APRIL 30

1492: Columbus is granted a commission by Spain. The Spanish King realized that if Columbus was correct that he could reach Asia by sailing westward, it would provide Spain with a new route in the spice trade. Columbus reached the Americas, instead, ushering in a new era of European exploration.

1598: Henry IV issues the Edict of Nantes. The declaration extended basic rights to the Calvinist Protestant minority in France called the Huguenots. Protestants in the largely Catholic country were treated as heretics before the Edict, with few civil or legal rights. The Edict was revoked in 1685 by Louis XIV, and Protestant rights were not reinstated again until 1787.

1789: George Washington takes the oath of office. Washington had been unanimously elected by the Electoral College, and John Adams was elected his Vice President. He took the oath of office in New York City on the balcony of Federal Hall. He was reelected in 1792, and declined to run for a third term.

1897: J.J. Thomson announces the discovery of the electron. Thomson, an English physicist, determined that cathode rays could travel much farther through air than they should be able to if their smallest constituent parts were atom-sized. He deduced that this meant smaller particles were present and concluded atoms were made up of electrons.

1938: Porky’s Hare Hunt opens in movie theaters. The short film shows the hunter Porky Pig pursuing an unnamed rabbit. The rabbit, which was shown chewing on a carrot, would eventually become Bugs Bunny, one of the most iconic cartoon characters in animated history.

1973: President Nixon’s top aides are fired or resign. As the Watergate scandal wore on, it became increasingly clear that top members of the Nixon administration were implicated in the conspiracy. In an attempt to insulate himself, Nixon had John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman resign, and fired White House Counsel John Dean. Dean later testified that tapes of Oval Office conversations existed. The discovery of the tapes would lead to Nixon’s resignation.

1975: The fall of Saigon. The People’s Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong occupied strategic positions in the city, including the presidential palace. Nearly all American civilian and military personnel were evacuated from the city, as were thousands of South Vietnamese who had cooperated with the South Vietnamese government. South Vietnamese general Duong Van Minh surrendered, and the government capitulated soon after.

MAY 1