April 30th in History

Michael Dobson | April 30

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.