April 30

April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years). There are 245 days remaining.

Events

• 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule.
• 1492 - Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.
• 1671 - Petar Zrinski, the Croatian ruler from the Zrinski family, is executed.
• 1789 - On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.
• 1803 - Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling -- overnight -- the size of the young nation.
• 1812 - The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.
• 1838 - Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation
• 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Jenkin's Ferry - Retreating Union troops led by General Frederick Steele repel Confederate forces under General Edmund Kirby Smith.
• 1900 - Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.
• 1900 - Casey Jones dies attempting to save the runaway train Cannonball Express.
• 1904 - The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair opens in Saint Louis, Missouri.
• 1904 - The ice cream cone makes its debut.
• 1925 - Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Company for US$146 million plus US$50 million for charity.
• 1927 - The Federal Industrial Institute for Women, opens in Alderson, West Virginia as the first women's federal prison in the United States.
• 1938 - The cartoon short Porky's Hare Hunt, debuts in movie theaters, introducing Bugs Bunny.
• 1939 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to appear on television.
• 1939 - The 1939 New York World's Fair opens.
• 1943 - World War II: Operation Mincemeat - The submarine HMS Seraph surfaces in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain to deposit a dead man planted with false invasion plans and dressed as a British military intelligence officer.
• 1945 - Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for one day.
• 1945 - The morning radio program Arthur Godfrey Time, starring Arthur Godfrey, debuts.
• 1947 - In Nevada Boulder Dam is officially renamed Hoover Dam again.
• 1948 - In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established.
• 1948 - The Land Rover is unveiled at the Amsterdam Auto Show.
• 1966 - Anton LaVey founds the Church of Satan.
• 1973 - Watergate Scandal: President Richard Nixon announces that top White House aids H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and others have resigned.
• 1975 - Vietnam War: North Vietnamese troops occupy Saigon, ending the war.
• 1980 - Accession of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
• 1983 - Michael Jackson's song "Beat It" hits number 1 on the Billboard music charts.
• 1988 - In Dublin, Ireland, Céline Dion wins the thirty-third Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland singing "Ne partez pas sans moi" (Don't leave without me).
• 1991 - A tropical cyclone hits Bangladesh killing an estimated 138,000 people.
• 1992 - The last episode of the Cosby Show airs.
• 1993 - CERN announces that the World Wide Web will be free to everyone.
• 1993 - During a changeover at a tennis tournament in Hamburg, Germany, Monica Seles is stabbed in the back by a deranged fan of rival Steffi Graf. Seles would not play competitively for more than two years after the incident.
• 1994 - In Dublin, Ireland, Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan win the thirty-ninth Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland singing "Rock'n'Roll Kids".
• 1997 - Ellen DeGeneres comes out of the closet on her sitcom Ellen (which originally aired on ABC this day).
• 1999 - NATO membership expands by approving the admission of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland (the nations will be formally admitted following NATO's 50th anniversary summit next April). NATO aircraft destroy the Belgrade-Azala Tower.
• 1999 - Cambodia joins the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bringing the total members to 10.
• 1999 - Neo-nazi bomber David Copeland detonates his third bomb in front of the Admiral Duncan pub and is arrested the night after.
• 2001 - Dennis Tito, the first space tourist in space lifts off in a Russian rocket heading for the International Space Station.
• 2001 - Chandra Levy, a former intern to California Congressman Gary Condit, is last seen in Washington, DC.
• 2002 - A referendum in Pakistan overwhelmingly approves the Presidency of Pervez Musharraf for another five years.
• 2004 - The last edition of NPR's Morning Edition with Bob Edwards as host airs.
  

