30th March, on this day

239 -BC- 1st recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
804 Liudger becomes 1st bishop of Münster
988 Boudouin IV with the Beard becomes earl of Flanders
1282 Furious inhabitants of Palermo attack French occupation force
1296 Edward I sacks Berwick-upon-Tweed, during armed conflict between Scotland and England.
1422 Ketsugan, Zen teacher, performs exorcisms to free aizoji temple
1456 Prince Louis of Bourbon elected bishop of Liege
1474 Duke Sigismund van Tirol ends contacts with Switzerland
1492 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella sign decree expelling Jews from Spain
1533 Henry VIII divorces his 1st wife, Catherine of Aragon
1533 Thomas Cranmer becomes archbishop of Canterbury
1603 Battle at Mellifont: English army under Lord Mountjoy beats Irish
1778 Playwright Voltaire crowned with laurel wreath
1814 Britain and allies march into Paris after defeating Napoleon
1822 Florida Territory created in the United States.
1842 Ether was used as an anaesthetic for 1st time by Dr Crawford Long (Jefferson, GA)
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: Bleeding Kansas - "Border Ruffians" from Missouri invade Kansas and force election of a pro-slavery legislature.
1856 Russia signs Peace of Paris, ending the Crimean War
1858 Pencil with attached eraser patented (Hyman L Lipman of Philadelphia)
1863 Danish prince Wilhelm Georg of Sleeswÿk-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg chosen as king George of Greece
1864 Skirmish at Mount Elba, AR
1865 Battle at 5 Forks Virginia
1867 US purchases Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 (2¢ an acre-Seward's Folly)
1870 15th Amendment passes, guarantees right to vote regardless of race
1870 Texas becomes last confederate state readmitted to Union
1885 The Battle for Kushka triggers the Pandjeh Incident which nearly gives rise to war between the British Empire and Russian Empire.
1893 Thomas F Bayard becomes 1st US ambassador in Great Britain
1895 British inventor Birt Acres films Oxford-Cambridge
1909 The Queensboro Bridge opens, linking Manhattan and Queens.
1911 Lötschberg tunnel in Switzerland (13,735 meter) completed
1912 French protectorate in Morocco established
1919 Belgian Army occupies Düsseldorf
1919 Gandhi announces resistance against Rowlatt Act
1925 Stalin supports rights of non-Serbian Yugoslavians
1932 Amelia Earhart is 1st woman to fly solo cross the Atlantic
1935 Newfoundland changes time to 3½ hours W of Greenwich, repeats 44 seconds
1939 The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets the world airspeed record of 463 mph.
1940 Japan declares Nanking to be the capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Chingwei.
1941 German counter offensive in North-Africa
1942 1st RSHA-transport from France arrives in camp Birkenau
1942 SS murders 200 inmates of Trawniki labor camp
1943 British 1st army recaptures Sejenane
1944 781 British bombers attack Neurenberg
1945 289 anti-fascists murdered by Nazis in Rombergpark Dortmund
1945 USSR invades Austria during WWII and take Vienna, Polish and Soviet forces liberate Gdansk
1945 A defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 to Americans
1949 Riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joined NATO.
1950 Phototransistor invention announced, Murray Hill, NJ
1951 Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.
1953 Einstein announces revised unified field theory
1954 Yonge Street subway line opens in Toronto. It is the first subway in Canada.
1956 USSR performs nuclear test
1961 The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed at New York.
1961 NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 169,600' (51,690 meter)
1963 France performs underground nuclear test at Ecker Algeria
1964 Astronaut John Glenn withdraws from Ohio senate race
1964 In England, the seaside holiday resort of Clacton is the scene of pitched battles by rival gangs of 'mods' and 'rockers'
1965 A car bomb explodes in front of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.
1967 Cover picture of Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper" is photographed
1968 General Ludvik Svoboda elected President of Czechoslovakia
1970 Miles Davis Bitches Brew released
1970 USSR wins its 8th straight world hockey championship
1972 The Easter Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam.
1972 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1973 Ellsworth Bunker resigns as US ambassador to South Vietnam
1974 Red Rum wins the Grand National at Aintree for second year running
1976 Israel kills 6 Palestinians protesting land confiscation
1979 Airey Neave, a British politician, is killed by a car bomb as he exits the Palace of Westminster. The Irish National Liberation Army claims responsibility.
1981 President Reagan shot and wounded by John W Hinckley Jr
1983 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1984 US ends participation in multinational Lebanon peace force
1987 The picture 'Sunflowers', painted by Vincent van Gogh is sold at auction by Christie's for £24,750,000
1991 William Kennedy Smith allegedly rapes a woman (found not guilty)
1992 PJ Patterson, resigns as 6th Prime Minister of Jamaica
1993 French government of Balladur forms
1993 Jamaican premier Percival Patterson wins parliamentary election
1996 Prince Edward and girl-friend Sophie Rhys-Jones visited Greystoke Castle
1997 Channel Five begins broadcasting in the UK
1997 Pop group The Spice Girls help launch Britain's newest terrestrial TV channel: Channel 5
2002 The Queen Mother dies peacefully in her sleep, aged 101
2006 Marcos Pontes is the first Brazilian astronaut in space.
2006 UK Terrorism Act 2006 becomes law.

