Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on April 30th?

The Islamic conquest of Spain begins with the landing of the Muslim General Tariq ibn-Ziyad armed forces at Gibraltar. By the end of the campaign most of the Iberian Peninsula (except for small areas in the north-west such as Asturias and the Basque territory were brought under Islamic rule. More

Ferdinand III of Castile captures Córdoba, ending Muslim rule in the region.

The construction of Cologne Cathedral in Germany begins.

The Sicilian Vespers: A rebellion breaks out in Sicily against the rule of the Angevin King Charles I of Naples.

The Peasants' Revolt in England begins as rebels march on London, demanding an end to serfdom and unfair taxation.

Henry IV of England is proclaimed King of England following the deposition of Richard II.

Battle of Panipat: Babur's Mughal forces defeat Ibrahim Lodi, establishing Mughal rule in India.

The Salem witch trials begin in Massachusetts.

The agreement for the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France is formally completed. this transaction with France, signed on April 30, 1803, the United States purchased 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. For roughly 4 cents an acre, the United States doubled its size, expanding the nation westward. More

Adolf Hitler, chancellor and dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, commits suicide in the Führerbunker via a self inflicted gunshot to the head after it became clear that Germany would lose the Battle of Berlin. Eva Braun, his longtime mistress, who he had married the prior day, also committed suicide by cyanide poisoning. In accordance with Hitler's prior written and verbal instructions, their remains were carried up the stairs and through the bunker's emergency exit to the Reich Chancellery garden, where they were doused in petrol and burned. The news of Hitler's death was announced on German radio the next day, May 1. More

The Vietnam War officially ends with the fall of Saigon and the reunification of Vietnam. The human costs of the long conflict was very high for all involved. Current estimates of those who had died or were missing as a result of the war are: As many as 2 million Vietnamese civilians on both sides and at least 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., is inscribed with the names of more than 58,200 members of U.S. armed forces who had died or were missing as a result of the war. At least 100 names on the memorial are those of servicemen who were actually Canadian citizens. South Korea suffered more than 4,000 dead, Thailand about 350, Australia more than 500, and New Zealand some three dozen.

The World Wide Web (WWW) goes public as CERN makes the source code of the World Wide Web available on a royalty-free basis, making it free software. By late 1993 there were over 500 known web servers, and the WWW accounted for 1% of internet traffic, which seemed a lot in those days (the rest was remote access, e-mail and file transfer) More