Today in History: March 30, Reagan shot in assassination attempt
Today is Sunday, March 30, the 89th day of 2025. There are 276 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously wounded by John Hinckley Jr. outside a Washington, D.C., hotel. Also wounded were White House press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and a District of Columbia police officer, Thomas Delahanty. (Hinckley would be found not guilty by reason of insanity and held at a psychiatric hospital until his supervised release in 2016. James Brady died in 2014 as a result of his injuries.)
Also on this date:
In 1822, Florida became a United States territory.
In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward reached agreement with Russia to purchase the territory of Alaska for $7.2 million, a deal ridiculed by critics as “Seward’s Folly.”
In 1870, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited denying citizens the right to vote and hold office on the basis of race, was declared in effect by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish.
In 1923, the Cunard liner RMS Laconia became the first passenger ship to circle the globe as it arrived back in New York after a 130-day voyage.
In 1939, Detective Comics issue #27 was released, featuring the first appearance of the superhero character Batman.
In 1975, as the Vietnam War neared its end, Communist forces occupied the city of Da Nang.
In 2023, a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Donald Trump on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter, the first ever criminal case against a former U.S. president.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Actor John Astin is 95.
- Actor-director Warren Beatty is 88.
- Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry Lucas is 85.
- Musician Eric Clapton is 80.
- Actor Paul Reiser is 69.
- Rap artist MC Hammer is 63.
- Singer Tracy Chapman is 61.
- Actor Ian Ziering is 61.
- TV personality Piers Morgan is 60.
- Singer Celine Dion is 57.
- Actor Mark Consuelos is 54.
- Singer Norah Jones is 46.
- Country musician Justin Moore is 41.
- Country musician Thomas Rhett is 35.