1778 – American Revolution: The Battle of Crooked Billet begins in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.
1863 – Battle of Port Gibson, Mississippi
1927 – Imperial Airways is the first British airliner to serve cooked meals
1946 – The Paris Peace Conference concludes that the islands of the Dodecanese should be returned to Greece by Italy
1950 – Gwendolyn Brooks is the first African American awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry for “Annie Allen”
1977 – American golfer Gene Littler wins the Houston Open, his 29th and final PGA title
1980 – 15th Academy of Country Music Awards: Larry Gatlin and Crystal Gayle win
1995 – Montreal Canadiens lose 2-0 at Buffalo to miss Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 25 years
2004 – Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the European Union, celebrated at the residence of the Irish President in Dublin.
2005 – 17-year old Lionel Messi scores his 1st senior league goal for FC Barcelona in 2-0 win against Albacete Balompié, at the Spotify Camp Nou in Barcelona
Author: gil7
Today in History for 1st May 2025
Historical Events
1759 – British fleet occupies Guadeloupe, West Indies, capturing it from France
1795 – Kamehameha I, King of Hawaiʻi defeats Kalanikupule and conquers island of Oʻahu at Battle of Nuʻuanu [approx. date]
1921 – Drusian sultan Pasja al-Atrasj elected governor of Suwayda
1947 – Radar for commercial and private planes is first demonstrated
1954 – WAPA TV channel 4 in San Juan, PR (NBC/SFN) begins broadcasting
Famous Birthdays
1915 – Archie Williams, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1936), born in Oakland, California (d. 1993)
1928 – Raoul Servais, Belgian cartoonist and filmmaker (Harpya, Palme d’Or 1979), born in Ostend, Belgium (d. 2023)
1930 – Little Walter [Marion Walter Jacobs], blues singer-songwriter and harmonica player, born in Marksville, Louisiana (d. 1968)
1941 – Juraj Hatrík, Slovak composer (Monumento malinconico; Dispute Over a Plastered Dwarf), and educator, born in Orkucany, Slovak Republic (d. 2021)
1987 – Shahar Pe’er, Israeli tennis player (5 WTA singles titles), born in Jerusalem, Israel
Famous Deaths
1896 – Nasr-ed-Din, shah of Persia (184.-96), murdered at 65
1963 – Lope K. Santos, Filipino writer and Father of the Philippine National Language and Grammar, dies at 83
1971 – Glenda Farrell, American actress (Golddiggers of 1935: Grand Slam; Exposed), dies of lung cancer at 66
2014 – Assaf Dayan, Israeli actor (He Walked Through the Fields), dies at 68
2017 – Mike Lowry, American politician (Rep-D-WA, 1979-89, Governor of Washington 1993-97), dies at 78
Famous Deaths for 30th April 2025
535 – Amalaswintha, queen of Ostrogoths, murdered in the bath at about 37
1792 – Hans Adolf Friedrich von Eschstruth, composer and lawyer, dies at 36
1958 – Alvan T. Fuller, American automotive dealer and politician, 50th Governor of Massachusetts (1925-29) during Sacco and Vanzetti case, dies at 80
1993 – Tommy Caton, English footballer (b. 1962)
1996 – Hélène Cordet, French actress (The Limping Man), dies at 78
2003 – Peter “Possum” Bourne, New Zealand race car driver, dies at 47
2007 – Tom Cartwright, English cricket medium pace bowler (5 Tests, 15 wickets, BB 6/94; Warwickshire CCC, Somerset CCC), dies at 71
2016 – Phil Ryan, Welsh keyboardist and composer (Man; Pete Brown), dies at 69
2020 – Rishi Kapoor, Indian Bollywood actor and director (Bobby, Do Dooni Chaar), dies at 67
2021 – Anthony Payne, British composer (Phoenix Mass; Visions and Journeys), critic, and musicologist, dies at 84
Historical Events for 30th April 2025
1804 – The New Hague Theater opens in The Hague, Netherlands
1864 – Battle of Jenkin’s Ferry, Arkansas; Confederate General William Reid Scurry is killed
1922 – Chicago pitcher Charlie Robertson throws a perfect game as the White Sox beat Detroit Tigers, 2-0 at Navin Field
1945 – Adolf Hitler commits suicide along with his new wife Eva Braun in the Fuhrerbunker in Berlin as the Red Army captures the city
