Today In History: APRIL 30

APRIL 30 1945:

ADOLF HITLER COMMITS SUICIDE

On this day in 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the allied forces, ending Hitler’s dreams of a “1000-year” Reich.

APRIL 30 1789:

GEORGE WASHINGTON BECAME THE FIRST US PRESIDENT

In New York City, George Washington, the great military leader of the American Revolution, was inaugurated as the first president of the United States.

In February 1789, all 69 presidential electors unanimously chose Washington to be the first U.S. president. In March, the new U.S. constitution officially took effect, and in April Congress formally sent word to Washington that he had won the presidency. He borrowed money to pay off his debts in Virginia and traveled to New York. On April 30, he came across the Hudson River in a specially built and decorated barge. The inaugural ceremony was performed on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street, and a large crowd cheered after he took the oath of office. The president then retired indoors to read Congress his inaugural address, a quiet speech in which he spoke of “the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.” The evening celebration was opened and closed by 13 skyrockets and 13 cannons.

APRIL 30 1936:

ADDIS ABABA LOST TO THE ITALIANS

The Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, was lost to the Italians. After the capture of Addis Ababa by the Italian troops, Benito Mussolini, the Fascist President of Italy remarked: " we have been patient for too long". He thus made clear that the capture of Addis Ababa was revenge for the Ethiopian victory in the Battle of Adowa where Italian forces suffered heavy losses.

APRIL 30 1927:

THE FIRST FEDERAL PRISON FOR WOMEN WAS OPENED

The Federal Industrial Institution for Women, the first women’s federal prison, opened in Alderson, West Virginia in 1927.

It was supervised by Dr. Mary B. Harris, the prison buildings were each named after social reformers, sat atop 500 acres. One judge described the prison as a “fashionable boarding school.” In some respects the judge was correct: The overriding purpose of the prison was to reform the inmates, not punish them. The prisoners farmed the land and performed office work in order to learn how to type and file. They also cooked and canned vegetables and fruits.

Source: history.com