History of Today in India – 30 March

Explore the history of today 30 March in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 30 March 2026, 04:27 AM

📜 Important Events on 30 March in World History

30 Mar 2023: Donald Trump becomes the first former United States president to be indicted by a grand jury. Read more
30 Mar 2019: Pope Francis visits Morocco. Read more
30 Mar 2018: The Israeli Army kills 17 Palestinians and wounds 1,400 in Gaza during Land Day protests. Read more
30 Mar 2017: SpaceX conducts the world's first reflight of an orbital class rocket. Read more
30 Mar 2011: Min Aung Hlaing is appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar's armed forces. Read more
30 Mar 2009: Twelve gunmen attack the Manawan Police Academy in Lahore, Pakistan. Read more
30 Mar 2008: Drolma Kyi arrested by Chinese authorities. Read more
30 Mar 2006: Cyclone Glenda, one of the strongest tropical cyclones in the Australian region makes landfall near Onslow, Western Australia. Read more
30 Mar 2002: The 2002 Lyon car attack takes place. Read more
30 Mar 1982: Space Shuttle program: STS-3 mission is completed with the landing of Columbia at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Read more
30 Mar 1981: U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley Jr.; three others are wounded in the same incident. Read more
30 Mar 1979: Airey Neave, a British Member of Parliament (MP), is killed by a car bomb as he exits the Palace of Westminster. The Irish National Liberation Army claims responsibility. Read more
30 Mar 1976: Israeli-Palestinian conflict: in the first organized response against Israeli policies by a Palestinian collective since 1948, Palestinians create the first Land Day. Read more
30 Mar 1972: Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam. Read more
30 Mar 1967: Delta Air Lines Flight 9877 crashes at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, killing 19. Read more
30 Mar 1965: Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the United States Embassy, Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others. Read more
30 Mar 1961: The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed in New York City. Read more
30 Mar 1959: Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet for India. Read more
30 Mar 1949: Cold War: A riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joins NATO. Read more
30 Mar 1945: World War II: Soviet forces invade Austria and capture Vienna. Polish and Soviet forces liberate Danzig. Read more
30 Mar 1944: World War II: Allied bombers conduct their most severe bombing run on Sofia, Bulgaria. Read more
30 Mar 1944: Out of 795 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitos sent to attack Nuremberg, 95 bombers do not return, making it the largest RAF Bomber Command loss of the war. Read more
30 Mar 1940: Second Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Jingwei. Read more
30 Mar 1939: The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets a world airspeed record of 463 mph (745 km/h). Read more
30 Mar 1918: Beginning of the bloody March Events in Baku and other locations of Baku Governorate. Read more
30 Mar 1912: Sultan Abd al-Hafid signs the Treaty of Fez, making Morocco a French protectorate. Read more
30 Mar 1900: Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete, discover the first clay tablet with hieroglyphic writing in a script later called Linear B. Read more
30 Mar 1899: German Society of Chemistry issues an invitation to other national scientific organizations to appoint delegates to the International Committee on Atomic Weights. Read more
30 Mar 1885: The Battle for Kushka triggers the Panjdeh Incident which nearly gives rise to war between the Russian and British Empires. Read more
30 Mar 1870: Texas is readmitted to the United States Congress following Reconstruction. Read more
30 Mar 1867: Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about two cents/acre ($4.19/km2), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward. Read more
30 Mar 1863: Danish prince Wilhelm Georg is chosen as King George of Greece. Read more
30 Mar 1861: Discovery of the chemical elements: Sir William Crookes announces his discovery of thallium. Read more
30 Mar 1856: The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Crimean War. Read more
30 Mar 1855: Origins of the American Civil War: "Border Ruffians" from Missouri invade Kansas and force election of a pro-slavery legislature. Read more
30 Mar 1844: One of the most important battles of the Dominican War of Independence from Haiti takes place near the city of Santiago de los Caballeros. Read more
30 Mar 1842: Ether anesthesia is used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long. Read more
30 Mar 1841: The National Bank of Greece is founded in Athens. Read more
30 Mar 1822: The Florida Territory is created in the United States. Read more
30 Mar 1818: Physicist Augustin Fresnel reads a memoir on optical rotation to the French Academy of Sciences, reporting that when polarized light is "depolarized" by a Fresnel rhomb, its properties are preserved in any subsequent passage through an optically-rotating crystal or liquid. Read more
30 Mar 1815: Joachim Murat issues the Rimini Proclamation, among the earliest calls for Italian unification. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 30 March in World History

30 Mar 2001: Anastasia Potapova, Russian tennis player Anastasia Sergeyevna Potapova is a Russian-born Austrian professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of No. 21 by the WTA, achieved on 19 June 2023, and a doubles ranking of world No. 40, reached on 5 December 2022. Potapova has won three WTA Tour singles titles along with three doubles titles. She is a former junior world No. 1, and she was the 2016 Wimbledon girls' singles champion. Read more
30 Mar 2000: Colton Herta, American race car driver Colton Thomas Herta is an American racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Hitech with support from Cadillac. Herta competed in the IndyCar Series from 2018 to 2025. Read more
30 Mar 1998: Kalyn Ponga, Australian rugby league player Kalyn Ponga is a professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a fullback for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League and Queensland in the State of Origin series. He is the recipient of the 2023 Dally M Medal. Read more
30 Mar 1997: Cha Eun-woo, South Korean singer, actor, and model Lee Dong-min, known professionally as Cha Eun-woo (Korean: 차은우, Korean pronunciation: [t͡ɕʰa ɯn u])), is a South Korean singer and actor. He is a member of the South Korean boy band Astro, and debuted as a solo artist with the extended play (EP) Entity in 2024. Cha made his acting debut in the film My Brilliant Life in 2014 and is known for his lead roles in Gangnam Beauty (2018), Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung (2019), True Beauty (2020–2021), Island (2022–2023), A Good Day to Be a Dog (2023–2024), and Wonderful World (2024). Read more
30 Mar 1996: Ryan Noda, American baseball player Ryan Anthony Noda is an American professional baseball first baseman in the Baltimore Orioles organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox. Read more
30 Mar 1995: Zay Jones, American football player Isaiah Avery "Zay" Jones is an American professional football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the East Carolina Pirates. Jones is the all-time NCAA Division I career receptions leader with 399 as well as the all-time NCAA Division I single-season receptions leader with 158. Read more
30 Mar 1994: Alex Bregman, American baseball player Alexander David Bregman is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox. Read more
30 Mar 1994: Jetro Willems, Dutch footballer Jetro Danovich Sexer Willems is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left wing-back or left-back for Eredivisie club NEC. Read more
30 Mar 1993: Anitta, Brazilian singer and entertainer Larissa de Macedo Machado, known professionally as Anitta, is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and occasional television host. One of Brazil's most prominent artists, she became known for her versatile style and mixing genres such as pop, funk, reggaeton and electronic music. She has received numerous accolades, including one Brazilian Music Award, four Latin American Music Awards, three MTV Music Video Awards, nine MTV Europe Music Awards, two Guinness World Records, and nominations for two Grammy Award and ten Latin Grammy Awards, in addition to being the Brazilian female singer with the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100. She has been referred to as the "Queen of Brazilian Pop". Read more
30 Mar 1992: Palak Muchhal, Indian playback singer Palak Muchhal is an Indian playback singer and lyricist.
Muchhal performs as a playback singer across Hindi films and other Indian film industries. She has rendered her voice in Hindi films such as Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Aashiqui 2 (2013), Kick (2014) and Action Jackson (2014) Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015) M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) Kaabil (2017), Baaghi 2 (2018) and Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas (2019). Her rendition of the song "Kaun Tujhe" from the film"M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story has earned her much praise from fans as well as prominent personalities in the music industry. On 6 November 2022, she married music composer Mithoon, with whom she had earlier worked on the soundtrack of Aashiqui 2. Alongside her brother Palash Muchhal, she has also done philanthropic work by raising funds through her stage shows for children who need financial assistance for treatment of heart diseases. Read more
30 Mar 1991: NF, American rapper Nathan John Feuerstein, known professionally as NF, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has released three EPs, I'm Free (2012),, a self-titled EP in 2014 with Capitol CMG, and Fear in 2025 with NF Real Music and Capitol Records. His second and first major-label studio album, Mansion, was released on March 31, 2015. His third studio album, Therapy Session, was released on April 22, 2016, and peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard 200. His albums have earned several accolades, some of which include the Gospel Music Association Dove Award for Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year in 2016 and the Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year in 2017. Read more
30 Mar 1990: Thomas Rhett, American country music singer and songwriter Thomas Rhett Akins Jr. is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is the oldest son of singer Rhett Akins. Read more
30 Mar 1990: Michal Březina, Czech figure skater Michal Březina is a retired Czech figure skater. He is the 2013 European bronze medalist, 2011 Skate America champion, 2009 World Junior silver medalist and four-time Czech national champion. He also won the 2014-15 ISU Challenger Series. Michal represented the Czech Republic at the 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 Winter Olympics. Read more
30 Mar 1989: Chris Sale, American baseball player Christopher Allen Sale is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox. He throws left-handed and is 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall. Read more
30 Mar 1989: João Sousa, Portuguese tennis player João Pedro Coelho Marinho de Sousa, known as João Sousa, is a Portuguese former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 28 on 16 May 2016 and a doubles ranking of No. 26 on 13 May 2019. Read more
30 Mar 1988: Will Matthews, Australian rugby league player Will Matthews is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. Read more
30 Mar 1988: Thanasis Papazoglou, Greek footballer Thanasis Papazoglou, commonly known also as Sakis Papazoglou, is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a striker. Read more
30 Mar 1988: Richard Sherman, American football player Richard Kevin Sherman is an American former professional football cornerback who played 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal, beginning his career as a wide receiver before moving to cornerback as a junior. Sherman was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL draft. He was selected to the Pro Bowl five times and voted All-Pro five times, including three first-team selections. In 2013, Sherman led the NFL in interceptions. He is considered to be one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time. Read more
30 Mar 1988: Larisa Yurkiw, Canadian alpine skier Larisa Yurkiw is a Canadian retired World Cup alpine ski racer, specializing in the speed events of downhill and super-G. Read more
30 Mar 1987: Trent Barreta, American wrestler Gregory Marasciulo, better known by the ring name Trent Beretta, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Don Callis Family and one-half of RPG Vice with Rocky Romero. He is also known for his time with WWE as Trent Barreta and New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Ring of Honor under the ring name Beretta. As part of Roppongi Vice, Beretta is a former four-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. He is also known for his tenures with Pro Wrestling Guerilla and various independent promotions. Read more
