April 30

### Up to 1950

- 313 – Battle of Tzillarum: Emperor Licinius defeats Maximinus II and unifies the Eastern Roman Empire.
- 711 – Tariq ibn Ziyad reaches Gibraltar, beginning Moorish rule in Spain.
- 1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.
- 1557 – Mapuche leader Lautaro is killed by Spanish forces at the Battle of Mataquito in Chile
- 1789 – George Washington becomes the first President of the United States.
- 1802 – The break of the Puentes Reservoir in Spain kills 608 people
- 1803 – The US buys the Louisiana Territory from France, more than doubling its land area.
- 1812 – Louisiana becomes a state of the US.
- 1838 – Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation.
- 1863 – A 65–man French Foreign Legion infantry patrol fights a force of nearly 2,000 Mexican soldiers to nearly the last man at Hacienda Camaron, Mexico.
- 1871 – Camp Grant Massacre in the Arizona Territory.
- 1885 – Governor of New York David B. Hill signs legislation creating the Niagara Reservation near Niagara Falls. It is New York's first State Park.
- 1900 – Hawaii becomes a US territory, with Sanford Dole as Governor.
- 1907 – Honolulu becomes an independent city.
- 1908 – Japanese small cruiser _Matsushima_ sinks after a munitions explosion near Taiwan, killing 206 out of the 347 men on board.
- 1920 – Peru becomes a signatory of the Buenos Aires Convention.
- 1927 – Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
- 1927 – The Federal Industrial Institute for Women opens in Alderson, West Virginia, as the first women's federal prison in the United States.
- 1937 – In a referendum, women in Philippines support being given the right to vote.
- 1938 – First televised FA Cup final between Huddersfield Town and Preston North End
- 1939 – Start of the 1939/40 World's Fair in New York City.
- 1939 – NBC inaugurates its regularly scheduled TV service in New York City.
- 1941 – British steam freighter _Nerissa_ is torpedoed near Rockall by a German U–boat, causing it to sink, with the loss of 207 lives.
- 1943 – World War II: Operation Mincemeat – Submarine HMS _Seraph_ surfaces in the Mediterranean Sea off Spain to deposit a dead man planted with false invasion plans dressed as a British military intelligence officer.
- 1945 – World War II: One day after getting married, Adolf Hitler and his wife Eva Braun commit suicide. On the same day, Red Army troops raise the Soviet flag on the Reichstag building.
- 1945 – World War II: American forces take Munich.
- 1947 – In Nevada, the Boulder Dam is renamed Hoover Dam for the second time.
- 1948 – The Organization of American States is formed in Bogota, Colombia.

### From 1951

- 1952 – The Diary of Anne Frank is published in English.
- 1961 – _K-19_, the first Soviet nuclear submarine with nuclear missiles, is commissioned.
- 1963 – Fehmarnsundbroen, a bridge connecting the island of Fehmarn to mainland Denmark, is opened to traffic.
- 1966 – The Church of Satan is founded.
- 1975 – With the fall of Saigon, the Vietnam War officially comes to an end.
- 1980 – Beatrix becomes Queen of the Netherlands, after the decision of her mother, Queen Juliana to abdicate the throne.
- 1980 – The siege at the Iranian Embassy begins in London.
- 1985 – US entrepreneur Dick Bass climbs Mount Everest, becoming the first person to successfully climb the "Seven Summits", the highest peaks on each continent.
- 1993 – The World Wide Web is released for use.
- 1993 – Tennis player Monica Seles is stabbed by an obsessed fan of her rival Steffi Graf, during a tournament in Germany.
- 1994 – Austrian Formula 1 driver Roland Ratzenberger is killed in a crash, while practising for the San Marino Grand Prix, at which fellow driver Ayrton Senna is killed the next day.
- 1995 – Bill Clinton becomes the first President of the United States to visit Northern Ireland.
- 1995 – Greenpeace activists occupy the Shell Oil Company–owned oil platform Brent Spar between Shetland and Norway, to protest against its planned sinking in the North Sea.
- 1999 – Cambodia joins ASEAN.
- 2004 – US media release graphic photographs of US soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.
- 2006 – Along with her brother, Swiss ski racer Corinne Rey-Bellet is shot dead by her husband, who commits suicide a short time later.
- 2009 – Chrysler files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- 2009 – Netherlands: An attempted attack is made on the Dutch Royal Family at a Queen's Day parade in Apeldoorn, as a car is driven into the crowd, killing seven spectators, and the perpetrator, Karst Tates, who dies the next day.
- 2012 – A ferry capsizes on the Brahmaputra River in India, killing at least 103 people.
- 2013 – Beatrix of the Netherlands abdicates the throne. Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is the new King, the first Dutch King since 1890.
- 2019 – Akihito abdicates as Emperor of Japan, passing the throne to his son Naruhito.