30th March 2006

Iran given stark nuclear choice

Kurd unrest escalates in Turkey

Cyclone Glenda lashes Australia

30th March 2007

'Dozens die' in Pakistan fighting

Chile riots lead to 800 arrests

Brawl halts team sports in Greece

30th March 2008

Iraqi cleric calls off militias

Open skies deal comes into effect

Plane crash destroys homes

30th March 2009

Lahore police academy recaptured

Nine die in Afghanistan attack

Obama sets tight auto aid terms

30th March 2010

Collider sees success

Putin demands Moscow bombing suspects caught

Diver dies at site of sunk warship

Birthdates which occurred on 30th March :

1135 Maimonides [Moses Ben Maimon] Còrodoba Spain, philosopher/physician
1222 Nichiren Japan, Buddhist priest/saint
1432 Mehmed II [Fâtih] Sultan of Turkey (1451-81)
1672 Peter I "the Great" Romanov great tsar of Russia (1682-1725)
1674 Jethro Tull agricultural writer (Basildon), baptised
1681 Pieter Snyers Flemish painter/engraver
1687 Johann Balthasar Freisslich composer
1697 John-Baptist Xavery Flemish sculptor
1719 Sir John Hawkins England, wrote 1st history of music
1727 Tommaso Traetta Italy's opera composer/band leader (Farnace)
1746 Francisco Jose de Goya Fuendetodos Spain, painter/etcher (Naked Maja)
1750 John Stafford Smith composer
1772 Johann Wilhelm Wilms composer
1790 Joseph Smith Rear Admiral (Union Navy), died in 1877
1804 Salomon Sulzer composer
1805 Adrien de La Fage composer
1811 Angelo Catelani Italian composer/conductor
1815 Wincenty Studzinski composer
1823 Joseph Farmer Knipe Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1901
1824 Innis Newton Palmer Brevet Major General (Union volunteers)
1825 Samuel Bell Maxey Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1895
1830 Auguste Tolbecque composer
1830 Julius F A Bahnsen German philosopher
1835 Bernhard Scholz composer
1836 Karl Freiherr von Stumm-Halberg German industrialist/politician
1842 John Fiske [Edmund Fisk Green] US historian/philosopher
1844 Paul M Verlaine France, lyric poet (Sagesse Bonbeur)
1853 Vincent van Gogh Zundert Netherlands, artist who always lent an ear (Irises)
1864 Franz Oppenheimer German sociologist/politician
1865 Heinrich Rubens German physicist
1872 Sergey Nikiforovich Vasilenko composer
1876 Clifford Whittingham Beers US, mental hygiene pioneer
1880 Sean O'Casey Ireland, playwright (Playboy of the Western World)
1882 Melanie Klein Austrian/British psycho analysis
1883 Jo Davidson US, sculptor (Woodrow Wilson, Walt Whitman)
1886 Stanislaw Lesniewski Poland, logician/mathematician
1887 Albert P Termote Flemish/Dutch sculptor (Charles the Great)
1888 Anna Q Nilsson Ystad Sweden, actress (Shenandoah, Uncle Tom's Cabin)
1891 Jan B Cammans Flemish actor (Brothers Karamazov)
1892 Erwin Panofsky German/US art historian
1894 Sergei Ilyushin Russian airplane builder (Ilyushin)
1895 Jean Giono French writer (World Chant)
1898 Heinz Risse writer
1898 Joyce Carey London England, actress (Black Windmill)
1899 Irving Thalberg US producer (MGM)
19-- Steve Summers rocker (Pretty Boy Floyd-Rock & Roll)
1903 Countee Cullen US poet (Color, Ballad of the Brown Girl)
1903 Sol C Siegel US, producer (High Society, Gentlemen prefer blondes)
1904 Akarova [Marguerite Acarin], Belgian dancer (Les Biches)
1905 Mikio Oda Japan, triple jumper (Olympics-gold-1928)
1908 Camille Schmit composer
1908 Kurt Bruggemann composer
1908 Leslie O'Brien "Chuck" Fleetwood-Smith Chinese cricket bowler
1909 Ernst Gombrich OM/FBA/director (Warburg Institute)
