April 29

April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). There are 246 days remaining.

Events

1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orléans.
1672 - Franco-Dutch War: Louis XIV of France invades the Netherlands.
1770 - James Cook arrives at and names Botany Bay, Australia.
1854 - The Ashmun Institute is officially chartered, becoming the first college for African American students.
1861 - American Civil War: Maryland's House of Delegates votes not to secede from the Union.
1862 - American Civil War: New Orleans falls to Union forces under Admiral David Farragut.
1864 - The Theta Xi fraternity is founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
1882 - The "Elektromote" – forerunner of the trolleybus – trialed by Ernst Werner von Siemens in Berlin.
1903 - A 30 million cubic-metre landslide kills 70 in Frank, Alberta, Canada.
1910 - Andrew Fisher becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the second time.
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.
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.
1946 - Former Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo and 28 former Japanese leaders are indicted for war crimes.
1951 - A Tibetan delegation to the Chinese government was presented with a treaty draft regarding the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
1965 - Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) successfully launches seventh rocket in their Rehber series.
1967 - After refusing induction into the United States Army the day before (citing religious reasons), Muhammad Ali is stripped of his boxing title.
1970 - Vietnam War: United States and South Vietnamese forces invade Cambodia to hunt Viet Cong.
1974 - Watergate Scandal: President Richard Nixon announces the release of edited transcripts of White House tape recordings related to the scandal.
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.
1986 - Roger Clemens sets a major league baseball record with 20 strikeouts in nine innings against the Seattle Mariners.
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.
1997 - The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 enters into force, outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons among its signatories.
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.
2004 - Dick Cheney and George W. Bush testify before the 9/11 Commission in a closed, unrecorded hearing in the Oval Office.
2005 - Syria completes withdrawal from Lebanon, ending 29 years of occupation.

Births

1665 - James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, Irish statesman and soldier (d. 1745)
1667 - John Arbuthnot, English physician and satirist (d. 1735)
1686 - Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman (d. 1742)
1727 - Jean-Georges Noverre, French dancer and ballet master (d. 1810)
1745 - Oliver Ellsworth, 3rd Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1807)
1762 - Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, French marshal (d. 1833)
1780 - Charles Nodier, French writer (d. 1844)
1837 - Georges Boulanger, French general and politician (d. 1891)
1854 - Henri Poincaré, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1912)
1863 - William Randolph Hearst, American publisher (d. 1951)
1875 - Rafael Sabatini, Italian/British writer (d. 1950)
1876 - Empress Zauditu of Ethiopia (d. 1930)
1879 - Sir Thomas Beecham, English conductor (d. 1961)
1882 - H.N. Werkman, Dutch artist and printer (d. 1945)
1885 - Egon Erwin Kisch, Czech journalist and author (d. 1948)
1893 - Harold Urey, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
1895 - Malcolm Sargent, English conductor (d. 1967)
1899 - Duke Ellington, American jazz pianist and bandleader (d. 1974)
1901 - Hirohito, Emperor of Japan (d. 1989)
1907 - Fred Zinnemann, Austrian-born American film director (d. 1997)
1909 - Tom Ewell, American actor (d. 1994)
1917 - Celeste Holm, American actress
1918 - George Allen, American football player and coach (d. 1990)
1920 - Harold Shapero, American composer
1925 - Ned Austin, American character actor
1929 - Walter Kempowski, German author
1929 - Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer
1930 - Jean Rochefort, French actor
1931 - Frank Auerbach, German-born British painter
1931 - Lonnie Donegan, Scottish musician (d. 2002)
1933 - Mark Eyskens, Prime Minister of Belgium
1933 - Rod McKuen, American poet and composer
1934 - Luis Aparicio, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
1934 - Otis Rush, American musician
1936 - Zubin Mehta, Indian-born American conductor
1936 - April Stevens, American singer
1936 - Lane Smith, American actor (d. 2005)
1937 - Jill Paton Walsh, English writer
1938 - Fred Dibnah, English television personality (d. 2004)
1942 - Klaus Voormann, German illustrator and musician
1942 - Galina Kulakova, Soviet cross country skier
1944 - Richard Kline, American actor and television director
1945 - Tammi Terrell, American singer (d. 1970)
1946 - John Waters, American film director and writer
1947 - Olavo de Carvalho, Brazilian philosopher
1947 - Tommy James, American musician
1947 - Jim Ryun, American athlete and politician
1950 - Debbie Stabenow, United States Senator
1951 - Dale Earnhardt, American race car driver (d. 2001)
1952 - Nora Dunn, American actress
1952 - David Icke, British writer
1954 - Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian
1955 - Kate Mulgrew, American actress
1956 - Ketil Stokkan, Norwegian singer
1957 - Daniel Day-Lewis, Irish actor
1958 - Michelle Pfeiffer, American actress
1958 - Eve Plumb, American actress
1960 - Robert J. Sawyer, Canadian writer
1960 - Phil King, English bassist
1964 - Federico Castelluccio, Italian-American actor
1966 - Phil Tufnell, English cricketer
1967 - Curtis Joseph, Canadian hockey player
1967 - Master P, American rapper, composer, actor, athlete, and sports agent
1968 - Carnie Wilson, American singer
1970 - Andre Agassi, American tennis player
1970 - Mark Buckingham, Kiwi Audio Expert
1970 - Uma Thurman, American actress
1973 - David Belle, creator of parkour
1974 - Pascal Cygan, French footballer
1975 - Eric Koston, Thai-born skateboarder
1977 - Claus Jensen, Danish footballer
1978 - Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, American tennis players
1978 - Tony Armas, Jr., Baseball pitcher
1980 - Kian Egan, Irish musician (Westlife)
1981 - George McCartney, Northern Irish footballer
1988 - Younha, Korean pop singer

