Today in History - 30 June

2005 Spain becomes the 3rd country to permit same-sex marriage

1992 1st pay bathrooms in U.S. open: 25 cents, New York City

1984 Last sixpence minted in Great Britain (in use since 1551)

1973 Biggest U.S. tanker "Brooklyn" christened (230,000 ton)

1973 Observers aboard Concorde jet observe 72-minute solar eclipse

1972 1st leap second day; also 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985

1953 1st Corvette manufactured

1930 1st round-the-world radio broadcast Schenectady NY

1914 Mahatma Gandhi's 1st arrest, campaigning for Indian rights in South Africa

1894 London Tower Bridge opens

1893 Excelsior diamond (blue-white 995 carats) discovered