30 September

Across recorded history, 1,463 notable lives are recorded as having ended on 30 September. Below are the 24 most widely documented — ranked by how many language editions of Wikipedia carry an article about them.

← September 29 October 1 →

James Dean

1931–1955

American actor

James Dean was an American actor known for his performances in film.

Rudolf Diesel

1858–1913

German inventor and mechanical engineer

Rudolf Diesel was an engineer who invented the compression-ignition engine.

Thérèse of Lisieux

1873–1897

French Discalced Carmelite nun, Doctor of the Church

Thérèse of Lisieux was a Discalced Carmelite nun who is recognized as a Doctor of the Church.

Martin Lewis Perl

1927–2014

American scientist

Physicist Martin Lewis Perl conducted research that led to the discovery of the tau lepton.

Simone Signoret

1921–1985

French actress

Simone Signoret was a French actress who performed in numerous film and stage productions throughout her career.

Charles Francis Richter

1900–1985

American seismologist

Charles Francis Richter was an American seismologist who developed the scale used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes.

Ralph Steinman

1943–2011

Canadian immunologist and cell biologist

Ralph Steinman was an immunologist who conducted research on the dendritic cell.

André Lwoff

1902–1994

French microbiologist

André Lwoff was a French microbiologist who conducted research on the nature of viruses.

Edith Roosevelt

1861–1948

First Lady of the United States from 1901 to 1909

Edith Roosevelt served as the First Lady of the United States.

Dikembe Mutombo

1966–2024

Congolese-American basketball player

Dikembe Mutombo was a professional basketball player known for his career in the National Basketball Association.

Ken Page

1954–2024

American actor

Ken Page was an American actor known for his work as a voice actor, singer, and stage performer.

Wilhelm Müller

1794–1827

German poet

Wilhelm Müller was a German poet whose lyrical works provided the basis for song cycles by Franz Schubert.

Georges Ernest Boulanger

1837–1891

French general

Georges Ernest Boulanger was a French general and politician who gained significant popularity for his advocacy of nationalist and revisionist political reforms.

Michael Chekhov

1891–1955

Russian actor and director

Michael Chekhov was an actor and director who developed a unique system of acting techniques used in theatre and film.

Jessye Norman

1945–2019

American opera singer

Jessye Norman was an American opera singer known for her performances in major international opera houses.

Alfred Bester

1913–1987

American author

Alfred Bester was an American science fiction writer known for his contributions to the genre.

Vladimir Voevodsky

1966–2017

Russian mathematician

Vladimir Voevodsky was a mathematician who developed the motivic homotopy theory and the univalent foundations of mathematics.

Dalai Lama 10 Tsultrim Gyatso

1816–1837

10th Dalai Lama of Tibet

Dalai Lama 10 Tsultrim Gyatso served as the tenth Dalai Lama of Tibet.

Eunice Newton Foote

1819–1888

American scientist, inventor and women's rights activist

Eunice Newton Foote was a scientist who conducted experiments demonstrating the heat-trapping properties of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Quino

1932–2020

Argentine cartoonist

Quino was an Argentine cartoonist best known for creating the comic strip Mafalda.

Yu Kil-chun

1856–1914

Korean politician

Yu Kil-chun was a Korean politician who authored works documenting his observations and experiences.

Trường Chinh

1907–1988

former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam

Trường Chinh was a politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Konstantin Makovsky

1839–1915

Russian painter

Konstantin Makovsky was a Russian painter known for his large-scale historical paintings and portraits of the Russian aristocracy.

Hans-Joachim Marseille

1919–1942

German officer and fighter pilot during World War II

Hans-Joachim Marseille was a German fighter pilot who served during World War II.

Source: Wikidata, released into the public domain under CC0. Snapshot: 2026-07. Names, dates and roles come from Wikidata; summaries are condensed from it. Nothing here is generated to fill a gap.