### Up to 1800

- 1245 – King Philip III of France (d. 1285)
- 1306 – Andrea Dandolo, ruler of Venice (d. 1354)
- 1310 – Casimir III of Poland (d. 1368)
- 1331 – Gaston III, Count of Foix (d. 1391)
- 1553 – Louise of Lorraine (d. 1601)
- 1586 – Saint Rose of Lima, Peruvian saint (d. 1617)
- 1602 – William Lilly, English astrologer (d. 1681)
- 1623 – François de Laval, first bishop of New France (d. 1708)
- 1651 – Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, French educational reformer (d. 1719)
- 1662 – Queen Mary II of England (d. 1694)
- 1664 – François Louis, Prince of Conti, French general (d. 1709)
- 1710 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (d. 1795)
- 1721 – Roger Sherman, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1793)
- 1723 – Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French naturalist (d. 1806)
- 1758 – Emmanuel Vitale, Maltese commander and politician (d. 1802)
- 1770 – David Thompson, English–Canadian explorer (d. 1857)
- 1777 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (d. 1855)

### 1801 – 1900

- 1803 – Albrecht von Roon, Prussian politician (d. 1879)
- 1812 – Kaspar Hauser, German boy whose early life is a mystery (d. 1833)
- 1823 – George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll, Scottish politician (d. 1900)
- 1829 – Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist (d. 1884)
- 1831 – Romolo Gessi, Italian explorer in Africa (d. 1881)
- 1839 – Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria (d. 1892)
- 1852 – Tewfik Pasha, ruler of Egypt (d. 1892)
- 1857 – Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1940)
- 1864 – Juhan Liiv, Estonian poet (d. 1913)
- 1865 – Max Nettlau, German anarchist and historian (d. 1944)
- 1869 – Hans Poelzig, German architect, painter and set designer (d. 1936)
- 1870 – Franz Lehár, Austrian composer (d. 1948)
- 1870 – Homer Stille Cummings, American jurist and politician (d. 1956)
- 1876 – Oros Mario Corbino, Italian physicist and politician (d. 1937)
- 1877 – Alice B. Toklas, American companion of Gertrude Stein (d. 1967)
- 1883 – Jaroslav Hašek, Czech novelist (d. 1923)
- 1883 – Luigi Russolo, Italian painter and composer (d. 1947)
- 1884 – Olof Sandborg, Swedish movie and theatre actor (d. 1965)
- 1887 – Anne Zernike, Dutch theologian and minister (d. 1972)
- 1888 – David Jacobs, Welsh athlete (d. 1976)
- 1889 – Fritz Pfeffer, German dentist and Holocaust victim (d. 1944)
- 1893 – Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi foreign minister (d. 1946)
- 1895 – Philippe Paneton, Canadian physician, academic and diplomat (d. 1960)
- 1897 – Humberto Mauro, Brazilian director and screenwriter (d. 1983)

