TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, the 119th day of 2015. There are 246 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS IN HISTORY: On this date 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 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, Ala., President Jefferson Davis asked the Confederate Congress for the authority to wage war.
In 1913, Swedish-born engineer Gideon Sundback of Hoboken, N.J., received a U.S. patent for a “separable fastener” — later known as the zipper.
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, Va.
In 1968, the counterculture musical “Hair” opened on Broadway after 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, Calif., acquitted four Los Angeles police officers of almost all state charges in the videotaped beating of Rodney King. 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 in an opulent ceremony at London’s Westminster Abbey.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor Keith Baxter is 82. Bluesman Otis Rush is 80. Conductor Zubin Mehta is 79. Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff is 77. Pop singer Bob Miranda (The Happenings) is 73. Country singer Duane Allen (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 72. Singer Tommy James is 68. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., movie director Phillip Noyce and country musician Wayne Secrest (Confederate Railroad) are 65. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 61. Actor Leslie Jordan and actress Kate Mulgrew are 60. Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is 58. Actresses Michelle Pfeiffer and Eve Plumb are 57. Rock musician Phil King is 55. Country singer Stephanie Bentley is 52. Actor Vincent Ventresca is 49. Singer Carnie Wilson (Wilson Phillips) is 47. Actor Paul Adelstein is 46. Actress Uma Thurman, tennis player Andre Agassi and rapper Master P are 45. Actor Darby Stanchfield is 44. Country singer James Bonamy and gospel/rhythm-and-blues singer Erica Campbell (Mary Mary) are 43. Rock musician Mike Hogan (The Cranberries) is 42. Actor Tyler Labine is 37. Actress Megan Boone is 32. Actress-model Taylor Cole is 31. Actor Zane Carney is 30. Pop singer Amy Heidemann (Karmin) is 29. Pop singer Foxes is 26.