What Happened On
Reagan Assassination Attempt
March 30, 1981
U.S. President Ronald Reagan, James Brady, and two others are shot by John Hinckley, Jr., who was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster, whom he had developed an obsession with after seeing the film Taxi Driver. Brady was left paralyzed from a gunshot wound to the head. He would die in 2014 due to causes directly related to the shooting. A secret service agent and a D.C. police officer were also shot, but survived the shooting. Hinckley was subdued and apprehended at the scene.
The 70-year-old Reagan was shot in the left lung with the bullet just missing his heart. As he was being prepped for surgery, he joked to his wife Nancy Reagan, "Honey, I forgot to duck".
In 1982, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was sentenced to institutional psychiatric care, from which he was released in 2016 to live full-time at his mother's home.
Voisin-Farman 1 winning the Grand Prix de l'aviation, 13 January 1908
Voisin-Farman 1 winning the Grand Prix de l'aviation, 13 January 1908
First Flight of a Commercially-Built Airplane
March 30, 1907
Built by the French aircraft company Voisin Freres for Henri Farman. It was flown by Charles Voisin, achieving a straight-line flight of 200 ft (60 m). This plane, the "Voisin-Farman No.1", was later flown by Farman to win the "Grand Prix de l'aviation" for the first closed-circuit flight of over a kilometer.
Signing the Alaska Treaty of Cessation - William H. Seward (second from left)
Signing the Alaska Treaty of Cessation - William H. Seward (second from left)
Alaska Purchase
March 30, 1867
The U.S. buys Alaska from the Russians at the bargain price of 2¢ an acre. The purchase was supported and negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward, and became known as "Seward's Folly" by critics at the time. Russia was eager to sell the territory, fearing that they would lose it anyway if a war broke out with the United Kingdom.
Pencil with Attached Eraser
March 30, 1858
The first pencil with an attached eraser is patented by H.L. Lipman of Philadelphia.
Iraq War - We Know Where They Are
March 30, 2003
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Weapons of Mass Destruction: "We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."
Rumsfeld on how long the fighting will last: "Oh, goodness, you know, I've never -- we've never had a timetable. We've always said it could be days, weeks, or months and we don't know. And I don't think you need a timetable."
Kennedy Rape Case
March 30, 1991
30-year-old William Kennedy Smith was with his uncle, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, when he met 29-year-old Patricia Bowman at a bar. They then went to the Kennedy estate where Smith and Bowman walked along the beach. Bowman alleged that Smith tackled and raped her; Smith claimed they had consensual sex. Smith was eventually acquitted.
Smith was the nephew of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
Record Amount Paid for a Single Work of Art
March 30, 1987
One of Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers sells for $39.9 million, a record at the time. There are some experts who now believe this piece is a fake.
Vietnam War
March 30, 1972
North Vietnamese forces launch a major attack across the demilitarized zone, the largest assault since 1968.
Saigon Embassy Bombing
March 30, 1965
The U.S. Embassy in Saigon is destroyed by a Viet Cong car bomb, killing 22. The car bomb contained 300 pounds of plastic explosives and was detonated in front of the embassy killing two Americans, 19 Vietnamese, and one Filipino serving in the U.S. Navy along with injuring 183 others.
Ku Klux Klan
March 30, 1965
The House Committee on Un-American Activities begins investigating the Ku Klux Klan. This was the committee's first public investigation which didn't concern communism.
First U.S. National Forest
March 30, 1891
The first U.S. national forest, the Yellowstone National Forest in Wyoming, is established. Originally consisting of 1,239,040 acres (5,014.2 km2), it was later divided into Bridger-Teton, Custer, Shoshone, and Caribou-Targhee National Forests.
Opening reception, previous 681 Fifth Avenue location, February 20, 1872
Opening reception, previous 681 Fifth Avenue location, February 20, 1872
Metropolitan Museum of Art
March 30, 1880
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City opens to the public at its current location on Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street.
It had opened in 1870 in the Dodworth Building at 681 Fifth Avenue. Its first object, acquired in 1871, was a Roman sarcophagus.
First Operation Using Ether as Anesthesia
March 30, 1842
Diethyl ether is used by Dr. Crawford Long to remove a neck tumor. He administered sulfuric ether on a towel and simply had the patient inhale.