1911 Dennis Gomm musician
1912 Andrew Rodger Waterson scholar/naturalist
1912 Jack Cowie cricketer (successful New Zealand fast bowler either side of WWII)
1913 Frankie Laine [Frank Paul LoVecchio] Chicago IL, singer (Hey, Good Lookin', That's My Desire)/ actor (Frankie Laine Show, Rawhide)
1913 Gottfried Reinhardt theatre producer
1913 Richard Helms CIA head (1966-73)
1914 Sonny Boy Williamson [John Lee] blues musician (Down & Out Blues)
1917 Els Aarne composer
1917 Herbert Anderson actor (Henry-Dennis The Menace)
1917 Rudolf Bruci composer
1918 John Gray FRS/marine biologist
1918 Joseph Allen Jr Boston MA, actor (Death of a Champion)
1919 McGeorge Bundy Boston MA, national security adviser under JFK
1919 Ramsay Ames actress (G-Men Never Forget, Ali Baba & 40 Thieves)
1920 Turhan Bey Vienna Austria, actor (Dragon Seed, Ali Baba & 40 Thieves)
1921 Countess of Sutherland English great land owner/multi-millionaire
1921 Kan Ishii composer
1921 Oto Ferenczy composer
1922 German Germanovich Galinin composer
1922 J F Coates naval architect
1922 Peter Jona Korn composer
1923 Herbert Asmodi writer
1924 Milko Kelemen composer
1925 Ivo Malek composer
1925 John Wells MP
1926 John Heddle Nash singer
1926 Lord Rayner
1926 Ray McAnally Buncrana County Donegal Ireland, actor (My Left Foot, Empire State, Sicilian)
1926 Werner Torkanowsky Berlin Germany, conductor (New Orleans Symphony)
1927 Lord Armstrong of Ilminster
1927 Wally Grout cricketer (great Aussie wicket-keeper)
1928 Diether de la Motte composer
1928 Richard Trant British General
1928 Tom Sharpe English historian/author (Riotous Assembly, Want)
1929 Richard Dysart Brighton MA, actor (Leland MacKenzie-LA Law)
1929 Shirley Stoler Brooklyn NY, actress (Frankenhooker, 7 Beauties)
1930 Browne-Wilkinson lord
1930 David Staple joint president (Council of Churches for Britain & Ireland)
1930 John Astin Baltimore MD, actor (I'm Dickens He's Fenster, Gomez-Addams Family)
1930 Peter Marshall [Pierre LaCock] Huntington Long Island NY, TV game show host (Hollywood Squares)
1930 Rolf Harris Bassendean Western Australia, Australian/British cartoonist/singer (Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport)/actor (The Little Convict)
1931 Aleksey Vasilyevich Sorokin Russian cosmonaut
1931 Harold Burrage US singer/pianist (Hi Yo Silver)
1931 Sandor Szokolay composer
1932 A J Zuckerman Dean (Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine)
1933 Jean-Claude Brialy Aumale Algeria, actor (Circle of Love, Cousins)
1934 Lord Tanlaw
1935 Alan Jackson CEO (BTR)
1935 Gordon Mumma composer
1935 John Charles Eaton composer
1936 Mark Burns British director (Juggernaut)
1936 Richard Baker Santa Fe NM, Zen teacher (Dharma Sangha)
1937 J S Jennings CEO (Shell Transport & Trading Co)
1937 Jay W Macintosh Gainesville GA, actress (Sons & Daughters)
1937 Lord MacLaurin of Knebworth
1937 Warren Beatty Richmond VA, actor (Bonnie & Clyde,Shampoo, Dick Tracy)
1938 Martin Dunne Lord-Lieutenant (Warwickshire)
1940 Astrud Gilberto Brazil, singer (Girl From Ipanema)
1940 Jerry Lucas Middletown OH, NBA center (New York Knicks, NBA rookie of year 1964, Olympics-gold-60)
1940 Norman Gifford cricketer (respected England slow left-armer 1964-73)
1941 Brendan O'Friel CEO (Prison Governors Association)
1941 Robert C Smith (Representative-Republican-NH, 1985- )
1941 Ron Johnston Vice-Chancellor (Essex University)
1941 Sven Hamrin Sweden, road race cycler (Olympics-bronze-1964)
1942 George Esson Chief Constable (Dumfries & Galloway)
