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Today March 30th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
240 BC – 1st recorded perihelion passage of Halley s Comet.
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.
1814 – Napoleonic Wars: Sixth Coalition forces march into Paris.
1814 – Murat issues the Rimini Declaration which would later inspire Italian Unification.
1822 – Florida Territory created in the United States.
1842 – Anesthesia is used for the first time in an operation by Dr. Crawford Long.
1844 – One of the most important battles of the Dominican War of Independence from Haiti takes place near the city of Santiago de los Caballeros.
1855 – Origins of the American Civil War: Bleeding Kansas – Border Ruffians from Missouri invade Kansas and force election of a pro-slavery legislature.
1856 – The Treaty of Paris (1856) is signed, ending the Crimean War.
1858 – Hymen Lipman patents a pencil with an attached eraser.
1863 – Danish prince Wilhelm Georg is chosen as King George of Greece.
1867 – Alaska is purchased for $7.2 million, about 2 cent/acre ($4.19/km²), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward. The news media call this Seward s Folly.
1870 – Texas is readmitted to the Union following Reconstruction.
1870 – Florida territorial government established.
1885 – The Battle for Kushka triggers the Pandjeh Incident which nearly gives rise to war between the British Empire and Russian Empire.
1909 – The Queensboro Bridge opens, linking Manhattan & Queens.
1910 – Mississippi Legislature founded The University of Southern Mississippi.
1912 – Sultan Abdelhafid signs the Treaty of Fez, making Morocco a French protectorate.
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 – Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking to be the capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Ching-wei.
1945 – World War II: Soviet Union forces invade Austria and take Vienna, Polish and Soviet forces liberate Gdansk.
1945 – World War II: a defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 to Americans.
1949 – Riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joined NATO.
1951 – Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.
1954 – Yonge Street subway line opens in Toronto. It is the first subway in Canada.
1961 – The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed at New York.
1965 – Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.
1972 – Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam.
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.
1981 – President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr.
1982 – Space Shuttle program: STS-3 Mission completed with the landing of Columbia at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
1997 – Five (channel) Begins broadcasting in the UK
2006 – Marcos Pontes is the first Brazilian astronaut in space.
2006 – UK Terrorism Act 2006 becomes law.
Births
1135 – Maimonedes, philosopher (d. 1204)
1326 – Ivan II of Russia, Grand Duke of Muscovy (d. 1359)
1432 – Mehmed II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1481)
1640 – John Trenchard, English politician (d. 1695)
1746 – Francisco Goya, Spanish painter (d. 1828)
1750 – John Stafford Smith, English composer (d. 1836)
1820 – Anna Sewell, British author (d. 1878)
1844 – Paul Verlaine, French poet (d. 1896)
1853 – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter (d. 1890)
1857 – Leon Charles Thevenin, French telegraph engineer (d. 1926)
1864 – Franz Oppenheimer, German sociologist (d. 1943)
1879 – Coen de Koning, Dutch ice skater (d. 1954)
1880 – Sean O Casey, Irish dramatist (d. 1964)
1882 – Melanie Klein, British Psychoanalyst (d. 1960)
1892 – Fortunato Depero, Italian artist (d. 1960)
1892 – Erhard Milch, German field marshal (d. 1972)
1894 – Sergey Ilyushin, Russian aerospace engineer (d. 1977)
1895 – Jean Giono, French author (d. 1970)
1899 – Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Bengali writer (d. 1970)
1902 – Brooke Astor, American philanthropist (d. 2007)
1902 – Ted Heath, British musician and band leader (d. 1969)
1903 – Countee Cullen, American poet (d. 1946)
1903 – Joy Ridderhof, American missionary (d. 1984)
