Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!
On this day in 240 BCE was the first recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. In 804 on this day, Liudger became the first Bishop of Munster. Boudouin IV with the Beard became the Earl of Flanders on this day in 988. The Battle at Mellifont was fought on this day in 1603, as the English army under Lord Mountjoy defeated the Irish. On this day in 1775 in the leadup to the American Revolutionary War of Independence, King George III formally endorsed the New England Restraining Act in hopes of keeping the New England colonies dependent on the British. A bust of playwright Voltaire was crowned with a triumphant laurel wreath by actors on stage on this day in 1778 following the sixth performance of Voltaire's "Irène" at the Comédie-Française. This event was depicted in an engraving by Jean-Michel Moreau and Charles-Étienne Gaucher. On this day in 1814 during the Napoleonic Wars, the Allied nations fighting France managed to capture Paris. Murat issued the Rimini Declaration on this day in 1814. It would later inspire Italian Unification. U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward signed a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7 million (2 cents an acre) in what came to be known as Seward's Folly on this day in 1867. The 15th Amendment to the American Constitution passed on this day in 1870, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race. In 1870 following the end of the American Civil War, Texas became the last of the Confederate States to be readmitted to Union. The Pandjeh Incident during the Battle for Kushka was fought on this day in 1885 in Afghanistan, and nearly sparked a war between the British Empire and Russian Empire. In 1903 on this day, American troops entered Santo Domingo to protect American interests after receiving word of revolutionary activity in the Dominican Republic. On this day in 1905, American President Theodore Roosevelt was chosen to mediate peace talks to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese War. The French protectorate in Morocco was established on this day in 1912. In 1940 on this day, the Japanese set up a puppet regime at Nanking, the former capital of Nationalist China. There was a German counter-offensive in North-Africa on this day in 1941 during World War II. On this day in 1945 during the waning days of World War II in Europe, the Soviet Read Army crossed the border into Austria. In 1953 on this day, Theoretical Physicist Albert Einstein announced a revised unified field theory. The iconic cover photo of the Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's" was taken on this day in 1967. North Vietnamese forces launched the "Easter Offensive" and entered South Vietnam on this day in 1972. On this day in 1981, American President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by a crazed drifter named John Hinckley Jr. In 2013 on this day, North Korea declared that it is in a state of war with South Korea. On this day in 2013, Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the rightful winner of the Kenyan presidential election by the Supreme Court.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
• On this day in 240 BCE was the first recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
• In 804 on this day, Liudger became the first Bishop of Munster
• Boudouin IV with the Beard became the Earl of Flanders on this day in 988.
1282 - The people of Sicily rebel against the Angevin king Charles I, in what becomes known as the Sicilian Vespers.
1296 - Edward I sacks Berwick-upon-Tweed, during armed conflict between Scotland and England.
1422 - Ketsugan, Zen teacher, performs exorcisms to free aizoji temple
1456 - Prince Louis of Bourbon elected bishop of Liege
1474 - Duke Sigismund van Tirol ends contacts with Switzerland
1492 - King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella sign decree expelling Jews from Spain
1533 - Thomas Cranmer becomes archbishop of Canterbury
• The Battle at Mellifont was fought on this day in 1603, as the English army under Lord Mountjoy defeated the Irish.
• On this day in 1775 in the leadup to the American Revolutionary War of Independence, King George III formally endorsed the New England Restraining Act in hopes of keeping the New England colonies dependent on the British. The New England Restraining Act required New England colonies to trade exclusively with Great Britain as of July 1. An additional rule would come into effect on July 20, banning colonists from fishing in the North Atlantic. The British prime minister, Frederick, Lord North, introduced the Restraining Act and the Conciliatory Proposition to Parliament on the same day. The Conciliatory Proposition promised that no colony that met its share of imperial defenses and paid royal officials' salaries of their own accord would be taxed. The act conceded to the colonists' demand that they be allowed to provide the crown with needed funds on a voluntary basis. In other words, Parliament would ask for money through requisitions, not demand it through taxes. The Restraining Act was meant to appease Parliamentary hardliners, who would otherwise have impeded passage of the pacifying proposition. Unfortunately for North and prospects for peace, he had already sent General Thomas Gage orders to march on Concord, Massachusetts, to destroy the armaments stockpiled in the town, and take Patriot leaders John Hancock and Samuel Adams into custody. The orders were given in January 1775 and arrived in Boston before the Conciliatory Proposition. Thus, on April 18, 700 Redcoats marched towards Concord Bridge. The military action led to the Revolutionary War, the birth of the United States as a new nation, the temporary downfall of Lord North and the near abdication of King George III. The Treaty of Paris marking the conflict's end guaranteed New Englanders the right to fish off Newfoundland--the right denied them by the New England Restraining Act.
