Today in History: April 30, George Washington's oath

Today in History

Today is Sunday, April 30, the 120th day of 2023. There are 245 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 30, 1945, as Soviet troops approached his Berlin bunker, Adolf Hitler took his own life, as did his wife of one day, Eva Braun.

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

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.”

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama said he wanted more information about chemical weapons use in the Syrian civil war before deciding on escalating U.S. military or diplomatic responses, despite earlier assertions that use of such weapons would be a “game-changer.” The FDA lowered to 15 the age at which females could buy the Plan B emergency contraceptive without a prescription, and said it no longer had to be kept behind pharmacy counters. Willem-Alexander became the first Dutch king in more than a century as his mother, Beatrix, abdicated after 33 years as queen.

Five years ago: Central Americans who traveled in a caravan through Mexico to the U.S. border near San Diego began turning themselves in to U.S. authorities to seek asylum in a challenge to the Trump administration. New details emerged on a rift between White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and President Donald Trump, with one former administration official saying Kelly had privately called Trump “an idiot.” (Trump announced in December that Kelly would be leaving at the end of the year.)

One year ago: Ukrainian forces fought village by village to hold back a Russian advance through the country’s east, while the United Nations worked to broker an evacuation of the approximately 100,000 civilians remaining in the last Ukrainian stronghold in the bombed-out ruins of the port city of Mariupol. A tornado barreled through parts of Kansas, damaging multiple buildings, injuring several people and leaving more than 6,500 without power. 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 90. Actor Burt Young is 83. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is 77. Movie director Allan Arkush is 75. Actor Perry King is 75. Singer-musician Wayne Kramer is 75. Singer Merrill Osmond is 70. Movie director Jane Campion is 69. Movie director Lars von Trier is 67. Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is 64. Actor Paul Gross is 64. Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas is 62. Actor Adrian Pasdar is 58. Rock singer J.R. Richards (Dishwalla) is 56. Rapper Turbo B (Snap) is 56. Rock musician Clark Vogeler (Toadies) is 54. R&B singer Chris “Choc” Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 52. Rock musician Chris Henderson (3 Doors Down) is 52. Country singer Carolyn Dawn Johnson is 53. Actor Lisa Dean Ryan is 52. R&B singer Akon is 51. R&B singer Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees) is 50. Actor Johnny Galecki is 48. Actor Sam Heughan is 43. Actor Kunal Nayyar is 42. Rapper Lloyd Banks is 41. Actor Kirsten Dunst is 41. Actor Dianna Agron is 37. Country singer Brandon Lancaster is 34. Rapper/producer Travis Scott is 32.