April 30 facts for kids

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

April 30th is a day filled with many important events throughout history, from ancient times to the modern era. It's a day when big changes happened, new discoveries were made, and famous people were born or passed away. Let's explore some of the key moments that have shaped our world on this date.

Important Events on April 30

Historical Moments Before 1600

• 311 – The difficult time for Christians in the Roman Empire, known as the Diocletianic Persecution, comes to an end.
• 1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus official permission for his famous journey of exploration. He is named a top admiral and governor of any new lands he finds.
• 1513 – Edmund de la Pole, who wanted to be king of England, is ordered to be put to death by Henry VIII.
• 1598 – Juan de Oñate begins to take control of Santa Fe de Nuevo México for Spain.
• 1598 – Henry IV of France issues the Edict of Nantes, which gives freedom of religion to the Huguenots (French Protestants).

Major Events from 1601 to 1900

• 1636 – During the Eighty Years' War, forces from the Dutch Republic take back an important fort from Spain after a long nine-month siege.
• 1789 – On a balcony in New York City, George Washington takes his oath of office to become the very first President of the United States.
• 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase happens! The United States buys the huge Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million. This deal more than doubles the size of the young country.
• 1812 – The Territory of Orleans officially becomes the 18th U.S. state and is named Louisiana.
• 1838 – Nicaragua declares its independence from the Federal Republic of Central America.
• 1863 – In the Battle of Camarón in Mexico, a small group of 65 soldiers from the French Foreign Legion bravely fights against nearly 2,000 Mexican soldiers until almost all of them are gone.
• 1871 – The Camp Grant massacre takes place in Arizona Territory.
• 1885 – The Governor of New York, David B. Hill, signs a law to create the Niagara Reservation. This is New York's first state park, making sure that Niagara Falls is protected and not just used for factories.
• 1897 – J. J. Thomson announces his discovery of the electron at a lecture in London. The electron is a tiny subatomic particle, much smaller than a proton.
• 1900 – Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as its governor.

Significant Events from 1901 to Today

• 1905 – Albert Einstein finishes his important doctoral paper at the University of Zurich.
• 1925 – The car company Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold for a large sum of money.
• 1927 – The Federal Industrial Institute for Women opens in West Virginia. It is the first federal prison for women in the United States.
• 1937 – The Philippine Commonwealth holds a vote for Filipino women to decide if they should have the right to vote. More than 90% vote yes!
• 1939 – The 1939 New York World's Fair opens, showing off new ideas and technologies.
• 1939 – NBC starts its regular television broadcasts in New York City, showing President Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech at the World's Fair.
• 1943 – During World War II, a British submarine secretly releases a dead body dressed as a courier with fake invasion plans near Spain.
• 1945 – World War II ends for some. In the Führerbunker, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun take their own lives. Soviet soldiers raise their flag over the Reichstag building in Berlin.
• 1945 – The Stalag Luft I prisoner-of-war camp in Germany is freed by Soviet soldiers, releasing nearly 9,000 American and British airmen.
• 1947 – In Nevada, Boulder Dam is officially renamed Hoover Dam.
• 1948 – The Organization of American States is created in Colombia.
• 1956 – Former Vice President Alben W. Barkley passes away during a speech in Virginia.
• 1957 – A new international agreement, the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, comes into effect, working to end slavery worldwide.
• 1961 – K-19, the first Soviet nuclear submarine with nuclear missiles, is officially put into service.
• 1963 – The Bristol Bus Boycott takes place in England to protest a bus company's refusal to hire Black or Asian bus workers. This event brings attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom.
• 1973 – In the Watergate scandal, U.S. President Richard Nixon makes changes to his staff.
• 1975 – The Fall of Saigon occurs, as Communist forces take control of Saigon. The Vietnam War officially ends.
• 1979 – Mount Marapi, a volcano in Indonesia, erupts, sadly killing many people.
• 1980 – Beatrix becomes Queen of the Netherlands after her mother, Juliana, steps down.
• 1980 – The Iranian Embassy siege begins in London.
• 1982 – The Bijon Setu massacre happens in Calcutta, India.
• 1993 – CERN announces that the rules for the World Wide Web will be free for everyone to use.
• 1994 – Formula One racing driver Roland Ratzenberger is tragically killed in a crash during a qualifying session in Italy.
• 2000 – Faustina Kowalska is made a saint in front of 200,000 people, and the first Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated globally.
• 2008 – Scientists confirm that two sets of skeletal remains found in Russia belong to Alexei and Anastasia, two children of the last Russian Tsar, who were killed by the Bolsheviks.
• 2009 – The car company Chrysler files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• 2009 – An attack happens during a parade in the Netherlands, attempting to harm Queen Beatrix, resulting in the deaths of several civilians and the attacker.
• 2012 – An overloaded ferry capsizes on the Brahmaputra River in India, causing at least 103 deaths.
• 2013 – Willem-Alexander becomes King of the Netherlands after his mother, Beatrix, steps down.

