Thursday, April 30, 2009

The Turning Point

I guess you could look upon April 30 as a significant turning point in history, considering the things that have happened on this date.

For example ...
  • On April 30, 1492, Christopher Columbus was given his commission of exploration from Spain. He didn't depart on his historic voyage until August.

  • On April 30, 1789, George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States.

  • On April 30, 1803, the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France.

  • On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide in the Führerbunker in Berlin, one day after they were married.

  • On April 30, 1973, President Richard Nixon announced that White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman had resigned because of the Watergate revelations. Nearly a year later to the day, Nixon announced the release of edited transcripts of his subpoenaed tapes.

  • On April 30, 1975, Communist forces seized Saigon in Vietnam, and American newscasts carried footage of South Vietnamese citizens trying to climb on board an American helicopter during the evacuation.
A lot has happened on April 30, and the tradition may be continuing with the outbreak of swine flu expanding to 11 states.

2 comments:

Mike said...

I'm waiting for your May 8th post! VE Day was my dad's actual birth date. He was born May 8, 1945!

David Goodloe said...

Otin, I've been thinking about May 8. I'm not sure what I'm going to write. Maybe it will be a surprise for both of us!

Your father sure has a significant birthday. It was Harry Truman's birthday, too.