On This Day in History: June 30

Charles VII's French armies successfully capture Bordeaux and most of Gascony from the English on June 30, 1451 a major blow to English holdings in France making it seem to bring an end to the protracted Hundred Years' War. Expand +

The Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés forces fight their way out of Tenochtitlan suffering severe loses as the Aztecs revolt against their rule. Many Spanish soldiers drowned in Lake Texcoco. The exit is known as the "Noche Triste" or “the Night of Sadness".

Einstein publishes his Special Theory of Relativity, which describes his revolutionary ideas about light, time and energy. He revisited the theory in a 1912 manuscript when he was asked to write several book chapters. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 delayed publication, and when the project resumed, Einstein considered this manuscript outdated and it was never published. More

Greece, under pressure from the Allies, ends three years of neutrality and enters World War I alongside Britain, France, Russia and Italy.

Germany, Chancellor and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler orders a political purge intended to consolidate his power and alleviate the concerns of the German military about the role of Ernst Röhm and the Sturmabteilung (SA), the Nazis' paramilitary organization, known colloquially as "Brownshirts". The purge resulted in the killing of hundreds of Nazis whom he believed had the potential to become political enemies including Röhm.  Expand +

The first Chevrolet Corvette rolls off the assembly line at a General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan, marking the beginning of production for the iconic American sports car. Only 300 Corvettes were produced that first year, all of which were Polo White convertibles with red interiors. The early Corvettes were essentially hand-built, with a rudimentary production line set up in a former customer delivery building. More

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Independence Day from Belgium. It is also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo. Located in Central Africa, it is the second-largest country in Africa by land area and the 11th-largest in the world. It 2025 estimated population is 112 million.

The three cosmonauts aboard the Soyuz 11, Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev, perished in space when the capsule depressurized during preparations for re-entry. They are the only humans known to have died in space. More

Deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution passes without the necessary votes. While there isn't a 28th amendment officially published in the U.S. Constitution, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is widely considered by some as the 28th amendment. It aims to guarantee equal rights for all regardless of sex. However, its ratification is still debated primarily on the basis that some States ratified the amendment after the deadline. The amendment is still not officially published as part of the Constitution. President Joe Biden released a statement on January 17, 2025 regarding the ERA Amendment. More