French Enlightenment Philosopher & Author Voltaire
• A bust of playwright Voltaire was crowned with a triumphant laurel wreath by actors on stage on this day in 1778 following the sixth performance of Voltaire's "Irène" at the Comédie-Française. This event was depicted in an engraving by Jean-Michel Moreau and Charles-Étienne Gaucher.
French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
• On this day in 1814 during the Napoleonic Wars, the Allied nations fighting France managed to capture Paris. European forces allied against Napoleonic France march triumphantly into Paris, formally ending a decade of French domination on the Continent. Napoleon, one of the greatest military strategists in history, seized control of the French state in 1800, and in 1804 was crowned emperor. By 1807, he controlled an empire that stretched across Europe. In 1812, however, he began to encounter the first significant defeats of his military career, suffering through a disastrous invasion of Russia, losing Spain to the Duke of Wellington, and enduring total defeat against an allied force in 1814. Exiled to the island of Elba, he escaped to France in early 1815 and raised a new Grand Army that enjoyed temporary success before its crushing defeat at Waterloo. He was then exiled to the island of St. Helena, where he died six years later.
• Murat issued the Rimini Declaration on this day in 1814. It would later inspire Italian Unification.
1822 - Congress combined East & West Florida into Florida Territory
1842 - Ether used as an anaesthetic for 1st time by Dr Crawford Long (Ga)
• 1856 - Russia signs Peace of Paris, ending the Crimean War
1858 - Pencil with attached eraser patented (Hyman L Lipman of Phila)
1863 - Danish prince Wilhelm Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg chosen as king George of Greece
French Enlightenment Philosopher VoltaireFrench Enlightenment Philosopher Voltaire 1864 - Skirmish at Mount Elba, Arkansas
1865 - -4] Battle at 5 Forks Virginia
1866 - Bedrich Smetana's "Verkaufte Braut" (Sold Bride), premieres
• U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward signed a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7 million (2 cents an acre) in what came to be known as Seward's Folly on this day in 1867. Despite the bargain price of roughly two cents an acre, the Alaskan purchase was ridiculed in Congress and in the press as "Seward's folly," "Seward's icebox," and President Andrew Johnson's "polar bear garden." The czarist government of Russia, which had established a presence in Alaska in the mid-18th century, first approached the United States about selling the territory during the administration of President James Buchanan, but negotiations were stalled by the outbreak of the Civil War. After 1865, Seward, a supporter of territorial expansion, was eager to acquire the tremendous landmass of Alaska, an area roughly one-fifth the size of the rest of the United States. He had some difficulty, however, making the case for the purchase of Alaska before the Senate, which ratified the treaty by a margin of just one vote on April 9, 1867. Six months later, Alaska was formally handed over from Russia to the United States. Despite a slow start in U.S. settlement, the discovery of gold in 1898 brought a rapid influx of people to the territory, and Alaska, rich in natural resources, has contributed to American prosperity ever since.
US buys Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 (2 cents an acre - Seward's Folly)
• The 15th Amendment to the American Constitution passed on this day in 1870, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race.
• In 1870 following the end of the American Civil War, Texas became the last of the Confederate States to be readmitted to Union.
1870 - Florida territorial government established.
• The Pandjeh Incident during the Battle for Kushka was fought on this day in 1885 in Afghanistan, and nearly sparked a war between the British Empire and Russian Empire.
1893 - Thomas F Bayard becomes 1st US ambassador in Great Britain
1895 - British inventor Birt Acres films Oxford and Cambridge boat race
1900 - Dutch 2nd Chamber accepts Compulsory education law
• In 1903 on this day, American troops entered Santo Domingo to protect American interests after receiving word of revolutionary activity in the Dominican Republic.
• On this day in 1905, American President Theodore Roosevelt was chosen to mediate peace talks to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese War.
1909 - Queensboro Bridge opens, linking Manhattan & Queens
1910 - Mississippi Legislature founded The University of Southern Mississippi.
1911 - Lötschberg tunnel in Switzerland (13,735 m) completed
• The French protectorate in Morocco was established on this day in 1912.
