April 30

April 30 in recent years

2024 (Tuesday)

2023 (Sunday)

2022 (Saturday)

2021 (Friday)

2020 (Thursday)

2019 (Tuesday)

2018 (Monday)

2017 (Sunday)

2016 (Saturday)

2015 (Thursday)

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.

Events

• 311 – The Diocletianic Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire ends.
• 313 – Battle of Tzirallum: Emperor Licinius defeats Maximinus II and unifies the Eastern Roman Empire.
• 642 – Chindasuinth is proclaimed king by the Visigothic nobility and bishops.
• 1315 – Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged at the instigation of Charles, Count of Valois.
• 1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.
• 1513 – Edmund de la Pole, Yorkist pretender to the English throne, is executed on the orders of Henry VIII.
• 1557 – Mapuche leader Lautaro is killed by Spanish forces at the Battle of Mataquito in Chile.
• 1598 – Juan de Oñate begins the conquest of Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
• 1598 – Henry IV of France issues the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom of religion to the Huguenots.
• 1636 – Eighty Years' War: Dutch Republic forces recapture a strategically important fort from Spain after a nine-month siege.
• 1671 – Petar Zrinski, the Croatian Ban from the Zrinski family, is executed.
• 1789 – On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.
• 1803 – Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling the size of the young nation.
• 1812 – The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.
• 1838 – Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation.
• 1863 – A 65-man French Foreign Legion infantry patrol fights a force of nearly 2,000 Mexican soldiers to nearly the last man in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico.
• 1871 – The Camp Grant massacre takes place in Arizona Territory.
• 1885 – Governor of New York David B. Hill signs legislation creating the Niagara Reservation, New York's first state park, ensuring that Niagara Falls will not be devoted solely to industrial and commercial use.
• 1897 – J. J. Thomson of the Cavendish Laboratory announces his discovery of the electron as a subatomic particle, over 1,800 times smaller than a proton (in the atomic nucleus), at a lecture at the Royal Institution in London.
• 1900 – Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.
• 1904 – The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair opens in St. Louis, Missouri.
• 1905 – Albert Einstein completes his doctoral thesis at the University of Zurich.
• 1925 – Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Co. for US$146 million plus $50 million for charity.
• 1927 – The Federal Industrial Institute for Women opens in Alderson, West Virginia, as the first women's federal prison in the United States.
• 1927 – Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
• 1937 – The Commonwealth of the Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative.
• 1938 – The animated cartoon short Porky's Hare Hunt debuts in movie theaters, introducing Happy Rabbit, an early version of Bugs Bunny.
• 1939 – The 1939-40 New York World's Fair opens.
• 1939 – NBC inaugurates its regularly scheduled television service in New York City, broadcasting President Franklin D. Roosevelt's N.Y. World's Fair opening day ceremonial address.
• 1943 – World War II: The British submarine HMS Seraph surfaces near Huelva to cast adrift a dead man dressed as a courier and carrying false invasion plans.
• 1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for less than 40 hours. Soviet soldiers raise the Victory Banner over the Reichstag building.
• 1945 – World War II: Stalag Luft I prisoner-of-war camp near Barth, Germany is liberated by Soviet soldiers, freeing nearly 9000 American and British airmen.
• 1947 – In Nevada, Boulder Dam is renamed Hoover Dam.
• 1948 – In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established.
• 1956 – Former Vice President and Democratic Senator Alben Barkley dies during a speech in Virginia.
• 1957 – Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery entered into force.
• 1961 – K-19, the first Soviet nuclear submarine equipped with nuclear missiles, is commissioned.
• 1963 – The Bristol Bus Boycott is held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus Company's refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom.
• 1966 – The Church of Satan is formed in The Black House, San Francisco.
• 1973 – Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces that White House Counsel John Dean has been fired and that other top aides, most notably H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, have resigned.
• 1975 – Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gain control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Dương Văn Minh.
• 1980 – Beatrix is inaugurated as Queen of the Netherlands following the abdication of Juliana.
• 1980 – The Iranian Embassy siege begins in London.
• 1982 – The Bijon Setu massacre occurs in Calcutta, India.
• 1993 – CERN announces World Wide Web protocols will be free.
• 1994 – Formula One racing driver Roland Ratzenberger is killed in a crash during the qualifying session of the San Marino Grand Prix run at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari outside Imola, Italy.
• 1997 – Ellen DeGeneres' character on her sitcom, Ellen comes out as gay, making the show one of the first major television shows featuring an openly gay main character.
• 1998 – Daniel V. Jones, an American maintenance worker, commits suicide on live television in Los Angeles, California.
• 1999 – A nail bombing in the Admiral Duncan pub in Soho, London kills three and injures seventy-nine.
• 2000 – Canonization of Faustina Kowalska in the presence of 200,000 people and the first Divine Mercy Sunday celebrated worldwide.
• 2004 – U.S. media release graphic photos of American soldiers abusing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.
• 2008 – Two skeletal remains found near Yekaterinburg, Russia are confirmed by Russian scientists to be the remains of Alexei and Anastasia, two of the children of the last Tsar of Russia, whose entire family was executed at Yekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks.
• 2009 – Chrysler files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• 2009 – Seven civilians and the perpetrator are killed and another ten injured at a Queen's Day parade in Apeldoorn, Netherlands in an attempted assassination on Queen Beatrix.
• 2012 – An overloaded ferry capsizes on the Brahmaputra River in India killing at least 103 people.
• 2013 – Willem-Alexander is inaugurated as King of the Netherlands following the abdication of Beatrix.
• 2014 – A bomb blast in Ürümqi, China kills three people and injures 79 others.
• 2019 – Emperor of Japan Akihito abdicates, and is succeeded by his son, Naruhito.

