Discover what happened on April 30 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

April 30

Discover what happened on April 30 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on April 30 | HISTORY

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World War II ended in 1945, after Germany surrendered in May and Japan capitulated in August, days after powerful new atomic bombs exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Two months later, 29 nations ratified a charter to form the United Nations. Writer George Orwell coined the term “cold war,” predicting icy relations between the U.S. and U.S.S.R., while popular songs like “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" and “Sentimental Journey” reflected the stateside mood as some 4 million G.I.s returned home.

1945

1977

1997

1993

1897

2019

As the Depression era ended, World War II began. Nazi troops goosestepped into Poland, and in response, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. Hitler ally Francisco Franco seized power in Spain, having defeated the democratically elected government in the Spanish Civil War. In the still-neutral U.S., a terrorist bomb exploded at the New York World’s Fair, while in fictional Gotham City, Batman made his comic book debut. College students, meanwhile, battled to see who could gulp the most live goldfish.

1939

1803

1975

George Washington became the first president of the United States in 1789, the same year the new U.S. Constitution went into effect and Congress drafted the Bill of Rights. In Paris, rioters stormed the Bastille prison, a key moment in the French Revolution. Things were stormy even at sea, as rebellious British sailors set their tyrannical captain William Bligh adrift in a rowboat—the famous mutiny on the Bounty.

1789

1859

1863

A new world order began to emerge in 1948. The U.S. announced the Marshall Plan to help rebuild Europe, while a group of European nations formed an alliance that would evolve into NATO. The Berlin Blockade escalated tensions between the emerging superpowers. Israel became a Jewish state, and Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated less than a year after his country won independence from Great Britain. President Truman desegregated America’s military, while 42-year-old Negro League star Satchel Paige became Major League Baseball’s oldest rookie.

1948

Across the globe, 1917 brought upheaval. Russians overthrew Czar Nicholas II, then staged a second revolution, putting Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks in power and sparking a civil war. The U.S. and China both declared war on Germany, entering World War I in its fourth year. Puerto Ricans gained U.S. citizenship. And as America’s first-ever female congresswoman took office, the push for women’s suffrage intensified, with increased picketing and the arrest of many activists, followed by jailhouse hunger strikes, force feedings and mistreatment.

1917

America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.

World War I

The continent of Asia, home to the majority of the world's population and countries as diverse as China, South Korea and India, has thousands of years of rich history.

Asian History

The 1970s was an era when the women's rights, gay rights and environmental movements gained momentum. The Vietnam War came to a close, the Watergate scandal led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon, the United States ended direct involvement in the Vietnam War and President Jimmy Carter grappled with an energy crisis, inflation and the Iran Hostage Crisis.

1970s

The Vietnam War pitted communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. The war ended when U.S. forces withdrew in 1973 and Vietnam unified under Communist control two years later.

Vietnam War

The years following the American Revolution were challenging for the new nation, which struggled with the Articles of Confederation, Shay's Rebellion, Federalism, the Alien and Sedition Acts and more.

Early U.S.

The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most divisive conflict, pitting the Union Army against the Confederate States of America. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 620,000 people, with millions more injured and the South left in ruins.

Civil War

Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.

Sports

Videos

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature and Film History

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.

Inventions & Science

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

European History

The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, lasting from 1929 to 1939. Explore topics on the era, from the stock market crash of 1929, to the Dust Bowl, to FDR’s response to the economic calamity—the New Deal.

This Day In History: April 30

Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his underground bunker

Also on This Day in History April | 30

Over 2,000 protesters occupy the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant construction site

Big Ben clock stops at 12:11 p.m. for 43 minutes

World Wide Web (WWW) launches in the public domain

British physicist J.J. Thomson announces the discovery of electrons

Japan’s Emperor Akihito abdicates

This Day in History Video: What Happened on April 30

New York World’s Fair opens

United States and France complete the Louisiana Purchase

Fall of Saigon: South Vietnam surrenders

Tennis star Monica Seles stabbed

George Washington gives first presidential inaugural address

First installment of “A Tale of Two Cities” is published

Controversial “coming out” episode of “Ellen” airs

Battle of Chancellorsville begins

Original Land Rover debuts at auto show

Battle of the Boot takes place between Anglo‑Indian and Turkish forces

Also on This Day in History April | 30

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