April 30

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

Events

• 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule.
• 711 - Islamic conquest of Hispania: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus).
• 1006 - Supernova SN 1006, the brightest supernova in recorded history, appears in the constellation Lupus.
• 1315 - Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged on the public gallows at Montfaucon.
• 1483 - Orbital calculations suggest that on this day, Pluto moved inside Neptune's orbit until July 23, 1503.
• 1492 - Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.
• 1671 - Petar Zrinski, the Croatian Ban 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.
• 1794 - The Battle of Boulou is fought, in which French forces defeated the Spanish under General Union.
• 1803 - Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling 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.
• 1856 - Battle of Rivas, Nicaragua, against North American mercenaries.
• 1863 - Mexican forces attacked the French Foreign Legion in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico.
• 1871 - The Camp Grant Massacre takes place in Arizona Territory.
• 1894 - Coxey's Army reaches Washington, D.C. to protest the unemployment caused by the Panic of 1893.
• 1900 - Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.
• 1900 - Casey Jones dies in a train wreck in Vaughn, Mississippi, while trying to make up time on the Cannonball Express.
• 1904 - The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair opens in St. Louis, Missouri.
• 1907 - Honolulu, Hawaii becomes an independent city.
• 1920 - Peru becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
• 1925 - Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Company for $146 million plus $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.
• 1927 - Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
• 1937 - The Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative.
• 1938 - The animated cartoon short Porky's Hare Hunt debuts in movie theaters, introducing Happy Rabbit.
• 1938 - The first televised FA Cup Final takes place between Huddersfield Town and Preston North End.
• 1939 - The 1939 New York World's Fair opens.
• 1939 - RCA owned NBC begins regularly scheduled television service from its New York station with the opening ceremonies of the 1939 New York World's Fair broadcast.
• 1939 - Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. President to appear on television during the World Fair's opening ceremonies broadcast.
• 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 - World War II: Fuehrerbunker: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for one day. Soviet soldiers raise the red flag over the Reichstag building.
• 1947 - In Nevada, the Boulder Dam is renamed Hoover Dam a second time.
• 1948 - In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established.
• 1973 - Watergate Scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces that top White House aids H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and others have resigned.
• 1975 - Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gain control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Duong Van Minh.
• 1980 - Accession of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
• 1988 - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II officially opens World Expo '88, Brisbane, Australia.
• 1993 - The World Wide Web is born at CERN.
• 1993 - Virgin Radio broadcasts for the first time in the United Kingdom.
• 1995 - U.S. President Bill Clinton became the first President to visit Northern Ireland.
• 1999 - Cambodia joins the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bringing the total members to 10.
• 2001 - The Mitchell Report on the Arab-Israeli conflict is published.
• 2002 - A referendum in Pakistan overwhelmingly approves the Presidency of Pervez Musharraf for another five years.
• 2004 - U.S. media release graphic photos of American soldiers abusing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.
• 2008 - Two skeletal remains found near Ekaterinburg, Russia were confirmed by Russian scientists to be the remains of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia and one of his sisters.

