On This Day in History......

1091 Battle at Monte Levunium Emperor Alexius I beats Petshegenes
1429 Joan of Arc leads Orleans France, to victory over English
1522 Emperor Charles V names Frans van Holly inquisitor-General of Netherlands
1540 Emperor Charles V declares all privileges of Gent ended
1550 Emperor Charles V gives inquisiters additional authority
1553 Flemish woman introduces practice of starching linen into England
1623 11 Dutch ships depart for the conquest of Peru
1628 Sweden & Denmark sign defense treaty against Duke of Wallenstein
1636 Prince Frederik Henry occupies Schenkenschans
1644 Farm leader Li Zicheng becomes emperor of China & flees Peking
1661 Chinese Ming dynasty occupies Taiwan
1670 Pope Clemens X elected
1701 Drenthe Netherlands adopts Gregorian calendar, tomorrow is May 12, 1701
1706 Emperor Jozef I becomes monarch of Cologne/Bavaria
1707 English/Scottish parliament accept Act of Union, form Great Britain
1715 John Flamsteed observes Uranus for 6th time
1781 French fleet occupies Tobago
1781 French fleet stops Britain from seizing the Cape of Good Hope
1784 Premiere of Mozart's Sonata in B flat, K454 (Vienna)
1793 Cornerstone laid for Groningen's new townhall
1813 Rubber is patented
1834 Charles Darwin's expedition sees top of Andes from Patagonia
1845 Macon B Allen & Robert Morris Jr, 1st blacks to open law practice
1852 1st edition of Peter Roget's Thesaurus published
1853 Comet C/1853 G1 (Schweizer) approaches within 0.0839 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth
1856 End of Crimean War
1857 US Army, Pacific Division HQ is permanently established at Presidio (San Francisco)
1861 Maryland's House of Delegates votes against seceding from Union
1862 100,000 federal troops prepare to march into Corinth MS
1862 New Orleans falls to Union forces during Civil War
1863 Battle of Chancellorville VA (Fredericksburg, Wilderness Tavern)
1864 Skirmish at Jenkins' Ferry AR begins
1886 1st public Dutch electricity opens
1888 Old Kavallison, Congo Stanley meet Emin Pasha
1892 Charlie Reilly is baseball's 1st pinch hitter
1894 Commonwealth of Christ (Coxey's Army) arrives in Washington DC 500 strong to protest unemployment; Coxey arrested for trespassing at Capitol
1901 27th Kentucky Derby Jimmy Winkfield on His Eminence wins in 2:07.75
1901 Anti semitic riot in Budapest
1903 Limestone slides at Turtle Mountain kills 9 (Frank Alberta)
1905 2" rain falls in 10 minutes in Taylor TX
1905 Pierre de Brazza lands in Libreville Gabon
1910 Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt visits Amsterdam
1912 108º F (42º C), Tuguegarao Philippines (Oceania record)
1912 Frank Wedekind's "Tod und Teufel", premieres in Berlin
1913 Gideon Sundback of Hoboken patents all-purpose zipper
1913 Swedish engineer Gideon Sundback of Hoboken patents all-purpose zipper
1916 Irish nationalists set post office on fire in Dublin
1918 Tris Speaker ties career outfield record of 4 unassisted double plays
1922 1st official International Weightlifting Federation Champion (Tallinn Estonia)
1925 Netherlands returns to gold standard
1926 France & US reach accord on repayment of WWI
1927 Construction of the Spirit of St Louis is completed
1930 123 runs are scored in 7 major league games
1930 North Sea floodgate at Ijmuiden (biggest in world) officially opens
1930 Telephone connection England-Australia goes into service
1931 Cleveland Indian Wes Ferrell no-hits St Louis Browns, 9-0
1934 Pittsburgh is last major league city to play a home game on a Sunday
1936 1st pro baseball game in Japan is played Nagoya defeats Daitokyo, 8-5
1939 Whitestone Bridge connecting Bronx & Queens opens
1940 1st radio broadcast of "Young Dr Malone" on CBS
1940 Norwegian King Haakon & government flees to England
1940 Robert Sherwood's "There Shall be No Night", premieres in NYC
1942 Japanese troops march into Lashio, cut off Burma Road
1942 Jews forced to wear a Jewish Star in Netherlands & Vichy-France
1943 Dietrich Bonhöffer arrested by Nazi's
1943 Noël Coward's "Present Laughter", premieres in London
1943 US 34th Division occupies Hill 609, North Tunisia
1944 Surprise attack by Van de Peat on General Landsdrukkerij in the Hague
1945 1st food drop by RAF above nazi-occupied Holland (operation Manna)
1945 Adolf Hitler marries Eva Braun
1945 Japanese army evacuates Rangoon
1945 Terms of surrender of German armies in Italy signed
1945 US liberates 31,601 in Nazi concentration camp in Dachau Germany
1945 Venice & Mestre are captured by the Allies
1946 28 former Japanese leaders indicted in Tokyo as war criminals
1948 Bradman scores 107 Australia vs Worcestershire, 152 minutes, 15 fours
