April 29

April 29 is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 246 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1900

711 – Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula.
1429 – Battle of Orléans: French troops led by Joan of Arc lifted the English Siege of Orleans, a turning point in the Hundred Years' War.
1483 – Gran Canaria, the main island of the Canary Islands, is conquered by the Kingdom of Castile.
1521 – Swedish War of Liberation: Swedish troops under Gustav Vasa defeat a Danish force under Didrik Slagheck in the Battle of Vasteras.
1587 – Francis Drake leads a raid in the Bay of Cadiz, sinking at least 23 ships of the Spanish fleet.
1672 – Franco-Dutch War: Louis XIV of France invades the Netherlands.
1770 – James Cook arrives at and names Botany Bay, Australia.
1854 – The Ashmun Institute is officially begins as the first college for African American students.
1861 – American Civil War: Maryland's House of Delegates votes not to split from the Union
1862 – American Civil War: New Orleans falls to Union forces under Admiral David Farragut.
1882 – The Elektromote, a forerunner of the trolleybus, is tested by Eduard Werner von Siemens in Berlin.

1901 – 2000

1903 – A 30 million cubic–metre landslide kills 70 in Frank, Alberta, Canada.
1910 – Andrew Fisher becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the second time.
1916 – Easter Rebellion: Martial law in Ireland is lifted and the rebellion is officially over with the surrender of Irish nationalists to British authorities in Dublin.
1944 – Dancing Romeo, the last Our Gang movie, is shown for the first time.
1945 – World War II: The German Army in Italy surrenders (gives up) to the Allies.
1945 – Adolf Hitler marries his long–time partner Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker and decides that Admiral Karl Dönitz will be the next ruler.
1945 – Holocaust: The Dachau concentration camp is freed by United States troops.
1946 – Former Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo and 28 former Japanese leaders are accused of war crimes.
1967 – After refusing to go into the United States Army the day before (because of religious reasons), Muhammad Ali is stripped of his boxing title.
1968 – The musical Hair opens on Broadway.
1969 – Jazz musician Duke Ellington receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
1970 – Vietnam War: United States and South Vietnamese forces go into Cambodia to hunt NLF soldiers.
1974 – Watergate scandal: President Richard Nixon announces the release of edited word copies of White House tape recordings that deal with the scandal.
1975 – Vietnam War: Operation Frequent Wind – The last U.S. citizens begin to leave Saigon before an expected North Vietnamese takeover. United States part in the war comes to an end.
1986 – Fire at central library of the Los Angeles Public Library damages over 400,000 books and other items.
1986 – Funeral of Wallis Simpson, who had died five days earlier. Edward VIII of the United Kingdom had left the throne in order to marry her.
1991 – Bangladesh is hit by a cyclone, killing at least 138,000 people.
1991 – A train crash in Hunan province in China kills over 200 people.
1992 – 1992 Los Angeles riots: Riots in Los Angeles, California, follow the release of police officers charged with too much strength and force in the beating of Rodney King. Over the next three days, 54 people are killed and hundreds of buildings are destroyed.
1992 – NBA player Michael Jordan scores 56 points in a playoff game against the Miami Heat in what is considered one of the greatest games of his career.
1997 – The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 enters into force, and makes the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons illegal.
1999 – The Avala TV tower in Belgrade in destroyed by NATO allied bombing.

From 2001

2002 – The United States is re–elected (chosen again) to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, one year after losing the seat it had held for 50 years.
2004 – Oldsmobile builds its final car, ending 107 years of production.
2005 – Syrian troops complete their withdrawal from Lebanon.
2011 – Prince William, Duke of Cambridge marries Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London.
2013 – NBA player Jason Collins announces that he is openly gay, the first American sportsman to come out as gay while still active.
2015 – Members of the Bali Nine are executed for drug trafficking in Indonesia.
2015 – The World Health Organization declares that rubella has been eradicated from the Americas.
2017 – Access to Wikipedia is blocked in Turkey.
2018 – Amber Rudd resigns as the British Home Secretary and is succeeded by Sajid Javid.
2019 – The Indonesian government announces plan to move the country's capital city away from Jakarta.

