April 30th

Islamic conquest of Iberia: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus).

Roman Emperor Galerius issues Edict of Toleration, ending persercution of Christians in the Roman Empire.

Chrysler automobile company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Missing Georgia woman Jennifer Wilbanks, the so-called 'runaway bride,' turned up in Albuquerque, N.M.

Libya accepted responsibility for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Chandra Levy, a federal government intern, went missing in Washington, D.C. (Her remains were found more than a year later in a city park.).

ABC aired the 'coming out' episode of the sitcom 'Ellen,' in which the title character, played by Ellen DeGeneres, admitted she is a lesbian.

Top-ranked women's tennis player Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by a man who ran onto the court during a match in Hamburg, Germany.

Over 131,000 were killed and as many as 9 million left homeless when a cyclone struck Bangladesh.

The Vietnam War ended with South Vietnam's surrender to North Vietnam.

President Richard Nixon announced the United States was sending troops into Cambodia.

The American Association of Retired Persons was founded in Washington, D.C.

The Organization of American States held its first meeting in Bogotá, Colombia.

Adolf Hitler and his newly married mistress Eva Braun committed suicide.

U.S. commercial television made its official debut at the New York World’s Fair.The signal was transmitted from the Empire State Building.

Germany and its World War I allies become the first countries to use daylight saving time (DST). The rationale was to save energy to aid the war effort. Other European countries, such as the United Kingdom, first introduced DST later that year.

Hawaii was organized as a U.S. territory.

Charles Dickens' "A Tale Of Two Cities" is first published in literary periodical "All the Year Round" (weekly installments until Nov 26).

Louisiana became the 18th state in the United States.

France sold Louisiana and adjoining lands to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the United States of America.

1st French colonists in North America: Jean Ribault & colonists arrive in Florida.