April 29
April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the
Gregorian calendar (120th in
leap years). There are 246 days remaining.
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1429 -
Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the
Siege of Orléans.
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1672 -
Franco-Dutch War:
Louis XIV of France invades the
Netherlands.
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1770 -
James Cook arrives at and names
Botany Bay,
Australia.
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1854 - The
Ashmun Institute is officially chartered, becoming the first college for
African American students.
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1861 -
American Civil War:
Maryland's
House of Delegates votes not to secede from the
Union.
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1862 -
American Civil War:
New Orleans falls to
Union forces under
Admiral David Farragut.
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1864 - The
Theta Xi fraternity is founded at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in
Troy, New York.
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1882 - The "
Elektromote" – forerunner of the
trolleybus – trialed by
Ernst Werner von Siemens in
Berlin.
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1903 - A 30 million cubic-metre
landslide kills 70 in
Frank, Alberta,
Canada.
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1910 -
Andrew Fisher becomes
Prime Minister of Australia for the second time.
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1916 -
Easter Rebellion:
Martial law in
Ireland is lifted and the
rebellion is officially over with the surrender of
Irish nationalists to
British authorities in
Dublin.
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1945 -
World War II: The
German Army in
Italy unconditionally surrenders to the
Allies.
*1945 -
World War II: Start of
Operation Manna.
*1945 -
Adolf Hitler marries his long-time partner
Eva Braun in a
Berlin bunker and designates
Admiral Karl Dönitz as his successor.
*1945 -
Holocaust: The
Dachau concentration camp is liberated by
United States troops.
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1946 - Former
Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo and 28 former
Japanese leaders are indicted for
war crimes.
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1951 - A
Tibetan delegation to the Chinese government was presented with a treaty draft regarding the
Chinese occupation of Tibet.
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1965 -
Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (
SUPARCO) successfully launches seventh
rocket in their
Rehber series.
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1967 - After refusing induction into the
United States Army the day before (citing religious reasons),
Muhammad Ali is stripped of his
boxing title.
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1970 -
Vietnam War:
United States and
South Vietnamese forces invade
Cambodia to hunt
Viet Cong.
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1974 -
Watergate Scandal:
President Richard Nixon announces the release of edited transcripts of
White House tape recordings related to the scandal.
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1975 -
Vietnam War:
Operation Frequent Wind – The last
U.S. citizens begin evacuation from
Saigon prior to an expected
North Vietnamese takeover.
United States involvement in the war comes to an end.
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1986 -
Roger Clemens sets a
major league baseball record with 20 strikeouts in nine innings against the
Seattle Mariners.
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1992 -
1992 Los Angeles riots:
Riots in
Los Angeles, California, follow the acquittal of
police officers charged with excessive force in the beating of
Rodney King. Over the next three days 54 people are killed and hundreds of buildings are destroyed.
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1997 - The
Chemical Weapons Convention of
1993 enters into force, outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of
chemical weapons among its signatories.
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2002 - The
United States is re-elected to the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights, one year after losing the seat it had held for 50 years.
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2004 -
Dick Cheney and
George W. Bush testify before the
9/11 Commission in a closed, unrecorded hearing in the
Oval Office.
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2005 -
Syria completes withdrawal from
Lebanon, ending 29 years of occupation.
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1665 -
James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, Irish statesman and soldier (d.
1745)
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1667 -
John Arbuthnot, English physician and satirist (d.
1735)
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1686 -
Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman (d.
1742)
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1727 -
Jean-Georges Noverre, French dancer and ballet master (d.
1810)
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1745 -
Oliver Ellsworth, 3rd
Chief Justice of the United States (d.
1807)
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1762 -
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, French marshal (d.
1833)
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1780 -
Charles Nodier, French writer (d.
1844)
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1837 -
Georges Boulanger, French general and politician (d.
1891)
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1854 -
Henri Poincaré, French mathematician and physicist (d.
1912)
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1863 -
William Randolph Hearst, American publisher (d.
1951)
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1875 -
Rafael Sabatini, Italian/British writer (d.
1950)
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1876 - Empress
Zauditu of Ethiopia (d.
1930)
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1879 - Sir
Thomas Beecham, English conductor (d.
1961)
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1882 -
H.N. Werkman, Dutch artist and printer (d.
1945)
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1885 -
Egon Erwin Kisch, Czech journalist and author (d.
1948)
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1893 -
Harold Urey, American chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1981)
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1895 -
Malcolm Sargent, English conductor (d.
1967)
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1899 -
Duke Ellington, American jazz pianist and bandleader (d.
1974)
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1901 -
Hirohito,
Emperor of Japan (d.
1989)
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1907 -
Fred Zinnemann, Austrian-born American film director (d.
1997)
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1909 -
Tom Ewell, American actor (d.
1994)
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1917 -
Celeste Holm, American actress
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1918 -
George Allen, American football player and coach (d.
1990)
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1919 -
Gérard Oury, French film actor and director (d.
2006)
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1920 -
Harold Shapero, American composer
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1924 -
Al Balding, Canadian professional golfer (d.
2006)
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1925 -
Ned Austin, American character actor
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1929 -
Walter Kempowski, German author
* 1929 -
Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer
* 1929 -
Mickey McDermott, baseball player (d.
2003)
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1930 -
Jean Rochefort, French actor
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1931 -
Frank Auerbach, German-born British painter
* 1931 -
Lonnie Donegan, Scottish musician (d.
2002)
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1933 -
Mark Eyskens,
Prime Minister of Belgium* 1933 -
Rod McKuen, American poet and composer
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1934 -
Luis Aparicio, Venezuelan
Major League Baseball player
* 1934 -
Otis Rush, American musician
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1936 -
Zubin Mehta, Indian-born conductor
* 1936 -
April Stevens, American singer
* 1936 -
Lane Smith, American actor (d.
