Today's Trivia and What Happened on March 30

Why did the Mexican take Xanax?

Why did the Mexican take Xanax? Close Large View

For Hispanic Attacks (For his panic attacks)

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
1

Quote: The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe, for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood he was one of them. - Turkish Proverb

Quote: The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe, for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood he was one of them. - Turkish Proverb Close Large View

Thumbs Up
12
Thumbs Down
0

What Happened On

Reagan Assassination Attempt

Reagan Assassination Attempt Close Large View

Reagan Assassination Attempt

March 30, 1981

U.S. President Ronald Reagan, James Brady, and two others are shot by John Hinckley, Jr., who was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster, whom he had developed an obsession with after seeing the film Taxi Driver. Brady was left paralyzed from a gunshot wound to the head. He would die in 2014 due to causes directly related to the shooting. A secret service agent and a D.C. police officer were also shot, but survived the shooting. Hinckley was subdued and apprehended at the scene.
The 70-year-old Reagan was shot in the left lung with the bullet just missing his heart. As he was being prepped for surgery, he joked to his wife Nancy Reagan, "Honey, I forgot to duck".
In 1982, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was sentenced to institutional psychiatric care, from which he was released in 2016 to live full-time at his mother's home.

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
0

Voisin-Farman 1 winning the Grand Prix de l'aviation, 13 January 1908 Voisin-Farman 1 winning the Grand Prix de l'aviation, 13 January 1908

Voisin-Farman 1 winning the Grand Prix de l'aviation, 13 January 1908 Voisin-Farman 1 winning the Grand Prix de l'aviation, 13 January 1908
Close Large View

First Flight of a Commercially-Built Airplane

March 30, 1907

Built by the French aircraft company Voisin Freres for Henri Farman. It was flown by Charles Voisin, achieving a straight-line flight of 200 ft (60 m). This plane, the "Voisin-Farman No.1", was later flown by Farman to win the "Grand Prix de l'aviation" for the first closed-circuit flight of over a kilometer.

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

Signing the Alaska Treaty of Cessation - William H. Seward (second from left) Signing the Alaska Treaty of Cessation - William H. Seward (second from left)

Signing the Alaska Treaty of Cessation - William H. Seward (second from left) Signing the Alaska Treaty of Cessation - William H. Seward (second from left)
Close Large View

Alaska Purchase

March 30, 1867

The U.S. buys Alaska from the Russians at the bargain price of 2¢ an acre. The purchase was supported and negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward, and became known as "Seward's Folly" by critics at the time. Russia was eager to sell the territory, fearing that they would lose it anyway if a war broke out with the United Kingdom.

Thumbs Up
4
Thumbs Down
0

Join Us on Facebook

Pencil with Attached Eraser

Pencil with Attached Eraser Close Large View

Pencil with Attached Eraser

March 30, 1858

The first pencil with an attached eraser is patented by H.L. Lipman of Philadelphia.

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
0

Iraq War - We Know Where They Are

Iraq War - We Know Where They Are Close Large View

Iraq War - We Know Where They Are

March 30, 2003

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Weapons of Mass Destruction: "We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."
Rumsfeld on how long the fighting will last: "Oh, goodness, you know, I've never -- we've never had a timetable. We've always said it could be days, weeks, or months and we don't know. And I don't think you need a timetable."

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
3

Kennedy Rape Case

March 30, 1991

30-year-old William Kennedy Smith was with his uncle, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, when he met 29-year-old Patricia Bowman at a bar. They then went to the Kennedy estate where Smith and Bowman walked along the beach. Bowman alleged that Smith tackled and raped her; Smith claimed they had consensual sex. Smith was eventually acquitted.
Smith was the nephew of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

Thumbs Up
2
Thumbs Down
2

Record Amount Paid for a Single Work of Art

Record Amount Paid for a Single Work of Art Close Large View

Record Amount Paid for a Single Work of Art

March 30, 1987

One of Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers sells for $39.9 million, a record at the time. There are some experts who now believe this piece is a fake.