Long had observed that some who participated in the "ether frolics", that were popular at that time, experienced bumps and bruises, but afterward had no recall of what had happened. He postulated that diethyl ether produced effects similar to the anesthetic effects of nitrous oxide described by Humphry Davy in 1800.
The word anesthesia is from the Greek for "without sensation".
Birthdays
Eric Clapton
Born March 30, 1945
British singer, guitarist. His 1992 live album Unplugged won three Grammy awards and became the bestselling live album of all time, and Clapton's bestselling album, selling 26 million copies worldwide.
Music: I Shot the Sheriff (1974, #1), Slowhand (1977), and Lay Down Sally (1978).
Titanic Survivor - Life Saved by an Explosion
Charles Lightoller
Born March 30, 1874 d. 1952
British Naval Officer. He was the second officer on the RMS Titanic when it sank. During the evacuation of the Titanic, Lightoller took charge of loading the lifeboats. Lightoller stayed on board helping others escape as long as possible and then dived in the water as the Titanic began its final plunge. When he hit the water, he was sucked under by water rushing into one of the ship's ventilators. He was pinned against the grate by the pressure of the incoming water until a blast of hot air from an explosion from deep inside the ship blew him clear. He then managed to swim to an overturned lifeboat with about 30 other people on it. He took charge, calming the other survivors, and was able to keep the overturned lifeboat from sinking until they could be rescued.
He was the most senior member of the crew to survive the disaster.
Unfortunately, Lightoller had interpreted the captain's order for "the evacuation of women and children" as meaning "women and children only", resulting in lowering lifeboats with empty seats if there were no women and children waiting to board them. He even ordered men out of lifeboats before lowering them. He had planned to fill the lifeboats at the water level, but as soon as they hit the water, the under-filled boats pulled away from the Titanic, costing many lives.
Lightoller was twice decorated for gallantry for his service in the Royal Navy during World War I. He also volunteered during the World War II Dunkirk evacuation, where he piloted his own boat under enemy fire to rescue 127 British servicemen, in a boat that was only licensed to carry 21 passengers.
Vincent van Gogh
Born March 30, 1853 d. 1890
Dutch ear-cutting (actually only the lobe) postimpressionist painter. Although he created over 900 paintings, which now sell for millions, he sold only one during his lifetime. In 1888, during a fit of dementia, he chopped off part of his ear and gave it to a prostitute. After years of mental illness and poverty, he shot himself in the chest and died 30 hours later of an infection. According to his brother, his final words were, "The sadness will last forever."
Anna Sewell
Born March 30, 1820 d. 1878
English author. Writings: Black Beauty (1877), which has sold over 50 million copies and has been made into numerous movies. It was her only novel. Written in her declining health, she died five months after its publication.
First Manned Free Balloon Flight
Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier
Born March 30, 1754 d. 1785
French aviation pioneer. He and François Laurent d'Arlandes made the first manned free balloon flight (1783). Two years later he and his copilot Pierre Romain died in a balloon crash while attempting to cross the English Channel, making them the first-known aviation fatalities.
Secretariat with record-setting win at the 1973 Kentucky Derby
Secretariat with record-setting win at the 1973 Kentucky Derby
Secretariat
Born March 30, 1970 d. 1989
American thoroughbred racehorse, Triple Crown winner (1973), and the first horse to finish the Kentucky Derby in under two minutes (1:59.4, 1973).
Céline Dion
Born March 30, 1968
Canadian Grammy and Oscar-winning singer.
Tracy Chapman
Born March 30, 1964
American Grammy-winning singer. Music: Fast Car (1988), Talkin' Bout a Revolution (1988), and Baby Can I Hold You? (1988).
M.C. Hammer (Stanley Kirk Burrell)
Born March 30, 1962
American rap artist.
Maurice LaMarche
Born March 30, 1958
Canadian voice actor. TV: Pinky and the Brain (voice of Brain) and Toucan Sam (Kellogg's commercial).
Paul Reiser
Born March 30, 1956
American stand-up comedian, actor. TV: Mad About You.
Warren Beatty
Born March 30, 1937
American actor. Film: Bonnie and Clyde (1967, Clyde). TV: The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (Milton Armitage).
John Astin and Carolyn Jones as Gomez and Morticia from The Addams Family
John Astin and Carolyn Jones as Gomez and Morticia from The Addams Family
John Astin
Born March 30, 1930
American actor. TV: The Addams Family (1964-66, Gomez Addams).
His second wife was actress Patty Duke.