Births

• 1245 - King Philip III of France (d. 1285)
• 1553 - Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, queen of France (d. 1601)
• 1623 - François de Laval, first bishop of New France (d. 1708)
• 1651 - Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, French educational reformer, Catholic saint (d. 1719)
• 1662 - Queen Mary II of England (d. 1694)
• 1664 - François Louis, Prince of Conti, French general (d. 1709)
• 1710 - Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (d. 1795)
• 1721 - Roger Sherman, American statesman (d. 1793)
• 1723 - Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French naturalist (d. 1806)
• 1770 - David Thompson, Canadian explorer (d. 1857)
• 1777 - Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician (d. 1855)
• 1803 - Albrecht Graf von Roon, Prime Minister of Prussia (d. 1879)
• 1812 - Kaspar Hauser, German mystery boy (d. 1833)
• 1829 - Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist (d. 1884)
• 1857 - Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1940)
• 1864 - Juhan Liiv, Estonian poet (d. 1913)
• 1865 - Max Nettlau, German anarchist (d. 1944)
• 1869 - Hans Poelzig, German architect (d. 1936)
• 1870 - Franz Lehár, Austrian composer (d. 1948)
• 1874 - Cyriel Verschaeve, Flemish clergyman (d. 1949)
• 1876 - Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist (d. 1937)
• 1877 - Alice B. Toklas, American companion of Gertrude Stein (d. 1967)
• 1883 - Jaroslav Hašek, Czech novelist (d. 1923)
• 1893 - Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi foreign minister (d. 1946)
• 1895 - Philippe Panneton, French Canadian physician, diplomat and writer (d. 1960)
• 1896 - Hans List, Austrian inventor (d. 1996)
• 1897 - Humberto Mauro, Brazillina director and screenwriter (d. 1983)
• 1901 - Simon Kuznets, Ukrainian-born economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1985)
• 1902 - Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)
• 1908 - Eve Arden, American actress (d. 1990)
• 1908 - Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic foreign and later prime minister (d. 1970)
• 1909 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (d. 2004)
• 1909 - F. E. McWilliam,Irish sculptor (d. 1992)
• 1916 - Claude Shannon, American engineer and mathematician (d. 2001)
• 1916 - Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999)
• 1920 - Duncan Hamilton, British racing driver (d. 1994)
• 1923 - Percy Heath, American jazz musician (Modern Jazz Quartet) (d. 2005)
• 1923 - Al Lewis, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1923 - Francis Tucker, South African Rally Driver (d. 2008)
• 1925 - Corinne Calvet, French actress (d. 2001)
• 1925 - Johnny Horton, American musician (d. 1960)
• 1926 - Cloris Leachman, American actress
• 1928 - Hugh Hood, Canadian author (d. 2000)
• 1933 - Dickie Davies, British television presenter
• 1933 - Willie Nelson, American musician
• 1934 - Jerry Lordan, English composer and singer (d.1995)
• 1938 - Juraj Jakubisko, Slovak film director
• 1938 - Gary Collins, American actor
• 1938 - Larry Niven, American author
• 1940 - Burt Young, American actor
• 1941 - Johnny Farina, American musician and composer (Santo & Johnny)
• 1943 - Frederick Chiluba, former Zambian president (1991-2001)
• 1943 - Bobby Vee, American singer
• 1944 - Jill Clayburgh, American actress
• 1945 - Annie Dillard, American writer
• 1945 - Michael Smith, American astronaut (d. 1986)
• 1946 - King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
• 1946 - Don Schollander, American swimmer
• 1946 - Bill Plympton, American animator
• 1947 - Leslie Grantham, English actor
• 1947 - Finn Kalvik, Norwegian singer
• 1947 - Mats Odell, Swedish politician
• 1947 - Tom Køhlert, Brondby IF coach
• 1948 - Perry King, American actor
• 1949 - Phil Garner, baseball manager
• 1949 - António Guterres, Prime Minister of Portugal
• 1952 - Jacques Audiard, French film director
• 1954 - Jane Campion, New Zealand film director
• 1955 - Nicolas Hulot, French journalist
• 1956 - Jorge Chaminé, Portuguese baritone
• 1956 - Lars von Trier, Danish film director
• 1957 - Aviva Chomsky, American historian, daughter of Noam Chomsky
• 1958 - Charles Berling, French actor, director and screenwriter
• 1959 - Paul Gross, Canadian actor, director, and writer
• 1959 - Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
• 1959 - W. Thomas Smith, Jr, American author and columnist
• 1960 - Kerry Healey, American politician
• 1960 - David Miscavige, American cult leader
• 1961 - Isiah Thomas, American basketball player
• 1963 - Michael Waltrip, American race car driver
• 1964 - Ian Healy, Australian cricketer
• 1964 - Barrington Levy, Jamaican musician
• 1965 - Adrian Pasdar, American actor
• 1966 - Jeff Brown, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1967 - Steven Mackintosh, British actor
• 1969 - Paulo Jr., Brazilian musician (Sepultura)
• 1969 - Warren Defever, American musician, composer
• 1970 - Ken Stanton, American Radio Personality
• 1971 - John Boyne, Irish novelist
• 1971 - Darren Emerson, English DJ (Underworld)
• 1973 - Akon, American R&B Singer
• 1975 - Elliott Sadler, American race car driver
• 1975 - Mike Chat, American actor
• 1975 - Johnny Galecki, American actor
• 1976 - Amanda Palmer, American musician (The Dresden Dolls)
• 1977 - Jeannie Haddaway, American politician
• 1977 - Pell James, American actress
• 1979 - Gerardo Torrado, Mexican footballer
• 1981 - John O'Shea, Irish footballer
• 1981 - Emma Pierson, British actress
• 1982 - Lloyd Banks, American rapper
• 1982 - Kirsten Dunst, American actress
• 1982 - Cleo Higgins, British singer and actress
• 1982 - Andrew Seeley, Canadian actor and singer
• 1983 - Tatjana Hüfner, German luger
• 1983 - Troy Williamson, American football player
• 1983 - Yamini, Tamil Singer
• 1984 - Shawn Daivari, Persian-American professional wrestler and manager
• 1985 - Ashley Alexandra Dupré, American singer and call girl
• 1987 - Nikki Webster, Australian entertainer
• 1987 - Rohit Sharma, Indian Cricketer

