March 30

Events Pre-1600 598 – Avar–Byzantine wars: The Avars lift the siege at the Byzantine stronghold of Tomis. Their leader Bayan I retreats north of the Danube River after the Avaro-Slavic army is decimated by the plague. 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.

1601–1900 1699 – Guru Gobind Singh establishes the Khalsa in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab. 1815 – Joachim Murat issues the Rimini Proclamation, among the earliest calls for Italian unification. 1818 – Physicist Augustin Fresnel reads a memoir on optical rotation to the French Academy of Sciences, reporting that when polarized light is "depolarized" by a Fresnel rhomb, its properties are preserved in any subsequent passage through an optically-rotating crystal or liquid.A. Fresnel, "Mémoire sur les couleurs développées dans les fluides homogènes par la lumière polarisée" ("Memoir on colors developed in homogeneous fluids by polarized light"), read 30 March 1818; printed in A. Fresnel (ed. H. de Senarmont, E. Verdet, and L. Fresnel), Oeuvres complètes d'Augustin Fresnel, Paris: Imprimerie Impériale, vol.1, 1866, pp.655–83, at pp.659–60. 1822 – The Florida Territory is created in the United States. 1841 – The National Bank of Greece is founded in Athens. 1842 – Ether anesthesia is used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon 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: "Border Ruffians" from Missouri invade Kansas and force election of a pro-slavery legislature. 1856 – The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Crimean War. 1861 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Sir William Crookes announces his discovery of thallium. 1863 – Danish prince Wilhelm Georg is chosen as King George of Greece. 1867 – Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about two cents/acre ($4.19/km2), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward. 1870 – Texas is readmitted to the United States Congress following Reconstruction. 1885 – The Battle for Kushka triggers the Panjdeh Incident which nearly gives rise to war between the Russian and British Empires. 1899 – German Society of Chemistry issues an invitation to other national scientific organizations to appoint delegates to the International Committee on Atomic Weights. 1900 – Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete, discover the first clay tablet with hieroglyphic writing in a script later called Linear B.

1901–present 1912 – Sultan Abd al-Hafid signs the Treaty of Fez, making Morocco a French protectorate. 1918 – Beginning of the bloody March Events in Baku and other locations of Baku Governorate. 1939 – The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets a world airspeed record of 463 mph (745 km/h). 1940 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Jingwei. 1944 – World War II: Allied bombers conduct their most severe bombing run on Sofia, Bulgaria. 1944 – World War II: In a raid on Nuremberg, RAF Bomber Command suffers its greatest loss of the war, losing 95 bombers from a force of 795. 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces invade Austria and capture Vienna. Polish and Soviet forces liberate Danzig. 1949 – Cold War: A riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joins NATO. 1959 – Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet for India. 1961 – The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed in New York City. 1965 – Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the United States Embassy, Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others. 1967 – Delta Air Lines Flight 9877 crashes at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, killing 19. 1972 – Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam. 1976 – Israeli-Palestinian conflict: in the first organized response against Israeli policies by a Palestinian collective since 1948, Palestinians create the first Land Day. 1979 – Airey Neave, a British Member of Parliament (MP), is killed by a car bomb as he exits the Palace of Westminster. The Irish National Liberation Army claims responsibility. 1981 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley Jr.; three others are wounded in the same incident. 1982 – Space Shuttle program: STS-3 mission is completed with the landing of Columbia at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. 2002 – The 2002 Lyon car attack takes place. 2006 – Cyclone Glenda, one of the strongest tropical cyclones in the Australian region makes landfall near Onslow, Western Australia. 2008 – Drolma Kyi arrested by Chinese authorities. 2009 – Twelve gunmen attack the Manawan Police Academy in Lahore, Pakistan. 2011 – Min Aung Hlaing is appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar's armed forces."New commander in chief of defence services: General Min Aung Hlaing" , Mizzima, 30 March 2011. 2017 – SpaceX conducts the world's first reflight of an orbital class rocket. 2018 – The Israeli Army kills 17 Palestinians and wounds 1,400 in Gaza during Land Day protests. 2019 – Pope Francis visits Morocco. 2023 – Donald Trump becomes the first former United States president to be indicted by a grand jury.

Births

Pre-1600 892 – Shi Jingtang, founder of the Later Jin Dynasty (died 942) 1135 – Maimonides, Spanish rabbi and philosopher (April 6 also proposed, d. 1204) 1326 – Ivan II of Moscow (died 1359) 1432 – Mehmed the Conqueror, Ottoman sultan (died 1481) 1510 – Antonio de Cabezón, Spanish composer and organist (died 1566) 1551 – Salomon Schweigger, German theologian (died 1622)