1953 Joe Adcock is 1st to homer into Polo Grounds' center field bleachers
1955 Giovanni Gronchi elected President of Italy
1956 Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Peach Blossom Golf Open
1956 WLUC TV channel 6 in Marquette MI (CBS/NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
1956 WSPA TV channel 7 in G'ville-Spartanburg SC (CBS) begins broadcasting
1956 WWBT TV channel 12 in Richmond VA (NBC) begins broadcasting
1957 1st military nuclear power plant dedicated, Fort Belvoir VA
1961 ABC's "Wide World of Sports, debuts
1962 16th Tony Awards Man For All Seasons & How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying win
1962 Mickey Wright wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship
1963 KRE-AM in Berkeley CA changes call letters to KPAT
1964 Princess Irene marries Spanish Prince Carel Hugo de Bourbon Parma
1964 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1965 Earthquake hits Seattle; 5 die
1965 Australian government announces it will send troops to Vietnam
1965 Malta is 18th member of Council of Europe
1967 Aretha Franklin releases "Respect"
1969 "Trumpets of the Lord" opens at Brooks Atkinson NYC for 7 performances
1970 50,000 US & South Vietnamese troops invade Cambodia
1971 Bill Graham closes down the Fillmore & Fillmore East
1971 Boeing receives contract for Mariner 10, Mercury exploration
1971 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1973 Gloria Ehret wins LPGA Birmingham Golf Classic
1974 President Richard Nixon said he will release edited tapes made in White House
1975 Flyers 4-Islanders 0-Semifinals-Flyers hold 1-0 lead
1975 US Forces pull out of Vietnam
1975 Ethiopia nationalizes all ground/earth
1976 Minister Irene Vorrink begins fluoridating Dutch drinking water
1977 British Aerospace forms
1979 Jane Blalock wins LPGA Otey Crisman Golf Classic
1981 Peter Sutcliffe admits he is the Yorkshire Ripper (murdered 13 women)
1981 Philadelphia Phillie Steve Carlton is 1st lefty to strike out 3,000 batters
1982 Québec Nordiques 2-New York Islanders 5-Semifinals-Islanders hold 2-0 lead
1982 17th Academy of Country Music Awards Alabama, Barbara Mandrell win
1982 Alfredo Magana elected President of El Salvador
1983 Harold Washington sworn in as Chicago's 1st black mayor
1984 "Oliver!" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 17 performances
1984 Betsy King wins LPGA Freedom/Orlando Golf Classic
1985 17th space shuttle mission (51--Challenger 7 launched
1985 Ranger Larry Parrish is 5th to hit 3 homeruns in a game in both leagues
1985 Tony Tubbs TKOs Greg Page in 15 for heavyweight boxing championship
1986 Boston Red Sox Roger Clemens strikes out 20 Seattle Mariners
1986 800,000 books destroyed by fire in Los Angeles Central Library
1987 Chicago Cub Andre Dawson hits for the cycle
1987 Japan's premier Nakasone visits the US
1988 "60 Minutes" newscaster Diane Sawyer weds Mike Nichols
1988 Baltimore Orioles beat Chicago White Sox 9-0 for 1st 1988 win after 21 losses
1988 Burt Reynolds & Loni Anderson marry
1989 2nd government of Lubbers falls
1990 "Change in the Heir" opens at Edison Theater NYC for 16 performances
1990 Dan Quisenberry (all-time American League save king, 238) announces his retirement
1990 STS-31 (Discovery 10) lands
1990 Wrecking cranes began tearing down Berlin Wall at Brandenburg Gate
1991 "Our Country's Good" opens at Nederlander Theater NYC for 48 performances
1991 Croatia declares independence
1991 Cyclone strikes Bangladesh, 139,000 die/10 million homeless
1991 Earthquake in Georgia kills 100
1992 "March of Falsettos & Falsettoland" premieres at John Golden Theater NYC for 487 performances
1992 Voting ends on choice of Elvis stamps
1992 27th Academy of Country Music Awards Garth Brooks
1992 Country singer Doug Stone, 35, undergoes quadruple bypass surgery
1992 Jury acquits Los Angeles police officers of beating Rodney King, riots begin
1992 Sheena Easton collapses on stage while performing in "Man of LaMancha"
1994 Ferry boat smashes into Mombasa Harbor Kenya, kills over 300
1994 Israel & PLO sign economic accord
1995 Final TV broadcast of "Empty Nest" on NBC TV
1995 Kansas City Royal John Nonely is 70th to homerun on his 1st at bat
1995 Longest sausage ever, at 2877 miles, made in Kitchener Ontario Canada
1996 "Rent", opens at Nederlander Theater NYC
1996 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Fresno CA on KFRR 104.1 FM
1997 "Candide", opens at Gershwin Theater NYC for 103 performances
1997 Kansas City Royal Chili Davis is 75th to hit 300 homeruns
1998 15th Miss Hawaiian Tropic crowned
========================================================

Missing In Action....

