September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 92 days remain until the end of the year.
Events Pre-1600
489 – The Ostrogoths under Theoderic the Great defeat the forces of Odoacer for the second time.[1] 737 – The Türgesh drive back an Umayyad invasion of Khuttal, follow them south of the Oxus, and capture their baggage train.[2] 1061 – Election of pope Alexander II following the death of pope Nicholas II two months prior.[3] 1139 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes the Caucasus mountains in the Seljuk Empire, causing mass destruction and killing up to 300,000 people.[4] 1342 – Battle of Morlaix is fought in the Hundred Years' War.[5] 1399 – Henry IV is proclaimed king of England.[6] 1520 – Suleiman the Magnificent becomes sultan of the Ottoman Empire.[7] 1541 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto and his forces enter Tula territory in present-day western Arkansas, encountering fierce resistance.
1551 – A coup by the military establishment of Japan's Ōuchi clan forces their lord to commit suicide, and their city is burned.[8] 1601–1900 1687 – The Venetians under Girolamo Corner take the city of Herceg Novi from the Ottoman Empire.[9] 1736 – The Lebanese Council of 1736 begins, a major turning point in the reform of the Maronite Church. In the following three days, the assembled Maronite and Latin clergy presided by Yusuf ibn Siman as-Simani discuss various reforms and elaborate rules and canons.[10] 1744 – War of the Austrian Succession: France and Spain defeat Sardinia at the Battle of Madonna dell'Olmo, but soon have to withdraw from Sardinia.[11] 1791 – The first performance of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute takes place two months before his death.[12] 1791 – France's National Constituent Assembly is dissolved, to be replaced the next day by the National Legislative Assembly.[13] 1863 – Georges Bizet's opera Les pêcheurs de perles, premieres in Paris.[14] 1882 – Thomas Edison's first commercial hydroelectric power plant, the Vulcan Street Plant, begins operation.[ 15] 1888 – Jack the Ripper kills his third and fourth victims, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes.[16] 1901–present 1906 – The Royal Galician Academy, the Galician language's biggest linguistic authority, is established in La Coruña, Spain.[17] 1907 – The McKinley National Memorial, the final resting place of assassinated U.S. President William McKinley and his family, is dedicated in Canton, Ohio.
1909 – The Cunard Line's RMS Mauretania makes a record-breaking westbound crossing of the Atlantic, that will not be bettered for 20 years.
1915 – World War I: Radoje Ljutovac becomes the first soldier in history to shoot down an enemy aircraft with ground-to-air fire.
1918 – Ukrainian War of Independence: Insurgent forces led by Nestor Makhno defeats the Central Powers at the battle of Dibrivka.[18] 1919 – The Elaine massacre in Arkansas commences.[19] 1935 – The Hoover Dam, astride the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, is dedicated.
1936 – American journalists Herbert R. Ekins, reporter for the New York World-Telegram, Dorothy Kilgallen of the New York Journal and Leo Kieran of The New York Times start the race to travel around the world[20] on commercial airline flights. The race takes 18 ½ days.
1938 – Britain, France, Germany and Italy sign the Munich Agreement, whereby Germany annexes the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia.
1938 – The League of Nations unanimously outlaws 'intentional bombings of civilian populations'.
1939 – World War II: General Władysław Sikorski becomes prime minister of the Polish government-in-exile.
1939 – NBC broadcasts the first televised American football game.
1941 – World War II: The Babi Yar massacre comes to an end.
1943 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy is dedicated by President Roosevelt.
1944 – World War II: the Germans commence a counter offensive to retake the Nijmegen salient, this having been captured by the allies during Operation Market Garden.
1945 – The Bourne End rail crash, in Hertfordshire, England, kills 43.
1947 – The 1947 World Series begins. It is the first to be televised, to include an African-American player, to exceed $2 million in receipts, to see a pinch-hit home run, and to have six umpires on the field.
1947 – Pakistan joins the United Nations.
1949 – The Berlin Airlift ends.
1954 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear-powered vessel.
1960 - The Flintstones animated sitcom premieres on ABC television.[ 21] 1966 – Bechuanaland declares its independence, and becomes the Republic of Botswana.
1968 – The Boeing 747 is rolled out and shown to the public for the first time.
1970 – Jordan makes a deal with the PFLP for the release of the remaining hostages from the Dawson's Field hijackings.
1975 – Malév Flight 240 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea while on approach to Beirut International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 60.[22] 1978 – Finnair Flight 405 is hijacked by Aarno Lamminparras in Oulu, Finland.[23] 1980 – Ethernet specifications are published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation.
1993 – The 6.2 Mw Latur earthquake shakes Maharashtra, India with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) killing 9,748 and injuring 30,000.
1994 – Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on STS-68.[24] 1999 – The Tokaimura nuclear accident causes the deaths of two technicians in Japan's secondworst nuclear accident.
2000 – Israeli– Palestinian conflict: Twelve-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah is shot and killed on the second day of the Second Intifada.[25] 2005 – Controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in a Danish newspaper.
2009 – The 7.6 Mw Sumatra earthquake leaves 1,115 people dead.
2016 – Hurricane Matthew becomes a Category 5 hurricane, making it the strongest hurricane to form in the Caribbean Sea since 2007.
2016 – Two paintings with a combined value of $100 million are recovered after having been stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in 2002.
Births Pre-1600 1207 – Rumi, Persian mystic and poet (died 1273)[26] 1227 – Pope Nicholas IV (died 1292)[27] 1530 – Girolamo Mercuriale, Italian philologist and physician (died 1606) 1550 – Michael Maestlin, German astronomer and mathematician (died 1631)[28] 1601–1900 1622 – Johann Sebastiani, German composer (died 1683) 1689 – Jacques Aubert, French violinist and composer (died 1753) 1700 – Stanisław Konarski, Polish monk, poet, and playwright (died 1773) 1710 – John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, English politician, Lord President of the Council (died 1771) 1714 – Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, French epistemologist and philosopher (died 1780) 1732 – Jacques Necker, Swiss-French politician, Prime Minister of France (died 1804) 1743 – Christian Ehregott Weinlig, German cantor and composer (died 1813) 1765 – José María Morelos, Mexican priest and general (died 1815)[29] 1800 – Decimus Burton, English architect, designed the Pharos Lighthouse (died 1881) 1813 – John Rae, Scottish physician and explorer (died 1893) 1814 – Lucinda Hinsdale Stone, American feminist, educator, and philanthropist (died 1900)[30] 1827 – Ellis H. Roberts, American journalist and politician, 20th Treasurer of the United States (died 1918) 1827 – Peter Ward, New York politician (died 1891)[31]