1967 – MLB Baltimore Orioles’ Stu Miller and Steve Barber lose 2-1 despite no-hitting Tigers
1988 – NY Knights 1st arena football game beats Cobras 60-52 (10,157 in LA)
1990 – As Met pitcher David Cone argues a call at 1st base, 2 Braves score
2015 – US senator Bernie Sanders announces he will seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for President
2018 – Superhero film “Avengers: Infinity War” sets new record for an opening weekend earning $250 million in the US, $630 million worldwide
2020 – Russian Prime Minister Mikhail V. Mishustin says he has COVID-19
Today in History for 30th April 2025
Historical Events
1665 – Naval battle in Bay of Barbados between attacking Dutch fleet led by Michiel de Ruyter damages ships but fails to take the English-held fort
1962 – NASA civilian pilot Joseph A. Walker takes X-15 to 75,190 m
1962 – LPGA Titleholders Championship Women’s Golf, Augusta CC: Mickey Wright wins her 8th major title in a playoff with Ruth Jessen
1988 – NY Yank Dave Winfield gets his 29th RBI of April-Sets AL and ties ML Rec
2000 – Pope John Paul II canonizes Polish nun Sister Faustina [Helena Kowalska] as a Catholic saint
Famous Birthdays
1912 – Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado, Deputy Prime Minister of Spain (1976-81) and Minister of Defense (1977-79), born in Madrid (d. 1995)
1931 – Bill Clay, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri), born in St. Louis, Missouri
1969 – Joey Restivo, American pop-rock percussionist (Linear – “Sending All My Love”), born in Brooklyn, New York
1982 – Cleo Higgins, British singer and actress (Cleopatra), born in Birmingham, England
1983 – Yamini, Tamil singer, born in India
Famous Deaths
535 – Amalaswintha, queen of Ostrogoths, murdered in the bath at about 37
1660 – Peter Scriverius, Dutch lawyer and historian, dies at 84
1976 – Edvard Fliflet Braein, Norwegian composer (Ut mot havet (Out To Sea); Anne Pedersdotter), dies at 51
2005 – Ron Todd, British trade unionist (TGWU General Secretary, 1985-92), dies at 78
2015 – Ben E. King [Nelson], American soul singer (Stand By Me), dies at 76
Famous Deaths for 29th April 2025
1768 – Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and minerologist, dies at 73
1864 – Abraham Gesner, Canadian geologist (inventor of kerosene), dies at 66
1925 – Edward J. McKeever, American baseball executive (co-owner Brooklyn Dodgers), dies of influenza at 66
1961 – (Gilbert) “Cisco” Houston, American folk singer, and guitarist, dies of stomach cancer at 42
1979 – Hardie Gramatky, American author and animator (Little Toot), dies at 72
1994 – William “Bill” Quinn, American actor (Star Trek, The Birds, Rifleman, All in the Family), dies of natural causes at 81
1995 – Robert Gibb, British zoo and theme park creator (Flamingo Land; Pleasure Island), dies in a car accident at 57
2005 – Mariana Levy, Mexican telenovela actress (Living in Love, Wild Rosa), dies at 39 after suffering a heart attack during a robbery attempt
2012 – Shukri Ghanem, Libyan Prime Minister, dies at 69
2014 – Bob Hoskins, English actor (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), dies from pneumonia at 71
Historical Events for 29th April 2025
1943 – German pastor and anti-Nazi dissident Dietrich Bonhoeffer arrested by the Gestapo
1951 – China seizes the assets of the Asiatic Petroleum Company, a joint venture between the Shell and Royal Dutch oil companies in retaliation for the Hong Kong Government’s requisitioning of the tanker Yung Hao
1965 – Malta becomes 18th member of Council of Europe
1971 – Boeing receives contract for Mariner 10, Mercury exploration
1982 – American mafia hitman Richard Kuklinski murders pharmacist Paul Hoffman by beating him with a tire iron
1997 – MLB Kansas City Royals Chili Davis is 75th to hit 300 HRs
2005 – New Zealand’s first civil union takes place
2016 – Canadian musician Drake releases “Views”, his 4th studio album
2019 – Indonesia announces plan to relocate its capital from Jakarta due to the city sinking, according to a government minister