1904 – Ripper Collins, baseball player (d. 1970)
1905 – Albert Pierrepoint, English executioner (d. 1992)
1907 – Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German Luftwaffe Officer (d. 1994)
1910 – Józef Marcinkiewicz, mathematician (d. 1940)
1913 – Marc Davis, American animator (d. 2000)
1913 – Richard Helms, American CIA director (d. 2002)
1913 – Frankie Laine, American singer (d. 2007)
1913 – Censu Tabone, President of Malta
1914 – Sonny Boy Williamson I, American musician (d. 1948)
1919 – McGeorge Bundy, American National Security Advisor (d. 1996)
1922 – Turhan Bey, Turkish actor
1923 – Milton Acorn, Canadian poet (d. 1986)
1926 – Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish entrepreneur
1926 – Werner Torkanowsky, German conductor (d. 1992)
1927 – Peter Marshall, American game show host
1928 – Robert Badinter, French politician
1928 – Tom Sharpe, English satirical author
1929 – Richard Dysart, American actor
1930 – John Astin, American actor
1930 – Rolf Harris, Australian artist and entertainer
1932 – Ted Morgan, Swiss-born writer
1933 – Jean-Claude Brialy, French actor and director (d. 2007)
1935 – Karl Berger, German musicologist and musician
1935 – Willie Galimore, American football player (d. 1964)
1937 – Warren Beatty, American actor and director
1940 – Jerry Lucas, American basketball player
1941 – Graeme Edge, British musician (Moody Blues)
1941 – Wasim Sajjad, President of Pakistan
1941 – Bob Smith, former American politician
1942 – Ruben Kun, Nauruan politician and former President of Nauru
1943 – Ken Forssi, American musician (Love) (d. 1998)
1945 – Eric Clapton, British guitarist
1945 – Johnnie Walker, British DJ
1947 – Ryszard Kotla, Polish travel writer and activist
1948 – Mervyn King, British economist
1948 – Eddie Jordan Former owner of Jordan Grand Prix
1949 – Naomi Sims, American fashion model and businesswoman
1949 – Liza Frulla, Quebec politician
1950 – Robbie Coltrane, Scottish actor and comedian
1951 – Yves Séguin, Quebec politician
1952 – Peter Knights, Australian footballer and coach
1953 – Cydney Bernard, American film producer
1955 – Randy VanWarmer, American singer and songwriter (d. 2004)
1956 – Bill Butler, Scottish politician
1957 – Paul Reiser, American actor
1958 – Maurice LaMarche, Canadian voice actor
1959 – Peter Hugh McGregor Ellis, New Zealander convicted child abuser
1959 – Sabine Meyer, German clarinetist
1961 – Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1999)
1962 – MC Hammer, American rap musician
1962 – Bil Dwyer, American actor
1963 – Eli-Eri Moura, Brazilian composer and conductor
1964 – Tracy Chapman, American singer
1964 – Vlado Bozinovski, Australian former footballer
1964 – Dave Ellett, Canadian hockey player
1964 – Ian Ziering, American actor
1965 – Piers Morgan, British journalist
1966 – Joey Castillo, American drummer (Queens of the Stone Age)
1966 – Efstratios Grivas, Greek chess grandmaster and author
1967 – Christopher Bowman, American figure skater (d. 2008)
1967 – Hayashibara Megumi, Japanese voice actress and singer
1968 – Donna D Errico, American actress and model
1968 – Celine Dion, Canadian singer
1970 – Secretariat, American racehorse (d. 1989)
1971 – Mark Consuelos, American actor
1971 – Mari Holden, American cycle racer
1972 – Mili Avital, Israeli-American actress
1973 – Jan Koller, Czech footballer
1973 – Matthew Pritchard, Welsh Stuntman
1975 – Bahar Soomekh, American actress
1976 – Mark McClelland, Northern Irish musician (Degrassi)
1976 – Ty Conklin, American ice hockey player
1976 – Obadele Thompson, Barbadian athlete
1978 – Chris Paterson, Scottish rugby player
1979 – Norah Jones, American singer and pianist
1979 – Simon Webbe, English singer
1980 – Ricardo Osorio, Mexican footballer
1980 – Yalin, Turkish singer and songwriter
1982 – Jason Dohring, American actor
1983 – Jérémie Aliadière, French footballer
1983 – Zach Gowen, American professional wrestler
1983 – Scott Moffatt, Canadian singer and songwriter
1983 – Davis Romero, Panamanian baseball player
1983 – Hebe Tian, Taiwanese singer (S.H.E)
1984 – Mario Ancic, Croatian tennis player
1984 – Anna Nalick, American singer and songwriter.