### 1901 – 1950

- 1901 – Simon Kuznets, Ukrainian–born economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
- 1902 – Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
- 1905 – Sergey Nikolsky, Russian mathematician (d. 2012)
- 1908 – Eve Arden, American actress (d. 1990)
- 1908 – Bjarni Benediktsson, Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1970)
- 1909 – Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (d. 2004)
- 1913 – Ilmar Raud, Estonian chess player (d. 1941)
- 1915 – Elio Toaff, Italian rabbi (d. 2015)
- 1916 – Claude Shannon, American engineer and mathematician (d. 2001)
- 1916 – Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Bea Wain, American singer (d. 2017)
- 1918 – Don McNeill, American tennis player (d. 1996)
- 1923 – Al Lewis, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Kagamisato Kiyoji, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 2004)
- 1925 – Johnny Horton, American musician (d. 1960)
- 1925 – Corinne Calvet, French actress (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Cloris Leachman, American actress (d. 2021)
- 1930 – Félix Guattari, French psychologist (d. 1992)
- 1932 – Antonio Tejero, Spanish coup leader
- 1933 – Darwin Hindman, American politician (d. 2019)
- 1938 – Lucho Avilés, Uruguayan–Argentine entertainment journalist (d. 2019)
- 1938 – Gary Collins, American actor (d. 2012)
- 1938 – Larry Niven, American writer
- 1939 – Pieter van Vollenhoven, brother–in–law to Beatrix of the Netherlands
- 1940 – Ermindo Onega, Argentine footballer
- 1940 – Burt Young, American actor
- 1941 – Johnny Farina, American guitarist (Santo and Johnny)
- 1941 – Stavros Dimas, Greek politician
- 1941 – Buddy Cianci, American politician (d. 2016)
- 1942 – Maurizio Arcieri, Italian singer (d. 2015)
- 1943 – Bobby Vee, American singer (d. 2016)
- 1943 – Frederick Chiluba, former President of Zambia (d. 2011)
- 1944 – Jon Bing, Norwegian writer and law professor (d. 2014)
- 1944 – Jill Clayburgh, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1944 – Rudi Assauer, German footballer (d. 2019)
- 1945 – Annie Dillard, American writer
- 1945 – Michael Smith, American astronaut (d. 1986)
- 1945 – Lara Saint Paul, Italian–Eritrean singer (d. 2018)
- 1946 – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
- 1946 – Sven Nordqvist, Swedish writer and illustrator
- 1946 – Bill Plympton, American animator and director
- 1946 – Don Schollander, American swimmer
- 1947 – Mats Odell, Swedish politician
- 1947 – Bruce Hampton, American musician (d. 2017)
- 1947 – Leslie Grantham, English actor (d. 2018)
- 1947 – Thomas Goppel, German politician
- 1948 – Perry King, American actor
- 1949 – Phil Garner, American baseball manager
- 1949 – António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations and former Prime Minister of Portugal

### 1951 – 1975

- 1951 – Ken Whiteley, Canadian folk musician
- 1952 – Jacques Audiard, French movie director and screenwriter
- 1953 – Merrill Osmond, American actor and singer (The Osmonds)
- 1954 – Jane Campion, New Zealand movie director
- 1954 – Kim Darroch, British diplomat
- 1955 – Julio Cobos, Argentine politician
- 1955 – Nicolas Hulot, French journalist and writer
- 1956 – Jorge Chaminé, Portuguese baritone
- 1956 – Lars von Trier, Danish movie director
- 1957 – Aviva Chomsky, American historian and writer
- 1957 – Giuseppe Sannino, Italian footballer
- 1958 – Charles Berling, French actor, director and producer
- 1959 – Paul Gross, Canadian actor, producer, director, singer and writer
- 1959 – Stephen Harper, 22nd Prime Minister of Canada
- 1960 – David Miscavige, leader of the Church of Scientology
- 1961 – Isiah Thomas, American basketball player, coach, and team owner
- 1961 – Thomas Schaaf, German footballer
- 1961 – Franky Van der Elst, Belgian footballer
- 1962 – Nikolai Fomenko, Russian musician, actor and racing driver
- 1964 – Lorenzo Staelens, Belgian footballer
- 1964 – Barrington Levy, Jamaican musician
- 1964 – Ian Healy, English cricketer
- 1967 – Steven Mackintosh, English actor
- 1969 – Justine Greening, English politician
- 1969 – Paulo Jr., Brazilian bassist (Sepultura)
- 1969 – Clark Vogeler, American guitarist (The Toadies)
- 1973 – Naomi Novik, American writer
- 1975 – Elliott Sadler, American race car driver
- 1975 – Johnny Galecki, American actor

### From 1976

- 1976 – Amanda Palmer, American musician and songwriter
- 1978 – Tom Fulp, Newgrounds creator
- 1978 – Simone Barone, Italian footballer
- 1979 – Gerardo Torrado, Mexican footballer
- 1980 – Sam Heughan, Scottish actor
- 1980 – Jeroen Verhoeven, Dutch footballer
- 1981 – Kunal Nayyar, British actor
- 1981 – John O'Shea, Irish footballer
- 1982 – Kirsten Dunst, American actress
- 1982 – Justin Green, National Football League fullback
- 1982 – Drew Seeley, Canadian–American singer-songwriter, dancer and actor
- 1983 – Chris Carr, American football player
- 1983 – Nenad Milijas, Serbian footballer
- 1983 – Tatjana Hüfner, German luger
- 1983 – Troy Williamson, American football player
- 1984 – Seimone Augustus, American basketball player
- 1984 – Sophie Turner, Australian model, television personality and lawyer
- 1985 – Gal Gadot, Israeli model and actress
- 1986 – Dianna Agron, American actress
- 1987 – Rohit Sharma, Indian cricketer
- 1989 – Jang Wooyoung, South Korean singer
- 1989 – Baauer, American DJ and producer
- 1990 – Jonny Brownlee, English triathlete
- 1990 – Michael Schulte, German singer
- 1991 – Kaarel Nurmsalu, Estonian ski jumper
- 1992 – Marc-André ter Stegen, German footballer
- 2002 – Miguel Urdangarín y de Borbon, Spanish royal

### Up to 1900

- 65 – Lucan, Roman poet (born 39)
- 1030 – Mahmud of Ghazni, Indian ruler of the Ghaznavid Dynasty (b. 971)
- 1063 – Emperor Renzong of China (born 1010)
- 1131 – Adjutor, French knight and saint
- 1341 – John III, Duke of Brittany (born 1285)
- 1439 – Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, English military leader (born 1382)
- 1513 – Edmund de la Pole, Yorkist claimant to the English throne
- 1544 – Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, Lord Chancellor of England
- 1550 – Tabinshwehti, King of Burma (born 1516)
- 1555 – Pope Marcellus II (born 1501)
- 1632 – King Sigismund of Sweden (born 1561)
- 1632 – Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, military leader in the Thirty Years' War (born 1559)
- 1637 – Niwa Nagashige, Japanese daimyo (born 1571)
- 1660 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch writer (born 1576)
- 1672 – Marie of the Incarnation, French–Canadian nun and saint (born 1599)
- 1736 – Johann Albert Fabricius, German classical scholar and bibliographer (born 1668)
- 1792 – John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, English politician (born 1718)
- 1795 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French numismatist (born 1716)
- 1806 – Onogawa Kisaburo, Japanese sumo wrestler (born 1758)
- 1847 – Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen, Austrian nobleman and general (born 1771)
- 1863 – Jean Danjou, French captain (b. 1828)
- 1865 – Robert FitzRoy, British admiral and meteorologist (born 1805)
- 1879 – Emma Hale Smith Bidamon, American religious leader (born 1804)
- 1883 – Edouard Manet, French painter (born 1832)
- 1895 – Gustav Freytag, German writer and journalist (born 1810)

### 1901 – 2000

- 1903 – Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and suffragist (born 1831)
- 1906 – James E. Boyd, Irish–American politician, 8th Governor of Nebraska (born 1834)
- 1926 – Bessie Coleman, American pilot (born 1892)
- 1933 – Luis Miguel Sanchez Cerro, President of Peru (born 1889)
- 1936 – Alfred Edward Housman, English poet (born 1859)
- 1943 – Otto Jespersen, Danish linguist (born 1860)
- 1945 – Eva Braun, mistress and wife of Adolf Hitler (born 1912)
- 1945 – Adolf Hitler, Austrian politician, Nazi leader (born 1889)
- 1956 – Alben W. Barkley, Vice President of the United States (born 1877)
- 1966 – Richard Farina, American writer and singer (born 1837)
- 1970 – Inger Stevens, Swedish actress (born 1934)
- 1974 – Agnes Moorehead, American actress (born 1900)
- 1980 – Luis Munoz Marin, Puerto Rican poet, journalist and politician (born 1898)
- 1983 – George Balanchine, Georgian–born dancer and choreographer (born 1904)
- 1983 – Muddy Waters, American musician (born 1915)
- 1983 – Edouard Wyss-Dunant, Swiss physician and mountaineer (born 1897)
- 1989 – Sergio Leone, Italian movie director (born 1929)
- 1989 – Bangja, Crown Princess Eumin of Korea (born 1901)
- 1990 – Mario Pizziolo, Italian footballer (born 1909)
- 1993 – Mario Evaristo, Argentine footballer (born 1908)
- 1994 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian racecar driver (born 1960)
- 1994 – Richard Scarry, American children's writer and illustrator (born 1919)
- 1995 – Maung Maung Kha, Burmese politician (born 1920)
- 1999 – Alf Ramsey, English football manager (born 1920)
- 2000 – Poul Hartling, 36th Prime Minister of Denmark (born 1914)

