THE DAY IN HISTORY · JANUARY 30
January 30 in history
What happened on January 30: 4 moments from the Maps of History atlases, in 1868, 1933, 1948 and 1968, each linked to the map that shows it.
— Battle of Toba–Fushimi
27–30 Jan 1868 — South of Kyoto, about 5,000 Satsuma and Chōshū troops under the imperial banner defeat a shogunal army roughly three times their size. The former shogun Yoshinobu escapes to Edo by sea, and politically the war is decided within days.
READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE REMAKING THE STATE MAP → · THE FULL STORY →
Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany by men who believe they can control him. Within eighteen months, no institution can.
READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE WW2 MAP →
— Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi
30 Jan 1948 — Walking to prayer, Gandhi is shot three times by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist who judged him too generous to Pakistan. “The light has gone out of our lives,” Nehru tells the country the assassin claimed to defend. Remember him.
READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE & PARTITION MAP → · THE FULL STORY →
— Tet Offensive
30 Jan 1968 — The NLF attacks 100 cities at once — the Saigon embassy compound, and Hue, held for 26 brutal days. A military defeat for Hanoi; on American television, the end of “light at the end of the tunnel.”
READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE COLD WAR MAP → · THE FULL STORY →
THE FREE PRINTABLE STUDY GUIDE
Join the Dispatch — a short welcome series, then a letter when a new atlas opens — and a printable atlas study guide of your choice is yours now, free.
NO TRACKING · YOUR ADDRESS IS USED FOR THE DISPATCH AND NOTHING ELSE · UNSUBSCRIBE ANYTIME