Today in History

Today is Saturday, April 30, the 120th day of 2022. There are 245 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 30, 1945, as Soviet troops approached his Berlin bunker, Adolf Hitler took his own life along with that of his wife of one day, Eva Braun.

On this date:

In 1789, George Washington took the oath of office in New York as the first president of the United States.

In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for 60 million francs, the equivalent of about $15 million.

In 1812, Louisiana became the 18th state of the Union.

In 1900, engineer John Luther “Casey” Jones of the Illinois Central Railroad died in a train wreck near Vaughan, Mississippi, after staying at the controls in a successful effort to save the passengers.

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed a resolution officially confirming the name of Hoover Dam, which had also come to be known as “Boulder Dam.”

In 1958, Britain’s Life Peerages Act 1958 allowed women to become members of the House of Lords.

In 1970, President Richard Nixon announced the U.S. was sending troops into Cambodia, an action that sparked widespread protest.

In 1973, President Richard Nixon announced the resignations of top aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst and White House counsel John Dean, who was actually fired.

In 1975, the Vietnam War ended as the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces.

In 1983, blues singer and guitarist Muddy Waters died in Westmont, Illinois, at age 68.

In 1993, top-ranked women’s tennis player Monica Seles was stabbed in the back during a match in Hamburg, Germany, by a man who described himself as a fan of second-ranked German player Steffi Graf. (The man, convicted of causing grievous bodily harm, was given a suspended sentence.)

In 2004, Arabs expressed outrage at graphic photographs of naked Iraqi prisoners being humiliated by U.S. military police; President George W. Bush condemned the mistreatment of prisoners, saying “that’s not the way we do things in America.”

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (yoh-shih-HEE’-koh NOH’-duh), meeting at the White House, decried aggressive acts from North Korea, including a recent failed rocket launch, and vowed to maintain a unified front against such provocations. A ferry carrying more than 300 people capsized in a river in northeast India, killing some 100 people and leaving about as many missing.

Five years ago: President Donald Trump said after North Korea’s latest failed rocket launch that communist leader Kim Jong Un would eventually develop better missiles, and that “we can’t allow it to happen”; in a taped interview broadcast on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” the president would not discuss the possibility of military action.

One year ago: The Transportation Security Administration said it was keeping in place a requirement that people wear masks on planes and all other forms of public transit because of COVID-19. Disneyland in Southern California reopened its gates after a 13-month closure caused by the coronavirus; capacity was limited for the reopening, and only California residents were allowed in. A stampede at a religious festival in northern Israel left 45 ultra-Orthodox Jews dead and about 150 others injured.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Willie Nelson is 89. Actor Burt Young is 82. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is 76. Movie director Allan Arkush is 74. Actor Perry King is 74. Singer-musician Wayne Kramer is 74. Singer Merrill Osmond is 69. Movie director Jane Campion is 68. Movie director Lars von Trier is 66. Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is 63. Actor Paul Gross is 63. Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas is 61. Actor Adrian Pasdar is 57. Rock singer J.R. Richards (Dishwalla) is 55. Rapper Turbo B (Snap) is 55. Rock musician Clark Vogeler is 53. R&B singer Chris “Choc” Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 51. Rock musician Chris Henderson (3 Doors Down) is 51. Country singer Carolyn Dawn Johnson is 51. Actor Lisa Dean Ryan is 50. R&B singer Akon is 49. R&B singer Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees) is 49. Actor Johnny Galecki is 47. Actor Sam Heughan is 42. Actor Kunal Nayyar is 41. Rapper Lloyd Banks is 40. Actor Kirsten Dunst is 40. Actor Dianna Agron is 36. Country singer Brandon Lancaster is 33. Rapper/producer Travis Scott is 31.

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