Hi, I’m Sen, and welcome to another episode of Today in History!

Today’s historical events cover a football first, a famous musician, but also the tragic deaths of student protesters. If you’re not ready to listen, feel free to come back later.

As usual, you’ll hear the events twice. So, remember, don’t worry too much about focusing on the meaning the first time round. That’s what the second listen is for.

Let’s begin. So, what happened today in history?

On July 30, 1930, the first FIFA World Cup Final took place in Montevideo, Uruguay. In front of 93,000 people, Uruguay defeated Argentina in a 4-2 win. The Uruguayan government declared the following day a national holiday.

On the same day in 1948, composer and musician Julia Tsenova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. She became a leading figure in Bulgarian contemporary music. The music she wrote was known for being dramatic and influenced by philosophy.

On July 30, 1975, at least 12 students were killed by police and soldiers in San Salvador, El Salvador. The students had gathered at the University of El Salvador for a peaceful demonstration. They were protesting against the repressive actions of the dictatorship government at the time. The event was a turning point in the country’s history as students began to question if democracy was possible in El Salvador.

Now for the second listen. This time, focus more on the meaning.

On July 30, 1930, the first FIFA World Cup Final took place in Montevideo, Uruguay. In front of 93,000 people, Uruguay defeated Argentina in a 4-2 win. The Uruguayan government declared the following day a national holiday.

On the same day in 1948, composer and musician Julia Tsenova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. She became a leading figure in Bulgarian contemporary music. The music she wrote was known for being dramatic and influenced by philosophy.

On July 30, 1975, at least 12 students were killed by police and soldiers in San Salvador, El Salvador. The students had gathered at the University of El Salvador for a peaceful demonstration. They were protesting against the repressive actions of the dictatorship government at the time. The event was a turning point in the country’s history as students began to question if democracy was possible in El Salvador.

Which words stood out for you? In this context, ‘contemporary’ is just another way of saying ‘modern’. The word ‘demonstration’ is often similar in other languages. It’s when people come together to show their feelings for a person or cause. Here, the students’ demonstration, or protest, was ‘peaceful’ – so, without violence. What about ‘repressive’? It describes something which is controlling people by force. So, a ‘repressive government’ is one which controls what people do and limits their freedoms. And finally, we’ve heard ‘dictatorship’ before. You might remember it’s a government ruled by a single leader with total power over the country.

Remember, you can always rewind and listen to these words again, as many times as you want!

For now though, that’s all. For more historical facts, join me tomorrow for another episode of Today in History.

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Episode notes:
 
contemporary: modern, present-day 
demonstration: people coming together to show their feelings for a person or cause 
peaceful: without violence 
repressive: controlling people by force 
dictatorship: a government ruled by a single leader with total power over the country