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

Vietnam War

March 30, 1972

North Vietnamese forces launch a major attack across the demilitarized zone, the largest assault since 1968.

Thumbs Up
2
Thumbs Down
0

Saigon Embassy Bombing

Saigon Embassy Bombing Close Large View

Saigon Embassy Bombing

March 30, 1965

The U.S. Embassy in Saigon is destroyed by a Viet Cong car bomb, killing 22. The car bomb contained 300 pounds of plastic explosives and was detonated in front of the embassy killing two Americans, 19 Vietnamese, and one Filipino serving in the U.S. Navy along with injuring 183 others.

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan Close Large View

Ku Klux Klan

March 30, 1965

The House Committee on Un-American Activities begins investigating the Ku Klux Klan. This was the committee's first public investigation which didn't concern communism.

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

First U.S. National Forest

First U.S. National Forest Close Large View

First U.S. National Forest

March 30, 1891

The first U.S. national forest, the Yellowstone National Forest in Wyoming, is established. Originally consisting of 1,239,040 acres (5,014.2 km2), it was later divided into Bridger-Teton, Custer, Shoshone, and Caribou-Targhee National Forests.

Thumbs Up
2
Thumbs Down
0

Metropolitan Museum of Art

March 30, 1880

Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City opens.

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
1

First Operation Using Ether as Anesthesia

First Operation Using Ether as Anesthesia Close Large View

First Operation Using Ether as Anesthesia

March 30, 1842

Diethyl ether is used by Dr. Crawford Long to remove a neck tumor. He administered sulfuric ether on a towel and simply had the patient inhale.
Long had observed that some who participated in the "ether frolics", that were popular at that time, experienced bumps and bruises, but afterward had no recall of what had happened. He postulated that diethyl ether produced effects similar to the anesthetic effects of nitrous oxide described by Humphry Davy in 1800.
The word anesthesia is from the Greek for "without sensation".

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

Birthdays

Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Close Large View
This is a birthday

Eric Clapton

Born March 30, 1945

British singer, guitarist. His 1992 live album Unplugged won three Grammy awards and became the bestselling live album of all time, and Clapton's bestselling album, selling 26 million copies worldwide.
Music: I Shot the Sheriff (1974, #1), Slowhand (1977), and Lay Down Sally (1978).

Thumbs Up
2
Thumbs Down
0

Charles Lightoller

Charles Lightoller Close Large View
This is a birthday

Titanic Survivor - Life Saved by an Explosion

Charles Lightoller

Born March 30, 1874 d. 1952

British Naval Officer. He was the second officer on the RMS Titanic when it sank. During the evacuation of the Titanic, Lightoller took charge of loading the lifeboats. Lightoller stayed on board helping others escape as long as possible and then dived in the water as the Titanic began its final plunge. When he hit the water, he was sucked under by water rushing into one of the ship's ventilators. He was pinned against the grate by the pressure of the incoming water until a blast of hot air from an explosion from deep inside the ship blew him clear. He then managed to swim to an overturned lifeboat with about 30 other people on it. He took charge, calming the other survivors, and was able to keep the overturned lifeboat from sinking until they could be rescued.
He was the most senior member of the crew to survive the disaster.
Unfortunately, Lightoller had interpreted the captain's order for "the evacuation of women and children" as meaning "women and children only", resulting in lowering lifeboats with empty seats if there were no women and children waiting to board them. He even ordered men out of lifeboats before lowering them. He had planned to fill the lifeboats at the water level, but as soon as they hit the water, the under-filled boats pulled away from the Titanic, costing many lives.
Lightoller was twice decorated for gallantry for his service in the Royal Navy during World War I. He also volunteered during the World War II Dunkirk evacuation, where he piloted his own boat under enemy fire to rescue 127 British servicemen, in a boat that was only licensed to carry 21 passengers.