Births

• 1245 – Philip III of France (d. 1285)
• 1310 – King Casimir III of Poland (d. 1368)
• 1331 – Gaston III, Count of Foix (d. 1391)
• 1383 – Anne of Gloucester, English countess, granddaughter of King Edward III of England (d. 1438)
• 1425 – William III, Landgrave of Thuringia (d. 1482)
• 1504 – Francesco Primaticcio, Italian painter (d. 1570)
• 1553 – Louise of Lorraine (d. 1601)
• 1623 – François de Laval, French-Canadian bishop and saint (d. 1708)
• 1651 – Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, French priest and saint (d. 1719)
• 1662 – Mary II of England (d. 1694)
• 1664 – François Louis, Prince of Conti (d. 1709)
• 1710 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (d. 1795)
• 1723 – Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French zoologist and philosopher (d. 1806)
• 1758 – Emmanuel Vitale, Maltese commander and politician (d. 1802)
• 1770 – David Thompson, English-Canadian cartographer and explorer (d. 1857)
• 1777 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician and physicist (d. 1855)
• 1803 – Albrecht von Roon, Prussian soldier and politician, 10th Minister President of Prussia (d. 1879)
• 1829 – Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist and academic (d. 1884)
• 1857 – Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist and eugenicist (d. 1940)
• 1857 – Walter Simon, German banker and philanthropist (d. 1920)
• 1865 – Max Nettlau, German historian and academic (d. 1944)
• 1866 – Mary Haviland Stilwell Kuesel, American pioneer dentist (d. 1936)
• 1869 – Hans Poelzig, German architect, designed the IG Farben Building and Großes Schauspielhaus (d. 1936)
• 1870 – Franz Lehár, Hungarian composer (d. 1948)
• 1870 – Dadasaheb Phalke, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1944)
• 1871 – Fielding Yost, American football player and coach (d. 1946)
• 1874 – Cyriel Verschaeve, Flemish priest and author (d. 1949)
• 1876 – Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist and politician (d. 1937)
• 1877 – Léon Flameng, French cyclist (d. 1917)
• 1877 – Alice B. Toklas, American memoirist (d. 1967)
• 1880 – Charles Exeter Devereux Crombie, Scottish cartoonist (d. 1967)
• 1883 – Jaroslav Hašek, Czech soldier and author (d. 1923)
• 1883 – Luigi Russolo, Italian painter and composer (d. 1947)
• 1884 – Olof Sandborg, Swedish actor (d. 1965)
• 1888 – John Crowe Ransom, American poet, critic, and academic (d. 1974)
• 1893 – Harold Breen, Australian public servant (d. 1966)
• 1893 – Joachim von Ribbentrop, German soldier and politician, 14th German Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1946)
• 1895 – Philippe Panneton, Canadian physician, academic, and diplomat (d. 1960)
• 1896 – Reverend Gary Davis, American singer and guitarist (d. 1972)
• 1896 – Hans List, Austrian scientist and businessman, founded the AVL Engineering Company (d. 1996)
• 1897 – Humberto Mauro, Brazilian director and screenwriter (d. 1983)
• 1900 – Erni Krusten, Estonian author and poet (d. 1984)
• 1900 – Cecily Lefort, English World War II heroine, spy for the SOE (d. 1945)
• 1901 – Simon Kuznets, Belarusian-American economist, statistician, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
• 1902 – Theodore Schultz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
• 1905 – Sergey Nikolsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2012)
• 1908 – Eve Arden, American actress (d. 1990)
• 1908 – Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic journalist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1970)
• 1908 – Frank Robert Miller, Canadian air marshal and politician (d. 1997)
• 1909 – F. E. McWilliam, Irish sculptor and educator (d. 1992)
• 1909 – Juliana of the Netherlands (d. 2004)
• 1910 – Levi Celerio, Filipino pianist, violinist, and composer (d. 2002)
• 1914 – Charles Beetham, American middle-distance runner (d. 1997)
• 1914 – Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer-songwriter, actor, and painter (d. 2008)
• 1916 – Claude Shannon, American mathematician and engineer (d. 2001)
• 1916 – Paul Kuusberg, Estonian journalist and author (d. 2003)
