TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SUNDAY, APRIL 29, the 119th day of 2018. There are 246 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1968, the counterculture rock musical “Hair,” heralding the “Age of Aquarius,” opened at Broadway’s Biltmore Theater following limited engagements off-Broadway, beginning a 1,750-performance run.
In 1429, Joan of Arc entered the besieged city of Orleans to lead a French victory over the English.
In 1861, the Maryland House of Delegates voted 53-13 against seceding from the Union. In Montgomery, Ala., President Jefferson Davis asked the Confederate Congress for the authority to wage war.
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 concentration camp. Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun inside his “Fuhrerbunker” and designated Adm. Karl Doenitz president.
In 1957, the SM-1, the first military nuclear power plant, was dedicated at Fort Belvoir, Va.
In 1967, Aretha Franklin’s cover of Otis Redding’s “Respect” was released as a single by Atlantic Records.
In 1992, a jury in Simi Valley, Calif., acquitted four Los Angeles police officers of almost all state charges in the videotaped beating of motorist Rodney King; the verdicts were followed by rioting in Los Angeles resulting in 55 deaths.
In 1993, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II announced that for the first time, Buckingham Palace would be opened to tourists to help raise money for repairs at fire-damaged Windsor Castle.
In 2011, Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton were married at London’s Westminster Abbey.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor Keith Baxter is 85. Bluesman Otis Rush is 83. Conductor Zubin Mehta is 82. Pop singer Bob Miranda (The Happenings) is 76. Country singer Duane Allen (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 75. Singer Tommy James is 71. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 64. Actor Leslie Jordan and actress Kate Mulgrew are 63. Actor Daniel DayLewis is 61. Actresses Michelle Pfeiffer and Eve Plumb are 60. Rock musician Phil King is 58. Singer Carnie Wilson (Wilson Phillips) is 50. Actress Uma Thurman and International Tennis Hallof-Famer Andre Agassi are 48. Actor Darby Stanchfield is 47. Rock musician Mike Hogan (The Cranberries) is 45. Actor Tyler Labine is 40. Actress Megan Boone is 35. Actress-model Taylor Cole is 34. Pop singer Foxes is 29. Actress Grace Kaufman is 16.