A birthday on the globe
30 May on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 30 May, the English Wikipedia lists 68 events and 235 births. 41 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; seven more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 30 May through the years
The Earth on 30 May
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in May 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 30 May the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 21.8° north. In London, the day lasts about 16 hours 15 minutes.
Beyond 68° north the Sun no longer sets; beyond 68° south it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Britain & Ireland · Liverpool
1914
The new, and then the largest, Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, 45,647 tons, sets sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City.
On the map: Liverpool.
Europe · Paris
1814
The First Treaty of Paris is signed, returning the French frontiers to their 1792 extent, and restoring the House of Bourbon to power.
On the map: Paris.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese.
Europe · Prague
1866
Bedrich Smetana's comic opera The Bartered Bride premieres in Prague.
On the map: Prague.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
Europe · Oslo
2008
Convention on Cluster Munitions is adopted.
On the map: Oslo.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese.
Oceania · Waitematā Harbour
1959
The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened by Governor-General Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham.
On the map: Waitematā Harbour.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
Latin America · Gulf of Paria
1845
The Fatel Razack, coming from India, lands in the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and Tobago carrying the first Indians to the country.
On the map: Gulf of Paria.
Latin America · Disappearance of Natalee Holloway
2005
American student Natalee Holloway disappeared on a high-school graduation trip to Aruba.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “Disappearance of Natalee Holloway”.
North America · Globe, Arizona
1899
Pearl Hart, a female outlaw of the Old West, robs a stage coach 30 miles southeast of Globe, Arizona.
On the map: Globe, Arizona.
North America · Lincoln Memorial
1922
The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
On the map: Lincoln Memorial.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese.
North America · Kennedy Space Center
2020
Crew Dragon Demo-2 launches from 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.
On the map: Kennedy Space Center.
30 May
Born on 30 May#
The English Wikipedia lists 235 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 60 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 30 May
1814
Mikhail Bakunin, Russian philosopher and theorist (died 1876)
Place of birth: Priamukhino.
Born on 30 May
1980
Steven Gerrard, English international footballer and manager
Place of birth: Whiston.
Born on 30 May
1908
Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1995)
Place of birth: Norrköping Saint Olof parish.
Born on 30 May
1909
Benny Goodman, American clarinet player, songwriter, and bandleader (died 1986)
Place of birth: Chicago.
Born on 30 May
1928
Agnès Varda, Belgian-French director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2019)
Born in Britain and Ireland
1912
Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (died 1980)
Place of birth: Marian-glas.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1963
Helen Sharman, English chemist and astronaut
Place of birth: Sheffield.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1955
Colm Tóibín, Irish novelist, poet, playwright, and critic
Place of birth: Enniscorthy.
30 May
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 30 May through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 30 May
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 20 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 1381
Beginning of the Peasants' Revolt in England.
Britain & Ireland · EnglandWikipedia: Peasants' Revolt - 1416
The Council of Constance, called by Emperor Sigismund, a supporter of Antipope John XXIII, burns Jerome of Prague following a trial for heresy.
Europe · Council of ConstanceWikipedia: Council of Constance - 1431
Hundred Years' War: In Rouen, France, the 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal.
Europe · RouenWikipedia: Hundred Years' War - 1434
Hussite Wars: Battle of Lipany: End of the war, the Utraquist defeat and annihilate Taborite forces.
Europe · Battle of LipanyWikipedia: Battle of Lipany - 1510
During the reign of the Zhengde Emperor, Ming dynasty rebel leader Zhu Zhifan is defeated by commander Qiu Yue, ending the Prince of Anhua rebellion.
Asia · Ming dynastyWikipedia: Zhengde Emperor - 1536
King Henry VIII of England marries Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Henry VIII - 1539
In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold.
North America · Tampa BayWikipedia: Florida - 1574
Henry III becomes King of France.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Henry III of France - 1588
The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.
Europe · LisbonWikipedia: Spanish Armada - 1631
Publication of Gazette de France, the first French newspaper.
no place on the mapWikipedia: La Gazette - 1635
Thirty Years' War: The Peace of Prague is signed.
Europe · Prague CastleWikipedia: Peace of Prague - 1642
From this date all honors granted by Charles I of England are retroactively annulled by Parliament.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Charles I of England - 1723
Johann Sebastian Bach assumes the office of Thomaskantor in Leipzig, presenting his first new cantata, Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75, in the St. Nicholas Church on the first Sunday after Trinity.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Johann Sebastian Bach - 1796
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.
Europe · Battle of BorghettoWikipedia: Battle of Borghetto - 1806
Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Andrew Jackson - 1814
The First Treaty of Paris is signed, returning the French frontiers to their 1792 extent, and restoring the House of Bourbon to power.