30 Mar 1987: Calum Elliot, Scottish footballer Calum Elliot is a Scottish former professional footballer who was most recently manager of Scottish League Two club Bonnyrigg Rose. Read more
30 Mar 1987: Kwok Kin Pong, Hong Kong footballer Kwok Kin Pong is a former Hong Kong professional footballer who played as a defender or a midfielder. As he resembles Hong Kong artist and singer Edison Chen, he was given the nickname 'Edison'. Read more
30 Mar 1987: Marc-Édouard Vlasic, Canadian ice hockey player Marc-Édouard Vlasic is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman. He most recently played for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL), for whom Vlasic holds the franchise record for most games played by a defenseman and the NHL record for blocked shots. Read more
30 Mar 1986: Sergio Ramos, Spanish footballer Sergio Ramos García is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. Widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time, he is known for his aerial abilities, leadership, and goalscoring abilities, having scored more than 100 goals for Real Madrid. Read more
30 Mar 1985: Giacomo Ricci, Italian racing driver Giacomo Ricci is a former Italian racing driver. Read more
30 Mar 1984: Mario Ančić, Croatian tennis player Mario Ančić is a Croatian former professional tennis player who currently works as a private equity vice president in New York City. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles on the ATP Tour. Ančić's career-high singles ranking came in 2006, when he reached world No. 7. Ančić helped Croatia to win the 2005 Davis Cup and claimed a bronze medal for the country at the 2004 Athens Olympics, in men's doubles partnering Ivan Ljubičić. Read more
30 Mar 1984: Samantha Stosur, Australian tennis player Samantha Jane Stosur is an Australian former professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in doubles, a ranking which she first achieved on 6 February 2006 and held for 61 consecutive weeks. Also a former top ten singles player, Stosur reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 on 21 February 2011 and spent a total of 165 weeks ranked inside the top ten, between March 2010 and June 2013. Stosur was also the top-ranked Australian singles player for 452 consecutive weeks, from October 2008 to June 2017, and was ranked inside the top 25 for a period of nine straight years. She won a combined total of 40 career titles, including 8 major titles, and amassed more than $20 million in prize money. Read more
30 Mar 1983: Jérémie Aliadière, French footballer Jérémie Aliadière is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Read more
30 Mar 1982: Mark Hudson, English footballer Mark Alexander Hudson is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is first team coach at Ipswich Town. A centre-back, he began his professional career with Fulham after progressing through the club's youth academy. He made his senior debut in a League Cup match in 2000 but made just two further first team appearances for Fulham. He spent two spells on loan with Oldham Athletic in 2003 before joining Crystal Palace on loan after Oldham manager Iain Dowie moved between the two clubs. He joined Palace on a permanent basis soon after as they spent one season in the Premier League before establishing himself in the first team following their return to the Championship. Read more
30 Mar 1982: Philippe Mexès, French footballer Philippe Mexès is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He represented Auxerre, Roma and AC Milan at club level during a career that spanned between 1999 and 2016. A full international between 2002 and 2012, he won 29 caps and scored one goal for the France national team and represented them at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup as well as UEFA Euro 2012. Read more
30 Mar 1982: Javier Portillo, Spanish footballer Javier García Portillo is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Read more
30 Mar 1982: Jason Dohring, American actor Jason William Dohring is an American actor, known for his roles as Logan Echolls in Veronica Mars and its 2014 film continuation, Josef Kostan in Moonlight (2007), Adam Carpenter in Ringer (2011), Detective Will Kinney in The Originals (2013), Chase Graves in iZombie (2015), and Terra in the Kingdom Hearts series. Read more
30 Mar 1981: Jammal Brown, American football player Jammal Filbert Brown is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, receiving unanimous All-American recognition. Brown was chosen by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft. He was selected for the Pro Bowl twice and won Super Bowl XLIV with the team. He also played for the Washington Redskins. Read more
30 Mar 1981: Andrea Masi, Italian rugby player Andrea Masi is a retired Italian rugby union footballer. His usual position was in the centres but he has also played at fly-half and at full-back. His last club before retirement was the English Premiership club Wasps. In a 16-year international career lasting from 1999 to 2015, Masi won 95 caps for the Italy national team, and was a part of their squad at four World Cups in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015. Read more
30 Mar 1980: Katrine Lunde, Norwegian handball goalkeeper Katrine Lunde is a Norwegian handball player for the Norwegian national team and who last played for ŽRK Crvena Zvezda. Read more
30 Mar 1980: Kristine Lunde-Borgersen, Norwegian handball player Kristine Lunde-Borgersen is a retired Norwegian handballer who played for the Norwegian national team. She is Olympic champion, World Champion and three times European champion. She is the twin sister of fellow handball player Katrine Lunde. On 13 June 2017, she announced her return to playing handball for the 2017–2018 season, to replace Marta Tomac, who is out of play following a severe injury. Read more
30 Mar 1980: Ricardo Osorio, Mexican footballer Ricardo Osorio Mendoza is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a defender. Read more
30 Mar 1979: Norah Jones, American singer-songwriter and pianist Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, as of 2023, has sold more than 53 million records worldwide. Billboard named her the top jazz artist of the 2000s decade. She has won ten Grammy Awards and was ranked 60th on Billboard magazine's Artists of the 2000s Decade chart. Read more
30 Mar 1979: Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Ukrainian footballer Anatoliy Oleksandrovych Tymoshchuk is a Ukrainian football coach and former midfielder. Since 2017, he has served as an assistant coach of the Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg. Tymoshchuk is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit Saint Petersburg, and is also a former captain of the Ukraine national team. Read more
30 Mar 1978: Paweł Czapiewski, Polish runner Paweł Czapiewski is a former Polish middle-distance runner. He was born in Stargard. Read more
30 Mar 1978: Chris Paterson, Scottish rugby player and coach Christopher Douglas Paterson, MBE is an ambassador and specialist coach for the Scotland and Edinburgh rugby union teams. He is a former professional rugby union player who played for Scotland and, for the most part of his career, Edinburgh. Paterson is Scotland's record points scorer with 809 points and second most-capped male player with 109 caps. He was capable of playing in a range of positions, including fullback, wing and fly-half. Read more
30 Mar 1978: Bok van Blerk, South African singer-songwriter and actor Bok van Blerk is a South African singer-songwriter who sings in Afrikaans. He became famous in 2006 for his rendition of "De la Rey" by Sean Else and Johan Vorster. Read more
30 Mar 1977: Abhishek Chaubey, Indian director and screenwriter Abhishek Chaubey is an Indian director, screenwriter and film producer known for his works in Hindi cinema. Read more
30 Mar 1976: Ty Conklin, American ice hockey player Ty Curtis Conklin is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. Throughout his National Hockey League (NHL) career, he played for the Edmonton Oilers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues and two stints with the Detroit Red Wings. Read more
30 Mar 1976: Obadele Thompson, Barbadian sprinter Obadele "Oba" Thompson BSS is a Barbados-born former sprinter, lawyer, author, and speaker. He won Barbados's first and only Olympic medal as an independent country by placing third in the 100 metres at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He is a three-time Olympian, and a finalist at each Olympics. His personal best performances are 9.87 seconds for the 100 m, 19.97 seconds for the 200 metres, and 45.38 seconds for the 400 metres. He has held the indoor 55 metres world record since 1997. Read more
30 Mar 1976: Troels Lund Poulsen, Danish politician, Minister for Education of Denmark Troels Lund Poulsen is a Danish politician, who is the Deputy Prime Minister of Denmark and leader of Venstre. He also serves as Minister of Defence. He previously served as Minister for the Environment from 2007 to 2010, Minister for Taxation from 2010 to 2011, Minister of Education in 2011, Minister for Commerce, Business and Growth from 2015 to 2016, Minister for Employment from 2016 to 2019, and Minister for Economic Affairs from 2022 to 2023. He has been a member of the Folketing since 2001, representing the Hedensted nomination district. Read more
30 Mar 1975: Paul Griffen, New Zealand-Italian rugby player Paul Richard Griffen is a former New Zealand-born rugby union player who represented Italy at scrum half in 42 full internationals. He played for Calvisano from 2000 to 2014. Read more
30 Mar 1974: Martin Love, Australian cricketer Martin Lloyd Love is a former Australian cricketer who played in five Test matches from 2002 to 2003. He was a right-handed batsman. Read more
30 Mar 1973: Adam Goldstein, American keyboard player, DJ, and producer (died 2009) Adam Michael Goldstein, known professionally as DJ AM, was an American DJ. Born in Philadelphia, Goldstein became interested in deejaying as a child after watching Herbie Hancock perform his 1983 single "Rockit". Goldstein developed a drug addiction as a teenager and was sent to the controversial rehabilitation center Straight, Incorporated. After he left the center, his drug problems became worse; he was addicted to crack cocaine for several years in his early twenties. After he attempted suicide in 1997, Goldstein became sober and later sponsored other addicts through Alcoholics Anonymous. Read more
30 Mar 1973: Jan Koller, Czech footballer Jan Koller is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was noted for his height, strong physique and heading ability. Read more
30 Mar 1973: Kareem Streete-Thompson, Caymanian-American long jumper Kareem Streete-Thompson is a Caymanian-American athlete specializing in the long jump and the 100 metres. He was born in Ithaca, New York. Read more
30 Mar 1972: Mili Avital, Israeli-American actress Mili Avital is an Israeli actress. Her career began in Israel, starring on stage, film and television. She won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1991, moved to New York in 1993 to study theatre in English, was discovered by an agent while working in a restaurant, and started acting in Hollywood almost immediately. She has maintained her career in both countries since. Read more
30 Mar 1972: Emerson Thome, Brazilian footballer and scout Emerson Augusto Thome, also known as Paredão, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Read more
30 Mar 1972: Karel Poborský, Czech footballer Karel Poborský is a Czech former professional association football player. Poborský played as a winger, and was most noted for his technical ability and pace. Read more
30 Mar 1971: Mari Holden, American cyclist Mari Kim Holden is an American Olympic medalist and World Champion in the sport of cycling. She won a silver medal in the 2000 Olympic Games time trial in Sydney, Australia and the world time trial championship later that year. She also won six U.S. championships, becoming the first American woman to win three consecutive U.S. time trial championships (1998–2000) and scoring a double by winning the U.S. time trial and road championships in 1999. In 2016 she was inducted into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame as a Modern Road and Track Competitor and presently works as a community director at USA Cycling. Read more
30 Mar 1971: Mark Consuelos, American actor and television personality Mark Andrew Consuelos is an American actor and talk show host. He rose to prominence as a television actor on the ABC soap opera All My Children for his portrayal of Mateo Santos, and subsequently as Hiram Lodge on The CW drama Riverdale (2017–2023). Consuelos currently co-hosts the daytime talk show Live with Kelly and Mark with his wife Kelly Ripa. Read more
30 Mar 1970: Tobias Hill, English poet and author (died 2023) Tobias Fleet Hill was a British poet, essayist, writer of short stories and novelist. Read more
30 Mar 1970: Sylvain Charlebois, Canadian food/agriculture researcher and author Sylvain Charlebois is a Canadian professor and researcher of food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is a former dean of the university's Faculty of Management.
