General events on April 30th

In 1864, New York became the first state to charge a hunting license fee.
In 1889, the first national holiday in the United States was celebrated. The citizens of the U.S. observed the centennial of George Washington's inauguration.
In 1939, The first railroad car equipped with fluorescent lights was put into service. The train car was known as the "General Pershing Zephyr.""
In 1952, 50 years ago, Mr. Potato Head was the first toy to be advertised on television. Followed were Katie The Carrot, Oscar The Orange, Kooky The Cucumber, and Pete The Pepper.
In 1987, 15 years ago, Education Secretary William J. Bennett called for mandatory AIDS testing for several groups of people, including hospital patients and prison inmates.
In 1988, "Molloko," the first California condor chick to be conceived in captivity, was hatched at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
In 1994, some 100,000 men, women and children fleeing ethnic slaughter in Rwanda crossed into neighboring Tanzania.
In 1998, United and Delta airlines formed an alliance that would control one-third of all US passenger seats.
In 1999, the National Rifle Association held its convention in Denver, despite the Columbine High School shootings in suburban Littleton, Colo., 10 days earlier. The group did shorten the gathering from 3 days to 1.

Government and Politics on April 30th

In 1789, George Washington took office in New York as the first president of the United States.
In 1803, the United States more than doubled its land area with the Louisiana purchase. It obtained all French territory west of the Mississippi River for $15 Million.
In 1812, Louisiana was admitted as the 18th state of the Union.
In 1838, Nicaragua declares independence from Central American federation.
In 1900, Hawaii was organized as a U.S. territory.
In 1947, President Truman signed a measure officially changing the name of Boulder Dam to Hoover Dam.
In 1948, the Organization of American States held its first meeting, in Bogota, Colombia.
In 1956, COVER OF TIME Soviet leader NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV
In 1961, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro was awarded the Lenin "peace" prize.
In 1961, Premier Fidel Castro of Cuba receives Lenin-Peace Prize.
In 1965, COVER OF "TIME" British Prime Minister HAROLD WILSON
In 1973, President Nixon announced the resignations of his aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, along with Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst and White House counsel John Dean.
In 1982, 20 years ago, Alvaro Magana chosen to succeed Jose N Duarte as pres of El Salvador.
In 1987, 15 years ago, President Reagan welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone to the White House.
In 1988, General Manuel Noriega, waving a machete, vowed at a rally to keep fighting United States efforts to oust him as Panama's military ruler.
In 1989, President Bush attended a parade in New York City celebrating the bicentennial of the American presidency.
In 1991, former Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas announced his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In 1991, Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui ended 43 years of emergency rule, authorized elections and renounced the use of force to reunify China.
In 1994, the counting of ballots began in South Africa's first all-race elections.
In 1995, President Clinton announced he would end U.S. trade and investment with Iran, denouncing the Tehran government as "inspiration and paymaster to terrorists."
In 1996, President Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres signed an accord in Washington extending U.S. help to Israel in countering terrorism.
In 1997, 5 years ago, Pres Clinton's daughter Chelsea chooses to attend Stanford College.
In 1997, 5 years ago, President Clinton reopened the newly renovated Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
In 1997, 5 years ago, the Senate approved the nomination of Alexis Herman as secretary of labor. She became the only black woman in the Clinton cabinet.
In 1998, President Clinton questioned the conduct of Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr and dismissed Republican challenges to his own character as "high level static" during a news conference.
In 1998, a grand jury indicted Webster Hubbell and his wife on tax evasion charges, Hubbell, a close friend and associate of President Clinton, accused Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr of having him indicted so he would lie about the president.
In 1998, the Senate approved the applications of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland to join NATO.
In 2000, 2 years ago, Hundreds of thousands participated in a gay-rights rally in Washington.