Deaths

1380 - Catherine of Siena, Italian saint (b. 1347)
1594 - Thomas Cooper, English bishop, lexicographer, and writer
1630 - Agrippa d'Aubigné, French poet (b. 1552)
1658 - John Cleveland, English poet (b. 1613)
1676 - Michiel de Ruyter, Dutch admiral (b. 1607)
1688 - Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1620)
1698 - Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, First Lord of the British Admiralty (b. 1655)
1707 - George Farquhar, Irish dramatist (b. 1678)
1743 - Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French writer (b. 1658)
1768 - Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and minerologist (b. 1694)
1776 - Edward Wortley Montagu, English traveler and writer (b. 1713)
1793 - Yechezkel Landau, Polish rabbi (b. 1713)
1793 - John Michell, English scientist (b. 1724)
1798 - Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus, German entomologist (b. 1723)
1854 - Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English general (b. 1768)
1933 - Constantine P. Cavafy, Greek poet (b. 1863)
1937 - William Gillette, American actor (b. 1853)
1944 - Bernardino Machado, President of Portugal (b. 1851)
1951 - Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-born philosopher (b. 1889)
1956 - Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, German field marshal (b. 1876)
1966 - William Eccles, English physicist and radio pioneer (b. 1875)
1980 - Alfred Hitchcock, English film director (b. 1899)
1988 - James McCracken, American tenor (b. 1926)
1993 - Mick Ronson, British musician (b. 1946)
1997 - Mike Royko, American columnist (b. 1932)
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)

Holidays and observances

International Dance Day.
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)
Roman Empire - second day of the Floralia in honor of Flora.
Bahá'í Faith - The ninth day of the Festival of Ridván.

Liturgical feasts

Roman Catholic Calendar of saints:

Saint Catherine of Siena
Saint Robert Blessed Robrecht Gruuthuuse (d.1157)
Saint Wilfred the Younger
Saint Peter of Verona
Saint Hugh of Cluny

Miscellaneous Facts

It 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.

External links

April 28 - April 30 - March 29 - May 29 – listing of all days