Today in History
Today is Friday, April 29, the 120th day of 2016. There are 246 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On April 29, 1991, a cyclone began striking the South Asian country of Bangladesh; it ended up killing more than 138,000 people, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
On this date:
In 1429, Joan of Arc entered the besieged city of Orleans to lead a French victory over the English.
In 1798, Joseph Haydn's oratorio "The Creation" was rehearsed in Vienna, Austria, before an invited audience.
In 1861, the Maryland House of Delegates voted 53-13 against seceding from the Union. In Montgomery, Alabama, President Jefferson Davis asked the Confederate Congress for the authority to wage war.
In 1913, Swedish-born engineer Gideon Sundback of Hoboken, New Jersey, received a U.S. patent for a "separable fastener" - later known as the zipper.
In 1916, the Easter Rising in Dublin collapsed as Irish nationalists surrendered to British authorities.
In 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Dachau (DAH'-khow) concentration camp. Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun inside his "Fuhrerbunker" and designated Adm. Karl Doenitz (DUHR'-nihtz) president.
In 1946, 28 former Japanese officials went on trial in Tokyo as war criminals; seven ended up being sentenced to death.
In 1957, the SM-1, the first military nuclear power plant, was dedicated at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
In 1968, the counterculture musical "Hair" opened on Broadway following limited engagements off-Broadway.
In 1974, President Richard M. Nixon announced he was releasing edited transcripts of some secretly made White House tape recordings related to Watergate.
In 1983, Harold Washington was sworn in as the first black mayor of Chicago.
In 1992, rioting resulting in 55 deaths erupted in Los Angeles after a jury in Simi Valley, California, acquitted four Los Angeles police officers of almost all state charges in the videotaped beating of Rodney King.
Ten years ago: Tens of thousands of protesters marched through lower Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Liberal economist John Kenneth Galbraith died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at age 97.
Five years ago: Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton were married in an opulent ceremony at London's Westminster Abbey amid pomp, circumstance - and elaborate hats. President Barack Obama visited Tuscaloosa, Alabama, one of the sites of deadly tornadoes two days earlier, saying he had "never seen devastation like this."
One year ago: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh ah-bay) offered condolences for Americans killed in World War II in the first address by a Japanese leader to a joint meeting of Congress, but stopped short of apologizing for wartime atrocities. In what was believed to be the first major league game played without fans in attendance, Chris Davis hit a three-run homer in a six-run first inning and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 8-2. (The gates at Camden Yards were locked because of concern for fan safety following recent rioting in Baltimore.) Calvin Peete, 71, who became the most successful black player on the PGA Tour before the arrival of Tiger Woods, died in Atlanta.
Today's Birthdays: Jazz musician Toots Thielemans is 94. Actor Keith Baxter is 83. Bluesman Otis Rush is 81. Conductor Zubin Mehta is 80. Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff is 78. Pop singer Bob Miranda (The Happenings) is 74. Country singer Duane Allen (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 73. Singer Tommy James is 69. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., is 66. Movie director Phillip Noyce is 66. Country musician Wayne Secrest (Confederate Railroad) is 66. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 62. Actor Leslie Jordan is 61. Actress Kate Mulgrew is 61. Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is 59. Actress Michelle Pfeiffer is 58. Actress Eve Plumb is 58. Rock musician Phil King is 56. Country singer Stephanie Bentley is 53. Actor Vincent Ventresca is 50. Singer Carnie Wilson (Wilson Phillips) is 48. Actor Paul Adelstein is 47. Actress Uma Thurman is 46. International Tennis Hall of Famer Andre Agassi is 46. Rapper Master P is 46. Actor Darby Stanchfield is 45. Country singer James Bonamy is 44. Gospel/rhythm-and-blues singer Erica Campbell (Mary Mary) is 44. Rock musician Mike Hogan (The Cranberries) is 43. Actor Tyler Labine is 38. Actress Megan Boone is 33. Actress-model Taylor Cole is 32. Actor Zane Carney is 31. Pop singer Amy Heidemann (Karmin) is 30. Pop singer Foxes is 27.
Thought for Today: "In any great organization it is far, far safer to be wrong with the majority than to be right alone." - John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006).