Charlebois, who goes by the moniker "The Food Professor," is the director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie. Since December 2010, he has been the lead author of Canada's Food Price Report. Read more
30 Mar 1969: Troy Bayliss, Australian motorcycle racer Troy Andrew Bayliss is an Australian motorcycle racer. During his career Bayliss won the Superbike World Championship three times and a MotoGP race, all with Ducati. He finished his career after winning the 2008 World Superbike title. His 52 World Superbike victories ranks fourth all time in the history of the championship behind Jonathan Rea, Álvaro Bautista and Carl Fogarty. His son with Kim Bayliss is named Oli Bayliss, he competes in the World Supersport Championship. Read more
30 Mar 1969: Karl Bushby, English adventurer and paratrooper Karl Bushby is an English ex-paratrooper, walking adventurer, and author, currently attempting to be the first person to completely walk an unbroken path around the world. Bushby's trek is known as the Goliath Expedition. He started it in the southern tip of Chile in 1998 and is expected to return in England around 2026. Read more
30 Mar 1968: Celine Dion, Canadian singer-songwriter Céline Marie Claudette Dion is a Canadian singer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Dubbed the "Queen of Power Ballads", she is known for her powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works, which have had a significant impact on popular music. With over 200 million records sold worldwide, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, the best-selling French-language artist, and one of the best-selling musical artists. Read more
30 Mar 1967: Christopher Bowman, American figure skater and coach (died 2008) Christopher Nicol Bowman was an American figure skater. He was a two-time World medalist, the 1983 World Junior champion, and a two-time U.S. national champion. He competed in two Olympic Winter Games, placing 7th in 1988 and 4th in 1992. Read more
30 Mar 1967: Richard Hutten, Dutch furniture designer Richard G. J. Hutten is a Dutch industrial designer, art director, and artist who is active in furniture design, product design, interior design, and exhibition design. Read more
30 Mar 1967: Julie Richardson, New Zealand tennis player Julie Richardson is a former professional tennis player from New Zealand. She won seven doubles titles during her career. Read more
30 Mar 1966: Efstratios Grivas, Greek chess player and author Efstratios Grivas is a Greek chess player who holds the titles of Grandmaster, FIDE Senior Trainer, International Arbiter, and FIDE International Organizer. Read more
30 Mar 1966: Dmitry Volkov, Russian swimmer (died 2025) Dmitry Arkadyevich Volkov was a Russian two-time Olympic breaststroke swimmer. He swam at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics. Read more
30 Mar 1966: Leonid Voloshin, Russian triple jumper Leonid Anatolyevich Voloshin is a retired triple jumper from Russia. He competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 1992 Summer Olympics. Read more
30 Mar 1965: Piers Morgan, English journalist and talk show host Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer. He began his career in 1988 at the tabloid The Sun. In 1994, at the age of 29, he was appointed editor of the News of the World by Rupert Murdoch, which made him the youngest editor of a British national newspaper in more than half a century. From 1995 Morgan edited the Daily Mirror, but was fired in 2004. He was the editorial director of First News from 2006 to 2007. In 2014 he became the first editor-at-large of the MailOnline website's American operation. Read more
30 Mar 1964: Vlado Bozinovski, Macedonian-Australian footballer and manager Vlado Bozinovski is an Australian retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Read more
30 Mar 1964: Tracy Chapman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter. She was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released her self-titled debut album, which became a commercial success, boosted by her appearance at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert, and was certified 6× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album received six Grammy Award nominations, including one for Album of the Year, three of which she won: Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her single "Fast Car", and Best Contemporary Folk Album. In 2025, the album was preserved in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. Read more
30 Mar 1963: Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, Mongolian journalist and politician, 4th President of Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, known internationally as Elbegdorj Tsakhia, is a Mongolian politician and journalist who served as the 4th President of Mongolia from 2009 to 2017. He previously served as prime minister in 1998 and again from 2004 to 2006. Read more
30 Mar 1963: Panagiotis Tsalouchidis, Greek footballer Panagiotis Tsalouchidis is a Greek former football player and coach who played professionally from 1983 to 1999 for Veria, Olympiacos and PAOK, making 500 league appearances in Greek football. Read more
30 Mar 1962: Mark Begich, American politician Mark Peter Begich is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States senator from Alaska from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as mayor of Anchorage from 2003 to 2009. As of 2026, he is the most recent Democrat to serve Alaska in the U.S. Senate. Read more
30 Mar 1962: MC Hammer, American rapper and actor Stanley Kirk Burrell, better known by his stage name MC Hammer, is an American rapper and dancer. He is known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "Pray", "2 Legit 2 Quit" and "Pumps and a Bump", as well as flashy dance movements, extravagant choreography and his namesake Hammer pants. Remembered for a rapid rise to fame, Hammer has also become an entrepreneur and celebrity spokesperson. A multi-award winner, he is considered a "forefather" and pioneering innovator of pop rap. Read more
30 Mar 1962: Gary Stevens, English international footballer and manager Gary Andrew Stevens is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion, Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth. He won seven caps for England. Read more
30 Mar 1961: Mike Thackwell, New Zealand racing driver Michael Christopher Thackwell is a former racing driver from New Zealand, who participated in a number of prominent racing categories, including Formula 1. The seventh youngest driver ever to qualify for a Grand Prix, he participated in five of them, making his first start on 28 September 1980 at the Canadian Grand Prix. He scored no championship points. He had previously attempted unsuccessfully to qualify for the Dutch Grand Prix which was held on 31 August 1980. Read more
30 Mar 1961: Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian-American ice hockey player (died 1999) Douglas Peter Wickenheiser was a Canadian ice hockey player, who was drafted first overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1980 NHL entry draft. Read more
30 Mar 1960: Laurie Graham, Canadian skier Laurie Graham, is a former Canadian downhill skier. Read more
30 Mar 1960: Bill Johnson, American skier (died 2016) William Dean Johnson was an American World Cup alpine ski racer. By winning the downhill at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, Johnson became the first American male to win an Olympic gold medal in alpine skiing and the first racer not from an Alpine country to win an Olympic downhill race. Read more
30 Mar 1959: Martina Cole, English television host and author Eilidh Martina Cole is a British crime writer. As of 2021 she has released twenty-six crime novels, most of which examine London's gangster underworld. Four of her novels, Dangerous Lady, The Jump, The Take and The Runaway have been adapted into high-rating television dramas. She has achieved sales of over fourteen million in the UK alone and her tenth novel, The Know, spent seven weeks on The Sunday Times hardback best-sellers list. Read more
30 Mar 1958: Maurice LaMarche, Canadian voice actor and stand-up comedian Maurice LaMarche is a Canadian voice actor and former comedian. Across a career spanning more than four decades he has voiced Chief Quimby on Inspector Gadget, Egon Spengler on The Real Ghostbusters, The Brain on Animaniacs and its spin-off Pinky and the Brain, Big Bob on Hey Arnold!, Alec Baldwin in Team America: World Police, Kif Kroker and Calculon on Futurama and dozens of other highly recognizable characters in central and minor roles across film, television, and video games. Read more
30 Mar 1958: Joey Sindelar, American golfer Joseph Paul Sindelar is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He previously played on the PGA Tour, winning seven tournaments between 1985 and 2004. Read more
30 Mar 1957: Marie-Christine Koundja, Chadian author and diplomat
Marie-Christine Koundja is a Chadian writer and diplomat, who has worked in various departments, ministries and embassies of her country. The first published female Chadian author, she has written two novels: Al-Istifakh, ou, L'idylle de mes amis (2001) and Kam-Ndjaha, la dévoreuse (2009). Read more
30 Mar 1956: Bill Butler, Scottish educator and politician Bill Butler is a Scottish Labour Co-operative Councillor. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Anniesland from a by-election in 2000 until losing his seat in the 2011 election. Read more
30 Mar 1956: Juanito Oiarzabal, Spanish mountaineer Juan Eusebio Oiarzabal Urteaga, commonly known as Juanito Oiarzabal, is a noted Spanish Basque mountaineer. He has written four books on the subject. He was the 6th man to reach all 14 eight-thousander summits, and the third to do so without supplemental oxygen. He was the first person to climb the top three summits twice and the oldest climber to summit Kangchenjunga, at almost 53, until Carlos Fontan did so in 2014, at 75 years old.
In 2004, he lost all his toes to frostbite after summiting K2. Read more
30 Mar 1956: Paul Reiser, American actor and comedian Paul Reiser is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He played the roles of Michael Taylor in the 1980s sitcom My Two Dads, Paul Buchman in the NBC sitcom Mad About You, Modell in the 1982 film Diner, and Detective Jeffrey Friedman in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise. He has gained recognition for his roles as Jim Neiman in the 2014 film Whiplash and Dr. Sam Owens in the Netflix series Stranger Things. Read more
30 Mar 1956: Shahla Sherkat, Iranian journalist and author Shahla Sherkat is an Iranian journalist, publisher, author, feminist, and women's rights activist. She is a prominent Persian feminist author and one of the pioneers of Women's rights movement in Iran. Read more
30 Mar 1955: Randy VanWarmer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2004) Randy VanWarmer was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His biggest hit song was "Just When I Needed You Most". It reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1979 after peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks earlier that year. Read more
30 Mar 1952: Stuart Dryburgh, English-New Zealand cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh is an English-born New Zealand cinematographer. Read more
30 Mar 1952: Peter Knights, Australian footballer and coach Peter Knights is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL). After retiring as a player, he was appointed the inaugural coach of the Brisbane Bears and later returned to coach Hawthorn during the 1990s. Read more
30 Mar 1950: Janet Browne, English-American historian and academic Elizabeth Janet Browne is a British historian of science, known especially for her work on the history of 19th-century biology. She taught at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine, University College, London, before returning to Harvard. She is currently Aramont Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. Read more
30 Mar 1950: Robbie Coltrane, Scottish actor (died 2022) Anthony Robert McMillan OBE, known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He is best known for his role as Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011) and as Dr. Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald in the crime drama series Cracker. Read more
30 Mar 1950: Grady Little, American baseball player, coach, and manager William Grady Little is an American former player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He managed the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2003 and the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006 to 2007. He recently served in the front office for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Read more
30 Mar 1949: Liza Frulla, Canadian talk show host and politician, 3rd Minister of Canadian Heritage Liza Frulla, formerly known as Liza Frulla-Hébert, is a former Canadian politician. She was a Liberal Member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1989 to 1998, a Liberal Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2006, and a member of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Paul Martin. Read more
30 Mar 1949: Dana Gillespie, English singer-songwriter and actress Richenda Antoinette de Winterstein Gillespie, known professionally as Dana Gillespie, is an English actress, singer and songwriter. Originally performing and recording in her teens, over the years Gillespie has been involved in the recording of over 70 albums, and appeared in stage productions, such as Jesus Christ Superstar, and several films. Her musical output has progressed from teen pop and folk in the early part of her career, to rock in the 1970s and, more recently, the blues. Read more
30 Mar 1949: Naomi Sims, American model and author (died 2009) Naomi Ruth Sims was an American model, businesswoman and author. She is widely credited as being one of the first African-American supermodels. Sims was the first African-American model to appear on the covers of Ladies' Home Journal and Life. Read more
30 Mar 1948: Nigel Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham, English computer programmer and politician (died 2022) Nigel David Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from the 1992 general election until the 2005 general election, and as a member of the House of Lords from 2005 until his death in 2022. Read more
30 Mar 1948: Eddie Jordan, Irish racing driver and team owner, founded Jordan Grand Prix (died 2025) Edmund Patrick Jordan was an Irish motorsport executive, broadcaster, racing driver and businessman. From 1991 to 2005, Jordan served as founder and team principal of Jordan in Formula One. Read more
30 Mar 1948: Mervyn King, English economist and academic Mervyn Allister King, Baron King of Lothbury, is a British economist and public servant who was Governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013. Emeritus Professor of the London School of Economics and Chairman of the Philharmonia since 2020, Lord King serves as President of Marylebone Cricket Club for 2024/25. Read more
30 Mar 1948: Jim "Dandy" Mangrum, American rock singer Black Oak Arkansas is an American Southern rock band named after the band's hometown of Black Oak, Arkansas. The band reached the height of its fame in the 1970s, charting ten albums. Their style is notable for multiple guitar players and the raspy voice and on-stage antics of vocalist Jim "Dandy" Mangrum. Read more
30 Mar 1947: Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin, American activist, writer, and black anarchist Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin is an American writer, activist, and Black anarchist. He is a former member of the Black Panther Party and Concerned Citizens for Justice. He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and has lived in Memphis, Tennessee, since 2010. Read more