• 1916 – Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Bea Wain, American singer (d. 2017)
• 1920 – Duncan Hamilton, Irish-English race car driver and pilot (d. 1994)
• 1921 – Roger L. Easton, American scientist, co-invented the GPS (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Anton Murray, South African cricketer (d. 1995)
• 1923 – Percy Heath, American bassist (d. 2005)
• 1923 – Kagamisato Kiyoji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 42nd Yokozuna (d. 2004)
• 1924 – Uno Laht, Estonian KGB officer and author (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Corinne Calvet, French actress (d. 2001)
• 1925 – Johnny Horton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1960)
• 1926 – Shrinivas Khale, Indian composer (d. 2011)
• 1926 – Cloris Leachman, American actress and comedian
• 1928 – Hugh Hood, Canadian author and academic (d. 2000)
• 1928 – Orlando Sirola, Italian tennis player (d. 1995)
• 1930 – Félix Guattari, French psychotherapist and philosopher (d. 1992)
• 1933 – Charles Sanderson, Baron Sanderson of Bowden, English politician
• 1934 – Jerry Lordan, English singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
• 1934 – Don McKenney, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1937 – Tony Harrison, English poet and playwright
• 1938 – Gary Collins, American actor and talk show host (d. 2012)
• 1938 – Juraj Jakubisko, Slovak director and screenwriter
• 1938 – Larry Niven, American author and screenwriter
• 1940 – Jeroen Brouwers, Dutch journalist and writer
• 1940 – Michael Cleary, Australian rugby player and politician
• 1941 – Stavros Dimas, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1941 – Max Merritt, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter
• 1942 – Sallehuddin of Kedah, Sultan of Kedah
• 1943 – Frederick Chiluba, Zambian politician, 2nd President of Zambia (d. 2011)
• 1943 – Bobby Vee, American pop singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
• 1944 – Jon Bing, Norwegian author, scholar, and academic (d. 2014)
• 1944 – Jill Clayburgh, American actress (d. 2010)
• 1945 – J. Michael Brady, British radiologist
• 1945 – Annie Dillard, American novelist, essayist, and poet
• 1945 – Mimi Fariña, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist (d. 2001)
• 1945 – Michael J. Smith, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1986)
• 1946 – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
• 1946 – Bill Plympton, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
• 1946 – Don Schollander, American swimmer
• 1947 – Paul Fiddes, English theologian and academic
• 1947 – Finn Kalvik, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1947 – Tom Køhlert, Danish footballer and manager
• 1947 – Mats Odell, Swedish economist and politician, Swedish Minister for Financial Markets
• 1948 – Wayne Kramer, American guitarist and singer-songwriter
• 1948 – Pierre Pagé, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1948 – Margit Papp, Hungarian athlete
• 1949 – Phil Garner, American baseball player and manager
• 1949 – António Guterres, Portuguese academic and politician, 114th Prime Minister of Portugal and 9th Secretary-General of the United Nations
• 1949 – Karl Meiler, German tennis player (d. 2014)
• 1952 – Jacques Audiard, French director and screenwriter
• 1952 – Jack Middelburg, Dutch motorcycle racer (d. 1984)
• 1953 – Merrill Osmond, American singer and bass player
• 1954 – Jane Campion, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1954 – Kim Darroch, English diplomat, UK Permanent Representative to the European Union
• 1954 – Frank-Michael Marczewski, German footballer
• 1955 – Nicolas Hulot, French journalist and environmentalist
• 1955 – David Kitchin, English lawyer and judge
• 1955 – Zlatko Topčić, Bosnian writer and screenwriter
• 1956 – Lars von Trier, Danish director and screenwriter
• 1957 – Wonder Mike, American rapper and songwriter
• 1958 – Charles Berling, French actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1959 – Stephen Harper, Canadian economist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Canada
