This Day In History

[MedicCook]

April 30th

1492
Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.

1789
George Washington took office in New York as the first president of the United States.

1803
France sold Louisiana and adjoining lands to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

1812
Louisiana became the 18th state in the United States.

1859
The novel "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens was first published in serial form in a literary magazine.

1900
Hawaii was organized as a U.S. territory.

1939
Lou Gehrig played his last game with the New York Yankees. He had played in 2,130 consecutive games.

1939
U.S. commercial television made its official debut at the New York World’s Fair.The signal was transmitted from the Empire State Building.

1945
Adolf Hitler and his newly married mistress Eva Braun committed suicide.

1975
The Vietnam War ended with South Vietnam's surrender to North Vietnam.

1975
ABC aired the pilot episode of "Starsky and Hutch."

1992
The final episode of "The Cosby Show" aired on NBC.

1993
Monica Seles was stabbed by Gunter Porsche. Porsche had run out onto the court after her match and stabbed Seles in the upper back.

1997
The television series "Ellen" made TV history when its lead character "came out" as a lesbian.

Birthdays
83 Cloris Leachman Actress ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Phyllis")
76 Willie Nelson Country singer
71 Gary Collins Talk show host
69 Burt Young Actor
66 Bobby Vee Singer
65 Jill Clayburgh Actress
61 Perry King Actor
56 Merrill Osmond Singer (The Osmonds)
50 Paul Gross Actor
48 Isiah Thomas Basketball Hall of Famer
47 Robert Reynolds Country musician (The Mavericks)
46 Michael Waltrip Race car driver
44 Adrian Pasdar Actor ("Heroes")
40 Clark Vogeler Rock musician
38 Chris Henderson Rock musician (3 Doors Down)
38 Carolyn Dawn Johnson Country singer
37 Lisa Dean Ryan Actress
36 Jeff Timmons R&B singer (98 Degrees)
34 Elliott Sadler Race car driver
34 Johnny Galecki Actor ("The Big Bang Theory")
27 Kirsten Dunst Actress
?? j-easy Cigar Asylum Inmate

82 Al Lewis 4/30/1923 - 2/3/2006 Actor best known for his role as "Grandpa" on the television series The Munsters