30 Mar 1947: Dick Roche, Irish politician, Minister of State for European Affairs Richard Roche is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister of State for European Affairs from 2002 to 2004 and 2007 to 2011 and Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from 2004 to 2007. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wicklow constituency from 1987 to 1992 and 1997 to 2011. He was a Senator for the Administrative Panel from 1992 to 1997. Read more
30 Mar 1947: Terje Venaas, Norwegian bassist Terje Venaas was a Norwegian jazz musician, known from dozens of recordings and a number of international collaborations. Read more
30 Mar 1945: Eric Clapton, English guitarist and singer-songwriter Eric Patrick Clapton is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". He was named number five in Time magazine's list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009. Read more
30 Mar 1944: Mark Wylea Erwin, American businessman and diplomat Mark Wylea Erwin is a former U.S. ambassador and the president of Erwin Capital, Inc., a family-owned investment company in Charlotte, North Carolina. Read more
30 Mar 1944: Brian Wilshire, Australian radio host Brian Wilshire was an Australian radio broadcaster for 2GB in Sydney. He hosted the Australia Overnight program until 11 December 2015. The signature tune of the program show was "Hanky Panky" by Pete Fountain. Read more
30 Mar 1943: Jay Traynor, American pop and doo-wop singer (died 2014) John "Jay" Traynor was an American singer. Read more
30 Mar 1942: Ruben Kun, Nauruan lawyer and politician, 14th President of Nauru (died 2014) Ruben James Kun was a political figure from the Pacific nation of Nauru and was president of the Republic of Nauru. Read more
30 Mar 1942: Tane Norton, New Zealand rugby player (died 2023) Rangitane Will Norton, commonly known as Tane Norton, was a New Zealand rugby union player. He played at the hooker position. He played for Linwood before he first represented Canterbury in 1969. In 1977, he captained the All Blacks to a series win over the British Lions and played three games for the World Invitation XV in South Africa. Read more
30 Mar 1942: Kenneth Welsh, Canadian actor (died 2022) Kenneth Clifford Welsh was a Canadian actor, who made over 300 stage, film, and television appearances over a nearly 60-year career. Read more
30 Mar 1941: Graeme Edge, English singer-songwriter and drummer (died 2021) Graeme Charles Edge was an English musician, songwriter and poet, best known as the co-founder, drummer, and only constant member of the English band the Moody Blues. In addition to his work with the Moody Blues, Edge worked as the bandleader of his own outfit, the Graeme Edge Band. He contributed his talents to a variety of other projects throughout his career. In 2018, Edge was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues. Read more
30 Mar 1941: Ron Johnston, English geographer and academic (died 2020)

Ronald John Johnston, OBE, FAcSS, FBA was a British geographer, known for elaborating his discipline's foundations, particularly its history and nature, and for his contributions to urban social geography and electoral geography. His broad scope is illustrated by the fact that he made extensive use of quantitative methods, while critically dealing with subjects of social and political relevance. Johnston authored or co-authored more than 50 books and 800 papers, and edited or co-edited a further more than 40 books. He edited The Dictionary of Human Geography and for the first four editions was its main editor. Read more
30 Mar 1941: Wasim Sajjad, Pakistani lawyer and politician, President of Pakistan Wasim Sajjad Jan is a Pakistani conservative politician and lawyer who served as the acting president of Pakistan for two non-consecutive terms and as the Chairman of the Senate between 1988 and 1999. Read more
30 Mar 1941: Bob Smith, American soldier and politician Robert Clinton Smith is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for New Hampshire's 1st congressional district from 1985 to 1990 and the state of New Hampshire in the United States Senate from 1990 to 2003. Read more
30 Mar 1940: Norman Gifford, English cricketer Norman Gifford was an English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. Gifford played county cricket for Worcestershire, and Warwickshire County Cricket Clubs, and represented England in fifteen Test matches and two One Day International between 1964 and 1985. Read more
30 Mar 1940: Jerry Lucas, American basketball player and educator Jerry Ray Lucas is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State University, and 1960 gold medal Olympian and international player before later starring as a professional player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Read more
30 Mar 1940: Hans Ragnemalm, Swedish lawyer and judge (died 2016) Hans Olof Ragnemalm was a Swedish lawyer, judge, and professor emeritus of public law. Read more
30 Mar 1940: David Earle Bailey, American Episcopal priest (died 2024) David Earle Bailey was an American Episcopalian clergyman who was bishop of the Missionary Diocese of Navajoland, a missionary diocese of the Episcopal Church. He was consecrated bishop on August 7, 2010. Read more
30 Mar 1938: John Barnhill, American basketball player and coach (died 2013) John Anthony "Rabbit" Barnhill was an American professional basketball player. Read more
30 Mar 1938: Klaus Schwab, German economist and engineer, founded the World Economic Forum Klaus Martin Schwab is a German mechanical engineer, economist, and founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF). He served as the WEF's chairman from 1971 until his resignation in 2025. Read more
30 Mar 1937: Warren Beatty, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Henry Warren Beatty is an American actor and filmmaker. His career has spanned over six decades, and he has received an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. He also received the Irving G. Thalberg Award in 1999, the BAFTA Fellowship in 2002, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2007, and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2008. Read more
30 Mar 1937: Ian MacLaurin, Baron MacLaurin of Knebworth, English businessman Ian Charter MacLaurin, Baron MacLaurin of Knebworth is a British businessman, who has been chairman of Vodafone and chairman and chief executive of Tesco. He is a former chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, a former president of the Marylebone Cricket Club and a former Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire. Read more
30 Mar 1935: Karl Berger, German pianist and composer (died 2023) Karl Hans Berger was a German-American jazz pianist, vibraphonist, composer, and educator. He was a leading figure in jazz improvisation from the 1960s when he settled in the United States for life. He founded the educational Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York, in 1972 with his wife and Ornette Coleman, to encourage international students to pursue their own ideas about music. Read more
30 Mar 1935: Willie Galimore, American football player (died 1964) Willie Galimore, nicknamed "the Wisp", was an American professional football player who played halfback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 to 1963. He was selected by the Bears in the fifth round of the 1956 NFL draft. Tragically, his NFL career was cut short with his death at age 29 in a traffic accident just ahead of the 1964 season. Read more
30 Mar 1935: Gordon Mumma, American composer Gordon Mumma is an American composer. He is known most for his work with electronics, many devices of which he builds himself, and for his performances on horn. Read more
30 Mar 1934: Paul Crouch, American broadcaster, co-founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (died 2013) Paul Franklin Crouch (; was an American televangelist and the co-founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Founded in 1973 with his wife, Jan Crouch, TBN grew to become the world's largest religious television network. Crouch was a prominent figure in the prosperity gospel movement, a theology that drew both a massive global following and significant criticism regarding the network's fundraising tactics and the family's lavish lifestyle. Read more
30 Mar 1934: Hans Hollein, Austrian architect and academic, designed Haas House (died 2014) Hans Hollein was an Austrian architect and designer and key figure of postmodern architecture. Some of his most notable works are the Haas House and the Albertina extension in the inner city of Vienna. Read more
30 Mar 1933: Jean-Claude Brialy, French actor and director (died 2007) Jean-Claude Brialy was a French actor and film director. Read more
30 Mar 1933: Joe Ruby, American animator (died 2020) Joseph Clemens Ruby was an American animator, writer, television producer, and music editor. He was best known as a co-creator of the animated Scooby-Doo franchise, together with Ken Spears. In 1977, they co-founded the television animation production company Ruby-Spears Productions. Ruby would work with Spears and would co-create several other shows including, Fangface, Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, and Jabberjaw among others. Read more
30 Mar 1930: John Astin, American actor John Allen Astin is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles, primarily in character roles. He is widely known for his role as patriarch Gomez Addams in The Addams Family (1964–1966), reprising the role in the television film Halloween with the New Addams Family (1977) and the animated series The Addams Family (1992–1993). Read more
30 Mar 1930: Rolf Harris, Australian singer-songwriter (died 2023) Rolf Harris was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably the didgeridoo and the Stylophone, and is credited with the invention of the wobble board. He was convicted in England in 2014 of the sexual assault of four underage girls, which effectively ended his career. Read more
30 Mar 1929: Richard Dysart, American actor (died 2015) Richard Allen Dysart was an American actor. He is best known for his role as senior partner Leland McKenzie in the television series L.A. Law (1986–1994), for which he won a 1992 Primetime Emmy Award as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series after four consecutive nominations. In film, he held supporting roles in The Hospital (1971), Being There (1979), The Thing (1982), Mask (1985), Pale Rider (1985) and Wall Street (1987). Read more
30 Mar 1929: Ray Musto, American soldier and politician (died 2014) Raphael John Musto was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic Party member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district from 1980 to 1981. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 118th district from 1971 to 1980 and of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 14th district from 1982 until his retirement in 2010. Read more
30 Mar 1929: István Rózsavölgyi, Hungarian runner (died 2012) István Rózsavölgyi was a Hungarian athlete who competed mainly in the 1500 metres. Read more
30 Mar 1928: Robert Badinter, French lawyer and politician, French Minister of Justice (died 2024) Robert Badinter was a French lawyer, politician, and author who enacted the abolition of capital punishment in France in 1981, while serving as Minister of Justice under François Mitterrand. He also served in high-level appointed positions with national and international bodies working for justice and the rule of law. Read more
30 Mar 1928: Colin Egar, Australian cricket umpire (died 2008) Colin John "Col" Egar was an Australian Test cricket umpire. Read more
30 Mar 1928: Tom Sharpe, English-Spanish author and educator (died 2013)
Thomas Ridley Sharpe was an English satirical novelist, best known for his Wilt series, as well as Porterhouse Blue and Blott on the Landscape, all three of which were adapted for television. Read more
30 Mar 1927: Wally Grout, Australian cricketer (died 1968) Arthur Theodore Wallace Grout, known as Wally Grout, was a Test cricketer who kept wicket for Australia and Queensland. Read more
30 Mar 1926: Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish businessman, founded IKEA (died 2018) Feodor Ingvar Kamprad was a Swedish billionaire businessman who founded IKEA in 1943 and grew it into a multinational retail company that became the world's largest furniture seller in 2008. He moved to Switzerland with his Swiss wife in 1976, moving back to Småland in 2014 after her death in 2011. Read more
30 Mar 1925: Hans Reichelt, German politician (died 2025) Hans Reichelt was a German politician of the Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany (DBD), a GDR-Bloc party. He was Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in 1953 and from 1955 to 1963, and from 1972 to January 1990, Minister of Environmental Protection and Water Management, as well as Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the GDR. Read more
30 Mar 1923: Milton Acorn, Canadian poet and playwright (died 1986) Milton James Rhode Acorn, nicknamed The People's Poet by his peers, was a Canadian poet, writer, and playwright. Read more
30 Mar 1922: Turhan Bey, American actor (died 2012) Turhan Bey was an Austrian-born actor of Turkish and Czech-Jewish origins. Active in Hollywood from 1941 to 1953, he was dubbed "The Turkish Delight" by his fans. After his return to Austria, he pursued careers as a photographer and stage director. Returning to Hollywood after a 40-year hiatus, he made several guest appearances in 1990s television series including SeaQuest DSV, Murder, She Wrote and Babylon 5 as well as a number of films. After retiring, he appeared in a number of documentaries, including a German-language documentary on his life. Read more
30 Mar 1922: Arthur Wightman, American physicist and academic (died 2013) Arthur Strong Wightman was an American mathematical physicist. He was one of the founders of the axiomatic approach to quantum field theory, and originated the set of Wightman axioms. With his rigorous treatment of quantum field theories, he promoted research on various aspects of modern mathematical physics. Read more
30 Mar 1921: André Fontaine, French historian and journalist (died 2013) André Fontaine was a French historian and journalist. He started working at Temps Présent, and then was director at Le Monde in 1947, at the official beginning of the Cold War. He became the newspaper's editor from 1969 to 1985, and director from 1985 to 1991. As of February 2007 he was still contributing articles to the paper. André Fontaine is famous for his historical thesis, according to which the Cold War in fact started as soon as 1917 with the cordon sanitaire policy. Read more
30 Mar 1919: McGeorge Bundy, American intelligence officer and diplomat, 6th United States National Security Advisor (died 1996) McGeorge "Mac" Bundy was an American academic who served as the U.S. National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 through 1966. He is primarily remembered as one of the chief architects of the United States' escalation of the Vietnam War. He was president of the Ford Foundation from 1966 through 1979. Read more
30 Mar 1919: Robin Williams, New Zealand mathematician, university administrator and public servant (died 2013) Robert Martin Williams, generally known as Robin Williams, was a New Zealand mathematician, academic administrator and public servant. He served as vice chancellor of the University of Otago from 1967 to 1972, and of the Australian National University from 1973 to 1975. Between 1975 and 1981, he was chair of the State Services Commission. Read more
30 Mar 1917: Els Aarne, Ukrainian-Estonian pianist, composer, and educator (died 1995) Elze Janovna Paemurru, pseudonymously known as Els Aarne, was an Estonian composer, pianist and pedagogue, primarily during the Soviet Union. Read more
30 Mar 1915: Pietro Ingrao, Italian journalist and politician (died 2015) Pietro Ingrao was an Italian politician and journalist who participated in the Italian resistance movement.
