April 30th in History
The United States, showing the extent of the Louisiana Purchase
Today in History
- Christopher Columbus gets a “Commission of Exploration” from Ferdinand and Isabella (1492)
- George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected US president (1789)
- The US purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million (1803)
- Louisiana becomes the 18th US state (1812)
- Coxey’s Army reached Washington, DC, to protest unemployment (1894)
- Hawaii becomes a US territory (1900)
- The New York World’s Fair opens and NBC begins regularly scheduled TV service in New York City by broadcasting FDR’s opening day address (1939)
- Watergate Scandal: H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman resign (1973)
- Vietnam War: The Vietnam War formally ends with the fall of Saigon and the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Dương Văn Minh (1975)
- Iraq War: Pictures of US troops abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib are released by the media (2004)
Birthdays
- Carl Friedrich Gauss, mathematician (1777)
- Kaspar Hauser, mysterious boy (1812)
- Alice B. Toklas, avant-garde figure (1877)
- Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi foreign affairs minister (1893)
- Eve Arden, actress (1908)
- Percy Heath, bassist (1923)
- Al “Grandpa” Lewis, actor (1923)
- Cloris Leachman, actress (1926)
- Willie Nelson, singer-songwriter (1933)
- Larry Niven, science fiction writer (1938)
- Jill Clayburgh, actress (1944)
- Adrian Pasdar, actor (1965)
- Kirsten Dunst, actress (1982)
Deaths
- Édouard Manet, painter (1883)
- Casey Jones, railroad engineer (1900)
- A. E. Housman, poet (1936)
- Adolf Hitler, dictator (1945)
- Eva Braun, Hitler’s wife (1945)
- Alben W. Barkley, US vice presient (1956)
- Richard Fariña, writer (1966)
- Inger Stevens, actress (1970)
- Agnes Moorhead, actress (1974)
- George Balanchine, choreographer (1983)
- Muddy Waters, singer-songwriter (1983)
- Sergio Leone, filmmaker (1989)
- Richard Scarry, children’s book author (1994)
- Tom Poston, actor (2007)
- Billy Neighbors, football player (2012)
- Andrew J. Offutt, science fiction writer (2013)
Holidays and Celebrations
- Armed Forces Day (Georgia)
- Bugs Bunny Day (celebrating the first appearance of Bugs predecessor “Happy Rabbit” in the cartoon Porky’s Duck Hunt)
- Camarón Day (French Foreign Legion)
- Children’s Day (Mexico)
- Consumer Protection Day (Thailand)
- International Jazz Day (UNESCO)
- King’s Birthday (Sweden)
- May Eve/Walpurgisnacht/Beltane/Carodejnice (celebrations of summer; sometimes some of these fall on May 1)
- National Persian Gulf Day (Iran)
- Reunification Day (Vietnam)
- Teacher’s Day (Paraguay)
Informal and made-up holidays include Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, International Guide Dogs Day, National Animal Advocacy Day, National Honesty Day, National Oatmeal Cookie Day, and Spank Out Day.
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April 30 is the 120th day of the year (121st in leap years). There are 245 days remaining until the end of the year.