1. In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia. The treaty was signed on March 30 and the purchase was known as the Alaska Purchase.

2. The largest oil spill in U.S. history occurred on March 30, 1989, when the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground and spilled more than 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound.

3. On March 30, 1945, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck the Aleutian Islands, causing a tsunami that devastated the island of Unimak.

4. In 1868, the first Alaska Native to be ordained a minister was William Duncan, a Tsimshian from Metlakatla. His ordination took place on March 30.

5. On March 30, 1912, a volcano on the Alaska Peninsula erupted, sending ash and smoke into the air and creating a 3-mile-wide crater. The eruption was one of the largest in Alaska's history.