• 1960 – David Miscavige, leader of Church of Scientology
• 1960 – Geoffrey Cox, English lawyer and politician
• 1960 – Kerry Healey, American academic and politician, 70th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
• 1960 – Y. S. Chandrashekhar, American physician and scientist
• 1961 – Arnór Guðjohnsen, Icelandic footballer
• 1961 – Isiah Thomas, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1963 – Andrew Carwood, English tenor and conductor
• 1963 – Michael Waltrip, American race car driver and sportscaster
• 1964 – Tony Fernandes, Malaysian-Indian businessman, co-founded Tune Group
• 1964 – Abhishek Chatterjee, Indian actor
• 1964 – Ian Healy, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
• 1964 – Pooky Quesnel, English actress, screenwriter and singer
• 1964 – Lorenzo Staelens, Belgian footballer and manager
• 1965 – Daniela Costian, Romanian-Australian discus thrower
• 1966 – Jeff Brown, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1966 – Dave Meggett, American football player and coach
• 1967 – Phil Chang, Taiwanese singer-songwriter and actor
• 1967 – Philipp Kirkorov, Russian pop singer of Bulgarian origin
• 1969 – Warren Defever, American bass player and producer
• 1969 – Justine Greening, English accountant and politician, Secretary of State for International Development
• 1969 – Paulo Jr., Brazilian bass player
• 1972 – Takako Tokiwa, Japanese actress
• 1973 – Leigh Francis, English comedian and actor
• 1974 – Christian Tamminga, Dutch athlete
• 1975 – Johnny Galecki, American actor
• 1975 – Elliott Sadler, American race car driver
• 1976 – Davian Clarke, Jamaican sprinter
• 1976 – Amanda Palmer, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1976 – Daniel Wagon, Australian rugby league player
• 1977 – Jeannie Haddaway, American politician
• 1977 – Meredith L. Patterson, American technologist, journalist, and author
• 1978 – Liljay, Taiwanese singer
• 1979 – Gerardo Torrado, Mexican footballer
• 1979 – Sean Mackin, American musician
• 1980 – Luis Scola, Argentinian basketball player
• 1980 – Jeroen Verhoeven, Dutch footballer
• 1981 – Nicole Kaczmarski, American basketball player
• 1981 – John O'Shea, Irish footballer
• 1981 – Kunal Nayyar, British-Indian actor
• 1981 – Justin Vernon, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer
• 1982 – Kirsten Dunst, American actress
• 1982 – Drew Seeley, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
• 1983 – Chris Carr, American football player
• 1983 – Tatjana Hüfner, German luger
• 1983 – Marina Tomić, Slovenian hurdler
• 1983 – Troy Williamson, American football player
• 1984 – Seimone Augustus, American basketball player
• 1984 – Shawn Daivari, American wrestler and manager
• 1984 – Risto Mätas, Estonian javelin thrower
• 1984 – Lee Roache, English footballer
• 1985 – Brandon Bass, American basketball player
• 1985 – Gal Gadot, Israeli actress and model
• 1985 – Ashley Alexandra Dupré, American journalist, singer, and prostitute
• 1986 – Dianna Agron, American actress and singer
• 1986 – Martten Kaldvee, Estonian biathlete
• 1987 – Alipate Carlile, Australian footballer
• 1987 – Chris Morris, South African cricketer
• 1987 – Rohit Sharma, Indian cricketer
• 1988 – Andy Allen, Australian chef
• 1988 – Sander Baart, Dutch field hockey player
• 1988 – Liu Xijun, Chinese singer
• 1988 – Oh Hye-ri, South Korean taekwondo athlete
• 1989 – Jang Wooyoung, South Korean singer and actor (2PM)
• 1990 – Jonny Brownlee, English triathlete
• 1990 – Mac DeMarco, Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1990 – Kaarel Kiidron, Estonian footballer
• 1991 – Chris Kreider, American ice hockey player
• 1992 – Travis Scott, American rapper and producer
• 1992 – Marc-André ter Stegen, German footballer
• 1993 – Dion Dreesens, Dutch swimmer
• 1994 – Chae Seo-jin, South Korean actress
• 1994 – Wang Yafan, Chinese tennis player
• 1996 – Luke Friend, English singer
• 1997 – Adam Ryczkowski, Polish footballer
• 1999 – Jorden van Foreest, Dutch chess grandmaster
• 2003 – Jung Yun-seok, South Korean actor