War, Crime and Disaster events on April 30th

In 1798, the U.S. Department of the Navy was established.
In 1804, Shrapnel, invented in 1784 by British soldier Henry Shrapnel, was used for the first time in warfare by the British against the Dutch in Surinam.
In 1861, Federal Troops, under orders from Lincoln, evacuate Indian Territory.
In 1888, Hail stones kills about 250 in Moradabad district of Delhi.
In 1900, engineer John Luther "Casey" Jones of the Illinois Central Railroad was killed in a wreck near Vaughan, Mississippi, after staying at the controls in an effort to save the passengers.
In 1937, General Douglas MacArthur marries Jean Faircloth.
In 1942, 60 years ago, the first submarine built on the Great Lakes was launched, the "Peto", from Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
In 1945, as Russian troops approached his Berlin bunker, master race supremacist Adolf Hitler committed suicide along with his wife of one day, Eva Braun. One week later, Germany surrendered unconditionally, ending Hitler's Third Reich.
In 1961, Lee Harvey Oswald marries Marina Prusakova in Minsk USSR.
In 1970, President Nixon announced the United States was sending troops into Cambodia, an action that sparked widespread protest.
In 1975, Saigon has fallen and it can't get up! The South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces as President Duong Van Minh announced an unconditional surrender. The communists occupied Saigon and re-named it Ho Chi Minh City. The Vietnam War came to an halt.
In 1980, in London, armed gunmen seized the Iranian Embassy demanding the release of political prisoners in Iran. The siege lasted six days.
In 1982, 20 years ago, Iranian offensive in Khusistan.
In 1986, the Soviet Union released a photograph of the damaged Chernobyl nuclear plant, and accused Western news organizations of spreading false rumors of thousands of deaths, saying only two people had died.
In 1990, U.S. educator Frank Reed was freed after 3 1/2-year ordeal as hostage of Moslem extremists in Lebanon, becoming the second abducted American freed in Beirut in just over a week.
In 1991, in southeastern Bangladesh: a cyclone killed over 131,000 and left as many as 9 million homeless. Thousands of survivors died from hunger and water borne disease.
In 1992, 10 years ago, as rioting in Los Angeles entered its second day, President Bush condemned the violence, and said the Justice Department would intensify its investigation of police conduct in the beating of Rodney King.
In 1992, 10 years ago, NATO appointed U.S. Gen. John Shalikashvili as the new commander of its forces in Europe.
In 1992, 10 years ago, a car driven by an elderly man crashed into crowd of schoolchildren on tour at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, killing one child.
In 1995, More than 10,000 soldiers, students and children in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, celebrated the 20th anniversary of the end of the war.
In 1997, 5 years ago, Tajik Prest Imomali Rakhmonov wounded in assassination attempt.
In 1997, 5 years ago, seven armed men were arrested enroute to Fort Davis, Texas, where a group of separatists were involved in a standoff with authorities.
In 1998, Federal regulators fine contractor $2.25 million for improper handling of oxygen canisters on ValuJet that crashed in Florida Everglades in 1996.
In 1998, a man set himself on fire and shot himself to death on a Los Angeles area freeway in a scene captured on live television.
In 1999, a bomb exploded at a gay pub in London, killing three people and injuring more than 70.

Royalty and Religious events on April 30th

In 311, Galerius Valerius Maximianus issued an edict under which Christians were legally recognized in the Roman Empire.
In 1980, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands ascends the throne.
In 1987, 15 years ago, Pope John Paul II began a five-day visit to West Germany.
In 1989, 500,000 people attended a papal mass in Madagascar where Pope John Paul II beatified Victoire Rasoamanarivo, a 19th century Madagascar woman.
In 1991, political talks between Roman Catholic nationalists and Protestant unionists in Northern Ireland opened. They were the first such discussions in 15 years.
In 1999, The Reverend Jesse Jackson met with three US soldiers being held prisoner by Yugoslavia.

Human Achievement and Science events on April 30th

In 1006, Brightest supernova in recorded history is observed.
In 1492, Columbus receives his commission of exploration from Spain
In 1562, Jean Ribault of France establishes a settlement at Parris Island, North Carolina named Port Royal.
In 1808, the first practical typewriter is finished by Italian Pellegrini Turri. He built it for a blind friend.
In 1816, a very large sunspot appeared, and was visible for several days.
In 1904, the ice cream cone made its debut.
In 1955, Element mendelevium was announced as element 101.
In 1962, 40 years ago, NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 75,190 m.
In 1998, Researchers say abortion pill RU-486 successfully ends pregnancies in 92 percent of women tested.

Arts and Prose events on April 30th

In 1590, According to The Tonight Show (date may be off), William Shakespeare completed his first play; the reason?, Shakespeare was tired of saying "Hi, my name is Bill, and I'll be your waiter tonight."