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