Friday, January 30, 2026

Connor Forbes
Connor Forbes
4 Min Read
South Vietnamese Rangers fire at a suspected Viet Cong position in a clump of bushes in Binh An Village, in the 7th Precinct of Saigon, March 1, 1968. The area was hit hard in the early days of the Tet Offensive and left many demolished homes, churches and other structures. (AP Photo)

January 30

By The Associated Press

Today is Friday, January 30, the 30th day of 2026. There are 335 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Jan. 30, 1968, the Tet Offensive began during the Vietnam War as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese towns and cities.

Also on this date:

In 1649, England’s King Charles I was executed for high treason.

In 1835, in the first-known attempt to assassinate a U.S. president, an unemployed house painter tried to kill President Andrew Jackson, but both of the attacker’s pistols misfired and he was tackled as Jackson was safely hustled away.

In 1933, Adolf Hitler was named chancellor of Germany.

In 1945, during World War II, a Soviet submarine torpedoed the German ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff in the Baltic Sea, killing over 9,000 people, most of them war refugees; roughly 1,000 people survived.

In 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, 78, was shot and killed in New Delhi by Nathuram Godse (neh-too-RAHM’ gahd-SAY’), a Hindu extremist.

In 1969, The Beatles staged an unannounced concert atop Apple headquarters in London that would be their last public performance.

In 1972, 13 Catholic civil rights marchers were shot and killed by British soldiers in Northern Ireland on what became known as “Bloody Sunday.”

In 2017, President Donald Trump fired Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates after she publicly questioned the constitutionality of his refugee and immigration ban and refused to defend it in court.

In 2020, health officials reported the first known case in which the new coronavirus was spread from one person to another in the United States.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Vanessa Redgrave is 89. Musician Phil Collins is 75. Actor Charles S. Dutton (“Roc”) is 75. Golf Hall of Famer Curtis Strange is 71. Actor Ann Dowd (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) is 70. Comedian Brett Butler (″Grace Under Fire”) is 68. Singer Jody Watley is 67. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is 54. Actor Christian Bale is 52. Actor Olivia Colman is 52. Actor Wilmer Valderrama (“That ’70s Show”) is 46. Rapper-musician Kid Cudi is 42. Pop singer Tyla is 24.

January 30
In this Feb. 5, 1968, file photo, a large section of rubble is all that remains in this one block square area of Saigon after fierce Tet Offensive fighting. Rockets and grenades, combined with fires, laid waste to the area. An Quang Pagoda, location of Viet Cong headquarters during the fighting, is at the top of the photo. As the country celebrated Lunar New Year after midnight on Jan. 31, 1968, communist forces launched a wave of surprise attacks that became known as the Tet Offensive and would change the course of the Vietnam War. (AP Photo/File)

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