Today in History for April 30:
On this date:
In 311, Roman Emperor Galerius issued the first edict of toleration for Christianity, ending three centuries of persecution.
In 1087, Julian Katarva, a nobleman who through a tragic error was responsible for the deaths of several members of his family, died. He devoted the rest of his life to the care of the sick, the troubled and the suffering. He became known as "Julian the Hospitaller."
In 1349, the Jewish community at Radolszell, Germany, was exterminated in a pogrom.
In 1563, Jews were expelled from France by order of Charles VI.
In 1623, Francois de Laval, first bishop of Canada, was born in France. He died in Quebec in 1708.
In 1658, Montreal's first school, the Ville-Marie School, was opened in a stable.
In 1789, George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States.
In 1789, Parrtown and Carleton became Saint John, N.B. -- Canada's first incorporated city.
In 1803, France sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States for $27 million. The area included all the land between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.
In 1812, Louisiana became the 18th U.S. state.
In 1859, the Charles Dickens novel "A Tale of Two Cities" was first published in serial form in the premiere issue of All the Year Round, a literary magazine owned by Dickens. The novel was presented in 31 weekly instalments.
In 1943, the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp for Jews was formed in central Germany. Anne Frank, known throughout the world for her diary, died of typhus in the camp in early March, 1945.
In 1945, as Russian troops approached his Berlin bunker, Adolf Hitler committed suicide along with his wife of one day, Eva Braun.
In 1948, the Organization of American States held its first meeting in Bogota, Colombia. Headquartered in Washington, the group of 35 countries in the Western hemisphere, including Canada, has among its goals strengthening co-operation on democratic values and common interests.
In 1950, construction began on a $95 million pipeline to carry oil from the Edmonton district to the Lakehead.
In 1974, Ralph Steinhauer became Canada's first native lieutenant-governor when Prime Minister Trudeau named him to the vice-regal post in Alberta.
In 1975, the Vietnam War ended as the South Vietnamese army and government surrendered to North Vietnamese forces.
In 1980, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands abdicated in favour of her daughter, Princess Beatrix.
In 1986, Western governments urged their citizens to leave the Soviet republic of Ukraine because of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster a few days before.
In 1987, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the premiers reached an agreement that would bring Quebec into the constitutional fold. Named after the government retreat near Ottawa where the deal was struck, the Meech Lake accord would have -- among other things -- recognized Quebec as a distinct society. To become law, it had to be ratified by Parliament and all provincial legislatures by June 23, 1990. But the accord died when Manitoba and Newfoundland failed to approve it.
In 1991, an estimated 125,000 people died when a cyclone struck Bangladesh.
In 1998, the CRTC announced new rules for music content and radio station ownership. Starting the following year, stations had to play 35 per cent Canadian content, up from 30 per cent. And a single owner in larger markets could own up to four stations, two AM and two FM.
In 2004, former NBA star Jayson Williams was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in the shotgun slaying of a limousine driver at his New Jersey mansion, but found guilty of trying to cover up the shooting. In April 2006, an appeals court ruled that Williams could be retried on a reckless manslaughter charge. In 2010, Williams pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated assault and was sentenced to five years in prison but was eligible for parole in 18 months.
In 2009, a speeding car raced toward an open bus carrying Queen Beatrix and the Dutch royal family during a holiday parade in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, and plowed into spectators, killing six people and injuring 13 others in an apparently deliberate act.
In 2009, the U.S. and Canadian governments approved a plan to sink billions of dollars into Chrysler and the company filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States as it planned to restructure and cement an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat over the next two months.
In 2010, in a Woodstock, Ont., court, Terri-Lynne McClintic pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of eight-year-old Victoria Stafford. The plea carried an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. (In 2012, co-accused Michael Rafferty was found guilty of first-degree murder, sexual assault causing bodily harm and kidnapping.)
In 2010, Cogeco Inc. announced it would pay $80 million cash to buy the 11 Quebec radio stations then owned by Corus Entertainment Inc. Cogeco already owned five radio stations in Montreal, Quebec City, Trois-Rivieres and Sherbrooke.
In 2011, the UFC made its Ontario debut at Toronto's Rogers Centre, setting a record for attendance (55,724) and gate ($11.5 million) for a North American mixed martial arts show. In the main event, Montreal's Georges St-Pierre retained his welterweight title defeating challenger Jake Shields.
In 2013, Willem-Alexander became the first Dutch king since 1890 as his mother, Queen Beatrix, abdicated after a 33-year reign.
In 2013, the Bank of Canada unveiled the $5 and $10 polymer bills, the final in a series of the plastic banknotes.
In 2015, Vaughan, Ont.-native Andrew Wiggins, the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, was named rookie of the year and became the first Canadian to win the award. He averaged 16.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in the season with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In 2019, the towering actor who gave life to the beloved character of Chewbacca in the original “Star Wars” trilogy and two other films died at the age of 74 at his home in Texas. As Chewbacca, the 7-foot-3 Peter Mayhew was a fierce warrior with a soft heart, loyal sidekick to Harrison Ford’s Han Solo, and co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon. He also appeared as the Wookiee in the 2005 prequel “Revenge of the Sith” and shared the part in 2015's “The Force Awakens” with actor Joonas Suotamo, who took over the role in subsequent films.
In 2020, the number of Canadians killed by COVID-19 rose above 3,000.
In 2020, the Canadian Armed Forces identified the five service members missing in a helicopter crash off the coast of Greece, and said the body of one sailor — Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough of Nova Scotia — had been recovered.
In 2020, Douglas Anakin, who helped Canada win Olympic bobsled gold in 1964, died at age 89. Anakin, Peter Kirby and brothers John and Vic Emery won Canada's lone Olympic gold medal of the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, and the country's first in bobsled. The teammates were inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame that year.
In 2020, a member of Bollywood's famous Kapoor family died of leukemia. Rishi Kapoor was 67.
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The Canadian Press