Today in History for 30th June 2017:
Historical Events
1559 – King Henry II of France is seriously injured in a jousting match against Gabriel de Montgomery.
1859 – French acrobat Charles Blondin is 1st to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope
1893 – Excelsior diamond (blue-white 995 carats) discovered
1913 – To increase the peacetime strength of the German Army, the Reichstag pass the Army and Finance Bills, a massive defense buildup
1984 – Pierre Trudeau officially steps down as Prime Minister of Canada after serving two separate terms for a total of 15 years
1997 – Leap Second to synchronize atomic clocks
Famous Birthdays
1791 – Félix Savart, French surgeon/physicist (law of Biot and Savart)
1879 – Walter Hampden, American actor (Five Fingers, Hunchback of Notre Dame), born in Brooklyn, New York
1950 – Donna Jean Willmott, FALN member (FBI most wanted), born in Akron, Ohio
1967 – Sheila Hudson, US triple jumper (US record 1992)
1969 – Ken Gernander, Grand Rapids, NHL center (NY Rangers)
1979 – Rick Gonzalez, Hispanic-American actor
Famous Deaths
1655 – Jacob Boonen, South Netherlands clergyman/lawyer, dies at 81
1953 – Gote Carlid, Swedish composer, dies at 32
1973 – Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky C.Ss.R Bishop and Martyr (b. 1903)
1984 – Lillian Hellman, playwright, (Little Foxes), dies at 79
1996 – Margaux Hemingway, model/actress (Lipstick), commits suicide at 41
2007 – Sahib Singh Verma, Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Delhi (b. 1943)