June 30
June 30 is the 182nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 184 days remain until the year's end. It falls in summer (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Cancer.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On June 30 the Sun's declination is approximately +23.1°. At this latitude the Sun is north of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere longer days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a June 30.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
No widely-observed holidays catalogued for this day in our base set. See the external almanacs above for region-specific observances.
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
1859 — French acrobat Charles Blondin crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope. ↗(167 years ago)more
Charles Blondin was a French tightrope walker and acrobat who achieved international fame in the mid-19th Century. Known for crossing the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope, he toured the United States and beyond.
1908 — The Tunguska event: a meteoroid airburst over Siberia flattened ~2,000 km² of forest. ↗(118 years ago)more
The Tunguska event was a large explosion of between 3–50 megatons TNT equivalent that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate, Russia, on the morning of 30 June [O.S. 17 June] 1908.
1934 — The Night of the Long Knives: Adolf Hitler ordered the purge of his political rivals in Germany. ↗(92 years ago)more
The Night of the Long Knives, also called the Röhm purge or Operation Hummingbird, was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, ordered a series of extrajudicial executions intended to consolidate his power and alleviate the German military's concerns abo...
1997 — Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China. ↗(29 years ago)more
The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the People's Republic of China occurred at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule, dating back to the cession of Hong Kong Island in 1841 during the First Opium War.
Notable births
1917 — Lena Horne, American singer and actress. ↗(109 years ago)more
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theater.
1985 — Michael Phelps, American Olympic swimmer. ↗(41 years ago)more
Michael Fred Phelps II is an American former competitive swimmer. He won more Olympic medals than any other athlete, a total of 28 medals across four Olympic Games. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (23), Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16).
Notable deaths
1971 — The three-man crew of Soyuz 11 — the only humans to die in space. ↗(55 years ago)more
Soyuz 11 was the only crewed mission to board the world's first space station, Salyut 1. The crew – Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev – arrived at the space station on 7 June 1971, and departed on 29 June 1971.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (182) | 2 × 7 × 13 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (184) | 2^3 × 23 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 30062026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | +23.11° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 10 days |