January 30, 1862 – The first US Ironclad warship, the USS Monitor is launched.

January 30, 1933 – Adolph Hitler is sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.

January 30, 1945 – 126 US Army Rangers, Alamo Scouts and Filipino resistance fighters liberate 514 prisoners of war (POWs) from the Japanese POW camp near Cabanatuan in the Philippines.  Edward Dmytryk’s 1945 film Back to Bataan starring John Wayne opens by retelling the story of the raid on the Cabanatuan POW camp. The raid was recreated, with great attention to historical accuracy, in the 2005 John Dahl film The Great Raid.

January 30, 1945 – Adolph Hitler gives his last ever public address via radio on the 12th anniversary of his ascendance to power.

January 30, 1948 – Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist. 

January 30, 1968 – The Tet Offensive begins when Viet Cong forces launch a series of surprise attacks in South Vietnam.  While the action was tactically  a route for the VC and victory for American and allied forces, images of the carnage that reached the US caused heightened frustration and weakened resolve at home for the war that appeared far from over and helped lead to the ultimate withdrawl of US forces several years later.

January 30, 1969 – The Beatles‘ last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police.

January 30, 1972 – British paratroopers kill fourteen civil rights/anti internment marchers in Northern Ireland.  The action would lead the day to be known as Bloody Sunday and eventually memorialized by the band U2 in their song Sunday Bloody Sunday.

Videos courtesy of YouTube