April 29 in History
International Dance Day — Created by the Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute, Unesco, in 1982, the date commemorates the birth of the French dancer and choreographer Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810).
1676 — Michiel A de Ruyter, 69, Dutch rearadmiral, dies after being fatally wounded when a cannonball struck him in the right leg in the
April 22 Battle of Augusta. One of the most skilled admirals in history, he played a pivotal role in the Anglo-Dutch and Franco-Dutch wars.
1852 — The first edition of Peter Mark Roget’s Thesaurus is published, and has never been out of print. The London physician of French-Swiss ancestry collected and organised English words to improve his public speaking, hence his first publication of 15 000 words.
1901 — Hirohito, 124th emperor of Japan (192689), is born at Togu Palace.
1907 — Fred Zinnemann, director (“High Noon”, “From Here to Eternity”, “Oklahoma!”, “The Nun’s Story”, “The Day of the Jackal”), is born in Rzeszów, Galicia, Austria-Hungary. His films receive 65 Oscar nominations, winning 24.
1913 — Gideon Sundback, Swedish-American electrical engineer, patents an all-purpose zipper. The name is created in 1923 by BF Goodrich, who uses it on their new boots. Zippers are initially primarily used on boots and tobacco pouches. It takes 20 years to catch on in the fashion industry. 1945 — Adolf Hitler, 56, marries Eva Braun, 33. 1958 — Daniel Day-Lewis, actor, (Oscars for “There Will be Blood”, “My Left Foot”, “Lincoln”), is born in London.
1958 — Michelle Pfeiffer, actress, is born in California.
1970 — André Agassi, tennis player, is born in Las Vegas.
1980 — Alfred Hitchcock, 80, British director (“Psycho”, “Vertigo”, “North by Northwest”), dies in Los Angeles.
1991 — A cyclone strikes the Chittagong district of Bangladesh with winds of around 250km/h. A 6m storm surge is forced inland, killing some
138 000 people and leaving 10 million homeless. 1992 — Exxon executive Sidney Reso, 57, is kidnapped outside his New Jersey home. His body is found on June 27 after the arrest of former Exxon security official Arthur Seale and his wife Irene, who had bodged an $18.5-million ransom demand. Seale is serving a 95-year prison term. Irene, sentenced to 20 years, is released in November 2009.