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

Add Trivia to Your Web Page

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh Close Large View
This is a birthday

Vincent van Gogh

Born March 30, 1853 d. 1890

Dutch ear-cutting (actually only the lobe) postimpressionist painter. Although he created over 900 paintings, which now sell for millions, he sold only one during his lifetime. In 1888, during a fit of dementia, he chopped off part of his ear and gave it to a prostitute. After years of mental illness and poverty, he shot himself in the chest and died 30 hours later of an infection. According to his brother, his final words were, "The sadness will last forever."

Thumbs Up
2
Thumbs Down
0

Anna Sewell

Anna Sewell Close Large View
This is a birthday

Anna Sewell

Born March 30, 1820 d. 1878

English author. Writings: Black Beauty (1877), which has sold over 50 million copies and has been made into numerous movies. It was her only novel. Written in her declining health, she died five months after its publication.

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier

Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier Close Large View
This is a birthday

First Manned Free Balloon Flight

Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier

Born March 30, 1754 d. 1785

French aviation pioneer. He and François Laurent d'Arlandes made the first manned free balloon flight (1783). Two years later he and his copilot Pierre Romain died in a balloon crash while attempting to cross the English Channel, making them the first-known aviation fatalities.

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

Secretariat with record-setting win at the 1973 Kentucky Derby Secretariat with record-setting win at the 1973 Kentucky Derby

Secretariat with record-setting win at the 1973 Kentucky Derby Secretariat with record-setting win at the 1973 Kentucky Derby
Close Large View
This is a birthday

Secretariat

Born March 30, 1970 d. 1989

American thoroughbred racehorse, Triple Crown winner (1973), and the first horse to finish the Kentucky Derby in under two minutes (1:59.4, 1973).

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Céline Dion

Born March 30, 1968

Canadian Grammy and Oscar-winning singer.

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Tracy Chapman

Born March 30, 1964

American Grammy-winning singer. Music: Fast Car (1988), Talkin' Bout a Revolution (1988), and Baby Can I Hold You? (1988).

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

M.C. Hammer (Stanley Kirk Burrell)

Born March 30, 1962

American rap artist.

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Maurice LaMarche

Born March 30, 1958

Canadian voice actor. TV: Pinky and the Brain (voice of Brain) and Toucan Sam (Kellogg's commercial).

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Paul Reiser

Born March 30, 1956

American stand-up comedian, actor. TV: Mad About You.

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Warren Beatty

Born March 30, 1937

American actor. Film: Bonnie and Clyde (1967, Clyde). TV: The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (Milton Armitage).

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
1

This is a birthday

John Astin

Born March 30, 1930

American actor. TV: The Addams Family (1964-66, Gomez Addams).

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Richard Dysart

Born March 30, 1929 d. 2015

American actor. TV: L.A. Law (1986-94, Leland McKenzie).

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

Peter Marshall

Peter Marshall Close Large View
This is a birthday

Peter Marshall (Ralph Pierre LaCock)

Born March 30, 1926

American game show host. TV: Hollywood Squares (1965-80).

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Herbert Anderson

Born March 30, 1917 d. 1994

American actor. TV: Dennis the Menace (Dennis' father).

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

Marc Davis

Marc Davis Close Large View
This is a birthday

Marc Davis

Born March 30, 1913 d. 2000

American animator. He is the designer of many Disney characters, such as Snow White (1937), Thumper in Bambi (1942), Cinderella (1950), Tinker Bell (1953), and Cruella De Vil (1961).

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Frankie Laine (Francesco Paolo LoVecchio)

Born March 30, 1913 d. 2007

American Oscar-winning singer. Music: Mule Train (#1) and High Noon (1952, Oscar). He also sang the theme to TV's Rawhide.

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Ted Heath

Born March 30, 1902 d. 1969

British band leader. He was one of the U.K.'s most famous post-war big band leaders, selling over 20 million records.

