June 30
Subject to Britannica's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
1859: Daredevil crosses Niagara on a tightrope
On this day in 1859, Jean-François Gravelet crossed from the U.S. to Canada on a 1,100-foot tightrope, suspended about 170 feet above the raging waters of Niagara Falls. Along the way, the French acrobat, better known by the stage name âBlondinâ (a reference to his bright blond hair), performed various tricks (lying down, drinking wine) to thousands of cheering spectators. He repeated the feat an estimated 300 times, with new gimmicks added for each crossingâat one point he even cooked an omelet.
READ MORE
© William EnglandâHulton Archive/Getty Images; Photo Illustration EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
Featured Event
Heinrich Hoffmann, Munich
Night of the Long Knives
On this date in 1934 occurred the âNight of the Long Knives,â in which Adolf Hitler had his SS guards summarily execute many leading officials of the SA, a Nazi paramilitary group, and hundreds of other perceived enemies.
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Popperfoto/© Archive Photos
My identity is very clear to me now, I am a black woman, Iâm not alone, Iâm freeâŠI donât have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped Iâd become. Iâm me, and Iâm like nobody else.
Lena Horne, an American actress and civil rights activist who first came to fame in the 1940s and starred in such films as Cabin in the Sky (1942) and Stormy Weather (1943), was born in Brooklyn, New York, this day in 1917.
Famous Birthdays
More on June 30
White House photograph by Shealah Craighead/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (reproduction no. LC-DIG-ppbd-00608)
2019
While at the DMZ, President Donald Trump walked into North Korea to greet its leader, Kim Jong-Un, thus becoming the first sitting U.S. president to visit that country. [Test your knowledge of presidential firsts.]
EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc./Refugio Mariscal
2011
The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge opened, becoming the longest bridge in the world. Extending 102.4 miles (164.8 km), it connects Nanjing and Shanghai, the largest city in China.
© Orhan Ăam/stock.adobe.com
1986
In Bowers v. Hardwick, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could criminalize gay sex between consenting adults; the decision was overturned by Lawrence v. Texas in 2003. [Why are there nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court?]
Jeffrey MayerâWireImage/Getty Images
1985
Swimmer Michael Phelps, the most-decorated Olympic athlete with 28 medals, was born in Baltimore, Maryland. [Who is the second-most-decorated Olympic athlete?]
© Benjamin Clapp/Shutterstock.com
1966
The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded with the mission of promoting equal rights for women; Betty Friedan served as its first president.
EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1960
Zaire, formerly Belgian Congo and now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, declared its independence from Belgium. [Whatâs the history of the decolonization of Africa?]
AdstockRF
1937
The worldâs first emergency telephone number (999) was launched in London.
William F. WarneckeNewâYork World-Telegram & Sun Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZ62-109613)
1936
American author Margaret Mitchell published Gone with the Wind, a sweeping romance set during the Civil War; the novel later won a Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a hugely successful film. [Take our quiz about famous authors.]
AP/REX/Shutterstock.com
1908
An enormous aerial explosion flattened approximately 2,000 square km (500,000 acres) of pine forest near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in central Siberia. [Read more about this and six other strange disasters.]
Image: EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1893
The Excelsior diamondâwhich, weighing 995 carats, was the largest uncut diamond ever found to that timeâwas discovered in the De Beers mine at Jagersfontein in South Africa. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about precious metals and stones.]