For many years, he was a senior figure in the Italian Communist Party (PCI). Read more
30 Mar 1914: Sonny Boy Williamson I, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (died 1948) John Lee Curtis "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player and singer-songwriter. He is often regarded as the pioneer of the blues harp as a solo instrument. He played on hundreds of recordings by many pre–World War II blues artists. Under his own name, he was one of the most recorded blues musicians of the 1930s and 1940s and is closely associated with Chicago producer Lester Melrose and Bluebird Records. His popular songs, original or adapted, include "Good Morning, School Girl", "Sugar Mama", "Early in the Morning", and "Stop Breaking Down". Read more
30 Mar 1913: Marc Davis, American animator (died 2000) Marc Fraser Davis was a prominent American artist and animator for Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, the famed core animators of Disney animated films, and was revered for his knowledge and understanding of visual aesthetics. After his work on One Hundred and One Dalmatians he moved to Walt Disney Imagineering to work on rides for Disneyland and Walt Disney World before retiring in 1978. Read more
30 Mar 1913: Richard Helms, American soldier and diplomat, 8th Director of Central Intelligence (died 2002) Richard McGarrah Helms was an American government official, intelligence officer and diplomat who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from 1966 to 1973 and as United States Ambassador to Iran from 1973 to 1976. Read more
30 Mar 1913: Frankie Laine, American singer-songwriter (died 2007) Frankie Laine was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005. Often billed as "America's Number One Song Stylist", Laine's other nicknames include "Mr. Rhythm", "Old Leather Lungs", and "Mr. Steel Tonsils". His hits included "That's My Desire", "That Lucky Old Sun", "Mule Train", "Jezebel", "High Noon", "I Believe", "Hey Joe!", "The Kid's Last Fight", "Cool Water", "Rawhide", and "You Gave Me a Mountain". Read more
30 Mar 1913: Ċensu Tabone, Maltese general, physician, and politician, 4th President of Malta (died 2012) Vincent "Ċensu" Tabone, was the fourth president of Malta who also served as Minister and Nationalist MP. Read more
30 Mar 1912: Jack Cowie, New Zealand cricketer (died 1994) John Cowie was a New Zealand cricketer who played in nine Tests from 1937 to 1949. His Test opportunities were restricted by New Zealand's limited programme, and his cricket career was interrupted by World War II from 1939 to 1945. Following the 1937 tour of England, Wisden commented: "Had he been an Australian, he might have been termed a wonder of the age." Read more
30 Mar 1912: Alvin Hamilton, Canadian lieutenant and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Agriculture (died 2004) Francis Alvin George Hamilton was a Canadian politician. Hamilton led the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan from 1949 until he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1957 general election. That election brought the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to power under John Diefenbaker. He served as Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources, 1957 to 1960. He promoted a new vision of northern development. He was Minister of Agriculture, 1960 to 1963, where he promoted wheat sales to China. Read more
30 Mar 1911: Ekrem Akurgal, Turkish archaeologist and academic (died 2002) Ekrem Akurgal was a Turkish archaeologist. During a career that spanned more than fifty years, he conducted definitive research in several sites along the western coast of Anatolia such as Phokaia (Foça), Pitane (Çandarlı), Erythrai (Ildırı) and old Smyrna. Read more
30 Mar 1910: Józef Marcinkiewicz, Polish soldier, mathematician, and academic (died 1940) Józef Marcinkiewicz was a Polish mathematician. Read more
30 Mar 1907: Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German general (died 1994) Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte was a German paratroop officer during World War II who later served in the armed forces of West Germany, achieving the rank of General. Following the war, Heydte pursued academic, political and military careers, as a Catholic-conservative professor of political science, a member of the Christian Social Union political party, and as a Bundeswehr reservist. In 1962, Heydte was involved in the Spiegel affair. Read more
30 Mar 1905: Archie Birkin, English motorcycle racer (died 1927) Charles Archibald Cecil Birkin was an English motorcycle racer, brother of Tim Birkin, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. Read more
30 Mar 1905: Mikio Oda, Japanese triple jumper and academic (died 1998) Mikio Oda was a Japanese athlete and the first Japanese Olympic gold medalist. He was the first Asian Olympic champion in an individual event. Read more
30 Mar 1905: Albert Pierrepoint, English hangman (died 1992) Albert Pierrepoint was an English hangman who executed between 435 and 600 people in a 25-year career that ended in 1956. His father Henry and uncle Thomas were official hangmen before him. Read more
30 Mar 1904: Ripper Collins, American baseball player and coach (died 1970) James Anthony "Ripper" Collins was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. A switch hitter who threw left-handed, Collins was listed as 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall and weighed 165 pounds (75 kg), during his playing days. Despite his stature, he was a power hitter who in 1934 co-led the National League (NL) with 35 home runs (HR). Read more
30 Mar 1903: Joy Ridderhof, American missionary (died 1984) Joy F. Ridderhof was an American missionary. Read more
30 Mar 1902: Brooke Astor, American socialite and philanthropist (died 2007) Roberta Brooke Astor was an American philanthropist, socialite, and writer. She served as the chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation, established by her third husband, Vincent Astor, who was a member of the Astor family. Brooke Astor was the author of two novels and two volumes of personal memoirs. Read more
30 Mar 1902: Ted Heath, English trombonist and composer (died 1969) George Edward Heath was a British musician and big band leader. Read more
30 Mar 1899: Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Indian author, playwright, and screenwriter (died 1970) Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay was an Indian Bengali-language writer. He was actively involved with Bengali cinema as well as Bollywood. The creator of the Bengali detective Byomkesh Bakshi, Sharadindu composed stories of a wide array of varieties including: novels, short stories, crime and detective stories, plays and screenplays. He wrote historical fiction like Kaler Mandira, Gourmollar, Tumi Sandhyar Megh, Tungabhadrar Teere, Chuya-Chandan, Maru O Sangha, Sadashib series and stories of the unnatural with the recurring character Baroda. Besides, he composed many songs and poems. Read more
30 Mar 1895: Jean Giono, French author and poet (died 1970) Jean Giono was a French writer who wrote works of fiction mostly set in the Provence region of France. Read more
30 Mar 1895: Carl Lutz, Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during WWII, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews (died 1975) Carl Lutz was a Swiss diplomat. He served as the Swiss Vice-Consul in Budapest, Hungary, from 1942 until the end of World War II. He is credited with saving over 62,000 Jews during the Second World War in possibly the largest rescue operation of the Holocaust. Read more
30 Mar 1895: Charlie Wilson, English footballer (died 1971) Charles Wilson was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Tottenham Hotspur, Huddersfield Town and Stoke City. Read more
30 Mar 1894: Tommy Green, English race walker (died 1975) Thomas William Green was a British racewalker who won a gold medal in the men's 50 km walk at the 1932 Summer Olympics. The son of a police constable, Green could not walk until the age of five, owing to his affliction with rickets. He lied about his age and joined the British Army in 1906 and served during the First World War, where he was wounded on three occasions and gassed while fighting in France. Returning to Britain, he eventually settled in Eastleigh where he worked at a railway works before being encouraged by a blind friend to take up racewalking. Read more
30 Mar 1894: Sergey Ilyushin, Russian engineer, founded Ilyushin Design Bureau (died 1977) Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin was a Soviet aircraft designer who founded the Ilyushin aircraft design bureau. He designed the Il-2 Shturmovik, which made its maiden flight in 1939. It is the most produced warplane, and remains the second most-produced aircraft in history, with some 36,000+ built, behind the US Cessna 172. Read more
30 Mar 1892: Stefan Banach, Polish mathematician and academic (died 1945) Stefan Banach was a Polish mathematician who is generally considered one of the 20th century's most important and influential mathematicians. He was the founder of modern functional analysis, and an original member of the Lwów School of Mathematics. His major work was the 1932 book, Théorie des opérations linéaires, the first monograph on the general theory of functional analysis. Read more
30 Mar 1892: Fortunato Depero, Italian painter and sculptor (died 1960) Fortunato Depero was an Italian futurist painter, writer, sculptor, and graphic designer. Read more
30 Mar 1892: Erhard Milch, German field marshal (died 1972) Erhard Milch was a German Generalfeldmarschall of the Luftwaffe who oversaw its founding and development during the rearmament of Germany and most of World War II. Milch served as State Secretary in the Reich Ministry of Aviation from May 1933 to June 1944 and as Inspector General of the Luftwaffe from February 1939 to January 1945. Read more
30 Mar 1892: Johannes Pääsuke, Estonian photographer and director (died 1918) Johannes Pääsuke was an Estonian photographer and filmmaker. He worked as a photographer for the Estonian National Museum and was dedicated to recording the everyday life of Estonians in the early 20th century. In 1914, he directed one of the first Estonian feature films, Bear Hunt in Pärnu County. Read more
30 Mar 1892: Erwin Panofsky, German historian and academic (died 1968) Erwin Panofsky was a German art historian whose work represents a high point in the modern academic study of iconography, including his hugely influential Renaissance and Renascences in Western Art and his seminal Early Netherlandish Painting. Read more
30 Mar 1891: Chunseong, Korean monk, writer and philosopher (died 1977) Lee Chang-rim, also known by his Dharma name Chunseong and the art name Muaedoin, was a Korean Buddhist monk, scholar, poet, writer, and philosopher. Read more
30 Mar 1888: J. R. Williams, Canadian-born cartoonist (died 1957) James Robert Williams was a Canadian cartoonist who signed his work J. R. Williams. He was best known for his long-run daily syndicated panel Out Our Way. As noted by Coulton Waugh in his 1947 book The Comics, anecdotal evidence indicated that more Williams' cartoons were clipped and saved than were other newspaper comics. A newspaper promotion of 1930 compared him to poets Eugene Field and James Whitcomb Riley. Read more
30 Mar 1882: Melanie Klein, Austrian-English psychologist and author (died 1960) Melanie Klein was an Austrian-British author and psychoanalyst known for her work in child analysis. She was the primary figure in the development of object relations theory. Klein's work primarily focused on the role of ambivalence and moral ambiguity in human development. Klein suggested that pre-verbal existential anxiety in infancy catalyzed the formation of the unconscious, which resulted in the unconscious splitting of the world into good and bad idealizations. In her theory, how the child resolves that split depends on the constitution of the child and the character of nurturing the child experiences. The quality of resolution can inform the presence, absence, and/or type of distresses a person experiences later in life. Read more
30 Mar 1880: Seán O'Casey, Irish dramatist, playwright, and memoirist (died 1964) Seán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the struggles and experiences of the working class in Dublin. Read more
30 Mar 1879: Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (died 1954) Coen de Koning was a speed skater and cyclist. He started his sports career as a cyclist, but switched to speed skating and became the second Dutch speed skater to win a world title, in 1905. He finished second in 500 m, and won the 1500, 5000 and 10,000 m events. De Koning won the national all-around title in 1903, 1905 and 1912, and set national records in the 500 m and 10,000 m in 1905; these records stood until 1926 and 1929. De Koning also set a world record in one-hour skating, at 32,370 m in 1906, and won the Elfstedentocht in 1912 and 1917. Read more
30 Mar 1875: Thomas Xenakis, Greek-American gymnast (died 1942) Thomas Xenakis was a Greek gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was born in Naxos and died in Orange, California, United States. Read more
30 Mar 1874: Charles Lightoller, English 2nd officer on the RMS Titanic (died 1952) Commander Charles Herbert Lightoller, was a British mariner and naval officer who was the second officer on board the ocean liner RMS Titanic during its ill-fated maiden voyage, and was the most senior crewmember to survive the disaster. Read more
30 Mar 1874: Josiah McCracken, American hammer thrower, shot putter, and football player (died 1962) Josiah Calvin McCracken was an American football player and track and field athlete. Read more
30 Mar 1874: Nicolae Rădescu, Romanian general and politician, Prime Minister of Romania (died 1953) Nicolae Rădescu was a Romanian army officer and political figure. He was the last pre-communist rule Prime Minister of Romania, serving from 7 December 1944 to 1 March 1945. Read more
30 Mar 1864: Franz Oppenheimer, German-American sociologist and economist (died 1943) Franz Oppenheimer was a German sociologist and political economist, who published also in the area of the fundamental sociology of the state. Read more
30 Mar 1863: Mary Calkins, American philosopher and psychologist (died 1930) Mary Whiton Calkins was an American philosopher and psychologist, whose work informed theory and research of memory, dreams and the self. She developed the paired-associate learning technique and the theory of self-psychology. In 1903, Calkins was the twelfth in a listing of fifty psychologists with the most merit, chosen by her peers. In 1895 Calkins was refused a Ph.D. by Harvard University because of her gender even though she completed all the requirements. She was given honorary membership of the British Psychology Association in 1928. Read more
30 Mar 1858: Siegfried Alkan, German composer (died 1941) Siegfried Alkan was a German composer from Saarland in the Kingdom of Prussia. He was assaulted and his musical business was looted during the Kristallnacht. Read more
