13 stories from 1791 to 2016, written as the news broke.
The Yesterday Times front page for September 30.
On September 30, James Dean's fatal crash, the Munich Pact's betrayal of Czechoslovakia, and the Berlin Airlift's triumph collided with pop culture benchmarks from Cheers to the 747.
September 30 in History
Television
1982 — NBC Unveils 'Cheers,' a Sitcom Set in Boston Bar
The Charles brothers and James Burrows bring an ensemble comedy to Thursday nights.
In a television season crowded with high-concept premises and star vehicles, NBC this evening bets instead on the intimate pleasures of barroom banter. "Cheers," created by Glen Charles, Les Charles, and director James Burrows, premieres at 9 p.m. with a pilot introducing six regulars: former relief pitcher Sam Malone, his new hire Diane Chambers, wisecracking waitress Carla Tortelli, kindly Coach Ernie Pantusso, and barflies Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin. The series marks a deliberate return to the tradition of workplace ensembles, locating its action entirely within the confines of a Boston tavern where everybody knows your name. Whether the gamble pays off remains to be measured by Nielsen; the network has ordered a full season despite the crowded Thursday field. The Charles brothers, who previously wrote for "Taxi," have said they sought a setting where strangers become family over time.
The show was created by Glen Charles, Les Charles, and James Burrows.
The pilot episode introduced ensemble cast members Sam Malone, Diane Chambers, Carla Tortelli, Coach Ernie Pantusso, Norm Peterson, and Cliff Clavin.
Cheers was nearly canceled during its first season after ranking 74th out of 77 shows in ratings.
The show earned 28 Primetime Emmy Awards from a record 117 nominations.
The series finale in 1993 became the most-watched single TV episode of the 1990s.
1955 — James Dean, 24, Dies in Porsche Crash on California Highway
The 'Rebel Without a Cause' star suffered fatal injuries in a head-on collision near Cholame.
Dean at the wheel of his Porsche Speedster during a California race earlier this year — Chad White
James Dean, the brooding young actor whose performances in "East of Eden" and "Rebel Without a Cause" had made him the voice of restless American youth, died this afternoon from injuries sustained in a highway accident. Dean, 24, was driving his Porsche 550 Spyder toward a sports car race in Salinas when his vehicle collided head-on with a Ford sedan on Route 466 near Cholame, California. He had been photographed at the wheel of his Porsche Speedster during a California race earlier this year.
James Dean was fatally injured in a car accident on September 30, 1955.
1938 — Four Powers Sign Munich Pact; Czechoslovakia Cedes Sudetenland
Three million ethnic Germans transfer to Nazi rule as appeasement policy faces its test.
Hitler, Chamberlain, Mussolini and Daladier stand in the Munich conference room after signing the agreement — Wikimedia Commons
Three million ethnic Germans passed to Nazi rule today as Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain, and Daladier signed the Munich Agreement ceding Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland to Germany. The four leaders signed shortly after noon in the Führerbau, with Czechoslovak representatives present in the town but excluded from the chamber. The agreement fulfills Hitler's territorial demands without war.
The Munich Agreement was signed on 30 September 1938 by Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain, and Daladier.
The agreement ceded the Sudetenland, home to three million ethnic Germans, to Nazi Germany.
Czechoslovakia was not included in the Munich meeting, though its representatives were present in the town.
The agreement is known in Czech and Slovak as the Munich Dictate or Munich Betrayal, due to prior alliances.
Chamberlain's signing of the Munich Agreement is widely associated with his policy of appeasement.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Hoover Dam today in a ceremony on the Arizona-Nevada border, capping five years of construction that tamed the Colorado River at Black Canyon. The completed dam rises between its intake towers on dedication day, a 726-foot concrete arch holding back Lake Mead, the world's largest artificial reservoir.
The Hoover Dam, astride the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, is dedicated.
The tarmac at Boeing's Everett plant swarmed with spectators craning necks toward a white hulk that dwarfed every machine nearby. Boeing unveiled its 747 jumbo jet to the public for the first time, ending years of secretive development in the largest building on earth. The four-engine widebody stretches 231 feet and carries up to 490 passengers, promising to reshape international air travel.
The Boeing 747 is rolled out and shown to the public for the first time.
1949 — Berlin Airlift Closes After 277,000 Flights Break Soviet Blockade
The fifteen-month operation saved a city and reshaped Cold War strategy.
