Today’s highlight in history
On April 29, 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 several days of rioting in Los Angeles, resulting in 55 deaths.
On this date
In 1429, Joan of Arc entered the besieged city of Orleans to lead a French victory over the English.
In 1817, representatives of the United States and Britain concluded the Rush-Bagot Agreement, which limited the number of naval vessels allowed in the Great Lakes.
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 1967, Aretha Franklin’s cover of Otis Redding’s “Respect” was released as a single by Atlantic Records.
In 1997, a worldwide treaty to ban chemical weapons went into effect.
In 2011, Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton were married in an opulent ceremony at London’s Westminster Abbey.
Ten years ago: An elevated section of highway that carried motorists from the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to a number of freeways was destroyed after heat from an overturned gasoline truck caused part of one overpass to crumple onto another.
Five years ago: An out-of-control SUV plunged more than 50 feet off the side of a New York City highway overpass and landed on the grounds of the Bronx Zoo, killing all seven people aboard, including three children.
One year ago: North Korea sentenced Kim Dong Chul, a U.S. citizen of Korean heritage, to 10 years in prison after convicting him of espionage and subversion.