1916 - Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens (NHA) beat Portland Rosebuds (PCHA), 3 games to 2
1918 - Stanley Cup: Toronto Arenas (NHL) beat Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA), 3 games to 2
1919 - Belgian Army occupies Dusseldorf
Pacifist and Spiritual Leader Mahatma GandhiPacifist and Spiritual Leader Mahatma Gandhi 1919 - Gandhi announces resistance against Rowlatt Act
1919 - Paul Claudel's "Tête d'Or," premieres in Paris
1922 - KGY-AM in Olympia WA begins radio transmissions
1922 - WWL-AM in New Orleans LA begins radio transmissions
1923 - Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, formed at Howard U in 1920, incorporates
1925 - Stalin supports rights of non-Serbian Yugoslavians
1925 - Stanley Cup: Vict Cougars (WCHL) beat Canadiens (NHL), 3 games to 1
1930 - Babberich-H soccer team forms
1935 - Newfoundland changes time to 3½ hrs W of Greenwich, repeats 44 sec
1939 - The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets the world airspeed record of 463 mph.
1939 - First flight of the Australian C.A.C. CA-16 Wirraway.
1940 - 2nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Indiana U beats Kansas 60-42
• In 1940 on this day, the Japanese set up a puppet regime at Nanking, the former capital of Nationalist China. In 1937, Japan drummed up a rationale for war against Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist China (claiming Chinese troops attacked Japanese troops on maneuvers in a so-called "autonomous" region of China) and invaded northeastern China, bombing Shanghai and carving out a new state, Manchukuo. Money and supplies poured into Free China from the United States, Britain, and France, until the Burma Road, which permitted free passage of goods into China from the West, was closed after a Japanese invasion of Indochina. Making matters more difficult, Chiang was forced to fight on two fronts: one against the Japanese (with U.S. help in the person of Gen. Joseph Stillwell, Chiang's chief of staff), and another against his ongoing political nemesis, the Chinese Communists, led by Mao Tse-tung. (Although the United States advised concentrating on the Japanese first as the pre-eminent threat, Chiang was slow to listen.) The Japanese proceeded to prosecute a war of terror in Manchukuo. With the capture of Nanking (formerly the Nationalist Chinese capital, which was now relocated to Chungking) by the Central China Front Army in December 1937, atrocities virtually unparalleled commenced. The army, under orders of its commander, Gen. Matsui Iwane, carried out the mass execution of more than 50,000 civilians, as well as tens of thousands of rapes. Nanking and surrounding areas were burned and looted, with one-third of its buildings utterly destroyed. The "Rape of Nanking" galvanized Western animus against the Japanese. On March 30, 1940, Nanking was declared by the Japanese to be the center of a new Chinese government, a regime controlled by Wang Ching-wei, a defector from the Nationalist cause and now a Japanese puppet.
• There was a German counter-offensive in North-Africa on this day in 1941 during World War II.
1942 - 1st RSHA-transport from France arrives in camp Birkenau
1942 - SS murders 200 inmates of Trawniki labor camp
Soviet Union Premier Joseph StalinSoviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin 1943 - 5th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: U of Wyoming beat Georgetown 46-34
1943 - British 1st army recaptures Sejenane
1943 - Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!," premieres in NYC
1944 - 781 British bombers attack Neurenberg
1945 - 289 anti-fascists murdered by nazis in Rombergpark Dortmund
The flag of the USSR (Soviet Union)
• On this day in 1945 during the waning days of World War II in Europe, the Soviet Red Army crossed the border into Austria.
1945 - World War II: a defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 to Americans.
1946 - "St Louis Woman" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 113 performances
1946 - Australia beats NZ in cricket at 3 30pm on 2nd day
1946 - Last Test Cricket appearance of Bill O'Reilly (5-14 & 3-19)
1949 - Riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joined NATO.
1950 - Phototransistor invention announced, Murray Hill, NJ
Bust of Albert Einstein in Princeton, New Jersey, where he lived his final years.
• In 1953 on this day, Theoretical Physicist Albert Einstein announced a revised unified field theory.
1956 - USSR performs nuclear test
1957 - 1st performance of Walter Piston's 4th Symphony
1961 - NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 169,600' (51,690 m)
1961 - The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed at New York.
1963 - France performs underground nuclear test at Ecker Algeria
1964 - Astronaut John Glenn withdraws from Ohio senate race
1965 - Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.
• The iconic cover photo of the Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's" was taken on this day in 1967.
1968 - General Ludvik Svoboda elected president of Czechoslovakia
1972 - "Funny Thing Happened..." opens at Lunt-Fontanne NYC for 156 perfs
• North Vietnamese forces launched the "Easter Offensive" and entered South Vietnam on this day in 1972.