Berliners watch a cargo plane approach Tempelhof airfield — USAF
The longest air rescue in history ended this morning when the final C-54 touched down at Tempelhof, closing an operation that proved Western resolve could outlast Soviet pressure. The Berlin Airlift concluded after 277,000 flights ferried 2.3 million tons of coal, food and medicine past the Russian blockade. What began in June 1948 as a desperate gamble became the foundation of NATO solidarity and the postwar German republic.
1954 — Navy Commissions Nautilus, First Nuclear Ship in World Fleet
The world's first nuclear-powered vessel enters service, promising weeks of submerged endurance.
The nuclear submarine slides into the water at the commissioning ceremony — U.S. Navy photo/Released
The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear-powered vessel. The submarine was accepted at Groton, Connecticut. Its pressurized-water reactor enables submerged endurance measured in weeks. The vessel will never need refueling.
The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear-powered vessel.
2016 — Hurricane Matthew Explodes to Category 5, Strongest Caribbean Storm Since 2007
Matthew reaches top intensity with 160 mph winds in the Caribbean.
Hurricane Matthew strengthened rapidly overnight to Category 5 status, becoming the most powerful storm to form in the Caribbean since Felix in 2007. The National Hurricane Center measured sustained winds at 160 mph as the system churned toward the Caribbean's eastern islands. Matthew's intensification defied earlier forecasts that predicted a slower strengthening pattern. The storm's compact core and warm water fuel have created conditions ripe for further fluctuations.
Hurricane Matthew becomes a Category 5 hurricane, making it the strongest hurricane to form in the Caribbean Sea since 2007.
1947 — $2 Million Gate Marks First Televised Series as Dodgers Face Yankees
Jackie Robinson breaks October color line; six umpires work unprecedented crew.
Two million dollars in receipts made the 1947 World Series the richest ever staged as play opened Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.
The Fall Classic reached living rooms by television for the first time, and Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers became the first African-American to appear in Series competition. The gate set a record exceeding any previous October.
Six umpires patrolled the field, another first, and the opener would later yield one more: the first pinch-hit home run in Series history.
New York won 5-3 behind Spec Shea.
The 1947 World Series begins. It is the first to be televised, to include an African-American player, to exceed $2 million in receipts, to see a pinch-hit home run, and to have six umpires on the field.
1938 — League of Nations Unanimously Outlaws Intentional Bombing of Civilian Populations
Member states approve prohibition of attacks on noncombatants.
The League of Nations voted unanimously Friday to outlaw deliberate bombing of civilian populations in future conflicts. The resolution, adopted by the full assembly in Geneva, declares such attacks violations of international law. Member governments pledged to observe the prohibition. The measure comes as aerial warfare advances raise fears for cities far from front lines.
The League of Nations unanimously outlaws "intentional bombings of civilian populations".
New dominion, partitioned from India weeks earlier, wins General Assembly admission.
The green flag of Pakistan rose Tuesday at United Nations headquarters in New York.
The General Assembly admitted the Muslim-majority dominion as its 57th member state, only weeks after partition from India. Pakistan's delegation took seats formerly held by undivided British India.
The admission followed independence proclaimed August 14.
1791 — Mozart's Final Opera Premieres Two Months Before His Death
The Magic Flute opens September 30, 1791 at Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart conducted the premiere of his last opera on Friday evening. The Magic Flute, with libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, opened at the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna. Schikaneder's troupe had been the resident company there since 1789. Mozart became bedridden on November 20 and died December 5.
The Magic Flute premiered on 30 September 1791 at the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna.
The opera was Mozart's last, premiering just two months before his death on 5 December 1791.
The libretto was by Emanuel Schikaneder, whose troupe had been the resident company at the Theater auf der Wieden since 1789.
Mozart was already ill when he arrived in Prague in August 1791 to supervise his opera La clemenza di Tito.
Mozart conducted the premiere of The Magic Flute on 30 September, then became bedridden on 20 November and died on 5 December.
Works valued at $100 million were taken from museum in 2002.
Fourteen years after one of the art world's most brazen thefts, two stolen Van Gogh paintings have been recovered intact. The works were found in a farmhouse near Castellammare di Stabia, according to Italian police. Both canvases showed minor damage but remain structurally sound, investigators said.
Two paintings with a combined value of $100 million are recovered after having been stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in 2002.