Births

Up to 1900

1667 – John Arbuthnot, Scottish doctor, mathematician and writer (d. 1735)
1686 – Vasily Tartishchev, Russian statesman, historian and geographer (d. 1750)
1727 – Jean-Georges Noverre, French dancer, founder of modern ballet (d. 1810)
1745 – Oliver Ellsworth, 3rd Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1807)
1762 – Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, French marshal (d. 1833)
1766 – Nicolas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley, English statesman (d. 1851)
1780 – Charles Nodier, French writer (d. 1844)
1784 – Samuel Turrell Armstrong, Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1850)
1818 – Tsar Alexander II of Russia (d. 1881)
1820 – Henry Watkins Alley, Confederate general and Governor of Louisiana (d. 1866)
1823 – Konrad von Mauer, German legal historian (d. 1902)
1824 – Francisco Pi y Margell, Catalan–Spanish politician and writer (d. 1901)
1837 – Georges Boulanger, French general and politician (d. 1891)
1847 – Joachim Andersen, Danish flautist, conductor and composer (d. 1909)
1848 – Raja Ravi Varma, Indian painter (d. 1906)
1854 – Henri Poincaré, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1912)
1857 – Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (d. 1905)
1863 – Constantine Cavafy, Greek poet (d. 1933)
1863 – William Randolph Hearst, American media tycoon (d. 1951)
1868 – Alice Keppel, English socialite and mistress to Edward VII (d. 1947)
1871 – William Stern, German psychologist (d. 1938)
1872 – Harry Payne Whitney, American businessman, lawyer and horse–breeder (d. 1930)
1875 – Margaret Preston, Australian artist (d. 1963)
1875 – Rafael Sabatini, Italian–English writer (d. 1950)
1876 – Zauditu, Empress of Ethiopia (d. 1930)
1879 – Thomas Beecham, British conductor (d. 1961)
1882 – Hendrik Nicolaes Werkman, Dutch artist and painter (d. 1945)
1885 – Egon Erwin Kisch, Czech journalist and writer (d. 1948)
1887 – Raymond Thorne, American freestyle swimmer (d. 1921)
1891 – Bharathidasan, Indian Tamil poet (d. 1964)
1893 – Harold C. Urey, American chemist (d. 1981)
1894 – Marietta Blau, Austrian physicist (d. 1970)
1895 – Vladimir Propp, Russian folkorist (d. 1970)
1895 – Malcolm Sargent, British conductor (d. 1967)
1899 – Duke Ellington, American pianist and jazz musician (d. 1974)

1901 – 1950

1901 – Hirohito, Emperor of Japan (d. 1989)
1907 – Fred Zinnemann, Austrian–born movie director (d. 1997)
1907 – Chuya Nakahara, Japanese poet (d. 1937)
1907 – Tino Rossi, French singer and actor (d. 1983)
1909 – Tom Ewell, American actor (d. 1994)
1915 – Donald Mills, American singer (Mills Brothers) (d. 1999)
1917 – Celeste Holm, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
1917 – Maya Deren, Ukrainian–American director, poet and photographer (d. 1961)
1917 – Urie Bronfenbrenner, Russian–American psychologist (d. 2005)
1919 – Alla Rakha, Indian tabla player (d. 2000)
1921 – Cornelis de Jager, Dutch astronomer
1922 – Toots Thielemans, Belgian jazz musician and harmonica player (d. 2016)
1923 – Irvin Kershner, American movie director (d. 2010)
1924 – Zizi Jeanmaire, French dancer and actress
1925 – Iwao Takamoto, Japanese–American animator and movie director (d. 2007)
1925 – John Compton, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia (d. 2007)
1925 – Ned Austin, American actor (d. 2007)
1925 – Colette Marchand, French dancer and actress (d. 2015)
1926 – Paul Baran, American computer pioneer (d. 2011)
1927 – Dorothy Manley, British athlete
1927 – Bill Slater, British footballer (d. 2018)
1928 – Heinz Wolff, German–British scientist and broadcaster (d. 2017)
1929 – Walter Kempowski, German writer (d. 2007)
1929 – Ray Barretto, American jazz musician (d. 2006)
1929 – Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer and conductor (d. 2014)
1929 – Maurice Strong, Canadian businessman and diplomat (d. 2015)
1929 – Jeremy Thorpe, English politician (d. 2014)
1930 – Joe Porcaro, American musician
1930 – Henri Coppens, Belgian footballer (d. 2015)
1930 – Claus Ogerman, German–American composer
1930 – Jean Rochefort, French actor and director (d. 2017)
1931 – Frank Auerbach, German–British painter
1931 – Lonnie Donegan, Scottish singer, songwriter and musician (d. 2002)
1933 – Mark Eyskens, former Prime Minister of Belgium
1933 – Rod McKuen, American poet and composer (d. 2015)
1933 – Willie Nelson, American singer and musician
1934 – Pedro Pires, former President of Cape Verde
1934 – Bill Vander Zalm, Dutch–Canadian politician, 28th Premier of British Columbia
1935 – April Ashley, English model
1936 – Zubin Mehta, Indian–born conductor
1936 – Alejandra Pizarnik, Argentine poet (d. 1972)
1936 – Lane Smith, American actor (d. 2005)
1938 – Klaus Voormann, German artist, musician and producer
1938 – Bernard Madoff, American financier and convict
1938 – E. Ahamed, Indian politician (d. 2017)
1941 – Toney Anaya, former Governor of New Mexico
1942 – Galina Kulakova, Soviet cross–country skier
1942 – Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, English politician
1944 – Hermann Scheer, German politician (d. 2010)
1944 – Princess Benedikte of Denmark
1944 – Richard Kline, American actor and director
1945 – Tammi Terrell, American singer (d. 1970)
1947 – Joey Levine, American singer and composer
1947 – Jim Ryun, American athlete and politician
1949 – Anita Dobson, English actress
1950 – Phillip Noyce, Australian movie director