1972 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1973 - Ellsworth Bunker resigns as US ambassador to South Vietnam
1975 - Ron Lalonde scores the 1st hat trick by a Washington Capital
1976 - Israel kills 6 Palestinians protesting land confiscation
1978 - "History of the American Film" opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 21 perfs
1979 - Airey Neave, a British politician, is killed by a car bomb as he exits the Palace of Westminster. The Irish National Liberation Army claims responsibility.
1980 - Mark Medoff's "Children of a Lesser God," premieres in NYC
Statue of American President Ronald Reagan in Budapest
• On this day in 1981, American President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by a crazed drifter named John Hinckley Jr. The president had just finished addressing a labor meeting at the Washington Hilton Hotel and was walking with his entourage to his limousine when Hinckley, standing among a group of reporters, fired six shots at the president, hitting Reagan and three of his attendants. White House Press Secretary James Brady was shot in the head and critically wounded, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy was shot in the side, and District of Columbia policeman Thomas Delahaney was shot in the neck. After firing the shots, Hinckley was overpowered and pinned against a wall, and President Reagan, apparently unaware that he'd been shot, was shoved into his limousine by a Secret Service agent and rushed to the hospital. The president was shot in the left lung, and the .22 caliber bullet just missed his heart. In an impressive feat for a 70-year-old man with a collapsed lung, he walked into George Washington University Hospital under his own power. As he was treated and prepared for surgery, he was in good spirits and quipped to his wife, Nancy, ''Honey, I forgot to duck,'' and to his surgeons, "Please tell me you're Republicans." Reagan's surgery lasted two hours, and he was listed in stable and good condition afterward. The next day, the president resumed some of his executive duties and signed a piece of legislation from his hospital bed. On April 11, he returned to the White House. Reagan's popularity soared after the assassination attempt, and at the end of April he was given a hero's welcome by Congress. In August, this same Congress passed his controversial economic program, with several Democrats breaking ranks to back Reagan's plan. By this time, Reagan claimed to be fully recovered from the assassination attempt. In private, however, he would continue to feel the effects of the nearly fatal gunshot wound for years. Of the victims of the assassination attempt, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and D.C. policeman Thomas Delahaney eventually recovered. James Brady, who nearly died after being shot in the eye, suffered permanent brain damage. He later became an advocate of gun control, and in 1993 Congress passed the "Brady Bill," which established a five-day waiting period and background checks for prospective gun buyers. President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law. After being arrested on March 30, 1981, 25-year-old John Hinckley was booked on federal charges of attempting to assassinate the president. He had previously been arrested in Tennessee on weapons charges. In June 1982, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. In the trial, Hinckley's defense attorneys argued that their client was ill with narcissistic personality disorder, citing medical evidence, and had a pathological obsession with the 1976 film Taxi Driver, in which the main character attempts to assassinate a fictional senator. His lawyers claimed that Hinckley saw the movie more than a dozen times, was obsessed with the lead actress, Jodie Foster, and had attempted to reenact the events of the film in his own life. Thus the movie, not Hinckley, they argued, was the actual planning force behind the events that occurred on March 30, 1981. The verdict of "not guilty by reason of insanity" aroused widespread public criticism, and many were shocked that a would-be presidential assassin could avoid been held accountable for his crime. However, because of his obvious threat to society, he was placed in St. Elizabeth's Hospital, a mental institution. In the late 1990s, Hinckley's attorney began arguing that his mental illness was in remission and thus had a right to return to a normal life. Beginning in August 1999, he was allowed supervised day trips off the hospital grounds and later was allowed to visit his parents once a week unsupervised. The Secret Service voluntarily monitors him during these outings. If his mental illness remains in remission, he may one day be released.
1982 - 3rd space shuttle mission-Columbia 3 lands at White Sands, NM
1982 - John Pielmeier's "Agnes of God," premieres in NYC
1983 - Ray Cooney's "Run for your Wives," premieres in London
1983 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1984 - US ends participation in multinational Lebanon peace force
1987 - Vincent van Goghs "Sunflowers" sells for record 22.5M pounds ($39.7 million)
1991 - Northern Michigan wins its 1st NCAA hockey title
1991 - PBA National Championship Won by Mike Miller
1991 - William Kennedy Smith allegedly rapes a woman (found not guilty)
1992 - P J Patterson, resigns as 6th PM of Jamaica
1993 - French government of Balladur forms
1993 - Jamaican premier Percival Patterson wins parliamentary election
Earl of Wessex Prince EdwardEarl of Wessex Prince Edward 1996 - Prince Edward & girl-friend Sophie visited Graystoke Castle
2006 - Marcos Pontes is the first Brazilian astronaut in space.