Europe · ParisWikipedia: Treaty of Paris - 1815
The East Indiaman Arniston is wrecked during a storm at Waenhuiskrans, near Cape Agulhas, in present-day South Africa, with the loss of 372 lives.
Africa · Arniston, South AfricaWikipedia: East Indiaman - 1834
Minister of Justice Joaquim António de Aguiar issues a law seizing "all convents, monasteries, colleges, hospices and any other houses" from the Catholic religious orders in Portugal, earning him the nickname of "The Friar-Killer".
no place on the mapWikipedia: Joaquim António de Aguiar - 1842
John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria as she drives down Constitution Hill in London with Prince Albert.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Queen Victoria - 1845
The Fatel Razack, coming from India, lands in the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and Tobago carrying the first Indians to the country.
Latin America · Gulf of PariaWikipedia: Fatel Razack - 1854
The Kansas–Nebraska Act becomes law, establishing the U.S. territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Kansas–Nebraska Act - 1862
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.
North America · Siege of CorinthWikipedia: American Civil War - 1866
Bedrich Smetana's comic opera The Bartered Bride premieres in Prague.
Europe · PragueWikipedia: Bedřich Smetana - 1868
Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern "Memorial Day") is observed in the United States for the first time after a proclamation by John A. Logan, head of the Grand Army of the Republic (a veterans group).
North America · Grand Army of the RepublicWikipedia: Memorial Day - 1876
Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz is deposed and succeeded by his nephew Murad V.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Abdulaziz - 1876
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.
Europe · Bad EmsWikipedia: Ems Ukaz - 1883
In New York City, 12 people are killed in a stampede on the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Brooklyn Bridge - 1899
Pearl Hart, a female outlaw of the Old West, robs a stage coach 30 miles southeast of Globe, Arizona.
North America · Globe, ArizonaWikipedia: Pearl Hart - 1911
At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first Indianapolis 500 ends with Ray Harroun in his Marmon Wasp becoming the first winner of the 500-mile auto race.
North America · Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayWikipedia: Indianapolis 500 - 1913
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.
Britain & Ireland · LondonWikipedia: Treaty of London - 1914
The new, and then the largest, Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, 45,647 tons, sets sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City.
Britain & Ireland · LiverpoolWikipedia: Cunard Line - 1922
The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
North America · Lincoln MemorialWikipedia: Lincoln Memorial - 1925
May Thirtieth Movement: Shanghai Municipal Police Force shoot and kill 13 protesting workers.
no place on the mapWikipedia: May Thirtieth Movement - 1937
Memorial Day massacre: Chicago police shoot and kill ten labor demonstrators.
North America · 1937 Memorial Day massacreWikipedia: 1937 Memorial Day massacre - 1940
Second World War: HMS Cambrian was sunk by a mine in The Solent, with the loss of 23 lives.
no place on the mapWikipedia: World War II - 1941
World War II: Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas climb the Athenian Acropolis and tear down the German flag.
no place on the mapWikipedia: World War II - 1942
World War II: One thousand British bombers launch a 90-minute attack on Cologne, Germany.
Europe · CologneWikipedia: Bombing of Cologne in World War II - 1943
The Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer of the Zigeunerfamilienlager (Romani family camp) at Auschwitz concentration camp.
Europe · Auschwitz concentration campWikipedia: The Holocaust - 1948
A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
North America · Vanport, OregonWikipedia: 1948 Columbia River flood - 1958
Memorial Day: The remains of two unidentified American servicemen, killed in action during World War II and the Korean War respectively, are buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
North America · Tomb of the Unknown SoldierWikipedia: Korean War - 1959
The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened by Governor-General Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham.
Oceania · Waitematā HarbourWikipedia: Auckland Harbour Bridge - 1961
The long-time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Latin America · Santo DomingoWikipedia: Rafael Trujillo - 1961
Viasa Flight 897 crashes after takeoff from Lisbon Airport, killing 61.
Europe · Humberto Delgado AirportWikipedia: Viasa Flight 897 - 1963
A protest against pro-Catholic discrimination during the Buddhist crisis is held outside South Vietnam's National Assembly, the first open demonstration during the eight-year presidency of Ngo Dinh Diem.
Asia · South VietnamWikipedia: Buddhist crisis - 1966
Former Congolese Prime Minister, Évariste Kimba, and several other politicians are publicly executed in Kinshasa on the orders of President Joseph Mobutu.
Africa · KinshasaWikipedia: Democratic Republic of the Congo - 1967
The Nigerian Eastern Region declares independence as the Republic of Biafra, sparking a civil war.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Nigeria - 1968
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.
Europe · Baden-BadenWikipedia: May 68 - 1969
A demonstration by workers and activists on the Caribbean island of Curaçao escalated into a violent uprising which destroyed much of Willemstad.