1942 Graeme Edge Rochester Staffordshire England, rock drummer (Moody Blues-Nights in White Satin, Your Wildest Dreams)
1943 Bob Blewett cricketer (father of Greg South Australia batsman 1975-79)
1944 Gerrit Komrij Dutch poet/essayist (Happy Schizo)
1945 Eric Clapton [Eric Patrick Clapp] Ripley England, legendary guitarist/singer (Yardbirds, Cream, Tears in Heaven)
1948 Dave Ball rocker (Procul Harum)
1948 Jim Dandy Mangrum vocalist (Black Oak Arkansas-Jim Dandy)
1948 Justin Deas Connellsville PA, actor (Buzz-Guiding Light, Dream Lover, As the World Turns, Santa Barbara)
1948 M A King FBA, economist
1948 Nigel Jones British MP
1949 Leslie Joan Corn theatre producer/director/writer
1949 Sue Cook British broadcaster
1950 Dave McCurdy (Representative-Democrat-OK, 1981- )
1950 Eugene Bowen composer (Wonder's Edge)
1950 Joseph Cali New York NY, actor (Nick-Today's FBI)
1950 Rupert Greenall rock keyboardist (Fixx)
1951 John Gosden racehorse trainer
1955 Randy Van Warmer Indian Hills CO, vocalist (Just When I Needed You Most)
1957 Elena V Kondakova Moscow Russia, cosmonaut (STS 84)
1957 Paul Reiser New York NY, actor (My 2 Dads, Diner, Aliens, Mad About You)
1957 Yelena Vladimirovna Kondakova Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM 20, STS 84)
1958 Joseph Paul Sindelar Fort Knox KY, PGA golfer (British Columbia Open-1985, 87)
1959 Daniel Seifried Kitchener Ontario, Canadia Tour golfer (1981 Thunder Bay)
1960 William D Johnson US alpine skier
1962 M C Hammer [Stanley Kirk Burrell] Oakland CA, rapper (U Can't Touch This)
1963 Jenny Lidback Lima Peru, LPGA golfer (1995 du Maurier Ltd Classic)
1963 Lomas Brown NFL tackle (Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals)
1964 Corey Millen Cloquet MN, NHL center (Calgary Flames)
1964 Dave Ellett Cleveland OH, NHL defenseman (Toronto Maple Leafs)
1964 Tracy Chapman US singer/songwriter (Freedom Now, I Got a Fast Car)
1965 Karel Novacek Prostejov Czechoslovakia, tennis star (1994 Hilversum)
1965 Piers Morgan editor (Daily Mirror)
1967 Ian Ziering West Orange NJ, actor (Steve Sanders-Beverly Hills 90210)
1967 Julie Richardson Auckland New Zealand, tennis star (1992 Futures-Canberra)
1968 Celine Dion Québec Canada, singer (I'm Your Woman)
1968 Donna D'Errico Dothan AL, playmate (September 1995)/actress (Baywatch)
1969 Marco Foddis pop drummer (Pestilence)
1969 Mark Astley Calgary, NHL defenseman (Buffalo Sabres)
1970 George Coghill WLAF safety (Scottish Claymores)
1970 Mark Consuelos Zaragosa Spain, actor (Mateo Santos-All My Children)
1970 Secreteriat race horse, triple crown (1973)
1970 Shane Bertsch Denver CO, Nike golfer (1994 Permina Basin Open-14th)
1971 Mari Holden Milwaukee WI, cyclist (Olympics-96)
1972 Brenden Stai NFL guard (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1972 Matt Joyce NFL/WLAF guard/tackle (Cardinals, Seahawks, Claymores)
1972 Peggy Zlotkowski Miss France-Universe (1989)
1973 [Kirk] Kareem Streete-Thompson Ithaca NY, 100 meter/long jumper
1973 Caroline Ramagos Miss Mississippi-USA (1996)
1973 Melinda Penn Miss British Virgin Islands-Universe (1997)
1973 Rodney Thomas running back (Tennessee Oilers)
1974 Martin Love cricketer (high scoring Queensland batsman, Australia 1995)
1976 Chris Canty cornerback (New England Patriots)
1976 Toby Gowin punter (Dallas Cowboys)
1978 Wendy Christina Roberts Miss South Carolina Teen-USA (1996)
1980 Liriel Higa Los Angeles CA, rhythmic gymnast (Olympics-96)
1983 ? California condor chick, San Diego CA, 1st born in captivity hatches