1984 – Samantha Stosur, Australian tennis player
1986 – Beni Arashiro, Japanese singer
1986 – Sergio Ramos, Spanish footballer
1982 – Samuel William Norton, English footballer
Deaths
1486 – Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury
1526 – Konrad Mutian, German humanist (b. 1471)
1540 – Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, German statesman and Archbishop of Salzburg (b. 1469)
1559 – Adam Ries, German mathematician (b. 1492)
1587 – Ralph Sadler, English statesman (b. 1507)
1662 – François le Métel de Boisrobert, French poet (b. 1592)
1707 – Vauban, French architect (b. 1633)
1764 – Pietro Locatelli, Italian composer (b. 1695)
1783 – William Hunter, Scottish anatomist (b. 1718)
1804 – Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie, Marshal of France (b. 1718)
1806 – Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, English duchess(b. 1757)
1840 – Beau Brummell, English celebrity and dandy (b. 1778)
1842 – Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, French painter (b. 1755)
1879 – Thomas Couture, French painter and teacher (b. 1815)
1886 – Joseph-Alfred Mousseau, French Canadian politician (b. 1838)
1896 – Charilaos Trikoupis, seven times prime-minister of Greece (b. 1832)
1912 – Karl May, German author (b. 1842)
1925 – Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher (b. 1861)
1936 – Conchita Supervía, Spanish opera singer (b. 1895)
1943 – Jan Bytnar, Polish activist (b. 1921)
1943 – Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski, Polish activist (b. 1920)
1949 – Friedrich Bergius, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1884)
1950 – Léon Blum, French prime minister (b. 1872)
1959 – Daniil Andreev, Russian writer and mystic (b. 1906)
1959 – Riccardo Zanella, president of Free State of Fiume (b. 1875)
1965 – Philip Showalter Hench, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1896)
1966 – Maxfield Parrish, American artist (b. 1870)
1966 – Newbold Morris, American politician (b. 1902)
1967 – Jean Toomer, American writer (b. 1894)
1968 – Bobby Driscoll, American actor (b. 1937)
1970 – Heinrich Brüning, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1885)
1972 – Gabriel Heatter, American radio commentator (b. 1890)
1977 – Abdel Halim Hafez, Egyptian singer and actor (b. 1929)
1981 – DeWitt Wallace, American publisher (b. 1889)
1984 – Karl Rahner, German theologian (b. 1904)
1985 – Harold Peary, American actor and singer (heart attack) (b. 1908)
1986 – James Cagney, American actor (b. 1899)
1988 – Edgar Faure, French politician (b. 1908)
1992 – Manolis Andronikos, Greek archeologist, professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (b. 1919)
1999 – Gary Morton, American film and television producer (b. 1924)
2002 – Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Queen Mother of the United Kingdom (b. 1900)
2003 – Michael Jeter, American actor (b. 1952)
2003 – Valentin Pavlov, Prime Minister of the Soviet Union (b. 1937)
2004 – Alistair Cooke, English-born journalist (b. 1908)
2004 – Hubert Gregg, British broadcaster (b. 1914)
2004 – Michael King, New Zealand historian (b. 1945)
2004 – Timi Yuro, American singer (b. 1940)
2005 – Emil Dimitrov, Bulgarian singer (b. 1940)
2005 – Robert Creeley, American poet (b. 1926)
2005 – Milton Green, American athlete (b. 1913)
2005 – Fred Korematsu, American civil rights activist (b. 1919)
2005 – O. V. Vijayan, Indian author and cartoonist (b. 1930)
2005 – Derrick Plourde, American drummer (b. 1971)
2006 – Red Hickey, American football coach (b. 1917)
2008 – Dith Pran, The Killing Fields Photographer (b. 1942)
2008 – David Leslie, Touring Car Driver (b. 1953)
2008 – Richard Lloyd, Racing Car Driver (b. 1945)
Holidays and observances
Roman Empire – Festival devoted to Salus.
Land Day.
Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation Day – Public holiday in Trinidad and Tobago.
Saint John Climacus (d. 649)
Saint Quirinus (d. 117)
Tola of Clonard
Blessed Amadeus IX of Savoy
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