Sunday · September 27, 2026
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American history, reported as it happened
Made for the 250th
On this day › July 30

What happened on July 30 in American history

July 30 is the 211th day of the year (the 212th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 6 stories from July 30 spanning 1916 to 2020. Among them: in 1916, a pier of Allied munitions detonates in New York Harbor overnight; and in 1945, a submarine finds Indianapolis in the dark, unescorted; the cruiser is gone in twelve minutes.

1916Member story · 1776 Club

A pier of Allied munitions detonates in New York Harbor overnight

Shrapnel tears into the Statue of Liberty as windows shatter twenty-five miles away, in Times Square.
1945

A submarine finds Indianapolis in the dark, unescorted; the cruiser is gone in twelve minutes

Six torpedoes in the night sea north of Palau leave hundreds of sailors adrift for days before anyone knows they are missing.
1956

Eisenhower signs the words already stamped on coins into the law itself

The phrase had ridden American currency since 1954; Congress just gave it a statute to stand on.
1971

Scott lands Falcon by hand at Hadley Rille; astronauts get a car on the Moon

The computer drifted off course, so David Scott flew the last stretch himself, straight toward a mountain valley chosen for its scenery.
1974Member story · 1776 Club

Supreme Court orders Nixon to hand over the tapes; the president complies

A unanimous ruling leaves no room left to hide the Oval Office recordings.
2020Member story · 1776 Club

NASA launches Perseverance toward Mars, chasing signs of ancient life

An Atlas V carries the $2.8 billion rover, plus a small helicopter riding along for the first powered flight on another world.