30 Mar 1857: Léon Charles Thévenin, French engineer (died 1926) Léon Charles Thévenin was a French telegraph engineer who extended Ohm's law to the analysis of complex electrical circuits. Read more
30 Mar 1853: Vincent van Gogh, Dutch-French painter and illustrator (died 1890) Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life. His oeuvre includes landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits, most of which are characterised by bold colours and dramatic brushwork that contributed to the rise of expressionism in modern art. Van Gogh's work was only beginning to gain critical attention before his death from suicide at age 37. During his lifetime, only one of Van Gogh's paintings, The Red Vineyard, was sold. Read more
30 Mar 1853: Arnoldo Sartorio, German composer, pianist, and teacher (died 1936) Arnold Gabriel Holland Sartorio was a German composer, choral conductor, and piano teacher of the Romantic period. His musical output lay almost entirely in the genre of salon music pioneered by Sigismond Thalberg among others and transcended by Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt. Read more
30 Mar 1844: Paul Verlaine, French poet (died 1896) Paul Marie Verlaine was a French poet, writer and critic associated with the Symbolist, Parnassianist and Decadent movements. He is considered one of the paramount exponents of the fin de siècle in French and international poetry. Read more
30 Mar 1820: Anna Sewell, English author (died 1878) Anna Sewell was an English novelist who is known for her only book, Black Beauty, a novel about a horse. She was born into a Quaker family in Norfolk and moved to London as a baby. Her mother, Mary Wright Sewell, was the author of popular children's books. Sewell never married and always lived with her parents, in Sussex, Gloucestershire and Norfolk. A chronic illness left her leading a life of invalidism, with trips to spa resorts in England and continental Europe. She joined her mother in carrying out charitable work and also edited her mother's books. Black Beauty was written between 1871 and 1877 and published a few months before Sewell's death. Read more
30 Mar 1820: James Whyte, Scottish-Australian politician, 6th Premier of Tasmania (died 1882) James Whyte was a Scottish-born Australian politician who served as the sixth Premier of Tasmania, from 20 January 1863 to 24 November 1866. Before moving to Tasmania, Whyte was a pioneering sheep-farmer in western Victoria. He and his brothers perpetrated the Fighting Hills massacre of 40–80 Aboriginal people in Victoria while recovering stolen sheep. Read more
30 Mar 1811: Robert Bunsen, German chemist and academic (died 1899) Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium in 1860 and rubidium in 1861 with the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. The Bunsen–Kirchhoff Award for spectroscopy is named after Bunsen and Kirchhoff. Read more
30 Mar 1805: Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann, German-Swedish linguist and botanist (died 1887) Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann was an Governorate of Estonia linguist who researched Uralic languages, mostly Estonian. Wiedemann was also a botanist. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 30 March in World History

30 Mar 2024: Tim McGovern, American visual effects artist (born 1955) Tim McGovern was an American visual effects artist. He won a Special Achievement Academy Award in the category Best Visual Effects for the film Total Recall. Read more
30 Mar 2024: Chance Perdomo, British-American actor (born 1996) Chance Perdomo was an American and British actor. He earned a British Academy Television Award nomination for his performance in the BBC Three film Killed by My Debt (2018). He gained further prominence through his roles as Ambrose Spellman in the Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018–2020) and Andre Anderson in the first season of the Amazon Prime Video series Gen V (2023). He also appeared in the films After We Fell (2021), After Ever Happy (2022), and After Everything (2023). He died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident while travelling to begin filming for Gen V's second season. Read more
30 Mar 2023: Doug Mulray, Australian radio and television host (born 1951) Douglas John Mulray was an Australian comedian, radio, and television presenter. Nicknamed Uncle Doug, he grew up in Dee Why on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Mulray was well-known for his bawdy humor and charismatic larrikinism, with his style of free quips, parodies, and "unbridled naughtiness". Read more
30 Mar 2021: G. Gordon Liddy, chief operative in the Watergate scandal (born 1930) George Gordon Battle Liddy was an American lawyer and FBI agent who was convicted of conspiracy, burglary, and illegal wiretapping for his role in the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration. Read more
30 Mar 2021: Myra Frances, British actress (born 1942) Myra Frances was a British actress known for her role in the drama series Survivors and in Doctor Who. Read more
30 Mar 2020: Manolis Glezos, Greek left-wing politician, journalist, author, and folk hero (born 1922) Manolis Glezos was a Greek left-wing politician, journalist, author, and guerrilla fighter most famous for his role in the Greek Resistance during World War II. After the end of the war, Glezos became a journalist and edited the left-wing newspapers Rizospastis and I Avgi. As a politician, he was elected to the European Parliament twice and served as a Member of the Greek Parliament (MP) at various points from 1951 to 2014, representing three constituencies. He also published six books. Read more
30 Mar 2020: Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter (born 1938) William Harrison Withers Jr. was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. Born in Slab Fork, West Virginia, and raised in Beckley, West Virginia, he is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me" (1972), "Lean on Me" (1972), "Lovely Day" (1977) and "Just the Two of Us" (1980). Withers won three Grammy Awards out of nine total nominations. Read more
30 Mar 2018: Bill Maynard, English actor (born 1928) Walter Frederick George Williams, better known by his stage name Bill Maynard, was an English comedian and actor. He began working in television in the 1950s, notably starring alongside Terry Scott in Great Scott – It's Maynard! (1955–56). In the 1970s and 1980s, he starred in the successful British sitcoms Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt and The Gaffer and appeared in five films in the Carry On series. After a hiatus from television work in the late 1980s, Maynard starred as Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in the long-running television series Heartbeat from 1992 to 2000, reprising the character in the spin-off The Royal in 2003. Read more
30 Mar 2015: Helmut Dietl, German director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1944) Helmut Dietl was a German film director and author from Bad Wiessee. Read more
30 Mar 2015: Roger Slifer, American author, illustrator, screenwriter, and producer (born 1954) Roger Allen Slifer was an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and television producer who co-created the character Lobo for DC Comics. Among the many comic-book series for which he wrote was DC's Omega Men for a run in the 1980s. Read more
30 Mar 2015: Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, Dutch astronomer and academic (born 1921) Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld was a Dutch astronomer. Read more
30 Mar 2014: Kate O'Mara, English actress (born 1939) Kate O'Mara was an English film, stage and television actress, and writer. O'Mara made her stage debut in a 1963 production of The Merchant of Venice. Her other stage roles included Elvira in Blithe Spirit (1974), Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (1982), Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (1982), Goneril in King Lear (1987), and Marlene Dietrich in Lunch with Marlene (2008). Read more
30 Mar 2014: Alice Raftary, American educator of blind adults (born 1927) Alice Geisler Raftary was an American educator, based in Detroit, who specialized in education and rehabilitation for newly blind adults. Read more
30 Mar 2013: Daniel Hoffman, American poet and academic (born 1923) Daniel Gerard Hoffman was an American poet, essayist, and academic. He was appointed the twenty-second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1973. Read more
30 Mar 2013: Bobby Parks, American basketball player and coach (born 1962) Bobby Ray Parks Sr. was an American professional basketball player from Grand Junction, Tennessee. He played for Memphis State University from 1980 to 1984 and played internationally in the Philippines, Indonesia and France. As one of the most celebrated "import" players in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), Parks became the second American ever inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 2009. Read more
30 Mar 2013: Phil Ramone, South African-American songwriter and producer, co-founded A & R Recording (born 1934) Philip Rabinowitz, better known as Phil Ramone, was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, and co-founder of A & R recording studio. Its success led to expansion into several studios and a record production company. He was described by Billboard as "legendary", and the BBC as a "CD pioneer". Read more
30 Mar 2013: Edith Schaeffer, Chinese-Swiss religious leader and author, co-founded L'Abri (born 1914) Edith Rachel Merritt Schaeffer was a Christian author and co-founder of L'Abri, a Christian organization which hosts guests. She was the wife of Francis Schaeffer, and the mother of Frank Schaeffer and three other children. Read more
30 Mar 2013: Bob Turley, American baseball player and coach (born 1930) Robert Lee Turley, known as "Bullet Bob", was an American professional baseball player and financial planner. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher from 1951 through 1963. After his retirement from baseball, he worked for Primerica Financial Services. Read more
30 Mar 2012: Janet Anderson Perkin, Canadian baseball player and curler (born 1921) Janet Margaret Anderson was a Canadian pitcher and outfielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) during the 1946 season. She batted and threw right handed. Anderson was one of the 68 players born in Canada to join the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in its twelve years history. Read more
30 Mar 2012: Aquila Berlas Kiani, Indian-Canadian sociologist and academic (born 1921) Aquila Berlas Kiani, also known as Aquila Kiani was a Professor of Sociology and an educator in social work. Born in British India, she later worked in Pakistan, the UK and the US. She served as Chairman of the Department of Sociology at the University of Karachi. Read more
30 Mar 2012: Francesco Mancini, Italian footballer and coach (born 1968) Francesco Mancini was an Italian football player and coach. A goalkeeper, he spent most of his career with Foggia during the 1990s. Read more
30 Mar 2012: Granville Semmes, American businessman, founded 1-800-Flowers (born 1928)
Granville Martin Semmes II was an American businessman, entrepreneur and gemcutter. Semmes was the founder of 1-800-Flowers, a floral retailer, gift and distribution company in the United States. Read more
30 Mar 2012: Leonid Shebarshin, Russian KGB officer (born 1935) Leonid Vladimirovich Shebarshin was an intelligence officer and spy for the Soviet Union. He served in the First Chief Directorate (FCD), the foreign intelligence arm of the KGB. In January 1989, he was promoted to the head of the FCD when his former boss, Vladimir Kryuchkov, was promoted to KGB chief. Prior to that Shebarshin had served as Kryuchkov's deputy from April 1987. Read more
30 Mar 2010: Jaime Escalante, Bolivian-American educator (born 1930) Jaime Alfonso Escalante Gutiérrez was a Bolivian-American educator known for teaching students calculus from 1974 to 1991 at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. Escalante was the subject of the 1988 film Stand and Deliver, in which he is portrayed by Edward James Olmos. Read more
30 Mar 2010: Morris R. Jeppson, American lieutenant and physicist (born 1922) Morris Richard Jeppson was a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He served as assistant weaponeer on the Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. Read more
30 Mar 2010: Martin Sandberger, German SS officer (born 1911) Martin Sandberger was a German SS functionary during the Nazi era and a convicted Holocaust perpetrator. He was the commander of Sonderkommando 1a of Einsatzgruppe A, as well as of the Sicherheitspolizei and SD at the time of Nazi German occupation of Estonia during World War II. Sandberger perpetrated mass murder of the Jews in German-occupied Latvia and Estonia. As the Gestapo chief in Verona, he was also responsible for the arrest of Jews in Italy, and their deportation to Auschwitz concentration camp. Sandberger was the second-highest official of the Einsatzgruppe A to be tried and convicted. He was also the last-surviving defendant from the Nuremberg Military Tribunals. Read more
30 Mar 2008: Roland Fraïssé, French mathematical logician (born 1920) Roland Fraïssé was a French mathematical logician. Read more
30 Mar 2008: David Leslie, Scottish racing driver (born 1953) David William Leslie was a British racing driver. He was most associated with the British Touring Car Championship, in which he was runner-up in 1999. He was particularly noted for his development skill, helping both Honda and Nissan become BTCC race winners. He was born in Dumfries, Scotland. Read more
30 Mar 2008: Richard Lloyd, English racing driver (born 1945) Richard Hugh Lloyd was a British racing car driver and founder of multiple sports car and touring car teams. He drove in multiple championships himself, including the British Saloon Car Championship and the World Endurance Championship. Read more
30 Mar 2008: Dith Pran, Cambodian-American photographer and journalist (born 1942) Dith Pran was a Cambodian-American photojournalist. He was a refugee and survivor of the Cambodian genocide and one of the subjects of the Academy Award–winning film The Killing Fields (1984), in which he was portrayed by Haing S. Ngor, a fellow survivor. Read more
30 Mar 2007: John Roberts, Canadian political scientist, academic, and politician, 46th Secretary of State for Canada (born 1933) John Moody Roberts, was a Canadian politician. He was a Liberal Member of Parliament for 13 years interspersed between 1968 and 1984. He was a member of cabinet in the government of Pierre Trudeau. Read more
30 Mar 2006: Red Hickey, American football player and coach (born 1917) Howard Wayne "Red" Hickey was an American professional football player and coach. He played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1941 and the Cleveland / Los Angeles Rams from 1945 to 1948. Hickey served as head coach for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers from 1959 to 1963. Read more