2023 – 72-hour ceasefire in Sudan breaks down between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, as air and artillery strikes on Khartoum resume
Today in History for 29th April 2025
Historical Events
1540 – Emperor Charles declares all privileges of Ghent ended
1707 – English and Scottish parliaments accept Act of Union; creates the United Kingdom of Great Britain (comes into being 1st May)
1964 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1991 – “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” single released by Alan Jackson (ASCAP Award Country Song of the Year, 1992; Billboard Song of the Year, 1991)
1995 – Longest sausage ever, at 28.77 miles, made in Kitchener, Ontario
Famous Birthdays
1896 – Walter Mehring, German writer (Die Gedichte, Lieder und Chansons des Walter Mehring), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1981)
1901 – G. O. Sayles, English historian, born in Chesterfield, England (d. 1994)
1932 – King Hu, Chinese film director and actor (wuxia films), born in Beijing, Republic of China (d. 1997)
1947 – Sam Francis, American far-right conservative columnist and editor (The Washington Times, 1991-95), born in Chattanooga, Tennessee (d. 2005)
1954 – Deborah Iyall, American artist and singer (Romeo Void), born in Soap Lake, Washington
Famous Deaths
1943 – Joseph Achron, Lithuanian-American concert violinist and composer (Golem Suite), dies at 56
1975 – Darwin Judge, USMC-corporal, 1 of last US soldiers killed in Vietnam
1982 – Herbert Collum, German composer, dies at 67
1997 – Peter Tali Coleman, Governor of American Samoa (1956-61, 1978-85, 1989-93), dies at 77
2020 – Trevor Cherry, English soccer defender (27 caps; Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Bradford City) and manager (Bradford City), dies at 72
Famous Deaths for 28th April 2025
1498 – Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, English aristocrat, dies during an anti-tax riot at about 40 [exact birthday unkinkown, c. 1458]
1887 – Carl Ferdinand Pohl, German-Austrian music historian, organist, and composer, dies at 67
1969 – Johannes Röntgen, Dutch composer, dies at 70
1970 – Ed Begley, American actor (12 Angry Men, The Unsinkable Molly Brown), dies at 69
1979 – Feliks Roderyk Łabuński, Polish composer, dies at 86
1981 – Cliff Battles, American College/Pro Football HOF halfback (West Virginia Wesleyan College; 3 x First-Team All-Pro; NFL rushing yards leader 1932, 37; Boston Braves/Redskins, Washington Redskins), dies at 70
1987 – Åke Olof Sebastian Uddén, Swedish violist, composer and educator (Royal College Of Music, 1934-70), dies at 84
2009 – Vern Gosdin, American country singer (“Set ‘Em Up Joe”), dies after a stroke at 74
2013 – Lonnie Turner, American rock and blues bassist (Steve Miller Band – “Fly Like An Eagle”), dies of lung cancer at 66
2020 – Bobby Lewis, American rock and roll singer (“Tossin’ and Turnin'”), dies at 95
Historical Events for 28th April 2025
1728 – 82 survivors of the Dutch ship Zeewijk sail into Batavia on a hand-built boat, ten months after being shipwrecked off the western coast of Australia
1930 – 1st night organized baseball game played in Independence, Kansas
1965 – “My Name is Barbra”, Barbra Streisand’s first television special, premieres on CBS
1965 – William F. Raborn Jr. replaces John A. McCone as 7th head of CIA
1967 – Muhammad Ali refuses induction into army and stripped of boxing title
1980 – US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance resigns in protest over the Iran hostage rescue attempt
1993 – Zambian national football team dies in a plane crash near Libreville, Gabon that kills 30 people
1995 – Gas explosion in South Korean metro, 103 die
2018 – Danny DeVito Day declared in Jersey for 17th November by Mayor John Moor of Asbury Park
2019 – American diver Victor Vescovo makes the deepest dive ever to the bottom of the Mariana trench at 10,927m (35,849ft), and finds a plastic bag