Which event does this 1927 photograph show?

A batter hits his sixtieth home run of the season (1927). Babe Ruth hit his sixtieth home run of the season on 30 September 1927, in the second to last game of the year. He is reported to have said afterwards: let's see some other so-and-so match that. Nobody did for 34 years.

Which event does this 1935 photograph show?

The tallest dam in the world is dedicated, two years ahead of schedule (1935). Franklin Roosevelt dedicated the dam on 30 September 1935, more than two years early. It holds back enough concrete to have taken 125 years to cure on its own, so a network of cooling pipes was cast into it. 96 workers died building it, and the persistent story that one is buried in the concrete is not true.

Which event does this 1949 photograph show?

The last flight lands, ending fifteen months of feeding a city by air (1949). The Berlin Airlift formally ended on 30 September 1949. In fifteen months, aircraft made about 278,000 flights into a blockaded city, delivering roughly 2.3 million tonnes of food and coal, at one point landing every 30 seconds. The blockade had been lifted in May, but the flights continued for months to build up a stockpile.

Which event does this 1938 photograph show?

A prime minister comes home from a summit promising peace (1938). Neville Chamberlain landed at Heston on 30 September 1938, waved the paper he had signed with Hitler and promised peace for our time. Czechoslovakia had not been invited to the talks that dismembered it. Germany took the rest of the country in March, and Britain was at war within a year.

Which event does this 1791 photograph show?

An opera written for a suburban theatre opens, and its composer has weeks to live (1791). Mozart conducted the first performance of The Magic Flute on 30 September 1791 at a popular theatre in the Vienna suburbs, not a court opera house. It was a hit immediately. He died nine weeks later, aged 35, and was buried in a common grave.

What happened on September 30? Babe Ruth's sixtieth home run, the Hoover Dam and 3 more

What happened on September 30

All 5 specimens from this file, spanning 1791 to 1949, with the story behind each photograph.

Reveal the full answer key

Sports · 1927

A batter hits his sixtieth home run of the season

Babe Ruth hit his sixtieth home run of the season on 30 September 1927, in the second to last game of the year. He is reported to have said afterwards: let's see some other so-and-so match that. Nobody did for 34 years.
Engineering · 1935

The tallest dam in the world is dedicated, two years ahead of schedule

Franklin Roosevelt dedicated the dam on 30 September 1935, more than two years early. It holds back enough concrete to have taken 125 years to cure on its own, so a network of cooling pipes was cast into it. 96 workers died building it, and the persistent story that one is buried in the concrete is not true.
Society · 1949

The last flight lands, ending fifteen months of feeding a city by air

The Berlin Airlift formally ended on 30 September 1949. In fifteen months, aircraft made about 278,000 flights into a blockaded city, delivering roughly 2.3 million tonnes of food and coal, at one point landing every 30 seconds. The blockade had been lifted in May, but the flights continued for months to build up a stockpile.
Politics · 1938

A prime minister comes home from a summit promising peace

Neville Chamberlain landed at Heston on 30 September 1938, waved the paper he had signed with Hitler and promised peace for our time. Czechoslovakia had not been invited to the talks that dismembered it. Germany took the rest of the country in March, and Britain was at war within a year.
Culture · 1791

An opera written for a suburban theatre opens, and its composer has weeks to live

Mozart conducted the first performance of The Magic Flute on 30 September 1791 at a popular theatre in the Vienna suburbs, not a court opera house. It was a hit immediately. He died nine weeks later, aged 35, and was buried in a common grave.