TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Saturday, April 30, the 121st day of 2016. There are 245 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History

On April 30, 1789, George Washington took the oath of office in New York as the first president of the United States.

On this date

1803 — The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for 60 million francs, the equivalent of about $15 million. 1812 — Louisiana became the 18th state of the Union. 1900 — Engineer John Luther “Casey” Jones of the Illinois Central Railroad died in a train wreck near Vaughan, Mississippi, after staying at the controls in a successful effort to save the passengers. 1945 — As Soviet troops approached his Berlin bunker, Adolf Hitler committed suicide along with his wife of one day, Eva Braun. 1958 — The American Association of Retired Persons (later simply AARP) was founded in Washington, D.C., by Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus. 1968 — New York City police forcibly removed student demonstrators occupying five buildings at Columbia University. 1975 — The Vietnam War ended as the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces. 1988 — Gen. Manuel Noriega, waving a machete, vowed at a rally to keep fighting U.S. efforts to oust him as Panama’s military ruler.

One year ago

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont formally entered the race for the Democratic presidential nomination with a news conference on Capitol Hill.

Today’s Birthdays

Actress Cloris Leachman is 90. Singer Willie Nelson is 83. Singer Bobby Vee is 73. Movie director Jane Campion is 62. Actor Paul Gross is 57. Country musician Robert Reynolds is 54. Actor Adrian Pasdar is 51. Rapper Turbo B (Snap) is 49. Rock musician Clark Vogeler is 47. Rock musician Chris Henderson (3 Doors Down) is 45. Rhythm-and-blues singer Akon is 43. Actor Johnny Galecki is 41. Rapper Lloyd Banks is 34. Actress Kirsten Dunst is 34. Actress Dianna Agron is 30.

‘There’s a difference between a philosophy and a bumper sticker.’ Charles M. Schulz American cartoonist (1922-2000)