Latin America · WillemstadWikipedia: 1969 Curaçao uprising - 1971
Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched to map 70% of the surface, and to study temporal changes in the atmosphere and surface, of Mars.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Mariner program - 1972
In Ben Gurion Airport (at the time: Lod Airport), Israel, members of the Japanese Red Army carry out the Lod Airport massacre, killing 24 people and injuring 78 others.
Asia · Lod Airport massacreWikipedia: Lod Airport massacre - 1972
The Angry Brigade goes on trial over a series of 25 bombings throughout the United Kingdom.
no place on the mapWikipedia: The Angry Brigade - 1974
The Airbus A300 passenger aircraft first enters service.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Airbus A300 - 1975
The European Space Agency is established.
no place on the mapWikipedia: European Space Agency - 1979
Downeast Airlines Flight 46 crashes on approach to Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland, Maine, killing 17.
North America · Downeast Airlines Flight 46Wikipedia: Downeast Airlines Flight 46 - 1982
Cold War: Spain joins NATO.
Europe · SpainWikipedia: Cold War - 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The 10-metre high "Goddess of Democracy" statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators.
Asia · 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacreWikipedia: 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre - 1990
Croatian Parliament is constituted after the first free, multi-party elections, today celebrated as the National Day of Croatia.
Europe · CroatiaWikipedia: Croatian Parliament - 1998
Nuclear Testing: Pakistan conducts an underground test in the Kharan Desert. It is reported to be a plutonium device with yield of 20kt TNT equivalent.
Asia · Chagai-IIWikipedia: Chagai-II - 1998
The 6.5 Mw Afghanistan earthquake shakes the Takhar Province of northern Afghanistan with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), killing around 4,000–4,500.
Asia · May 1998 Afghanistan earthquakeWikipedia: May 1998 Afghanistan earthquake - 1999
53 people are killed in a stampede at the Nyamiha metro station in Minsk, Belarus.
Europe · Nyamiha stampedeWikipedia: Nyamiha stampede - 2003
Depayin massacre: At least 70 people associated with the National League for Democracy are killed by government-sponsored mob in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi flees the scene, but is arrested soon afterwards.
Asia · Depayin massacreWikipedia: Depayin massacre - 2005
American student Natalee Holloway disappeared on a high-school graduation trip to Aruba.
Latin America · Disappearance of Natalee HollowayWikipedia: Disappearance of Natalee Holloway - 2008
Convention on Cluster Munitions is adopted.
Europe · OsloWikipedia: Convention on Cluster Munitions - 2008
TACA Flight 390 overshoots the runway at Toncontín International Airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and crashes, killing five people.
Latin America · TACA Flight 390Wikipedia: TACA Flight 390 - 2012
Former Liberian president Charles Taylor is sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in atrocities committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
Africa · LiberiaWikipedia: Sierra Leone Civil War - 2013
Nigeria passes a law banning same-sex marriage.
Africa · NigeriaWikipedia: Nigeria - 2020
Crew Dragon Demo-2 launches from 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.
North America · Kennedy Space CenterWikipedia: Crew Dragon Demo-2 - 2024
Donald Trump is 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.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Donald Trump
Who was born on 30 May
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 235 are shown.
- 1814
Mikhail Bakunin, Russian philosopher and theorist (died 1876)
PriamukhinoWikipedia: Mikhail Bakunin - 1980
Steven Gerrard, English international footballer and manager
WhistonWikipedia: Steven Gerrard - 1934
Alexei Leonov, Russian general, pilot, and cosmonaut (died 2019)
ListvyankaWikipedia: Alexei Leonov - 1908
Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1995)
Norrköping Saint Olof parishWikipedia: Hannes Alfvén - 1909
Benny Goodman, American clarinet player, songwriter, and bandleader (died 1986)
ChicagoWikipedia: Benny Goodman - 1928
Agnès Varda, Belgian-French director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2019)
- 1845
Amadeo I, Spanish king (died 1890)
- 1951
Fernando Lugo, Paraguayan bishop and politician, President of Paraguay
San Pedro del ParanáWikipedia: Fernando Lugo - 1846
Peter Carl Fabergé, Russian goldsmith and jeweler (died 1920)
Saint PetersburgWikipedia: Peter Carl Fabergé - 1975
CeeLo Green, American singer-songwriter
AtlantaWikipedia: CeeLo Green - 1896
Howard Hawks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1977)