Deaths

• AD 65 – Lucan, Roman poet (b. 39)
• 125 – An, Chinese emperor (b. 94)
• 535 – Amalasuntha, Ostrogothic queen and regent
• 783 – Hildegard of the Vinzgau, Frankish queen
• 1002 – Eckard I, German nobleman
• 1030 – Mahmud of Ghazni, Ghaznavid emir (b. 971)
• 1063 – Ren Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1010)
• 1131 – Adjutor, French knight and saint
• 1305 – Roger de Flor, Italian military adventurer (b. 1267)
• 1341 – John III, duke of Brittany (b. 1286)
• 1439 – Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, English commander (b. 1382)
• 1524 – Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard, French soldier (b. 1473)
• 1544 – Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1488)
• 1550 – Tabinshwehti, Burmese king (b. 1516)
• 1632 – Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, Bavarian general (b. 1559)
• 1632 – Sigismund III Vasa, Swedish-Polish son of John III of Sweden (b. 1566)
• 1637 – Niwa Nagashige, Japanese daimyō (b. 1571)
• 1655 – Eustache Le Sueur, French painter (b. 1617)
• 1660 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch historian and scholar (b. 1576)
• 1672 – Marie of the Incarnation, French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Ursulines of Quebec (b. 1599)
• 1696 – Robert Plot, English chemist and academic (b. 1640)
• 1712 – Philipp van Limborch, Dutch theologian and author (b. 1633)
• 1736 – Johann Albert Fabricius, German scholar and author (b. 1668)
• 1758 – François d'Agincourt, French organist and composer (b. 1684)
• 1792 – John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1718)
• 1795 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French archaeologist and author (b. 1716)
• 1806 – Onogawa Kisaburō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 5th Yokozuna (b. 1758)
• 1841 – Peter Andreas Heiberg, Danish philologist and author (b. 1758)
• 1847 – Charles, Austrian commander and duke of Teschen (b. 1771)
• 1863 – Jean Danjou, French captain (b. 1828)
• 1865 – Robert FitzRoy, English admiral, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (b. 1805)
• 1870 – Thomas Cooke, Canadian bishop and missionary (b. 1792)
• 1875 – Jean-Frédéric Waldeck, French explorer, lithographer, and cartographer (b. 1766)
• 1879 – Emma Smith, American religious leader (b. 1804)
• 1883 – Édouard Manet, French painter (b. 1832)
• 1891 – Joseph Leidy, American paleontologist and author (b. 1823)
• 1900 – Casey Jones, American engineer (b. 1863)
• 1903 – Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and activist (b. 1831)
• 1910 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet and critic (b. 1856)
• 1936 – A. E. Housman, English poet and scholar (b. 1859)
• 1939 – Frank Haller, American boxer (b. 1883)
• 1943 – Otto Jespersen, Danish linguist and academic (b. 1860)
• 1943 – Beatrice Webb, English sociologist and economist (b. 1858)
• 1953 – Jacob Linzbach, Estonian linguist and author (b. 1874)
• 1956 – Alben W. Barkley, American lawyer and politician, 35th Vice President of the United States (b. 1877)
• 1970 – Jacques Presser, Dutch historian, writer and poet (b. 1899)
• 1970 – Inger Stevens, Swedish-American actress (b. 1934)
• 1972 – Gia Scala, English-American model and actress (b. 1934)
• 1973 – Václav Renč, Czech poet and playwright (b. 1911)
• 1974 – Agnes Moorehead, American actress (b. 1900)
• 1980 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican journalist and politician, 1st Governor of Puerto Rico (b. 1898)
• 1982 – Lester Bangs, American journalist and author (b. 1949)
• 1983 – George Balanchine, Russian dancer and choreographer (b. 1904)
• 1983 – Muddy Waters, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and bandleader (b. 1913)
• 1983 – Edouard Wyss-Dunant, Swiss physician and mountaineer (b. 1897)
• 1986 – Robert Stevenson, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1905)
• 1989 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
• 1993 – Tommy Caton, English footballer (b. 1962)
• 1994 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (b. 1960)
• 1994 – Richard Scarry, American author and illustrator (b. 1919)
• 1995 – Maung Maung Kha, Burmese colonel and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1920)
• 1998 – Nizar Qabbani, Syrian-English poet, publisher, and diplomat (b. 1926)
• 2000 – Poul Hartling, Danish politician, 36th Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1914)
• 2002 – Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, German philanthropist, founded the Gründerzeit Museum (b. 1928)
• 2003 – Mark Berger, American economist and academic (b. 1955)
• 2003 – Possum Bourne, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1956)
• 2005 – Phil Rasmussen, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1918)
• 2006 – Jean-François Revel, French philosopher (b. 1924)
• 2006 – Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesian author and academic (b. 1925)
• 2007 – Kevin Mitchell, American football player (b. 1971)
• 2007 – Tom Poston, American actor, comedian, and game show panelist (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Gordon Scott, American film and television actor (b. 1926)
• 2008 – John Cargher, English-Australian journalist and author (b. 1919)
• 2008 – Juancho Evertsz, Dutch Antillean politician (b. 1923)
• 2009 – Henk Nijdam, Dutch cyclist (b. 1935)
• 2011 – Dorjee Khandu, Indian politician, 6th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh (b. 1955)
• 2011 – Evald Okas, Estonian painter (b. 1915)
• 2011 – Ernesto Sabato, Argentinian physicist, author, and painter (b. 1911)
• 2012 – Tomás Borge, Nicaraguan poet and politician, co-founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Alexander Dale Oen, Norwegian swimmer (b. 1985)
• 2012 – Giannis Gravanis, Greek footballer (b. 1958)
• 2012 – Benzion Netanyahu, Russian-Israeli historian and academic (b. 1910)
• 2012 – Sicelo Shiceka, South African politician (b. 1966)
• 2013 – Roberto Chabet, Filipino painter and sculptor (b. 1937)
• 2013 – Shirley Firth, Canadian skier (b. 1953)
• 2013 – Viviane Forrester, French author and critic (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Mike Gray, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Khaled Choudhury, Indian painter and set designer (b. 1919)
• 2014 – Julian Lewis, English biologist and academic (b. 1946)
• 2014 – Carl E. Moses, American businessman and politician (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Ian Ross, Australian journalist (b. 1940)
• 2015 – Lennart Bodström, Swedish politician (b. 1928)
• 2015 – Ben E. King, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1938)
• 2015 – Steven Goldmann, Canadian director and producer (b. 1961)
• 2016 – Daniel Berrigan, American priest and activist (b. 1921)
• 2016 – Harry Kroto, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1939)
• 2019 – Peter Mayhew, English-American actor played Chewbacca in the Star Wars films (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances

• Armed Forces Day (Georgia)
• Birthday of the King Carl XVI Gustaf, one of the official flag days of Sweden.
• Camarón Day (French Foreign Legion)
• Children's Day (Mexico)
• Christian feast day:
  • Adjutor
  • Aimo
  • Amator, Peter and Louis
  • Donatus of Evorea
  • Eutropius of Saintes
  • Marie Guyart (Anglican Church of Canada)
  • Marie of the Incarnation (Ursuline)
  • Maximus of Rome
  • Blessed Miles Gerard
  • Pomponius of Naples
  • Pope Saint Pius V
  • Quirinus of Neuss
  • Sarah Josepha Hale (Episcopal Church)
  • Suitbert the Younger
  • April 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Consumer Protection Day (Thailand)
• Earliest day on which Ascension Day can fall, while June 3 is the latest; celebrated 40 days after Easter (Christianity), and its related observances:
  • Festa della Sensa (Venice)
  • Global Day of Prayer (Western Christianity)
  • Sheep Festival (Cameroon)
• Honesty Day (United States)
• International Jazz Day (UNESCO)
• Martyrs' Day (Pakistan)
• May Eve, the eve of the first day of summer in the Northern hemisphere (see May 1):
  • Beltane begins at sunset in the Northern hemisphere, Samhain begins at sunset in the Southern hemisphere. (Neo-Druidic Wheel of the Year)
  • Carodejnice (Czech Republic and Slovakia)
  • Walpurgis Night (Central and Northern Europe)
• National Persian Gulf Day (Iran)
• Reunification Day (Vietnam)
• Russian State Fire Service Day (Russia)
• Teachers' Day (Paraguay)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Today in Canadian History