30 April in history
6 events that happened on 30 April, from 311 to 1975.
✦ Anniversary of the day
311 CE 1,715 years ago
Galerius issues an edict ending the persecution of Christians
Gravely ill, Emperor Galerius granted Christians the right to worship, ending the Great Persecution in his territories. He died days later; Constantine's Edict of Milan followed in 313.
1789 CE 237 years ago
George Washington is inaugurated as first US president
Washington took the oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York. His conduct in office set precedents, such as the two-term tradition, that shaped the presidency.
1803 CE 223 years ago
Louisiana Purchase treaty doubles the size of the United States
American envoys in Paris agreed to buy France's Louisiana territory for $15 million. The deal, dated this day, gave the young republic the vast basin west of the Mississippi.
1945 CE 81 years ago
Adolf Hitler takes his own life in Berlin
With Soviet troops closing in, Hitler shot himself in his bunker beneath the Reich Chancellery. Germany surrendered unconditionally a week later.
1975 CE 51 years ago
Saigon falls to North Vietnamese forces
Tanks broke through the gates of the presidential palace hours after the last Americans were lifted out by helicopter. The war ended and Vietnam was reunified under communist rule in 1976.