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Deaths which occurred on March 30th:
0988 Arnulf II count of Flanders (965-988), dies
1202 Joachim Van Fiore Italian religious founder (Joachimism), dies
1547 François I of Valois-Angoulême King of France (1515-47), dies at 52
1707 Sébastien le Prestre Vauban French fortress architect, dies at 73
1757 Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz composer, dies at 39
1764 Pietro Antonio Locatelli Italian violinist/composer, dies at 68
1840 George (Beau) Brummell Dandy, dies
1864 Louis Alexander Balthasar Schindelmeisser composer, dies 52
1871 W F A A Louisa/Lovisa queen of Sweden/Norway, dies at 42
1872 Nicolaos Mantzaros composer, dies at 76
1873 Benedict Augustin Morel psychologist (dementia praecox), dies at 63
1875 Marie Moke Pleyel composer, dies at 63
1879 David van der Kellen Dutch coin engraver, dies at 74
1879 Thomas Couture French painter/author, dies at 63
1884 Hans Hampel composer, dies at 61
1906 Betsy Perk [Christina E], journalist/writer/feminist, dies at 73
1910 Jean Moréas [Y Papadiamantopoulos], Greek/French poet, dies at 53
1912 Karl May German writer (Winnetou/Kara Ben Nemsi), dies at 70
1925 Rudolf Steiner Austrian philosopher (anthroposophy), dies at 64
1926 Feliks E Dzerzjinski Lithuanian organizer (KGB), dies at 48
1935 Romanos Hovakimi Melik'yan composer, dies at 51
1942 Alfred Coville French historian (Lesson premier Valois), dies at 81
1945 Karel Moor composer, dies at 71
1946 John S S P V Gort viscount of Limerick/Hamsterley, dies at 59
1948 Mahatma Gandhi assassinated in New Delhi
1949 Dattaram Dharmaji Hindlekar cricketer (4 Tests for India), dies
1949 Friedrich C R Bergius chemist (brown coal, Nobel 1931), dies at 64
1950 Léon Blum French premier (People's Front Govt), dies at 77
1953 Roderich Mojsisovics-Mojsvar composer, dies at 75
1955 Harl McDonald US composer (Santa Fé Trail), dies at 55
1960 Fritz Klimsch German sculptor/painter, dies at 90
1960 Joseph Haas German opera composer (Totenmesse), dies at 81
1961 P J Melotte discovered Jupiter's 8th satellite Pasiphae, dies
1963 Alexander Vasil'yevich Gauk composer, dies at 69
1964 Willem CN Andriessen Dutch composer/pianist (Beethoven), dies at 76
1966 Erwin Piscator German director (Plebeians test rebellion), dies at 72