2005)
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1937 -
Jill Paton Walsh, English writer
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1938 -
Fred Dibnah, English television personality (d.
2004)
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1942 -
Klaus Voormann, German illustrator and musician
* 1942 -
Galina Kulakova, Soviet cross country skier
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1944 -
Richard Kline, American actor and television director
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1945 -
Tammi Terrell, American singer (d.
1970)
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1946 -
John Waters, American film director and writer
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1947 -
Olavo de Carvalho, Brazilian philosopher
* 1947 -
Tommy James, American musician
* 1947 -
Jim Ryun, American athlete and politician
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1950 -
Debbie Stabenow, United States Senator
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1951 -
Dale Earnhardt, American race car driver (d.
2001)
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1952 -
Nora Dunn, American actress
* 1952 -
David Icke, British writer
* 1952 -
Bob McClure, baseball player
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1954 -
Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian
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1955 -
Kate Mulgrew, American actress
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1956 -
Ketil Stokkan, Norwegian singer
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1957 -
Daniel Day-Lewis, Irish actor
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1958 -
Michelle Pfeiffer, American actress
* 1958 -
Eve Plumb, American actress
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1960 -
Robert J. Sawyer, Canadian writer
* 1960 -
Phil King, English bassist
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1964 -
Federico Castelluccio, Italian-American actor
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1966 -
Phil Tufnell, English cricketer
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1967 -
Curtis Joseph, Canadian hockey player
* 1967 -
Master P, American rapper, composer, actor, athlete, and sports agent
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1968 -
Carnie Wilson, American singer
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1970 -
Andre Agassi, American tennis player
* 1970 -
Mark Buckingham, Kiwi Audio Expert
* 1970 -
Uma Thurman, American actress
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1973 -
David Belle, creator of
parkour*
1974 -
Pascal Cygan, French footballer
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1975 -
Eric Koston, Thai-born skateboarder
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1977 -
Claus Jensen, Danish footballer
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1978 -
Bob Bryan and
Mike Bryan, American tennis players
* 1978 -
Tony Armas, Jr., Baseball pitcher
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1980 -
Kian Egan, Irish musician (
Westlife)
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1981 -
George McCartney, Northern Irish footballer
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1988 -
Younha, Korean pop singer
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1380 -
Catherine of Siena, Italian saint (b.
1347)
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1594 -
Thomas Cooper, English bishop, lexicographer, and writer
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1630 -
Agrippa d'Aubigné, French poet (b.
1552)
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1658 -
John Cleveland, English poet (b.
1613)
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1676 -
Michiel de Ruyter, Dutch admiral (b.
1607)
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1688 -
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (b.
1620)
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1698 -
Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, First Lord of the British Admiralty (b.
1655)
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1707 -
George Farquhar, Irish dramatist (b.
1678)
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1743 -
Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French writer (b.
1658)
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1768 -
Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and minerologist (b.
1694)
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1776 -
Edward Wortley Montagu, English traveler and writer (b.
1713)
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1793 -
Yechezkel Landau, Polish rabbi (b.
1713)
* 1793 -
John Michell, English scientist (b.
1724)
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1798 -
Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus, German entomologist (b.
1723)
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1854 -
Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English general (b.
1768)
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1933 -
Constantine P. Cavafy, Greek poet (b.
1863)
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1937 -
William Gillette, American actor (b.
1853)
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1944 -
Bernardino Machado,
President of Portugal (b.
1851)
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1951 -
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-born philosopher (b.
1889)
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1956 -
Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, German field marshal (b.
1876)
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1966 -
William Eccles, English physicist and radio pioneer (b.
1875)
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1980 -
Alfred Hitchcock, English film director (b.
1899)
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1988 -
James McCracken, American tenor (b.
1926)
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1993 -
Mick Ronson, British musician (b.
1946)
*
1997 -
Mike Royko, American columnist (b.
1932)
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2005 -
William J. Bell, television writer and producer (b.
1927)
*2005 -
Mariana Levy, Mexican actress, singer, and television show host (b.
1966)
*
2006 -
John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian economist (b.
1908)
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International Dance Day.
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Japan (public holiday since
1927, traditionally the start of the
Golden Week holiday period.)
**
The Emperor's Birthday (
1927-
1988. Holiday of
Emperor Hirohito's birthday until his death in
1989).
**
Greenery Day (
1989-
2006).
**
Shōwa Day (
2007 - Day of
Showa period, which is reigned by
Emperor Hirohito)
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Roman Empire - second day of the
Floralia in honor of
Flora.
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Bahá'í Faith - The ninth day of the
Festival of
Ridván.
Liturgical feasts
Roman Catholic Calendar of saints:
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Saint Catherine of Siena*
Saint Robert Blessed Robrecht Gruuthuuse (d.1157)
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Saint Wilfred the Younger*
Saint Peter of Verona*
Saint Hugh of ClunyIt is on this day that most of the "Plant" portion of the popular video game,
Metal Gear Solid 2, is said to take place. (Further speculation has estimated the game to take place in the year 2009.) During the game, the main character,
Raiden's, girlfriend, Rose, continually makes references to the next day,
April 30th, and asks him if he knows what its significance is. (As it turns out, it is both their anniversary as a couple and the anniversary of
George Washington taking his presidential oath in
Federal Hall.) The extent to which the game's date is repeated has secured April 29th as something of a phenomenon that lives on in gaming infamy.
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BBC: On This Day*
Today in History: April 29April 28 -
April 30 -
March 29 -
May 29 –
listing of all days
