Today in History: January 30, Catholic civil rights marchers killed on 'Bloody Sunday'

A British soldier drags a Catholic protester during the “Bloody Sunday” killings 30 January 1972 when British paratroopers shot dead 13 Catholics civil rights marchers in Londonderry. Shortly after, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) declared that their immediate policy was “to kill as many British soldiers as possible”. Since the partition of Ireland in 1921, the IRA has fought for a complete withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland and a reunification of the island of Ireland. But it was in 1969, when civil rights marches flared into violence, that the old IRA split and the Provisional IRA was born. Around 3,500 people have died and almost 40,000 have been injured in sectarian violence involving the IRA and pro-British-rule unionist paramilitaries–the so-called loyalists. (Photo by THOMPSON / AFP) (Photo by THOMPSON/AFP via Getty Images)

PUBLISHED: January 30, 2026 at 2:00 AM MST

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

Today in history:

On Jan. 30, 1972, 13 Catholic civil rights marchers were shot and killed by British soldiers in Northern Ireland on what became known as “Bloody Sunday.”

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

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

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.

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