1966 Maxfield Parrish US painter, dies at 95
1969 Lucien Bianchi Belgian auto racer, dies at 34
1971 Selmer Jackson actor (Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp), dies at 82
1972 Gabriel Heather US news anchor, dies at 81
1972 Peter Whitney actor (Rough Riders), dies at 55
1974 Ludovicus J Rogier Dutch historian (Reborn in Freedom), dies at 79
1975 Peter Bamm writer, dies
1976 Jacqueline Royaards-Sandberg actress (Hostage Rights), dies at 99
1977 Levko Mykolayevich Revutsky composer, dies at 88
1978 George Paine lefty cricket spinner (for England in West Indies 1935), dies
1978 Harold Gimblett cricketer (Batted in 3 Tests for England), suicide
1979 Airey Neave British MP (Conservatives), killed by terrorist bomb
1981 Dewitt Wallace US founder (Reader's Digest), dies at 91
1981 Noel Harford cricketer (8 Tests for New Zealand 1955-58), dies
1983 Pál Kadosa Hungarian composer/pianist, dies at 79
1984 Peter Yarrall strongest Englishman/weighed 826 lb (374.7 kg), dies
1985 Harold Peary actor (Herb-Blondie, Willy), dies of heart attack at 76
1986 James F Cagney actor (Public Enemy, Angels With Dirty Faces, Yankee Doodle Dandy), dies at his Stanfordville NY farm at 86
1986 John Ciardi US poet/interpreter (Dante), dies at 69
1989 Dort Clark actor (In Harm's Way), dies
1991 Jan Willem Hofstra Dutch actor/writer (Friends of My Friends), dies
1992 Art Hannes announcer, dies of a respiratory ailment at 72
1992 Luigi De Laurentiis Italian producer (Toto, Macaroni), dies
1993 Jeremy Siegrist actor (Adventures of Darly & Samy), dies hiking at 20
1993 Richard C Diebenkorn Jr US painter (Ocean Park Paintings), dies at 70
1994 Albert Goldman rock biographer (Elvis, John Lennon), dies at 66
1994 Sid Weiss bassist, dies at 79
1995 Graham Anthony Richard Lock cricketer, dies at 65
1995 Paul A Rothchild record producer, dies at 59
1995 Rozelle Claxton pianist/arranger, dies at 82
1995 Tony Lock cricketer (174 wickets for England), dies
1996 Hugh Edward Lance Falkus filmmaker/naturalist, dies at 78
1996 Ryoei Saito businessman, dies at 79
2002 HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother dies at Royal Lodge, Windsor, at 101

Golden Link 1/ On this day 30th March

Golden Link 2/ On this day 30th March

Golden Link 3/ On this day 30th March