1951 – 1975

1951 – John Holmes, British diplomat
1951 – Dale Earnhardt, American racing driver (d. 2001)
1952 – David Icke, British writer, and former footballer and journalist
1952 – Rob Nicholson, Canadian politician
1953 – Nikolai Budarin, Russian cosmonaut
1954 – Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian
1955 – Kate Mulgrew, American actress
1955 – Klaus Siebert, German biathlete (d. 2016)
1957 – Daniel Day-Lewis, British actor
1957 – Timothy Treadwell, American activist (d. 2003)
1958 – Michelle Pfeiffer, American actress
1958 – Giovanni Galli, Italian footballer
1960 – Lachele Carl, American voice actress
1964 – Federico Castelluccio, Italian–American actor
1965 – Angelo Alessio, Italian footballer
1966 – Ramón Medina Bello, Argentine footballer
1966 – Phil Tufnell, English cricketer
1967 – Master P, American rapper
1967 – Curtis Joseph, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1968 – Michael Herbig, German actor, comedian, director and producer
1970 – Andre Agassi, American tennis player
1970 – Uma Thurman, American actress
1972 – Marko Rehmer, German footballer
1972 – Derek Mears, American actor and stuntman
1972 – Takahiro Yamada, Japanese footballer
1973 – David Belle, French actor
1974 – Anggun, Indonesian–French singer-songwriter

From 1976

1978 – Bob Bryan, American tennis player
1978 – Mike Bryan, American tennis player
1979 – Lee Dong-Gook, South Korean footballer
1979 – Jo O'Meara, English singer (S Club)
1979 – Matt Tong, English drummer (Bloc Party)
1980 – Kian Egan, Irish singer (Westlife)
1980 – Luciano Milo, Italian ice dancer
1980 – Magdalena Tul, Polish actress
1982 – Travis Smith, American musician
1983 – Semih Senturk, Turkish footballer
1983 – Yuriko Shiratori, Japanese model and actress
1984 – Taylor Cole, American actress
1985 – Jean-François Jacques, Canadian ice hockey player
1986 – Crystal Harris, American model
1987 – Sara Errani, Italian tennis player
1987 – Alicia Morton, American actress
1988 – Jonathan Toews, NHL ice hockey centre for the Chicago Blackhawks
1988 – Younha, South Korean singer
1989 – Charlotte Francis, English actress
1991 – Oviya, Indian model and actress
1992 – Emilio Orozco, American soccer player
1994 – Stephen Milne, Scottish swimmer
1995 – Victoria Sinitsina, Russian ice dancer
2007 – Infanta Sofía of Spain, Spanish royal

Deaths

Up to 1950

643 – Hou Junji, Chinese chancellor during the Tang Dynasty
926 – Burchard III, Duke of Swabia
1380 – Catherine of Siena, Italian saint (b. 1347)
1594 – Thomas Cooper, English bishop, lexicographer and writer
1688 – Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1620)
1698 – Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, First Lord of the British Admiralty (b. 1655)
1707 – George Farquhar, Irish dramatist (b. 1678)
1768 – Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (b. 1694)
1771 – Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, French–Italian architect (b. 1700)
1776 – Edward Wortley Montagu, English traveler and writer (b. 1713)
1782 – Richard Kempenfelt, English admiral (b. 1718)
1793 – Yechezkel Landau, Polish rabbi (b. 1713)
1827 – Rufus King, American politician (b. 1755)
1854 – Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English field marshal and politician (b. 1768)
1905 – Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (b. 1847)
1921 – Annie Edson Taylor, American adventuress (b. 1838)
1933 – Constantine Cavafy, Greek poet (b. 1863)
1935 – Leroy Carr, American blues singer, songwriter and pianist (b. 1905)
1937 – William Gillette, actor (b. 1853)
1944 – Bernardino Machado, President of Portugal (b. 1851)
1947 – Irving Fisher, American economist (b. 1867)