People Born on April 30

Births Before 1600

• 1310 – King Casimir III of Poland (d. 1368)
• 1331 – Gaston III, Count of Foix (d. 1391)
• 1383 – Anne of Gloucester, an English countess and granddaughter of King Edward III of England (d. 1438)
• 1425 – William III, Landgrave of Thuringia (d. 1482)
• 1504 – Francesco Primaticcio, an Italian painter (d. 1570)
• 1553 – Louise of Lorraine (d. 1601)

Births from 1601 to 1900

• 1623 – François de Laval, a French-Canadian bishop and saint (d. 1708)
• 1651 – Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, a French priest and saint (d. 1719)
• 1662 – Mary II of England (d. 1694)
• 1664 – François Louis, Prince of Conti (d. 1709)
• 1770 – David Thompson, an English-Canadian mapmaker and explorer (d. 1857)
• 1777 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, a famous German mathematician and physicist (d. 1855)
• 1857 – Eugen Bleuler, a Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1940)
• 1869 – Hans Poelzig, a German architect (d. 1936)
• 1870 – Franz Lehár, a Hungarian composer (d. 1948)
• 1870 – Dadasaheb Phalke, an Indian director and producer, known as the "father of Indian cinema" (d. 1944)
• 1897 – Humberto Mauro, a Brazilian director and screenwriter (d. 1983)
• 1900 – Erni Krusten, an Estonian author and poet (d. 1984)

Births from 1901 to Today

• 1901 – Simon Kuznets, a Belarusian-American economist and Nobel Prize winner (d. 1985)
• 1902 – Theodore Schultz, an American economist and Nobel Prize winner (d. 1998)
• 1909 – Juliana of the Netherlands, former Queen of the Netherlands (d. 2004)
• 1916 – Claude Shannon, an American mathematician and engineer, known as the "father of information theory" (d. 2001)
• 1920 – Tom Moore, a British army officer who became famous for his fundraising during the pandemic (d. 2021)
• 1921 – Roger L. Easton, an American scientist who helped invent the GPS (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Cloris Leachman, an American actress and comedian (d. 2021)
• 1938 – Larry Niven, an American science fiction author
• 1946 – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
• 1949 – António Guterres, a Portuguese politician who is currently the Secretary-General of the United Nations
• 1954 – Jane Campion, a New Zealand director and screenwriter, known for her award-winning films
• 1956 – Lars von Trier, a Danish director and screenwriter
• 1959 – Stephen Harper, a Canadian economist and former Prime Minister of Canada
• 1961 – Isiah Thomas, an American basketball player and coach
• 1963 – Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, the current King of the Netherlands
• 1975 – Johnny Galecki, an American actor
• 1976 – Amanda Palmer, an American singer-songwriter
• 1976 – Victor J. Glover, an American astronaut
• 1981 – Kunal Nayyar, a British-Indian actor
• 1982 – Kirsten Dunst, an American actress
• 1985 – Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress and model
• 1986 – Dianna Agron, an American actress and singer
• 1988 – Ana de Armas, a Cuban actress
• 1991 – Travis Scott, an American rapper and producer

