Today in History: April 30

Today is Tuesday, April 30, the 121st day of 2024. There are 245 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 30, 1975, the Vietnam War ended as the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces.

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 1945, as Soviet troops approached his Berlin bunker, Adolf Hitler took his own life, as did his wife of one day, Eva Braun.

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 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.”

In 2021, Disneyland 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.

In 2022, Naomi Judd, the Kentucky-born singer of the Grammy-winning duo The Judds and mother of Wynonna and Ashley Judd, died at age 76.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Willie Nelson is 91. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is 78. Movie director Allan Arkush is 76. Actor Perry King is 76. Singer Merrill Osmond is 71. Movie director Jane Campion is 70. Movie director Lars von Trier is 68. Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is 65. Actor Paul Gross is 65. Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas is 63. Actor Adrian Pasdar is 59. Rock singer J.R. Richards (Dishwalla) is 57. Rapper Turbo B (Snap) is 57. Rock musician Clark Vogeler (Toadies) is 55. Rock musician Chris Henderson (3 Doors Down) is 53. Country singer Carolyn Dawn Johnson is 54. Actor Lisa Dean Ryan is 53. R&B singer Akon is 52. R&B singer Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees) is 51. Actor Johnny Galecki is 49. Actor Sam Heughan is 44. Actor Kunal Nayyar is 43. Rapper Lloyd Banks is 42. Actor Kirsten Dunst is 42. Actor Dianna Agron is 38. Country singer Brandon Lancaster is 35. Rapper/producer Travis Scott is 33.