1951 – 2000

1951 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian–born philosopher (b. 1889)
1957 – Belle Baker, American 1920s torch singer, movie and television actress (b. 1893)
1961 – Cisco Houston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1918)
1967 – Anthony Mann, American actor and director (b. 1867)
1967 – J. B. Lenoir, American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter (b. 1929)
1968 – Anthony Boucher, American science fiction writer (b. 1911)
1980 – Alfred Hitchcock, British movie director (b. 1899)
1992 – Mae Clarke, American actress (b. 1910)
1993 – Mick Ronson, British musician (b. 1946)
1997 – Mike Royko, columnist (b. 1932)
2000 – Pham Van Dong, 2nd Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1906)

From 2001

2001 – Barend Biesheuvel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1920)
2002 – Sune Andersson, Swedish footballer (b. 1921)
2005 – William J. Bell, soap opera creator, writer, producer (b. 1927)
2006 – John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian–American economist (b. 1908)
2007 – Ivica Racan, Croatian Prime Minister (b. 1944)
2008 – Albert Hofmann, Swiss physicist (b. 1906)
2008 – Bo Yang, Chinese author and cultural critic (b. 1920)
2012 – Eric Charden, French singer (b. 1943)
2012 – Shukri Ghanem, Libyan politician (b. 1942)
2012 – Joel Goldsmith, American composer (b. 1957)
2012 – Amarillo Slim, American professional poker player (b. 1928)
2014 – Michael Kadosh, Israeli footballer (b. 1940)
2014 – Bob Hoskins, English actor (b. 1942)
2014 – Al Feldstein, American writer and editor (b. 1925)
2014 – Norma Pons, Argentine actress (b. 1943)
2014 – M. V. Devan, Indian artist and writer (b. 1928)
2014 – Walter Walsh, American FBI agent and Olympic shooter (b. 1907)
2014 – Reuven Feuerstein, Israeli psychologist (b. 1921)
2014 – Edgars Vinters, Latvian painter (b. 1919)
2015 – Members of the Bali Nine executed in Indonesia for drug trafficking:
- Andrew Chan, Australian (b. 1981)
- Rodrigo Gularte, Brazilian (b. 1972)
- Myuran Sukumaran, Australian (b. 1984)
2015 – Daniel Walker, American politician, 36th Governor of Illinois (b. 1922)
2015 – Calvin Peete, American golfer (b. 1943)
2015 – Jean Nidetch, American businesswoman (b. 1923)
2015 – Gopulu, Indian illustrator and cartoonist (b. 1924)
2016 – Alyson Bailes, British diplomat (b. 1949)
2016 – Renato Corona, Filipino jurist (b. 1948)
2016 – Jok Church, American cartoonist (b. 1949)
2016 – Dmytro Hnatyuk, Ukrainian baritone and opera singer (b. 1925)
2016 – Chen Zhongshi, Chinese writer (b. 1942)
2017 – George Genyk, American football player and coach (b. 1938)
2017 – R Vidyasagar Rao, Indian irrigation engineer (b. 1939)
2018 – Luis García Meza Tejada, President of Bolivia (b. 1929)
2018 – Derek Keys, South African businessman and politician (b. 1931)
2018 – Michael Martin, Baron Martin of Springburn, Scottish politician (b. 1945)
2018 – Lester James Peries, Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter (b. 1919)
2018 – Robert Mandan, American actor (b. 1932)
2019 – Eldon Bargewell, American general (b. 1947)
2019 – Stevie Chalmers, Scottish footballer (b. 1935)
2019 – Gino Marchetti, American football player (b. 1926)
2019 – Les Murray, Australian poet (b. 1938)
2019 – José Rodrigues Neto, Brazilian footballer (b. 1949)
2019 – John Singleton, American film director (b. 1968)
2019 – Ellen Tauscher, American politician (b. 1951)

Observances

Showa Day in Japan, birthday of Hirohito
UK Bank Holiday (in 2011)
International Dance Day