Thurgood Marshall confirmed as Supreme Court justice

Born on This Day

Mary Shelley

1797 - 1851

British author best known for her 1818 Gothic novel Frankenstein, considered a pioneering work of science fiction.

Ted Williams

1918 - 2002

Baseball player nicknamed “The Splendid Splinter” and the last player to hit .400 in a season.

Cameron Diaz

1972 -

Actor best known for her comedic work in the Shrek movies, The Mask and Something About Mary.

Mary ShelleyGetty Images

Ted WilliamsGetty Images

Cameron DiazWireImage

2023

AUG30

West Point announces that an archaeologist has taken a second look at an 1828 time capsule opened in an earlier livestream and thought to be empty. Under sediment at the bottom he discovered valuable coins and a medal.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on August 30th

Washington refuses British general’s letter of reconciliation

On August 30, 1776, General George Washington gives the New York Convention three reasons for the American retreat from Long Island. That same day, he rejects British General William Howe’s second letter of reconciliation. With Howe and a superior British force having recently landed at Long Island—they handed the Continentals a humiliating defeat at the […]

Vladimir Lenin shot

After speaking at a factory in Moscow, Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin is shot twice by Fanya Kaplan, a member of the Social Revolutionary party. Lenin was seriously wounded but survived the attack. The assassination attempt set off a wave of reprisals by the Bolsheviks against the Social Revolutionaries and other political opponents. Thousands were executed […]

Hotline established between Washington and Moscow

On August 30, 1963, John F. Kennedy becomes the first U.S. president to have a direct phone line to the Kremlin in Moscow. The “hotline” was designed to facilitate communication between the president and Soviet premier. The establishment of the hotline to the Kremlin came in the wake of the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, […]

Ho Chi Minh responds to Nixon letter

Ho Chi Minh’s reply to President Nixon’s letter of July 15 is received in Paris. Ho accused the United States of a “war of aggression” against the Vietnamese people, “violating our fundamental national rights” and warned that “the longer the war goes on, the more it accumulates the mourning and burdens of the American people.” […]

John Lennon and Yoko Ono headline "One to One," his last full-scale concert

It was the 'One to One' benefit concert at Madison Square Garden.

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Christopher Cross has his first of two No. 1 hits with “Sailing”

Singer-songwriter Christopher Cross completes a meteoric rise from obscurity when his hit ballad “Sailing” reaches No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart on August 30, 1980.

Guion S. Bluford becomes the first African American to travel to space

U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Guion S. Bluford becomes the first African American to travel into space when the space shuttle Challenger lifts off on its third mission. It was the first night launch of a space shuttle, and many people stayed up late to watch the spacecraft roar up from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at […]

A murdering couple is sentenced to death

Cynthia Coffman and James Marlow are sentenced to death in San Bernardino, California, for the 1986 murder of Corinna Novis. Coffman was the first woman to receive a death sentence in the state since capital punishment was reinstated in 1977. Coffman first met Marlow in May 1986, just after he was released from prison. Marlow, […]

Movie tough guy Charles Bronson dies

On August 30, 2003, the actor Charles Bronson, best known for his tough-guy roles in such films as The Dirty Dozen and the Death Wish franchise, dies at the age of 81 in Los Angeles. Bronson was born Charles Buchinsky on November 3, 1921, in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, to Lithuanian immigrants. The 11th of 15 children, […]

California Senate passes Global Warming Solutions Act

On August 30, 2006, the California State Senate passes Assembly Bill (AB) 32—otherwise known as the Global Warming Solutions Act. The law made California the first state in America to place caps on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, including those found in automobile emissions. The Global Warming Solutions Act became law thanks to an […]

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