Deaths

• 65 - Lucan, Roman poet (b. 39)
• 1063 - Emperor Renzong of China (b. 1010)
• 1131 - Adjutor, Roman Catholic Saint
• 1341 - John III, Duke of Brittany (b. 1285)
• 1439 - Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, English military leader (b. 1382)
• 1524 - Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard, French soldier (b. 1473)
• 1544 - Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, Lord Chancellor of England
• 1555 - Pope Marcellus II (b. 1501)
• 1632 - King Sigismund I of Sweden (b. 1561)
• 1632 - Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly, Bavarian general (b. 1559)
• 1642 - Dmitry Pozharsky, Russian prince (b. 1578)
• 1660 - Petrus Scriverius, Dutch writer (b. 1576)
• 1655 - Eustache Le Sueur, French painter (b. 1617)
• 1696 - Robert Plot, British naturalist (b. 1640)
• 1712 - Philipp van Limborch, Dutch Protestant theologian (b. 1633)
• 1736 - Johann Albert Fabricius, German classical scholar and bibliographer (b. 1668)
• 1758 - François d'Agincourt, French composer (b. 1684)
• 1792 - John Montagu, supposed inventor of the sandwich (b. 1718)
• 1795 - Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French writer and numismatist (b. 1716)
• 1841 - Peter Andreas Heiberg, Danish author and philologist (b. 1758)
• 1847 - Archduke Charles of Austria, Austrian general (b. 1771)
• 1865 - Robert Fitzroy, English admiral and meteorologist (b. 1805)
• 1875 - Jean Frederic Waldeck, French explorer, lithographer, and cartographer (b. 1766)
• 1883 - Édouard Manet, French painter (b. 1832)
• 1900 - Casey Jones, American train engineer (b. 1863)
• 1903 - Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and suffragist (b.1831)
• 1936 - Alfred Edward Housman, English poet (b. 1859)
• 1943 - Otto Jespersen, Danish philologist (b. 1860)
• 1943 - Beatrice Webb, British economist (b. 1858)
• 1945 - Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler's new wife (b. 1912)
• 1945 - Adolf Hitler, Austrian dictator of Nazi Germany (suicide) (b. 1889)
• 1956 - Alben W. Barkley, Vice President of the United States (b. 1877)
• 1970 - Inger Stevens, Swedish actress (b. 1934)
• 1973 - Václav Renč, Czech poet, dramatist and translator (b. 1911)
• 1974 - Agnes Moorehead, American actress (b. 1900)
• 1980 - Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet, journalist, and politician (b. 1898)
• 1982 - Lester Bangs, American music journalist, author, and musician (b. 1949)
• 1983 - George Balanchine, Russian-born dancer and choreographer (b. 1904)
• 1983 - Muddy Waters, American musician (b. 1915)
• 1985 - George Pravda, Czechoslovakian actor (b. 1918)
• 1989 - Yi, Bang-ja, Crown Princess of Korea (b. 1901)
• 1989 - Sergio Leone, Italian filmmaker (b. 1929)
• 1993 - Tommy Caton, English footballer (b. 1962)
• 1994 - Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (b. 1960)
• 1994 - Richard Scarry, American author (b. 1919)
• 1995 - Maung Maung Kha, Prime minister of Burma (b. 1920)
• 1996 - David Opatoshu, American actor (b. 1918)
• 1998 - Nizar Qabbani, Syrian poet (b. 1926)
• 2002 - Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, founder of the Gründerzeit Museum in Berlin-Mahlsdorf. (b. 1928)
• 2003 - Peter 'Possum' Bourne, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1956)
• 2003 - Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (b. 1923)
• 2003 - Mark Berger, University of Kentucky professor (b. 1955)
• 2005 - Ron Todd, TGWU General Secretary (1985 - 1992) (b. 1927)
• 2006 - Lawrence Patrick, Biomechanics Professor, crash test subject
• 2006 - Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesian novelist
• 2007 - Grégory Lemarchal, French singer (b. 1983)
• 2007 - Kevin Mitchell, American football player (b. 1971)
• 2007 - Tom Poston, American actor (b. 1921)
• 2007 - Gordon Scott, American actor (b. 1927)
• 2007 - Zola Taylor, American singer (b. 1938)
• 2008 - John Cargher, Australian radio broadcaster (b. 1919)

Holidays and observances

• Walpurgis Night - Celebrated in Germany, central, and western Europe
• Scandinavia - The arrival of spring.
• Sweden - Birthday of King Carl XVI Gustav, an official flag day.
• Finland - Mayday's eve. Most celebrations take place day prior to the first of May. Euromayday in Finland.
• The Netherlands - Queen's Day, the largest one-day holiday in the Netherlands.
• Roman Empire - third day of the Floralia in honor of Flora.
• Bealtaine Eve (From either Irish Bealtaine or Scottish Gaelic). Originally a Celtic Druid holiday.
• Vietnam - Liberation Day.
• Mexico - Children's Day.
• Czech Republic and Slovakia - Carodejnice - witches' night

in the Roman Catholic Church:

• Saint Adjutor
• Saint Eutropius
• Saint Maximus, 3rd century martyr
• Saint Quirinus of Neuss
• Saint Suitbert the Younger (d. 807)
• Saint Pope Pius V

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada