March 30

Events
Up to 1900
598 - Balkan campaign: The Avars lift the siege of the Byzantine Empire stronghold of Tomis.
1282 - The people of Sicily rebel against the Angevin King, Charles I of Naples, in what becomes known as the Sicilian Vespers.
1296 - Edward I storms Berwick-upon-Tweed, sacking the then-Scottish border town, slaughtering almost everyone, even those fleeing to the churches.
1492 - Ferdinand and Isabella sign a decree aimed at expelling all Jews from Spain unless they convert to Roman Catholicism.
1533 - Thomas Cranmer becomes Archbishop of Canterbury.
1814 - Napoleonic Wars: Sixth Coalition forces march into Paris.
1814 - Joachim Murat issues the Rimini Declaration which would later inspire the unification of Italy into being one country.
1822 - Florida Territory created in the United States.
1841 - The National Bank of Greece is founded in Athens.
1842 - Anesthesia is used for the first time in an operation by Dr. Crawford Long.
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 - The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Crimean War.
1858 - Hyman Lipman patents a pencil with an attached eraser.
1863 - Prince Wilhelm Georg of Sleeswyk-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg is chosen as King George I of Greece.
1867 - Alaska is purchased for $7.2 million, about 2 cent/acre ($4.19/km2), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward. The news media call this Seward's Folly.
1870 - Texas is readmitted to the Union following Reconstruction.
1899 - British passenger steamship Stella hits a rock off Guernsey in the English Channel, in thick fog, sinking within eight minutes.
1901 2000
1909 - In New York City the Queensboro Bridge connecting Manhattan and Queens is opened to traffic.
1912 - Sultan Abdelhafid signs the Treaty of Fez, making Morocco a French protectorate.
1939 - The Henkel He 100 fighter aircraft sets a record airspeed of 745 kilometers per hour (463 miles per hour).
1940 - Second Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking to be the capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Ching-wei.
1944 - World War II: Allied bombing raid on Nuremberg.
1944 - World War II: The Allies conduct their most severe bombing raid on Sofia, Bulgaria.
1945 - World War II: Soviet Union forces invade Austria and take Vienna; Alger Hiss congratulated in Moscow for his part in bringing about the Western betrayal at the Yalta Conference.
1949 - Riots occur in Reykjavik after the decision of Iceland's government for the country to join NATO.
1951 - Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.
1954 - The first subway in Canada opens after five years of construction, in Toronto.
1961 - The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed at New York.
1962 - Jack Paar hosts his last episode of The Tonight Show.
1964 - The game show Jeopardy! debuts on television.
1965 - Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.
1972 - Vietnam War: The Eastertide Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam.
1974 - The Ramones play their first ever gig as a trio at CBGB's in New York City.
1976 - First Land Day protests in Israel and Palestine.
1981 - President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John Hinckley, Jr., family friend of the Vice President.
1982 - Space Shuttle program: The STS-3 mission ends, with the landing of the Space Shuttle Columbia at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, United States.
1987 - One of Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" paintings is bought by Japanese insurance magnate Yasuo Goto for $39.85 million.
From 2001
2001 - The result of the People's Republic of China's census is announced. The population at this time is estimated at 1,285,830,000.
2002 - Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother, dies at Windsor Castle, aged 101, just seven weeks after her daughter, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon.
2006 - The United Kingdom Terrorism Act 2006 becomes law.
2006 - Marcos Pontes becomes the first Brazilian in space on board the Soyuz TMA-8 aircraft, to the International Space Station.
2008 - The controversial 2008 Zimbabwean Presidential election is held.
2017 - SpaceX conducts the world's first re-flight of an orbital-class rocket.
Births
Up to 1900
1135 - Maimonides, Jewish philosopher (d. 1204)
1326 - Ivan II of Russia (d. 1359)
1432 - Mehmed II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1481)
1510 - Antonio de Cabezon, Spanish composer and organist (d. 1566)
1566 - Carlo Gesualdo, Italian nobleman, composer and murderer (d. 1613)
1633 - Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (d. 1708)
1727 - Tommaso Traetta, Italian composer (d. 1779)
1746 - Francisco Goya, Spanish painter (d. 1828)
1750 - John Stafford Smith, English organist and composer (d. 1836)
1757 - Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier, French physicist and aviation pioneer (d. 1785)
1785 - Henry Hardinge, Governor-General of India (d. 1856)
1793 - Juan Manuel de Rosas, Argentine military leader (d. 1877)
1805 - Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann, German-Swedish linguist (d. 1887)
1811 - Robert Bunsen, German chemist (d. 1899)
1818 - Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, German social reformer (d. 1888)
1820 - Anna Sewell, British writer (d. 1878)
1844 - Paul Verlaine, French poet (d. 1896)
1853 - Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter (d. 1890)
1857 - Thevenin, French telegraph engineer (d. 1926)
1863 - Joseph Caillaux, Prime Minister of France (d. 1944)
1863 - Mary Calkins, American philosopher and psychologist (d. 1930)
1864 - Franz Oppenheimer, German sociologist (d. 1943)
1874 - Charles Lightoller, English 2nd Officer of the RMS Titanic (d. 1952)
1874 - Nicolae Radescu, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1953)
1879 - Coen de Koning, Dutch ice skater (d. 1954)
1879 - Bernhard Schmidt, German optician (d. 1935)
1880 - Sean O'Casey, Irish dramatist (d. 1964)
1882 - Melanie Klein, Austrian-British psychoanalyst (d. 1960)
1892 - Stefan Banack, Polish mathematician (d. 1945)
1892 - Fortunato Depero, Italian painter, writer, sculptor and graphic designer (d. 1960)
1892 - Sanzo Nozaka, Japanese politician (d. 1993)
1892 - Sidney Soyers, CIA director (d. 1973)
1894 - Sergey Ilyushin, Russian aerospace engineer (d. 1977)
1894 - Tommy Green, English race walker (d. 1975)
1895 - Jean Giono, French author (d. 1970)
1899 - Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Bengali writer (d. 1970)
1900 - Santos Urdinaran, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1979)
1901 1950
1902 - Brooke Astor, American philanthropist (d. 2007)
1902 - Victor E. Anderson, Governor of Nebraska (d. 1962)
1902 - Frieda Szwillus, German supercentenarian (d. 2014)
1905 - Albert Pierrepoint, British executioner (d. 1992)
1908 - Leo A. Hoegh, Territorial Governor of Hawaii (d. 2000)
1909 - John A. Burns, Governor of Hawaii (d. 1975)
1910 - Jozef Marcinkiewicz, Polish mathematician (d. 1940)
1913 - Frankie Laine, American singer (d. 2007)
1913 - Censu Tabone, former President of Malta (d. 2012)
1913 - Richard Helms, American CIA director (d. 2002)
1913 - Marc Davis, American animator (d. 2000)
1914 - Sonny Boy Williamson I, American musician (d. 1948)
1915 - Arsenio Erico, Paraguayan footballer (d. 1977)
1915 - Pietro Ingrao, Italian politician (d. 2015)
1917 - Els Aarne, Estonian composer (d. 1995)
1919 - McGeorge Bundy, American diplomat (d. 1996)
1922 - Virgilio Noe, Italian cardinal (d. 2011)
1923 - Milton Acorn, Canadian poet (d. 1986)
1924 - Milko Kelemen, Croatian composer (d. 2018)
1926 - Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish businessman (IKEA) (d. 2018)
1926 - Peter Marshall, American actor, singer and game show host
1926 - Larissa Volpert, Russian chess player (d. 2017)
1928 - Tom Sharpe, British author (d. 2013)
1929 - Richard Dysart, American actor (d. 2015)
1930 - John Astin, American actor
1930 - Rolf Harris, Australian artist, singer and entertainer
1933 - Anna-Lisa, Norwegian-American actress (d. 2018)
1933 - Jean-Claude Brialy, French actor and director (d. 2007)
1934 - Mahmut Atalay, Turkish wrestler (d. 2004)
1934 - Hans Hollein, Austrian architect and designer (d. 2014)
1937 - Warren Beatty, American actor
1938 - Klaus Schwab, German economist and engineer
1940 - Astrud Gilberto, Brazilian singer
1940 - Jerry Lucas, American basketball player
1940 - Uwe Timm, German actor
1941 - Wasim Sajjad, former President of Pakistan
1942 - Ruben Kun, former President of Nauru
1943 - Jay Traynor, American singer (d. 2014)
1943 - Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa, Malagasy sprinter (d. 2016)
1945 - Eric Clapton, British guitarist and singer
1945 - Johnnie Walker, British DJ and broadcaster
1945 - Bob Miller, former Governor of Nevada
1947 - Ryszard Kotla, Polish writer and activist
1947 - Dick Roche, Irish politician
1948 - Eddie Jordan, Irish racing driver and team owner
1948 - Mervyn King, British economist
1948 - Naomi Sims, model
1950 - Robbie Coltrane, Scottish actor
1950 - Beverley Hughes, English politician
1950 - Frans Bolweg, Dutch sailor (d. 2015)
1951 1975
1951 - Yves Seguin, Quebec politician and actor
1956 - Juanito Oiarzabal, Basque mountaineer
1957 - Michael Lehmann, American director
1957 - Paul Reiser, American actor and screenwriter
1958 - Maurice LaMarche, Canadian voice actor
1959 - Sabine Meyer, German classical clarinettist
1959 - Martina Cole, English author
1960 - Bill Johnson, American skier
1962 - M.C. Hammer, American rapper and musician
1962 - Bil Dwyer, American actor
1962 - Mark Begich, American politician
1963 - Eli-Eri Moura, Brazilian composer and conductor
1963 - Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko, Ukrainian footballer and coach
1963 - Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, 4th President of Mongolia
1964 - Tracy Chapman, American singer
1964 - Abu Anas al-Libi, Libyan terrorist (d. 2015)
1965 - Piers Morgan, British journalist and television personality
1966 - Joey Castillo, American drummer
1967 - Megumi Hayashibara, Japanese voice actor and singer
1968 - Celine Dion, Canadian singer
1968 - Donna D'Errico, American actress and model
1971 - Mark Consuelos, Spanish-American motorcycle racer
1972 - Karel Poborsky, Czech footballer
1973 - Jan Koller, Czech footballer
1973 - Adam Goldstein, American keyboardist, DJ and producer (d. 2009)
1975 - Paul Griffen, New Zealand-Italian rugby player
From 1976
1976 - Ty Conklin, American ice hockey player
1976 - Ayako Kawasumi, Japanese voice actress
1976 - Mark McClelland, Irish musician
1976 - Troels Lund Poulsen, Danish politician
1978 - Chris Paterson, Scottish rugby player
1978 - Simon Webbe, English singer (Blue)
1978 - Teemu Aalto, Finnish ice hockey player
1979 - Anatoliy Tymoschuk, Ukrainian footballer
1979 - Norah Jones, American singer and musician
1980 - Ricardo Osorio, Mexican footballer
1981 - Andrea Masi, Italian rugby player
1981 - Jammal Brown, American football player
1981 - Katy Mixon, American actress
1982 - A-Trak, Canadian DJ and record producer
1982 - Jason Dohring, American actor
1982 - Philippe Mexes, French footballer
1983 - Sarah Stevenson, British taekwondoka
1984 - Mario Ancic, Croatian tennis player
1984 - Samantha Stosur, Australian tennis player
1986 - Sergio Ramos, Spanish footballer
1986 - Beni, Japanese singer
1987 - Juan Pablo Pino, Colombian footballer
1987 - Calum Elliot, Scottish footballer
1987 - Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 - Richard Sherman, American football player
1990 - Lee Gi-kwang, South Korean singer, dancer and actor
1990 - Cassie Scerbo, American singer, dancer and actress
1992 - Stuart Armstrong, Scottish footballer
1993 - Anitta, Brazilian singer, songwriter, actress and dancer
1993 - Song Min-ho, South Korean rapper, composer and songwriter
1994 - Haruka Shimazaki, Japanese singer (AKB48)
1994 - Sarah Solovay, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1994 - Jetro Willems, Dutch footballer
Deaths
Up to 1900
116 - Quirinus of Neuss, Roman martyr and saint
365 - Jin Aidi, Emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (b. 341)
987 - Arnulf II of Flanders
1202 - Joachim Fiore, Italian mystic and theologian (b. 1135)
1472 - Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy (b. 1435)
1486 - Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury
1526 - Konrad Mutian, German humanist (b. 1471)
1559 - Adam Ries, German mathematician (b. 1492)
1587 - Ralph Sadler, English statesman (b. 1507)
1764 - Pietro Locatelli, Italian composer (b. 1695)
1783 - William Hunter, Scottish anatomist (b. 1718)
1804 - Victor-Francois, 2nd duc de Broglie, French aristocrat and soldier (b. 1718)
1830 - Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Baden (b. 1763)
1864 - Louis Schindelmeisser, German clarinetist, composer and conductor (b. 1811)
1873 - Benedict Morel, French physicist (b. 1809)
1879 - Thomas Couture, French painter and teacher (b. 1815)
1886 - Joseph-Alfred Mousseau, 6th Premier of Quebec (b. 1838)
1896 - Charilaos Trikoupis, Greek Prime Minister (b. 1832)
1901 2000
1912 - Karl May, German writer (b. 1842)
1914 - John Henry Poynting, English physicist (b. 1852)
1925 - Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher (b. 1861)
1935 - Romanos Melikian, Armenian composer (b. 1873)
1939 - Richard Steiff, German businessman and teddy bear creator (b. 1877)
1943 - Jan Bytnar, Polish activist (b. 1921)
1943 - Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski, Polish activist (b. 1920)
1949 - Friedrich Bergius, German chemist (b. 1884)
1950 - Leon Blum, Prime Minister of France (b. 1872)
1952 - Jigme Wangchuck, King of Bhutan (b. 1905)
1954 - Pauline Brunius, Swedish actress and director (b. 1881)
1955 - Harl McDonald, American pianist, composer and conductor (b. 1899)
1959 - Daniil Andreev, Russian writer and mystic (b. 1906)
1959 - Riccardo Zandla, Italian-Slovenian poet (b. 1875)
1961 - Philibert Jacques Melotte, British astronomer (b. 1880)
1963 - Alexander Gauk, Russian conductor and composer (b. 1893)
1964 - Nella Larsen, American writer (b. 1891)
1965 - Philip Showalter Hench, American physician (b. 1896)
1966 - Erwin Piscator, German director and producer (b. 1893)
1967 - Jean Toomer, American writer (b. 1894)
1968 - Bobby Driscoll, American actor (b. 1937)
1970 - Heinrich Bruening, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1885)
1973 - Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish aristocrat and aviator (b. 1903)
1977 - Abdel Halim Hafez, Egyptian singer and actor (b. 1929)
1979 - Airey Neave, English soldier and politician (b. 1916)
1984 - Karl Rahner, German theologian (b. 1904)
1985 - Harold Peary, American actor and singer (b. 1908)
1986 - James Cagney, American actor (b. 1899)
1988 - Edgar Faure, Prime Minister of France (b. 1908)
1990 - Harry Peary, Australian-American union leader (b. 1901)
2000 - Rudolf Kirchschlaeger, President of Austria (b. 1915)
From 2001
2002 - Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Queen Mother of the United Kingdom (b. 1900)
2003 - Valentin Pavlov, Soviet politician (b. 1937)
2003 - Michael Jeter, American actor (b. 1952)
2005 - Mitch Hedberg, American comedian (b. 1968)
2008 - Dith Pran, Cambodian photojournalist (b. 1942)
2010 - Martin Sandberger, German military officer (b. 1911)
2011 - Lyudmila Gurchenko, Russian actress and singer (b. 1935)
2013 - Phil Ramone, South African-American record producer (b. 1934)
2013 - Valeri Zolotuchin, Russian actor (b. 1941)
2014 - Phuntsok Wangyal, Tibetan-Chinese politician (b. 1922)
2014 - Kate O'Mara, British actress (b. 1939)
2014 - Jan de Graaff, Dutch television journalist (b. 1943)
2015 - Helmut Dietl, German movie director (b. 1944)
2015 - Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, Dutch astronomer (b. 1921)
2015 - Philip A. Potter, Dominican Methodist church leader (b. 1921)
2016 - Anne Aasheim, Norwegian newspaper editor (b. 1962)
2016 - Bernard Lamarre, Canadian engineer and businessman (b. 1931)
2016 - Bill Rosendahl, American politician (b. 1945)
2016 - Gianmaria Testa, Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1958)
2016 - Shirley Hufstedler, American lawyer and judge (b. 1925)
2016 - Khuzaima Qutbuddin, Indian Islamic leader (b. 1940)
2017 - Richard Bustillo, American martial arts instructor (b. 1942)
2017 - Donald Harvey, American serial killer (b. 1952)
2018 - Andre Bo-Boliko Lokonga, 9th Prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1934)
2018 - Bill Maynard, English actor (b. 1928)
2020 - Bill Withers, American musician (b. 1938)
Observances
Land Day (Palestine)
National Doctors' Day (United States)
Days of the year