30 Mar 2006: John McGahern, Irish author and educator (born 1934) John McGahern was an Irish writer and novelist. Read more
30 Mar 2005: Robert Creeley, American novelist, essayist, and poet (born 1926) Robert White Creeley was an American poet and author of more than 60 books. He is associated with the Black Mountain poets, although his verse aesthetic diverged from that school. Creeley was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn. Read more
30 Mar 2005: Milton Green, American hurdler and soldier (born 1913) Milton G. Green was a Jewish American track and field athlete who was a world record holder in high hurdles during the 1930s. Read more
30 Mar 2005: Fred Korematsu, American political activist (born 1919) Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu was an American civil rights activist who resisted the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Shortly after the Imperial Japanese Navy launched its attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which authorized the removal of individuals of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast from their homes and their mandatory imprisonment in incarceration camps. Korematsu challenged the order and became a fugitive. Read more
30 Mar 2005: Chrysanthos Theodoridis, Greek singer and songwriter (born 1934) Chrysanthos Theodoridis, or simply Chrysanthos was a Greek singer and songwriter. He was born in Oinoi, Kozani to a Pontic Greek family from Kars and he wrote several songs for the Pontic music. He became a symbol for the people from Pontus worldwide. He died of a heart attack in Greece and his body was placed to accept pilgrimage by hundreds of people. Apart from the songs of Pontus, he also sang artistic songs, while collaborating with Christodoulos Chalaris. Read more
30 Mar 2005: O. V. Vijayan, Indian author and illustrator (born 1930) Ottupulackal Velukkuty Vijayan, commonly known as O. V. Vijayan, was an Indian author and cartoonist, who was an important figure in modern Malayalam literature. Best known for his first novel Khasakkinte Itihasam (1969), Vijayan was the author of six novels, nine short-story collections, and nine collections of essays, memoirs and reflections. Read more
30 Mar 2005: Mitch Hedberg, American stand-up comedian (born 1968) Mitchell Lee Hedberg was an American stand-up comedian and filmmaker known for his surreal humor and deadpan delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes mixed with absurd elements and non sequiturs. Read more
30 Mar 2004: Alistair Cooke, English-American journalist and author (born 1908) Alistair Cooke, KBE was a British-American writer whose work as a journalist, television personality and radio broadcaster was done primarily in the United States. Outside his journalistic output, which included Letter from America and America: A Personal History of the United States, he was well known in the United States as the host of PBS Masterpiece Theatre from 1971 to 1992. After holding the job for 22 years, and having worked in television for 42 years, Cooke retired in 1992, although he continued to present Letter from America until shortly before his death. He is the father of author and folk singer John Byrne Cooke. Read more
30 Mar 2004: Michael King, New Zealand historian and author (born 1945) Michael King was a New Zealand historian, author, and biographer. He wrote or edited over 30 books on New Zealand topics, including the best-selling Penguin History of New Zealand, which was the most popular New Zealand book of 2004. Read more
30 Mar 2004: Timi Yuro, American singer and songwriter (born 1940) Rosemary Victoria Yuro, known professionally as Timi Yuro, was an American singer. Sometimes called "the little girl with the big voice", she is considered to be one of the first blue-eyed soul stylists of the rock era. Yuro possessed a contralto vocal range. According to one critic, "her deep, strident, almost masculine voice, staggered delivery and the occasional sob created a compelling musical presence". Read more
30 Mar 2003: Michael Jeter, American actor (born 1952) Michael Jeter was an American actor. Known for his career on stage and screen, Jeter played diverse characters. He won a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. He portrayed Herman Stiles on the sitcom Evening Shade from 1990 until 1994. Read more
30 Mar 2003: Valentin Pavlov, Russian banker and politician, 11th Prime Minister of the Soviet Union (born 1937) Valentin Sergeyevich Pavlov was a Soviet official who became a Russian banker following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Born in the city of Moscow, then part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Pavlov began his political career in the Ministry of Finance in 1959. Later, during the Brezhnev Era, he became head of the Financial Department of the State Planning Committee. Pavlov was appointed to the post of Chairman of the State Committee on Prices during the Gorbachev Era, and later became Minister of Finance in Nikolai Ryzhkov's second government. He went on to succeed Ryzhkov as head of government in the newly established post of Prime Minister of the Soviet Union. Read more
30 Mar 2002: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother of the United Kingdom (born 1900) Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was also the last Empress of India from 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved on 15 August 1947. After her husband died, she was officially known as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother to avoid confusion with her daughter Queen Elizabeth II. Read more
30 Mar 2002: Anand Bakshi, Indian poet and lyricist (born 1930) Anand Bakshi was an Indian poet and lyricist. He won Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist four times during his career. He wrote more than 6,000 film songs in more than 300 films. Read more
30 Mar 2000: Rudolf Kirchschläger, Austrian judge and politician, 8th President of Austria (born 1915) Rudolf Kirchschläger was an Austrian diplomat, politician and judge. From 1974 to 1986, he served as the president of Austria. Read more
30 Mar 1996: Hugh Falkus, English pilot and author (born 1917) Hugh Falkus was a British writer, filmmaker and presenter, World War II pilot and angler. In an extremely varied career, he is perhaps best known for his seminal books on angling, particularly salmon and sea trout fishing; however, he was also a noted filmmaker and broadcaster for the BBC. Read more
30 Mar 1996: Ryoei Saito, Japanese businessman (born 1916) Ryoei Saito was the honorary chairman of Daishowa Paper Manufacturing in Japan. Read more
30 Mar 1995: Rozelle Claxton, American pianist (born 1913) Rozelle Claxton was an American jazz pianist and arranger. Read more
30 Mar 1995: Tony Lock, English-Australian cricketer and coach (born 1929) Graham Anthony Richard Lock was an English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. He played in 49 Test matches for England taking 174 wickets. Read more
30 Mar 1995: Paul A. Rothchild, American record producer (born 1935) Paul Allen Rothchild was a prominent American record producer of the 1960s and 1970s, widely known for his historic work with the Doors, producing Janis Joplin's final album Pearl and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's first two albums. Read more
30 Mar 1993: S. M. Pandit, Indian painter (born 1916) Sambanand Monappa Pandit was an Indian painter from Karnataka, popular in the school of Realism in contrast to the contemporaneous net-traditionalist Bengal Renaissance and other Indian modern art movements of his time. Most of his subjects oscillated between events from classical Indian literature including the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Puranas, and the contemporary cinema of his times. He infused a rare blend of artistic virtuosity and filmi glamour to his portrayal of romantic characters like Radha-Krishna, Nala-Damayanti, and Viswamitra-Menaka as also the many heroes and heroines of Hindi cinema. In addition to his critically acclaimed masterpieces he also illustrated many popular film posters, film magazines and various other publications in what can collectively be termed as calendar art. His works remain hugely popular even today. His mythological paintings and calendar art have been collected widely. He is also widely celebrated in the Indian calendar industry for his "realistic" depiction of themes from Hindu mythology. In these paintings he emphasised the physical forms of the heroes, heroines, gods and goddesses in marked contrast to traditional and classical styles of Indian painting. In his paintings, Pandit depicted his subjects as handsome, muscular, valorous men and sensuously beautiful, voluptuous women set in surroundings suggestive of cinema settings and sceneries. Read more
30 Mar 1993: Richard Diebenkorn, American painter (born 1922) Richard Diebenkorn was an American painter and printmaker. His early work is associated with abstract expressionism and the Bay Area Figurative Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In the late 1960s, he began his extensive series of geometric, lyrical abstract paintings. Known as the Ocean Park paintings, these paintings were instrumental to his achievement of worldwide acclaim. Art critic Michael Kimmelman described Diebenkorn as "one of the premier American painters of the postwar era, whose deeply lyrical abstractions evoked the shimmering light and wide-open spaces of California, where he spent virtually his entire life." Read more
30 Mar 1992: Manolis Andronikos, Greek archaeologist and academic (born 1919) Manolis Andronikos was a Greek archaeologist and a professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Read more
30 Mar 1991: Athanasios Ragazos, Greek long-distance runner (born 1913) Athanasios Ragazos was a Greek long-distance runner. Read more
30 Mar 1990: Harry Bridges, Australian-born American activist and trade union leader (born 1901) Harry Bridges was an Australian-born American union leader, first with the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA). In 1937, he led several Pacific Coast chapters of the ILA to form a new union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), expanding its ranks to include thousands of additional warehouse workers. He served as ILWU president for the next 40 years. Read more
30 Mar 1988: Edgar Faure, French historian and politician, Prime Minister of France (born 1908) Edgar Jean Faure was a French politician, lawyer, essayist, historian and memoirist who served as Prime Minister of France in 1952 and again between 1955 and 1956. Prior to his election to the National Assembly for Jura under the Fourth Republic in 1946, he was a member of the French Committee of National Liberation (CFLN) in Algiers (1943–1944). A Radical, Faure was married to writer Lucie Meyer. In 1978, he was elected to the Académie Française. Read more
30 Mar 1986: James Cagney, American actor and dancer (born 1899) James Francis Cagney Jr. was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances. Read more
30 Mar 1986: John Ciardi, American poet and etymologist (born 1916) John Anthony Ciardi was an American poet, translator, and etymologist. While primarily known as a poet and translator of Dante's Divine Comedy, he also wrote several volumes of children's poetry, pursued etymology, contributed to the Saturday Review as a columnist and long-time poetry editor, directed the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in Vermont, and recorded commentaries for National Public Radio. Read more
30 Mar 1985: Harold Peary, American actor and singer (born 1908) Harold "Hal" Peary was an American actor, comedian and singer in radio, films, television, and animation. His most memorable role was as Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, which began as a supporting character on radio's Fibber McGee and Molly in 1938 before being spun off to star in a successful radio series The Great Gildersleeve, several films and other media adaptations. Read more
30 Mar 1984: Karl Rahner, German-Austrian priest and theologian (born 1904) Karl Rahner was a German Jesuit priest and theologian who, alongside Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Yves Congar, is considered to be one of the most influential Catholic theologians of the 20th-century. He was the brother of Hugo Rahner, also a Jesuit scholar. Read more
30 Mar 1981: DeWitt Wallace, American publisher, co-founded Reader's Digest (born 1889) William Roy DeWitt Wallace, publishing as DeWitt Wallace, was an American magazine publisher. Read more
30 Mar 1979: Airey Neave, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (born 1916) Lieutenant Colonel Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) from 1953 until his assassination in 1979. Read more
30 Mar 1979: Ray Ventura, French pianist and bandleader (born 1908) Raymond Ventura was a French jazz pianist and bandleader. He helped popularize jazz in France in the 1930s. His nephew was singer Sacha Distel. Read more
30 Mar 1978: George Paine, English cricketer and coach (born 1908) George Alfred Edward Paine was an English cricketer who played in four Test matches in 1934–35. Read more
30 Mar 1978: Memduh Tağmaç, Turkish general (born 1904) Memduh Tağmaç was a Turkish general. He was the 14th Chief of the General Staff of Turkey during the 1971 Turkish coup d'état, and previously Commander of the Turkish Army (1968-1969) and Commander of the First Army of Turkey (1966-1968). Read more
30 Mar 1977: Levko Revutsky, Ukrainian composer and educator (born 1889) Levko Mykolaiovych Revutsky was a Soviet and Ukrainian composer, pedagogue, and public figure. Read more
30 Mar 1975: Peter Bamm, German journalist and author (born 1897) Peter Bamm was a German writer. Read more
30 Mar 1973: Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish pilot and politician (born 1903) Air Commodore Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton and 11th Duke of Brandon, was a Scottish aristocrat, politician and aviator. He was the first man to fly over Mount Everest. Read more
30 Mar 1973: Yves Giraud-Cabantous, French racing driver (born 1904) Yves Aristide Marius Giraud-Cabantous was a racing driver from France. He drove in Formula One from 1950 to 1953, participating in 13 World Championship Grands Prix, plus numerous non-Championship Formula One and Formula Two races. Read more
30 Mar 1972: Mahir Çayan, Turkish politician (born 1946) Mahir Çayan was a Turkish Marxist–Leninist revolutionary who co-founded and led the People's Liberation Party-Front of Turkey (THKP-C), one of the main armed left-wing organizations in Turkey in the early 1970s. Read more
30 Mar 1972: Gabriel Heatter, American radio commentator (born 1890) Gabriel Heatter was an American radio commentator whose World War II-era sign-on, "There's good news tonight," became both his catchphrase and his caricature. Read more