### From 2001

- 2003 – Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (born 1923)
- 2006 – Corinne Rey-Bellet, Swiss ski racer (born 1972)
- 2007 – Gregory Lemarchal, French singer (born 1983)
- 2009 – Venetia Burney, English girl who named the dwarf planet Pluto (born 1918)
- 2009 – Henk Nijdam, Dutch cyclist (born 1935)
- 2010 – Paul Mayer, German cardinal (born 1911)
- 2011 – Ernesto Sabato, Argentine writer and physicist (born 1911)
- 2011 – Dorjee Khandu, Indian politician, 6th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh (born 1955)
- 2012 – Tomas Borge, Nicaraguan politician (born 1930)
- 2012 – Alexander Dale Oen, Norwegian swimmer (born 1985)
- 2012 – George Murdock, American actor (born 1928)
- 2013 – Mike Gray, American writer, screenwriter, cinematographer and producer (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Ian Ross, Australian TV news presenter (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Chris Harris, English actor, director and writer (b. 1942)
- 2015 – Gregory Mertens, Belgian footballer (b. 1991)
- 2015 – Patachou, French actress and singer (b. 1918)
- 2015 – Ben E. King, American singer (b. 1938)
- 2015 – Lennart Bodström, Swedish politician (b. 1928)
- 2015 – William Pfaff, American writer and columnist (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Ronald Senator, British composer (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Nigel Terry, British actor (b. 1945)
- 2015 – David Fonseca, Belizean politician (b. 1954)
- 2016 – Harry Kroto, British chemist (b. 1939)
- 2016 – Daniel Aaron, American writer and academic (b. 1912)
- 2016 – Daniel Berrigan, American priest, poet and activist (b. 1921)
- 2016 – Marisol Escobar, French–born American sculptor (b. 1930)
- 2016 – Uwe Friedrichsen, German actor (b. 1934)
- 2016 – Peter Thomas, American narrator (b. 1924)
- 2016 – Vasily Zvyagintsev, Russian science fiction writer (b. 1944)
- 2017 – Ueli Steck, Swiss mountaineer and rock climber (b. 1976)
- 2017 – Belchior, Brazilian singer and composer (b. 1946)
- 2017 – Mbah Gotho, Indonesian claimed supercentenarian (b. claimed 1870)
- 2017 – Lorna Gray, American actress (b. 1917)
- 2017 – Raymond P. Kogovsek, American politician (b. 1941)
- 2017 – Boris Oleynik, Ukrainian poet, translator and politician (b. 1935)
- 2017 – Jean Stein, American writer and editor (b. 1934)
- 2018 – Joel Kovel, American environmentalist and anti–war activist (b. 1936)
- 2018 – Rose Laurens, French singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
- 2018 – Geneviève Claisse, French painter (b. 1935)
- 2018 – Anatole Katok, Russian–American mathematician (b. 1944)
- 2018 – John Treacher, British admiral (b. 1924)
- 2019 – Anémone, French actress (b. 1950)
- 2019 – Beth Carvalho, Brazilian samba singer (b. 1946)
- 2019 – Luciano Comaschi, Italian footballer (b. 1931)
- 2019 – Peter Mayhew, English–American actor (b. 1944)
- 2019 – S. P. Y. Reddy, Indian politician (b. 1950)
- 2024 – Paul Auster, American writer and mover director (b. 1947)

## Observances

- Queen's Day in the Netherlands (birthday of Queen Juliana), celebrated on this date from 1949 to 2013
- King Carl XVI Gustaf's birthday, official Flag Day in Sweden
- Walpurgis Night (Central and Northern Europe)
- International Jazz Day
- Liberation Day (Vietnam)
- Children's Day (Mexico)
- Armed Forces Day (Georgia)