On this day in history - 30th April

On 30th April 1520, Cleanse the Causeway

The street fight that would become known as "Cleanse the Causeway" (or Clear the Causeway) took place in the High Street of Edinburgh between rivals James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, chief of Clan Hamilton, and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, chief of Clan Douglas. 

Although they instigated the fight, it went badly for the Hamiltons, and Sir Patrick Hamilton and about 70 others were killed in the incident, though some records record up to 300 deaths. By nightfall, the Douglases had control of the city and the castle.

Read More

Births

Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod. Donec sed odio dui.

Births on this day

Deaths

Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod. Donec sed odio dui.

Deaths on this day

Events

1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.
1636 – Eighty Years' War: Dutch Republic forces recapture a strategically important fort from Spain after a nine-month siege.
1789 – On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.
1803 – Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling the size of the young nation.
1812 – The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.
1838 – Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation.
1863 – A 65-man French Foreign Legion infantry patrol fights a force of nearly 2,000 Mexican soldiers to nearly the last man in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico.
1900 – Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.
1938 – The animated cartoon short Porky's Hare Hunt debuts in movie theaters, introducing Happy Rabbit, an early version of Bugs Bunny.
1943 – World War II: The British submarine HMS Seraph surfaces near Huelva to cast adrift a dead man dressed as a courier and carrying false invasion plans.
1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for less than 40 hours. Soviet soldiers raise the Victory Banner over the Reichstag building.
1945 – World War II: Stalag Luft I prisoner-of-war camp near Barth, Germany is liberated by Soviet soldiers, freeing nearly 9000 American and British airmen.
1957 – Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery entered into force.
1961 – K-19, the first Soviet nuclear submarine equipped with nuclear missiles, is commissioned.
1975 – Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gain control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Dương Văn Minh.
1993 – CERN announces World Wide Web protocols will be free.

Events on this day