30 Mar 1970: Heinrich Brüning, German economist and politician, Chancellor of Germany (born 1885) Heinrich Aloysius Maria Elisabeth Brüning was a German Centre Party politician and academic, who served as the chancellor of Germany during the Weimar Republic from 1930 to 1932. His use of deflation in an attempt to combat the effects of the Great Depression in Germany increased unemployment and poverty and earned him the nickname of "the hunger chancellor". Read more
30 Mar 1969: Lucien Bianchi, Belgian racing driver (born 1934) Luciano "Lucien" Bianchi was an Italian-born Belgian racing driver who raced for the Cooper, ENB, UDT Laystall and Scuderia Centro Sud teams in Formula One. He entered a total of 19 Formula One World Championship races, scoring six points and had a best finish of third at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix. Read more
30 Mar 1967: Frank Thorpe, Australian public servant (born 1885) Frank Gordon Thorpe, was a senior Australian public servant. He was Public Service Commissioner between 1936 and 1947. Read more
30 Mar 1967: Jean Toomer, American poet and novelist (born 1894) Jean Toomer was an American poet and novelist commonly associated with modernism and the Harlem Renaissance, though he actively resisted the latter association. His reputation stems from his novel Cane (1923), which Toomer wrote during and after a stint as a school principal at a black school in rural Sparta, Georgia. The novel intertwines the stories of six women and includes an apparently autobiographical thread; sociologist Charles S. Johnson called it "the most astonishingly brilliant beginning of any Negro writer of his generation". He resisted being classified as a "Negro" writer and he identified as "American". For more than a decade Toomer was an influential follower and representative of the pioneering spiritual teacher G.I. Gurdjieff. Read more
30 Mar 1966: Newbold Morris, American lawyer and politician (born 1902) Augustus Newbold Morris was an American politician, lawyer, president of the New York City Council, and two-time candidate for mayor of New York City. Read more
30 Mar 1966: Maxfield Parrish, American painter and illustrator (born 1870) Maxfield Parrish was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. His works featured distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. The National Museum of American Illustration deemed his painting Daybreak (1922) to be the most successful art print of the 20th century. Read more
30 Mar 1966: Erwin Piscator, German director and producer (born 1893) Erwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator was a German theatre director and producer. Along with Bertolt Brecht, he was the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio-political content of drama, rather than its emotional manipulation of the audience or the production's formal beauty. Read more
30 Mar 1965: Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1896) Philip Showalter Hench was an American physician. Hench, along with his Mayo Clinic co-worker Edward Calvin Kendall and Swiss chemist Tadeus Reichstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1950 for the discovery of the hormone cortisone, and its application for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The Nobel Committee bestowed the award for the trio's "discoveries relating to the hormones of the adrenal cortex, their structure and biological effects." Read more
30 Mar 1964: Nella Larsen, American nurse and author (born 1891) Nellallitea "Nella" Larsen was an American novelist. Working as a nurse and a librarian, she published two novels, Quicksand (1928) and Passing (1929), and a few short stories. Though her literary output was scant, she earned recognition by her contemporaries. Read more
30 Mar 1963: Aleksandr Gauk, Russian conductor and composer (born 1893) Alexander Vassilievich Gauk was a Soviet conductor and composer. Read more
30 Mar 1961: Philibert Jacques Melotte, English astronomer (born 1880) Philibert Jacques Melotte was a British astronomer. Read more
30 Mar 1960: Joseph Haas, German composer and educator (born 1879) Joseph Haas was a German late romantic composer and music teacher. Read more
30 Mar 1959: Daniil Andreyev, Russian mystic and poet (born 1906) Daniil Leonidovich Andreyev was a Russian writer, poet, and Christian mystic. Read more
30 Mar 1959: John Auden, English solicitor, deputy coroner and a territorial soldier (born 1894) John Lorimer Auden MC, was an English solicitor, deputy coroner for Staffordshire and a territorial soldier who served in the First World War. He was a collector of natural history. Read more
30 Mar 1959: Riccardo Zanella, Italian politician (born 1875) Riccardo Zanella was a Fiuman politician who was the only elected president of the short-lived Free State of Fiume. Read more
30 Mar 1956: Edmund Clerihew Bentley, English author and poet (born 1875) Edmund Clerihew Bentley, who generally published under the names E. C. Bentley and E. Clerihew Bentley, was an English novelist and humorist and inventor of the clerihew, an irregular form of humorous verse on biographical topics. Read more
30 Mar 1955: Harl McDonald, American pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1899) Harl McDonald was an American composer, conductor, pianist and teacher. McDonald was born in Boulder, Colorado, and studied at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Redlands, and the Leipzig Conservatory. He was appointed a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania in 1927 and enjoyed other appointments at the University including the Director of the Music Department and Director of the University's Choral Society and the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club. Among his students there was Ann Wyeth McCoy. In addition to his administrative duties with the University, McDonald composed numerous musical works and served on the board of directors of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association. He died in Princeton, New Jersey due to a stroke at the age of 55 while helping to direct the production of a motion picture film on orchestral music. Read more
30 Mar 1952: Nikos Beloyannis, Greek resistance leader and politician (born 1915) Nikos Beloyannis was a Greek resistance leader and leading cadre of the Greek Communist Party. Read more
30 Mar 1952: Jigme Wangchuck, Bhutanese king (born 1905) Jigme Wangchuck was King of Bhutan from 26 August 1926 until his death in 1952. He pursued legal and infrastructural reform during his reign. Bhutan continued to maintain almost complete isolation from the outside world during this period; its only foreign relations were with the British Raj in India, under which Bhutan was a protected state. He was succeeded by his son, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. Read more
30 Mar 1950: Léon Blum, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (born 1872) André Léon Blum was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister of France. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. Read more
30 Mar 1949: Friedrich Bergius, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1884) Friedrich Karl Rudolf Bergius was a German chemist known for the Bergius process for producing synthetic fuel from coal, Nobel Prize in Chemistry in recognition of contributions to the invention and development of chemical high-pressure methods. Having worked with IG Farben during World War II, his citizenship came into question following the war, causing him to ultimately flee to Argentina, where he acted as adviser to the Ministry of Industry. Read more
30 Mar 1949: Dattaram Hindlekar, Indian cricketer (born 1909) Dattaram Dharmaji Hindlekar was a cricketer who kept wicket for India in Test cricket. Read more
30 Mar 1945: Béla Balogh, Hungarian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1885) Béla Balogh was a Hungarian film director, one of the most prominent of the early 20th century. He was prominent in both silent and voiced productions and is most known for movies like Havi 200 fix, Ópiumkeringő, and Úrilány szobát keres. Read more
30 Mar 1943: Jan Bytnar, Polish lieutenant; WWII resistance fighter (born 1921) Jan Roman Bytnar, nom de guerre "Rudy" (Ginger) was a Polish scoutmaster, a member of Polish scouting anti-Nazi resistance, and a lieutenant in the Home Army during the Second World War. Read more
30 Mar 1943: Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski, Polish sergeant; WWII resistance fighter (born 1920) Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski codenames: Alek, Glizda, Kopernicki, Koziorożec was a Polish scoutmaster (podharcmistrz), Polish Scouting resistance activist and Second Lieutenant of the Armia Krajowa during the Second World War. Dawidowski is a main character in the books Kamienie na Szaniec by Aleksander Kamiński, and Rudy, Alek, Zośka by Barbara Wachowicz. Read more
30 Mar 1940: Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet Scottish soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (born 1876) Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet was a Scottish Unionist politician. He notably served as Home Secretary from 1932 to 1935. Read more
30 Mar 1936: Conchita Supervía, Spanish soprano and actress (born 1895) Conchita Supervía was a highly popular Spanish mezzo-soprano singer who appeared in opera in Europe and America and also gave recitals. Read more
30 Mar 1935: Romanos Melikian, Armenian composer (born 1883) Romanos Hovakimi Melikian was an Armenian composer, conductor, and educator. He played a significant role in the developing Armenian classical music and established Armenian musical institutions such as Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan, Yerevan Opera Theatre, and the Armenian Music Society. Read more
30 Mar 1925: Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher and author (born 1861) Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian New Age guru, philosopher, occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a literary critic and published works including The Philosophy of Freedom. At the beginning of the twentieth century he founded an esoteric spiritual movement, anthroposophy, with roots in German idealist philosophy and theosophy. His teachings are influenced by (Christian) Gnosticism or neognosticism. Many of his ideas are pseudoscientific. He was also prone to pseudohistory. Read more
30 Mar 1912: Karl May, German author (born 1842) Karl Friedrich May was a German author known for writing often in first-person narrative about travels and adventures, mostly set in the American Old West or the Orient and Middle East, but also in Latin America, China and within Germany. For a time he insisted that he actually had travelled to the West and was called Old Shatterhand there, while in the Ottoman Empire he was called Kara Ben Nemsi, and posed in costumes. Read more
30 Mar 1907: Aurora von Qvanten, Swedish writer and artist (born 1816) Aurora Magdalena von Qvanten was a Swedish writer, translator and artist who used the pseudonym Turdus Merula. Read more
30 Mar 1896: Charilaos Trikoupis, Greek politician, 55th Prime Minister of Greece (born 1832) Charilaos Trikoupis was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895. Read more
30 Mar 1886: Joseph-Alfred Mousseau, Canadian judge and politician, 6th Premier of Quebec (born 1838) Joseph-Alfred Mousseau, was a Canadian lawyer and politician, who served in the federal Cabinet and also as the sixth premier of Quebec. Read more
30 Mar 1879: Thomas Couture, French painter and educator (born 1815) Thomas Couture was a French history painter and teacher. He taught many notable contemporary figures of the art world, such as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, John Ward Dunsmore, Karel Javůrek, William Morris Hunt, and Joseph-Noël Sylvestre. Read more
30 Mar 1874: Carl Julian (von) Graba, German lawyer and ornithologist who visited and studied the Faroe Islands (born 1799) Carl Julian (von) Graba was a German lawyer and Royal Danish judicial councillor, and was also a keen ornithologist and one of the first modern researchers to visit and study the Faroe Islands, where he described the local puffin which was subsequently named Fratercula arctica grabae after him. Graba's findings were mentioned in 1872 by Charles Darwin in his book On the Origin of Species. Read more
30 Mar 1873: Bénédict Morel, Austrian-French psychiatrist and physician (born 1809) Bénédict Augustin Morel was a French psychiatrist born in Vienna, Austria. He was an influential figure in the field of degeneration theory during the mid-19th century. Read more
30 Mar 1864: Louis Schindelmeisser, German clarinet player, composer, and conductor (born 1811) Louis (Ludwig) Alexander Balthasar Schindelmeisser was a nineteenth-century German clarinetist, conductor and composer. He was born Königsberg, Prussia, and studied in Berlin and Leipzig. He was an early and enthusiastic partisan of Richard Wagner, arranging his first performances in Wiesbaden and Darmstadt of Tannhäuser, of which he conducted the premiere, Rienzi and Lohengrin. Read more
30 Mar 1842: Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, French painter (born 1755) Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, also known as Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun or simply Madame Le Brun, was a French painter who mostly specialized in portrait painting, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Read more
30 Mar 1840: Beau Brummell, English-French fashion designer (born 1778) George Bryan "Beau" Brummell was an important figure in Regency England, and for many years he was the arbiter of British men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, but after the two quarrelled and Brummell got into debt, he had to take refuge in France. Eventually, he died from complications of neurosyphilis in Caen. Read more
30 Mar 1830: Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden (born 1763) Ludwig I succeeded as Grand Duke of Baden on 8 December 1818.
He was the uncle of his predecessor Karl Ludwig Friedrich, and his death marked the end of the Zähringen line of the House of Baden. He was succeeded by his half brother, Leopold. Read more
30 Mar 1806: Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (born 1757) Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, was an English aristocrat, socialite, political organiser, author, and activist. Born into the Spencer family and married into the Cavendish family, she was the first wife of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, and the mother of the 6th Duke of Devonshire. Read more
30 Mar 1804: Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie, French general and politician, French Secretary of State for War (born 1718) Victor François de Broglie, 2nd Duke of Broglie was an officer of the French Army. He served with his father, François Marie de Broglie, 1st Duke of Broglie, at Parma and Guastalla, and in 1734 obtained a colonelcy. Read more

Why is 30 March Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 30 March, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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On 30 March, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

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