  Births

• 1602 - William Lilly, astrologer (d. 1681)
• 1662 - Queen Mary II of England (d. 1694)
• 1777 - Carl Friedrich Gauss, mathematician, astronomer and physicist (d. 1855)
• 1867 - Burton Mossman, Arizona Ranger (d. 1956)
• 1870 - Franz Lehár, composer (d. 1948)
• 1877 - Alice B. Toklas, muse and brownie chef (d. 1967)
• 1883 - Jaroslav Hašek, Czech novelist (d. 1923)
• 1889 - Ellis Wilson, artist
• 1893 - Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi foreign minister (d. 1946)
• 1898 - Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr, reporter, columnist, author, lecturer
• 1908 - Eve Arden, actress, also listed as 1912 (d. 1990)
• 1909 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (d. 2004)
• 1910 - Al Lewis, actor (The Munsters)
• 1911 - Luise Rinser, narrator (d. 2002)
• 1916 - Claude Shannon, the "father of information theory (d. 2001)
• 1916 - Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999)
• 1926 - Cloris Leachman, actress (Oscar winner, 1971) also listed as 1930
• 1929 - Klausjürgen Wussow, actor
• 1933 - Willie Nelson, country musician, composer, actor
• 1938 - Gary Collins, actor
• 1938 - Larry Niven, science fiction author
• 1940 - Burt Young, actor
• 1941 - Johnny Farina, guitarist (Santo and Johnny)
• 1943 - Bobby Vee, singer
• 1944 - Jill Clayburgh, actress
• 1944 - Richard Schoff, singer (The Sandpipers)
• 1945 - Annie Dillard, poet, essayist, novelist
• 1946 - King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden
• 1946 - Don Schollander, Olympic gold medalist in swimming
• 1946 - Ulla Hahn, lyricist
• 1948 - Perry King, actor
• 1953 - Marie Osmond, singer (The Osmonds)
• 1955 - Nicolas Hulot, journalist, author
• 1961 - Isiah Thomas, basketball player, coach, owner
• 1964 - Barrington Levy, reggae and dancehall musician
• 1967 - Turbo B, rapper (Snap)
• 1969 - Clark Vogeler, rock guitarist (The Toadies)
• 1972 - J.R. Richards, singer (Dishwalla)
• 1973 - Jeff Timmons, R&B singer (98 Degrees)
• 1975 - Elliott Sadler, NASCAR driver
• 1978 - Tom Fulp, computer artist, creator and owner of Newgrounds
• 1982 - Kirsten Dunst, actress
  

  Deaths

• 65 - Lucan, Roman poet (b. 39)
• 1341 - John III of Dreux, Duke of Brittany
• 1847 - Archduke Charles, Austrian general
• 1865 - Robert Fitzroy, English admiral and meteorologist (b. 1805)
• 1875 - Jean Frederic Waldeck, French explorer, lithographer and cartographer (b. 1766)
• 1883 - Édouard Manet, impressionist painter (b. 1832)
• 1936 - Alfred Edward Housman, poet (b. 1859)
• 1943 - Otto Jespersen, Danish philologist (b. 1860)
• 1945 - Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun (suicide)
• 1956 - Alben W. Barkley, former Vice President of the United States (b. 1877)
• 1970 - Inger Stevens, actress (b. 1934)
• 1974 - Agnes Moorehead, actress (b. 1900)
• 1981 - Peter Huchel, German poet
• 1982 - Lester Bangs, music journalist, author, musician (b. 1949)
• 1983 - George Balanchine, dancer, choreographer (b. 1904)
• 1983 - Muddy Waters, blues musician (b. 1915)
• 1989 - Sergio Leone, Italian filmmaker (b. 1929)
• 1998 - Nizar Qabbani, Syrian Poet
• 2003 - Peter 'Possum' Bourne, 3-time Asia-Pacific Rally champion
• 2003 - Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist
  

  Holidays and observances

• Scandinavia - The arrival of spring, Walpurgis Night
• Sweden - Birthday of King Carl XVI Gustav, an official flag day
• The Netherlands - Queens day
• Roman Empire - third day of the Floralia in honor of Flora
• Bealtaine Eve (From either Irish Bealtaine or Scottish Gaelic). Originally Druid then Celtic Holiday
• Vietnam - Liberation Day
  

  External links

• BBC: On This Day

April 29 - May 1 - March 29 - May 29 -- listing of all days