People Who Passed Away on April 30

Deaths Before 1600

• AD 65 – Lucan, a Roman poet (b. 39)
• 125 – An, a Chinese emperor (b. 94)
• 535 – Amalasuntha, an Ostrogothic queen
• 783 – Hildegard of the Vinzgau, a Frankish queen
• 1030 – Mahmud of Ghazni, a Ghaznavid emir (b. 971)
• 1063 – Ren Zong, a Chinese emperor (b. 1010)
• 1131 – Adjutor, a French knight and saint
• 1305 – Roger de Flor, an Italian military adventurer (b. 1267)
• 1439 – Richard de Beauchamp, an English commander (b. 1382)
• 1524 – Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard, a French soldier (b. 1473)
• 1544 – Thomas Audley, an English lawyer and Lord Chancellor (b. 1488)
• 1550 – Tabinshwehti, a Burmese king (b. 1516)

Deaths from 1601 to 1900

• 1632 – Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, a Bavarian general (b. 1559)
• 1632 – Sigismund III Vasa, a Swedish-Polish king (b. 1566)
• 1672 – Marie of the Incarnation, a French-Canadian nun and saint (b. 1599)
• 1792 – John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, an English politician (b. 1718)
• 1863 – Jean Danjou, a French captain (b. 1828)
• 1865 – Robert FitzRoy, an English admiral and meteorologist, who was also the second Governor of New Zealand (b. 1805)
• 1883 – Édouard Manet, a famous French painter (b. 1832)
• 1900 – Casey Jones, a brave American railroad engineer (b. 1864)

Deaths from 1901 to Today

• 1903 – Emily Stowe, a Canadian physician and activist (b. 1831)
• 1926 – Bessie Coleman, an American pilot, the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license (b. 1892)
• 1936 – A. E. Housman, an English poet and scholar (b. 1859)
• 1945 – Eva Braun, wife of Adolf Hitler (b. 1912)
• 1945 – Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany (b. 1889)
• 1956 – Alben W. Barkley, a former Vice President of the United States (b. 1877)
• 1974 – Agnes Moorehead, an American actress (b. 1900)
• 1983 – George Balanchine, a Russian dancer and choreographer (b. 1904)
• 1983 – Muddy Waters, an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1913)
• 1989 – Sergio Leone, an Italian director, known for his Western films (b. 1929)
• 1994 – Roland Ratzenberger, an Austrian race car driver (b. 1960)
• 1994 – Richard Scarry, an American author and illustrator of popular children's books (b. 1919)
• 2015 – Ben E. King, an American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
• 2016 – Harry Kroto, an English chemist and Nobel Prize winner (b. 1939)
• 2019 – Peter Mayhew, an English-American actor, famous for playing Chewbacca in Star Wars (b. 1944)
• 2020 – Rishi Kapoor, an Indian actor and film producer (b. 1952)
• 2022 – Naomi Judd, an American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
• 2023 – Jock Zonfrillo, a Scottish television presenter and chef (b. 1976)

Holidays and Celebrations

April 30th is a day for many special celebrations around the world:

• Armed Forces Day (Georgia)
• Camarón Day (French Foreign Legion)
• Children's Day (Mexico)
• Honesty Day (United States)
• International Jazz Day (UNESCO)
• Martyrs' Day (Pakistan)
• May Eve, the night before the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere:
  • Beltane begins at sunset in the Northern Hemisphere.
  • Walpurgis Night is celebrated in Central and Northern Europe.
• National Persian Gulf Day (Iran)
• Reunification Day (Vietnam)
• Rincon Day (Bonaire)
• Russian State Fire Service Day (Russia)
• Teachers' Day (Paraguay)

See also

In Spanish: 30 de abril para niños