| 30 March 1191 | Papal States, Italy [administration] | Cardinal Hyacinth Bobo is elected Pope Celestine III following the death of Pope Clement III. |
| 30 March 1296 | England, Scotland [Anglo–Scottish Wars 1296–1371)] | King Edward I of England takes the town of Berwick as he begins his campaign to subdue Scotland. |
| 30 March 1603 | UK, Ireland [political events] | The Irish rebel Hugh O'Neill, fugitive Earl of Tyrone, finally submits to the English Lord Deputy of Ireland Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy, at Mellifort; Kinsale, the rebellion ends, and a general amnesty follows. |
| 30 March 1746 | Spain [births and deaths] | Francisco Goya y Lucientes, Spanish painter and engraver known for his depiction of contemporary events, born in Fuendetodos, Spain (–1828). |
| 30 March 1853 | Netherlands [births and deaths] | Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter whose work inspires the expressionists, born in Zundert, the Netherlands (–1890). |
| 30 March 1856 | Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire, Bessarabia [treaties] | The integrity of the Ottoman Empire is recognized by the signatories to the Treaty of Paris ending the Crimean War, which guarantees the Danubian principalities. Russia cedes Bessarabia, the Black Sea is to be neutral, and the River Danube is to be free to ships of all nations. |
| 30 March 1895 | USA, UK [sports] | US-born British cinematographic pioneer Birt Acres films the Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race. This is the first sporting event to be filmed in Britain, and the first regular event in the sporting calendar to be filmed anywhere in the world. |
| 30 March 1930 | Germany [political events] | Heinrich Brüning, leader of the Centre Party, forms a coalition of the right in Germany, replacing the Social Democrats, but without a majority in the Reichstag (parliament). |
| 30 March 1960 | South Africa [human rights] | Following demonstrations, strikes, and marches by blacks demanding civil rights, the South African government proclaims a state of emergency (–31 August) and passes the Unlawful Organizations Act. On 8 April the African National Congress (ANC) and Pan-African Congress are banned, and Nelson Mandela and others form Umkonto we Sizwe (‘Spear of the Nation’), as the guerrilla wing of the ANC. |
| 30 March 1968 | world, UK [tennis] | The International Lawn Tennis Association abolishes the distinction between amateurs and professionals following the example of the British Lawn Tennis Association of 15 October 1967. |
| 30 March 1972 | Northern Ireland [political events] | Britain assumes direct rule over Northern Ireland, with William Whitelaw as secretary of state. |
| 30 March 1975 | North Vietnam, South Vietnam [Vietnam War (1954–75)] | North Vietnamese forces capture Da Nang, South Vietnam's second-largest city. |
| 30 March 1981 | USA [political events] | John Hinckley attempts to assassinate US president Ronald Reagan; he wounds the president and press secretary James Brady. |
| 30 March 2002 | England [births and deaths] | Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother dies at Royal Lodge in the grounds of Windsor Castle, England (101). |