2006 - UK Terrorism Act 2006 becomes law.
2012 - Spanish Government cuts 27 Billion Euros from its budget in one of its toughest austerity driver in history
2012 - Mastercard and Visa announce a massive breach in security with over ten million compromised credit card numbers
2012 - American Mega Millions lottery hits a world record lottery amount of 640 million dollars
• In 2013 on this day, North Korea declared that it is in a state of war with South Korea
• On this day in 2013, Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the rightful winner of the Kenyan presidential election by the Supreme Court.
1533 - Henry VIII divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. 1814 - The allied European nations against Napoleon marched into Paris. 1822 - Florida became a U.S. territory. 1842 - Dr. Crawford W. Long performed the first operation while his patient was anesthetized by ether. 1855 - About 5,000 "Border Ruffians" from western Missouri invaded the territory of Kansas and forced the election of a pro-slavery legislature. It was the first election in Kansas. 1858 - Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia patented the pencil. 1867 - The U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million dollars. 1870 - The 15th amendment, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race, was passed by the U.S. Congress. 1870 - Texas was readmitted to the Union. 1903 - Revolutionary activity in the Dominican Republic brought U.S. troops to Santo Domingo to protect American interests. 1905 - U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was chosen to mediate in the Russo-Japanese peace talks. 1909 - The Queensboro bridge in New York opened linking Manhattan and Queens. It was the first double decker bridge. 1909 - In Oklahoma, Seminole Indians revolted against meager pay for government jobs. 1916 - Pancho Villa killed 172 at the Guerrero garrison in Mexico. 1936 - Britain announced a naval construction program of 38 warships. 1940 - The Japanese set up a puppet government called Manchuko in Nanking, China. 1941 - The German Afrika Korps under General Erwin Rommel began its first offensive against British forces in Libya. 1944 - The U.S. fleet attacked Palau, near the Philippines. 1945 - The U.S.S.R. invaded Austria during World War II. 1946 - The Allies seized 1,000 Nazis attempting to revive the Nazi party in Frankfurt. 1947 - Lord Mountbatten arrived in India as the new Viceroy. 1950 - The invention of the phototransistor was announced. 1950 - U.S. President Truman denounced Senator Joe McCarthy as a saboteur of U.S. foreign policy. 1957 - Tunisia and Morocco signed a friendship treaty in Rabat. 1958 - The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater gave its initial performance. 1964 - "Jeopardy" debuted on NBC-TV. 1964 - John Glenn withdrew from the Ohio race for U.S. Senate because of injuries suffered in a fall. 1970 - "Applause" opened on Broadway. 1970 - "Another World - Somerset" debuted on NBC-TV. 1972 - The British government assumed direct rule over Northern Ireland. 1972 - The Eastertide Offensive began when North Vietnamese troops crossed into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the northern portion of South Vietnam. 1975 - As the North Vietnamese forces moved toward Saigon South Vietnamese soldiers mob rescue jets in desperation. 1981 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in Washington, DC, by John W. Hinckley Jr. Two police officers and Press Secretary James Brady were also wounded. 1982 - The space shuttle Columbia completed its third and its longest test flight after 8 days in space. 1984 - The U.S. ended its participation in the multinational peace force in Lebanon. 1987 - Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" was bought for $39.85 million. 1993 - In Sarajevo, two Serb militiamen were sentenced to death for war crimes committed in Bosnia. 1993 - In the Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown hit his first home run. 1994 - Serbs and Croats signed a cease-fire to end their war in Croatia while Bosnian Muslims and Serbs continued to fight each other. 1998 - Rolls-Royce was purchased by BMW in a $570 million deal. 2002 - An unmanned U.S. spy plane crashed at sea in the Southern Philippines. 2002 - Suspected Islamic militants set off several grenades at a temple in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Four civilians, four policemen and two attackers were killed and 20 people were injured.
1842 Anesthesia was used for the first time in an operation. 1856 The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Crimean War. 1867 A treaty for the purchase of Alaska from Russia for the sum of 7.2 million, approximately two cents an acre, was submitted to the U.S. Senate. 1870 The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race. 1964 The game show Jeopardy debuted on television. 1981 President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest by John Hinckley as he left a Washington hotel. 2002 The Queen Mother Elizabeth of England died at the age of 101.
The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:
http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/mar30.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