GoshenWikipedia: Howard Hawks - 1912
Julius Axelrod, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2004)
New York CityWikipedia: Julius Axelrod - 1971
Idina Menzel, American singer-songwriter and actress
ManhattanWikipedia: Idina Menzel - 1887
Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian-American sculptor and illustrator (died 1964)
- 1975
Marissa Mayer, American computer scientist and businesswoman
WausauWikipedia: Marissa Mayer - 1875
Giovanni Gentile, Italian philosopher and academic (died 1944)
CastelvetranoWikipedia: Giovanni Gentile - 1958
Marie Fredriksson, Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2019)
- 1996
Aleksandr Golovin, Russian footballer
- 1757
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1844)
London Borough of CamdenWikipedia: Henry Addington - 1899
Irving Thalberg, American screenwriter and producer (died 1936)
BrooklynWikipedia: Irving Thalberg - 1999
Guanyu Zhou, Chinese race car driver
ShanghaiWikipedia: Zhou Guanyu - 1908
Mel Blanc, American voice actor (died 1989)
San FranciscoWikipedia: Mel Blanc - 1966
Thomas Häßler, German footballer and manager
West BerlinWikipedia: Thomas Häßler - 1946
Dragan Džajić, Serbian and Yugoslav footballer
- 1964
Tom Morello, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1201
Theobald IV, count of Champagne (died 1253)
- 1912
Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (died 1980)
Marian-glasWikipedia: Hugh Griffith - 1963
Helen Sharman, English chemist and astronaut
SheffieldWikipedia: Helen Sharman - 1881
Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (died 1968)
Philippsruhe CastleWikipedia: Georg von Küchler - 1920
Franklin J. Schaffner, Japanese-American director and producer (died 1989)
- 1955
Colm Tóibín, Irish novelist, poet, playwright, and critic
EnniscorthyWikipedia: Colm Tóibín - 1950
Bertrand Delanoë, French politician, 14th Mayor of Paris
- 1814
Eugène Charles Catalan, Belgian-French mathematician and academic (died 1894)
- 1953
Colm Meaney, Irish actor
DublinWikipedia: Colm Meaney - 1974
Kostas Chalkias, Greek footballer
LarissaWikipedia: Kostas Chalkias - 1989
Ailee, Korean-American singer and songwriter
DenverWikipedia: Ailee - 1010
Ren Zong, Chinese emperor (died 1063)
- 1423
Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (died 1461)
PeuerbachWikipedia: Georg von Peuerbach - 1999
Eddie Nketiah, English footballer
LewishamWikipedia: Eddie Nketiah - 1919
René Barrientos, Bolivian general and politician, 55th President of Bolivia (died 1969)
- 1951
Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor, singer, and director
- 1926
Christine Jorgensen, American trans woman and actress (died 1989)
The BronxWikipedia: Christine Jorgensen - 1971
Duncan Jones, English director, producer, and screenwriter
Bromley HospitalWikipedia: Duncan Jones - 1950
Paresh Rawal, Indian actor, producer, and politician
MumbaiWikipedia: Paresh Rawal - 1922
Hal Clement, American author and educator (died 2003)
SomervilleWikipedia: Hal Clement - 1992
Harrison Barnes, American basketball player
- 1835
Alfred Austin, English author, poet, and playwright (died 1913)
- 1936
Keir Dullea, American actor
ClevelandWikipedia: Keir Dullea - 1939
Michael J. Pollard, American actor (died 2019)
- 1955
Jake Roberts, American professional wrestler
GainesvilleWikipedia: Jake Roberts - 1974
Big L, American rapper (died 1999)
- 1981
Gianmaria Bruni, Italian race car driver
- 1989
Lesia Tsurenko, Ukrainian tennis player
VolodymyretsWikipedia: Lesia Tsurenko - 1997
Jake Short, American actor
IndianapolisWikipedia: Jake Short - 1958
Michael López-Alegría, Spanish-American captain, pilot, and astronaut
- 1951
Zdravko Čolić, Bosnian Serb singer-songwriter
SarajevoWikipedia: Zdravko Čolić - 1958
Ted McGinley, American actor
Newport BeachWikipedia: Ted McGinley - 1969
Naomi Kawase, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1972
Manny Ramirez, Dominican-American baseball player and coach
Santo DomingoWikipedia: Manny Ramirez - 1981
Devendra Banhart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
HoustonWikipedia: Devendra Banhart
What is celebrated on 30 May
- Anguilla Day, commemorates the beginning of the Anguillian Revolution in 1967. (Anguilla)
- Canary Islands Day (Spain)
- Christian feast day: Basil the Elder and Emmelia of Caesarea
- Christian feast day: Dymphna
- Christian feast day: Ferdinand III of Castile and León
- Christian feast day: Isaac of Dalmatia
- Christian feast day: Joan of Arc
- Christian feast day: Joseph Marello
- Christian feast day: Luke Kirby
- Christian feast day: Matiya Mulumba
- Christian feast day: Blessed Otto Neururer
- Christian feast day: May 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Indian Arrival Day (Trinidad and Tobago)
- Kaamatan, harvest festival in the state of Sabah and the federal territory of Labuan (Malaysia)
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.