why it is celebrated every January 30

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2024 – NON VIOLENCE. Every January 30, the School Day of Nonviolence and Peace is celebrated, in honor of the death of Mahatma Gandhi, a pacifist leader who defended and promoted nonviolence and peaceful resistance.

This date, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), is dedicated to commemorating a culture of non-violence and peace in educational centers.

The pacifist leader of the independence movement was shot dead by a radical Hindu extremist in New Delhi, India, on January 30, 1948.

Mahatma Gandhi: 76 years after his assassination

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India. His pacifist struggle led India to independence after centuries under the rule of the British Empire.

Mahatma Gandhi. Pacifist leader of Indian independence. (AP)

On January 30, 1997, 49 years after the murder, his ashes were thrown into the Ganges River.

In commemoration of his birth, the International Day of Non-Violence is celebrated. The date was established in 2007 by the United Nations General Assembly.

January 30, 1997. Relatives throw Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes into the Ganges River, 49 years after his assassination. (AP/Archive)

More anniversaries

1919 – LIGHTHOUSE AT THE END OF THE WORLD. He completed the work of the eleven-meter-high stone tower called “Les Eclaireurs”, located in the Beagle Channel, becoming one of the most memorable and beloved icons of Ushuaia.

The Les Eclaireurs lighthouse. (End of the World Tourism)

1933 – THE LONE RANGER. In Michigan, United States, this character appears for the first time on a radio program and will become a TV hit a decade later.

1943 – MARTA MINUJÍN. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Marta Inés Minujín. One of the most prominent plastic artists in our country whose avant-garde works encompass conceptual art.

Marta Minujin

1951 – PHIL COLLINS. Born in Middlesex, England, Phil Collins. Singer and songwriter with more than 100 million records sold worldwide. He was the drummer and vocalist of the group Génesis.

Phil Collins

1957 ALFREDO DI STEFANO. The Argentine soccer player debuts with the Spanish team, scoring 3 goals in the 5-1 win over the Netherlands in Madrid, Spain.

Alfredo Di Stéfano, the most successful Argentine in the Champions League

1960 – ALEJANDRO SOKOL. Alejandro Sokol was born in Buenos Aires. The musician and composer was bassist for Sumo, vocalist for Las Pelotas and one of the most influential artists in national rock.

Alejandro Sokol, an artist who is missed.

1969 – THE BEATLES. They perform their last concert on the terrace of the Apple Corps building in London, their last recording studio.

1973 – KISS. The musical band Kiss performs its first concert in New York, United States. They debut in Coventry, Queens, beginning the path that will make them one of the most important bands in the history of rock.

1986 – KARINA. Karina Jésica Tejeda, known as Karina “The Little Princess”, is born. She is one of the most important singers of popular music, winner of seven Carlos Gardel awards.

Karina The Little Princess

1994 – CENTENARY CUP. Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata wins the title of the tournament organized by AFA to celebrate one hundred years of its creation.

2020 – TEDROS GHEBREYESUS. The Director General of the WHO declares in Geneva, Switzerland, the new outbreak of Covid-19 as a public health emergency of international concern.

2024 – ELECTRONIC TECHNICIAN. Electronic Technician Day is celebrated in tribute to specialists in that field. The date began to be celebrated in Colombia during the 1980s at the initiative of the Colombian Association of Electronic Technicians of Córdoba of that country.

Illustrative image. (Ignacio Blanco)

Other anniversaries

1726. – The Spanish general Bruno Maurice de Zabala founds Montevideo (Uruguay).

1766.- Inauguration of the Acho bullring in Lima (Peru), the oldest in America and third in the world after Béjar and Zaragoza.

1853.- The Spanish aristocrat Eugenia de Montijo marries the French emperor Napoleon III in Paris.

1856.- The shipwreck of the steamship “Cazador” in Punta Carranza, near the Chilean city of Constitución, takes the lives of 400 people. It is the worst maritime tragedy in Chile.

1885.- 352 people die in the shipwreck of the German steamship “Elba” in the North Sea.

1920.- A fire destroys the Lyric Theater, also known as the Grant Theater of Madrid.

1930.- The government of General Berenguer replaces that of General Primo de Rivera in Spain.

1933.- Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler chancellor of Germany and opens the way for the Third Reich.

1937.- The second Moscow trial ends in the USSR.

1939.- Hitler announces in the German Reichstag the “solution” to the Jewish problem in Germany.

1948.- The Indian political-religious leader Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic.

1950.- The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda publishes “Canto General”.

1968.- The North Vietnamese army begins the Tet Offensive against the Southern forces led by the United States. It was a military failure for the North but had a strong impact on American public opinion.

1969.- The British pop group The Beatles performs the last concert of their career on the roof of the Apple Corps building. The performance was broken up by the police due to complaints from neighbors.

1972.- “Bloody Sunday”: British soldiers kill 14 civilians who were participating in a demonstration in Londonderry (Northern Ireland).

1992.- The Council of Foreign Ministers of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe admits ten former Soviet republics to Prague and goes from 38 to 48 members.

1994.- Guatemala decides in a referendum to reform the Constitution.

1997.- The ashes of Mahatma Gandhi, father of India, are thrown into the Ganges River on the 49th anniversary of his assassination.

2004.- The Mexican justice system appoints María López Urbina as special prosecutor to investigate the more than 300 murders and half a thousand disappearances of women in Ciudad Juárez.

2009.- The presidents of Russia and Cuba, Dmitri Medvedev and Raúl Castro, sign their new strategic cooperation in Moscow and end the era of estrangement, opened after the fall of the USSR.

2013.- South Korea successfully launches its first rocket partially manufactured with local technology into space.

2022.- With his victory at the Australian Open, Rafa Nadal makes history by being the first tennis player in history to win 21 Grand Slam titles.

BIRTH

1882.- Franklin D. Roosevelt, president of the USA.

1878.- Anton Hansen Tammsare, Estonian writer, author of Truth and Justice.

1927.- Olof Palme, Swedish politician.

1930.- Gene Hackman, American actor.

1937.- Vanessa Redgrave, British actress.

– Boris Spassky, Russian chess player.

1941.- Richard “Dick” Cheney, vice president of the United States.

1957.- Payne Stewart, American golf player.

1962.- Abdallah Ben Husein, president of Jordan, Abdallah II.

1968.- Felipe VI, King of Spain.

1974.- Christian Bale, British actor.

DEATHS

1948.- Mahatma Gandhi, father of Indian independence, assassinated by a Hindu fanatic.

1969.- Dominique Pire, Belgian priest, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1958.

1989.- Alfonso de Borbón y Dampierre, Duke of Cádiz and grandson of Alfonso XIII.

1991.- John Bardeen, American researcher, twice Nobel Prize winner in Physics.

1994.- Pierre Boulle, French writer.

1995.- Gerald Durrell, British naturalist and writer.

2001.- Jean Pierre Aumont, French actor.

2002.- Inge Morath, American photographer of Austrian origin, wife of Arthur Miller.

2008.- Marcial Maciel, Mexican priest, founder of the Legionaries of Christ.

2013.- Patty Andrews, American singer.

2014.- Jean Babilée, French dancer.

2015.- Carl Djerassi, Austrian-American chemist.

2022.- Suylén Milanés, Cuban singer and music producer, daughter of fellow musician Pablo Milanés.

Source: own and agencies.