) – Actor
Bob Yari – 65 years old (1961) – Iranian-American director and producer
Kevin Eastman – 64 years old (1962) – Author and illustrator, co-created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Tonya Pinkins – 64 years old (1962) – Actress and singer
Wynonna Judd – 62 years old (1964) – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
Tom Morello – 62 years old (1964) – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
Billy Donovan – 61 years old (1965) – Basketball player and coach
Sonya Curry – 60 years old (1966) – mother of American basketball players
Stephen Malkmus – 60 years old (1966) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Sven Pipien – 59 years old (1967) – German-American bass player
Idina Menzel – 55 years old (1971) – Singer-songwriter and actress
Manny Ramirez – 54 years old (1972) – Dominican-American baseball player and coach
David Wilkie – 52 years old (1974) – Ice hockey player and coach
Evan Eschmeyer – 51 years old (1975) – Basketball player
Brian Fair – 51 years old (1975) – Singer-songwriter
CeeLo Green – 51 years old (1975) – Singer-songwriter
Marissa Mayer – 51 years old (1975) – Computer scientist and businesswoman
Clint Bowyer – 47 years old (1979) – Race car driver
Devendra Banhart – 45 years old (1981) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Remy Ma – 45 years old (1981) – Rapper
Will Peltz – 40 years old (1986) – Actor
Ailee – 37 years old (1989) – Korean-American singer and songwriter
Zack Wheeler – 36 years old (1990) – Baseball player
Harrison Barnes – 34 years old (1992) – Basketball player
Jeremy Lamb – 34 years old (1992) – Basketball player
Charlie Hall – 29 years old (1997) – Actor
Jake Short – 29 years old (1997) – Actor
Jared S. Gilmore – 26 years old (2000) – Actor
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR MAY 30:
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For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
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