President, WWW, and a Wascally Wabbit!
Welcome to the last day of April, history explorers! April 30th is a day packed with huge moments. Imagine watching the very first US President take office, or better yet, see the moment the internet's World Wide Web became totally FREE for everyone! Plus, we’re celebrating the birthday of a certain famous, carrot-chomping cartoon star. Let's dig into the history!
Today connects ancient governance to modern tech! From a revolutionary leader stepping into the highest office to a revolutionary technology being released to the world, April 30th shows how people change history. It’s also a great reminder that even cartoon characters have a birthday—a very famous one, in fact!
What Happened on This Day
George Washington Becomes First US President
Get ready for some serious founding father vibes! On this day, George Washington stood on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City and took the oath of office. He was sworn in as the very first President of the United States! Think of it like being the captain of a brand-new ship called America. He set the rules and showed everyone how to steer, making this one of the most important political moments ever!
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The USA Gets Way Bigger: Louisiana Purchase!
Talk about a mega-deal! On April 30th, the USA officially bought the massive Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million. That’s like buying a giant, unexplored theme park that was bigger than the entire country was before! This one deal literally doubled the size of the United States. Imagine the maps needed an immediate redraw. It opened up tons of new land for exploring and settling!
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Brave Casey Jones Dies a Hero in Train Wreck
What a legend! Locomotive engineer Casey Jones was speeding to make up lost time when his passenger train crashed into a stalled freight train near Vaughan, Mississippi. Knowing the crash was unavoidable, Jones heroically stayed at the controls to slow the train, saving his passengers and fireman, though sadly losing his own life. He became a folk hero, immortalized in song as the engineer who never gave up!
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Bugs Bunny's First (Sort Of) Appearance!
What’s up, April 30th?! On this day, a prototype of the famous rabbit who would become Bugs Bunny debuted in the cartoon *Porky’s Hare Hunt*. He wasn't quite the cool, carrot-munching comedian we know yet—he looked a bit different and acted sillier—but the seeds of the 'wascally wabbit' were planted! This early version showed off the trickster spirit that would later conquer movie screens.
The World Wide Web Goes FREE for Everyone!
This is HUGE for your online life! CERN, the science lab where the World Wide Web was invented, announced that all the secret codes and rules (protocols) to use the Web would be free for anyone, forever! Imagine if someone invented the internet but charged a massive fee for every click—that almost happened! Thanks to this decision, the web exploded and became the amazing, open space you use every single day.
Learn moreFun Facts About April 30
- The first cartoon that looked *exactly* like Bugs Bunny was called *A Wild Hare* in 1940!
- George Washington’s inauguration happened in New York City, not Washington D.C.!
- The World Wide Web going public paved the way for websites like ours to exist!
- Casey Jones’s watch reportedly stopped at 3:52 AM, the moment of the famous train crash.
A Look Back in Time
April 30th often marks massive shifts! In the late 18th century, the US was still figuring out what being a country meant, making Washington's inauguration a real test of democracy. The Louisiana Purchase a few years later showed the young nation was determined to expand West, an era of big adventure. Jump forward to 1993, and the world was connecting like never before—CERN’s decision to free the WWW was perhaps the most important event in the history of modern communication, right up there with the invention of the printing press!
Born on This Day
Carl Friedrich Gauss
The 'Prince of Mathematicians'! Gauss was a child genius who, legend says, could add 1 to 100 in seconds by spotting a clever pattern. He gave us amazing tools in math, like how we calculate probability. This German whiz was a master of numbers, astronomy, and physics!
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Bessie Coleman
Meet 'Queen Bess,' the first African-American woman and first Native American to earn a pilot's license! Since US schools wouldn't teach her, she bravely learned French and flew to France for lessons. She became a famous stunt pilot, proving nothing could stop her dream of soaring through the clouds.
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William S. Burroughs
A super influential—and controversial—American writer, Burroughs was a key figure in the 'Beat Generation' movement of the 1950s. He wrote the famous (and weird!) novel *Naked Lunch*. His life was wild, full of travel and experimenting with new ways to write stories that challenged what people thought about books.
Stephen Harper
This Canadian politician served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada for nearly ten years! Before becoming the country's top leader, he was very involved in Canadian politics, helping to create the modern Conservative Party. He was also known for his interest in economics.