Britannica On This Day December 30 2023 * Union of Soviet Socialist Republics established, Rudyard Kipling is featured, and more *

This Day in History: December 30

Featured Event

1922





Union of Soviet Socialist Republics established
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, formed this day in 1922 with its capital in Moscow, eventually incorporated 15 republics and constituted (in area) the largest country in the world until its dissolution in 1991.

More Events On This Day

2014

German-born actress Luise Rainer, the first person to receive two Academy Awards for acting, died at age 104.Who votes for the Academy Awards?
Everett Collection
2006

Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq, was executed after being convicted of crimes against humanity.Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about the Middle East
U.S. Department of Defense
1986

The British government announced that electronic sensors would begin to replace canaries as early-warning detectors of carbon monoxide in coal mines.Discover why carbon monoxide is so dangerous
Jack Corn—EPA/National Archives, Washington, D.C.
1984

American basketball player LeBron James, who was one of the NBA's superstars, was born.Take our quiz about basketball player nicknames
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
1975

American golfer Tiger Woods—the first player to win consecutively the game's four major tournaments (the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship)—was born.Test your knowledge of golf
:copyright: Jerry Coli/Dreamstime.com
1918

The Spartacus League was transformed into the Communist Party of Germany at a party congress.Take our quiz about German history
1916

Grigori Rasputin was murdered by Russian conservatives—who reportedly poisoned, shot, and then drowned the Siberian mystic—in an effort to halt his influence over Empress Alexandra and the royal family.How much do you know about Russia?
Photo Harlingue/H. Roger-Viollet
1902

A new southing record was set by Robert Falcon Scott, in company with Ernest Henry Shackleton and E.A. Wilson, as they reached the Ross Ice Shelf at the head of the Ross Sea in Antarctica.Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Antarctica
Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum; photograph, J.R. Freeman & Co. Ltd.
1896

Philippine nationalist José Rizal was publicly executed, enraging and uniting Filipinos.Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Southeast Asia
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZ62-43453)
1853

The United States acquired nearly 30,000 square miles (78,000 square km) of additional northern Mexican territory with the signing of the Gadsden Purchase.Test your knowledge of U.S. history
:copyright: spatuletail/Shutterstock.com
1847

The reformist Illinois governor John Peter Altgeld, known principally for his pardon of German American anarchists involved in the Haymarket Affair, was born in Niederselters, Prussia.
Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum
1803

The Maratha chief Daulat Rao Sindhia and the British signed the Treaty of Surji-Arjungaon during the Maratha Wars in India.

Featured Biography

Rudyard Kipling
British writer

BornDecember 30, 1865
Mumbai, India
(Birthday tomorrow)
DiedJanuary 18, 1936 (aged 70)
London, England


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LeBron James
American basketball player

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Tiger Woods
American golfer

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Patti Smith
American poet, songwriter, and singer

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Davy Jones
British singer and actor

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Rudyard Kipling
British writer

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