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Robert Wilhelm Bunsen

Born March 30, 1811 d. 1899

German chemist. He invented the Bunsen burner and discovered the elements cesium and rubidium.

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

John Stafford Smith

Born March 30, 1750 d. 1836

English composer. Music: To Anacreon in Heaven, which is the melody to The Star-Spangled Banner.

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

Francisco Goya

Francisco Goya Close Large View
This is a birthday

Francisco Goya (Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes)

Born March 30, 1746 d. 1828

Spanish painter.

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

This is a birthday

Moses Maimonides

Born March 30, 1135 d. 1204

Jewish rabbi, Talmudic scholar, philosopher. His teachings greatly influenced the Christian religion.

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

Deaths

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Close Large View
This is a death

Elizabeth (Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon)

Died March 30, 2002 b. 1900

Queen of England (1936-52), The Queen Mother. Widow of King George VI, and mother of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1923 she married the Duke of York, the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. In 1936, when King George's eldest son Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry the American divorcée Wallis Warfield Simpson, Elizabeth and her husband became king and queen.
During World War II, her indomitable spirit provided moral support to the British public prompting Adolf Hitler to call her as "the most dangerous woman in Europe."

Thumbs Up
2
Thumbs Down
0

Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes

Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes Close Large View
This is a death

First Woman Movie Stunt Pilot

Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes

Died March 30, 1975 b. 1901

American aviator. She was the first woman movie stunt pilot (1929, Hell's Angels). She was portrayed in the film The Right Stuff (1983).

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0

Mark Russell

Mark Russell Close Large View
This is a death

Mark Russell (Joseph Marcus Ruslander)

Died March 30, 2023 b. 1932

American political satirist, piano player. Quote: "You've got the brain-washed, that's the Republicans, and the brain-dead, that's the Democrats!"

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

G. Gordon Liddy

G. Gordon Liddy Close Large View
This is a death

G. Gordon Liddy (George Gordon Battle Liddy)

Died March 30, 2021 b. 1930

American lawyer. He was the chief operative in the White House Plumbers (1971) during Richard Nixon's presidency. Five of his operatives were arrested inside the Democratic National Committee offices (1972), leading to the Watergate investigation and eventual resignation of Nixon. Liddy was convicted of conspiracy, burglary, and illegal wiretapping and served nearly 52 months in federal prison.

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

This is a death

Mitch Hedberg

Died March 30, 2005 b. 1968

American comedian. Jokes:
• "I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it."
• "You know, I'm sick of following my dreams, man. I'm just going to ask where they're going and hook up with 'em later."
• "This is just between you and me and everybody else you tell."

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

This is a death

Alistair Cooke (Alfred Alistair)

Died March 30, 2004 b. 1908

English-born journalist, Emmy-winning host of TV's Masterpiece Theatre. His bones were reportedly stolen by body snatchers working for a tissue recovery firm.

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
1

This is a death

James Cagney

Died March 30, 1986 b. 1899

American Oscar-winning actor. Film: Mr. Roberts (1955, the captain). He started his career as a female impersonator in a New York revue.

Thumbs Up
3
Thumbs Down
0

This is a death

DeWitt Wallace

Died March 30, 1981 b. 1889

American publisher. He and his wife Lila founded Reader's Digest (1921). It obtained the largest magazine circulation in the world.

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

This is a death

Friedrich Bergius

Died March 30, 1949 b. 1884

German Nobel-winning chemist. He invented the process of producing synthetic fuel from coal (Bergius process), developed a process for converting wood into sugar, and contributed to the invention and development of chemical high-pressure methods (1931 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with Carl Bosch).

Thumbs Up
0
Thumbs Down
0

This is a death

First Female Professional Chemist in the U.S.

Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards

Died March 30, 1911 b. 1842

American chemist, the first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1870). She earned her B.S. degree (1873) and became the first female professional chemist in the U.S. In 1884, she became MIT's first woman faculty member.

Thumbs Up
1
Thumbs Down
0