1601–1900 1606 – Vincentio Reinieri, Italian mathematician and astronomer (died 1647) 1640 – John Trenchard, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (died 1695) 1727 – Tommaso Traetta, Italian composer and educator (died 1779) 1746 – Francisco Goya, Spanish-French painter and sculptor (died 1828) 1750 – John Stafford Smith, English organist and composer (died 1836) 1793 – Juan Manuel de Rosas, Argentinian soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Buenos Aires Province (died 1877) 1805 – Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann, German-Swedish linguist and botanist (died 1887) 1811 – Robert Bunsen, German chemist and academic (died 1899) 1820 – Anna Sewell, English author (died 1878) 1820 – James Whyte, Scottish-Australian politician, 6th Premier of Tasmania (died 1882) 1844 – Paul Verlaine, French poet (died 1896) 1853 – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch-French painter and illustrator (died 1890) 1853 – Arnoldo Sartorio, German composer, pianist, and teacher (died 1936) 1857 – Léon Charles Thévenin, French engineer (died 1926) 1858 – Siegfried Alkan, German composer (died 1941) 1863 – Mary Calkins, American philosopher and psychologist (died 1930) 1864 – Franz Oppenheimer, German-American sociologist and economist (died 1943) 1874 – Charles Lightoller, English 2nd officer on the RMS Titanic (died 1952) 1874 – Josiah McCracken, American hammer thrower, shot putter, and football player (died 1962) 1874 – Nicolae Rădescu, Romanian general and politician, Prime Minister of Romania (died 1953) 1875 – Thomas Xenakis, Greek-American gymnast (died 1942) 1879 – Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (died 1954) 1880 – Seán O'Casey, Irish dramatist, playwright, and memoirist (died 1964) 1882 – Melanie Klein, Austrian-English psychologist and author (died 1960) 1888 – J. R. Williams, Canadian-born cartoonist (died 1957) 1891 – Chunseong, Korean monk, writer and philosopher (died 1977) 1892 – Stefan Banach, Polish mathematician and academic (died 1945) 1892 – Fortunato Depero, Italian painter and sculptor (died 1960) 1892 – Erhard Milch, German field marshal (died 1972) 1892 – Johannes Pääsuke, Estonian photographer and director (died 1918) 1892 – Erwin Panofsky, German historian and academic (died 1968) 1894 – Tommy Green, English race walker (died 1975) 1894 – Sergey Ilyushin, Russian engineer, founded Ilyushin Design Bureau (died 1977) 1895 – Jean Giono, French author and poet (died 1970) 1895 – Carl Lutz, Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during WWII, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews (died 1975) 1895 – Charlie Wilson, English footballer (died 1971) 1899 – Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Indian author, playwright, and screenwriter (died 1970)

1901–present 1902 – Brooke Astor, American socialite and philanthropist (died 2007) 1902 – Ted Heath, English trombonist and composer (died 1969) 1903 – Joy Ridderhof, American missionary (died 1984) 1904 – Ripper Collins, American baseball player and coach (died 1970) 1905 – Archie Birkin, English motorcycle racer (died 1927) 1905 – Mikio Oda, Japanese triple jumper and academic (died 1998) 1905 – Albert Pierrepoint, English hangman (died 1992) 1907 – Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German general (died 1994) 1907 – Shigeru Morita, Japanese painter (died 2009) 1910 – Józef Marcinkiewicz, Polish soldier, mathematician, and academic (died 1940) 1911 – Ekrem Akurgal, Turkish archaeologist and academic (died 2002) 1912 – Jack Cowie, New Zealand cricketer (died 1994) 1912 – Alvin Hamilton, Canadian lieutenant and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Agriculture (died 2004) 1913 – Marc Davis, American animator (died 2000) 1913 – Richard Helms, American soldier and diplomat, 8th Director of Central Intelligence (died 2002) 1913 – Frankie Laine, American singer-songwriter (died 2007) 1913 – Ċensu Tabone, Maltese general, physician, and politician, 4th President of Malta (died 2012) 1914 – Sonny Boy Williamson I, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (died 1948) 1915 – Pietro Ingrao, Italian journalist and politician (died 2015) 1917 – Els Aarne, Ukrainian-Estonian pianist, composer, and educator (died 1995) 1919 – McGeorge Bundy, American intelligence officer and diplomat, 6th United States National Security Advisor (died 1996) 1919 – Robin Williams, New Zealand mathematician, university administrator and public servant (died 2013) 1921 – André Fontaine, French historian and journalist (died 2013) 1922 – Turhan Bey, American actor (died 2012) 1922 – Arthur Wightman, American physicist and academic (died 2013) 1923 – Milton Acorn, Canadian poet and playwright (died 1986) 1925 – Hans Reichelt, German politician (died 2025) 1926 – Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish businessman, founded IKEA (died 2018) 1927 – Wally Grout, Australian cricketer (died 1968) 1928 – Robert Badinter, French lawyer and politician, French Minister of Justice (died 2024) 1928 – Colin Egar, Australian cricket umpire (died 2008) 1928 – Tom Sharpe, English-Spanish author and educator (died 2013) 1929 – Richard Dysart, American actor (died 2015) 1929 – Ray Musto, American soldier and politician (died 2014) 1929 – István Rózsavölgyi, Hungarian runner (died 2012) 1930 – John Astin, American actor 1930 – Rolf Harris, Australian singer-songwriter (died 2023) 1933 – Jean-Claude Brialy, French actor and director (died 2007) 1933 – Joe Ruby, American animator (died 2020) 1934 – Paul Crouch, American broadcaster, co-founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (died 2013) 1934 – Hans Hollein, Austrian architect and academic, designed Haas House (died 2014) 1935 – Karl Berger, German pianist and composer (died 2023) 1935 – Willie Galimore, American football player (died 1964) 1935 – Gordon Mumma, American composer 1937 – Warren Beatty, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter 1937 – Ian MacLaurin, Baron MacLaurin of Knebworth, English businessman 1938 – John Barnhill, American basketball player and coach (died 2013) 1938 – Klaus Schwab, German economist and engineer, founded the World Economic Forum 1940 – Norman Gifford, English cricketer (died 2026)