Date with History: September 30

Chamberlain waved a paper promising peace; eleven years on, the Berlin Airlift ended.

One paperback for one calendar date: what happened on September 30, and who was born on it.

What happened on September 30

1938: Chamberlain returns from Munich promising peace for our time

On September 30, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned from Munich announcing he had secured "peace for our time" by allowing Germany to annex the Sudetenland. Within a year German tanks rolled into Poland, and the phrase became shorthand for failed appeasement.

1949: The Berlin Airlift ends after 462 days of supply flights

The Berlin Airlift officially ended on September 30, 1949, after Allied aircraft flew more than 200,000 flights delivering 2.3 million tons of supplies to West Berlin. It became one of the Cold War's first Western victories, achieved without firing a shot.

Famous birthdays on September 30

1207 — Rumi
Rumi, born 1207, became one of history's most beloved and best-selling mystic poets.

1861 — William Wrigley Jr.
William Wrigley Jr., born 1861, built the chewing-gum empire that still bears his name.

Nearby dates

September 29 · October 1 · All September dates

Part of Date with History, a 366-book collection with one book for every date of the year. 5″×8″ paperback, cream paper.

Historical selections are editorially researched. This is a date-specific book, not a personalized or custom-made product.