Richard Dysart
Born March 30, 1929 d. 2015
American actor. TV: L.A. Law (1986-94, Leland McKenzie).
Peter Marshall (Ralph Pierre LaCock)
Born March 30, 1926
American game show host. TV: Hollywood Squares (1965-80).
Herbert Anderson
Born March 30, 1917 d. 1994
American actor. TV: Dennis the Menace (Dennis' father).
Marc Davis
Born March 30, 1913 d. 2000
American animator. He is the designer of many Disney characters, such as Snow White (1937), Thumper in Bambi (1942), Cinderella (1950), Tinker Bell (1953), and Cruella De Vil (1961).
Frankie Laine (Francesco Paolo LoVecchio)
Born March 30, 1913 d. 2007
American Oscar-winning singer. Music: Mule Train (#1) and High Noon (1952, Oscar). He also sang the theme to TV's Rawhide.
Ted Heath
Born March 30, 1902 d. 1969
British band leader. He was one of the U.K.'s most famous post-war big band leaders, selling over 20 million records.
Robert Wilhelm Bunsen
Born March 30, 1811 d. 1899
German chemist. He invented the Bunsen burner and discovered the elements cesium and rubidium.
John Stafford Smith
Born March 30, 1750 d. 1836
English composer. Music: To Anacreon in Heaven, which is the melody to The Star-Spangled Banner.
Francisco Goya (Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes)
Born March 30, 1746 d. 1828
Spanish painter.
Moses Maimonides
Born March 30, 1135 d. 1204
Jewish rabbi, Talmudic scholar, philosopher. His teachings greatly influenced the Christian religion.
Deaths
Elizabeth (Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon)
Died March 30, 2002 b. 1900
Queen of England (1936-52), The Queen Mother. Widow of King George VI, and mother of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1923 she married the Duke of York, the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. In 1936, when King George's eldest son Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry the American divorcée Wallis Warfield Simpson, Elizabeth and her husband became king and queen.
During World War II, her indomitable spirit provided moral support to the British public prompting Adolf Hitler to call her as "the most dangerous woman in Europe."
James Cagney (James Francis Cagney Jr.)
Died March 30, 1986 b. 1899
American Oscar-winning actor. Film: Public Enemy (1931), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and Mr. Roberts (1955, the captain). He started his career as a female impersonator in a New York revue.
First Woman Movie Stunt Pilot
Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes
Died March 30, 1975 b. 1901
American aviator. She was the first woman movie stunt pilot (1929, Hell's Angels). She was portrayed in the film The Right Stuff (1983).
Mark Russell (Joseph Marcus Ruslander)
Died March 30, 2023 b. 1932
American political satirist, piano player. Quote: "You've got the brain-washed, that's the Republicans, and the brain-dead, that's the Democrats!"
G. Gordon Liddy (George Gordon Battle Liddy)
Died March 30, 2021 b. 1930
American lawyer. He was the chief operative in the White House Plumbers (1971) during Richard Nixon's presidency. Five of his operatives were arrested inside the Democratic National Committee offices (1972), leading to the Watergate investigation and eventual resignation of Nixon. Liddy was convicted of conspiracy, burglary, and illegal wiretapping and served nearly 52 months in federal prison.
Mitch Hedberg
Died March 30, 2005 b. 1968
American comedian. Jokes:
• "I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it."
• "You know, I'm sick of following my dreams, man. I'm just going to ask where they're going and hook up with 'em later."
• "This is just between you and me and everybody else you tell."
Alistair Cooke (Alfred Alistair)
Died March 30, 2004 b. 1908
English-born journalist, Emmy-winning host of TV's Masterpiece Theatre. His bones were reportedly stolen by body snatchers working for a tissue recovery firm.
DeWitt Wallace
Died March 30, 1981 b. 1889
American publisher. He and his wife Lila founded Reader's Digest (1921). It obtained the largest magazine circulation in the world.
Friedrich Bergius
Died March 30, 1949 b. 1884
German Nobel-winning chemist. He invented the process of producing synthetic fuel from coal (Bergius process), developed a process for converting wood into sugar, and contributed to the invention and development of chemical high-pressure methods (1931 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with Carl Bosch).
First Female Professional Chemist in the U.S.
Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards
Died March 30, 1911 b. 1842
American chemist, the first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1870). She earned her B.S. degree (1873) and became the first female professional chemist in the U.S. In 1884, she became MIT's first woman faculty member.