1965 SHELTON CHARLES E. OWENSBORO KY RADIO CONTACT / REPORTED DIED AS POW
1966 BOSTON LEO S. CANON CITY CO
1966 BROWN THOMAS E. DANVILLE IL
1966 BRUCH DONALD W. JR. MONTCLAIR NJ
1966 EGAN WILLIAM P. FORT WORTH TX
1966 MULLEN WILLIAM F. BROCKTON MA
1966 RUNYAN ALBERT E. OAKLAND CA 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV
1967 POLLIN GEORGE J. LAVALLETTE NJ POSS DIED CRASH EJECTION SEAT NEARBY REMAINS RETURNED I.D.12/20/90
1967 SIGLER GARY R. TABLE GROVE IL 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV
1967 STEPHENSEN MARK L. SALT LAKE CITY UT REMAINS RETURNED 03/06/88 / ID 08/88
1967 TORKELSON LOREN H. CROSBY ND 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV DECEASED
1970 BISHOP EDWARD J. JR. HARTFORD CT
1975 COOPER WILLIAM G. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 COWAN KENNETH
1975 DANIEL LEON 08/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 DAWSON ALAN 09/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 EDIGER MAX 05/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 ESPER GEORGE 06/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 FAIGAN LARRY 12/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 FILLER FONG DUONG 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 FORSYTHE JULIA 10/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 FRANJOLA MATT 05/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 GULDEN FREDERICK 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HEUBECK ELMER K. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HORTON PAUL L. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HUGHES JOSEPH 08/12/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HUGHES RICHARD 08/07/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HUNTLEY CHAD 06/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 KAJI ANDREW T. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KALSSEN JAMES 04/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KIEN CUONG TRIEU 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KIEN NAM BAO
1975 KIEN NGIEP TRIEU 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KING JOHN S. 04/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KISTNER MITCHELL 08/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 KRISH CLAUDIA 07/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 LAFFIE GEORGE
1975 LAFFIE LINA MARLINE
1975 LAURIE JAMES 08/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 LECORNEC JOHN GILBERT CLEARLAKE OAKS CA REMAINS RETURNED 08/14/85 A/C TECHNICIAN NOT ON LISTS UNTIL REM RET
1975 LINH DAM 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 LUNDGREEN KIM DUNG 12/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 LUNDGREEN KIM THO 12/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 LUSK ANDRE 08/75 LEFT SAIGON WITH FAKE PASSPORT
1975 MIELKE MADELINE XUAN 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 MIELKE RICHARD M. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 MIELNE MISTY S. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 MIKYO MAI LAN 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 MOSLEY MONIQUE C.
1975 MOSS JAMES
1975 NGUYEN THI THI CHIN
1975 NGUYEN VAN CHIEN
1975 NGUYEN XWAN ANH-TRU
1975 POLARD PERRY 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 POSNER GERALD 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 QUINN JUDGE SOPHIE 07/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 RANDOLPH CLIFFORD 05/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 REED THERESA 06/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 REGAN JOHN D. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 REGAN LON THI 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 RIOS JOSE 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 RIVERA FREDERICK 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 RODILL DANIEL 08/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 SMITH WILLIAM J. 06/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 STARNER FRANCES 06/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 STEVENS F.
1975 THOMAS FERNANDO K.
1975 THOMASON FORD W. 06/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 THUY NHIEN TRIEU
1975 TO BAO 06/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 TOOP PARTICIA 07/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 UNDERWOOD F.
1975 VOGEL PAUL 06/75 EXPELLED SAIGON
1975 WILLIAMS DANNY MUY
1975 YEE LEONG CHING 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 ZIMINSKE TOM 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 AGOR VICTOR
1975 BENNETT SHERMAN H. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BERARD ARAM J. 08/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BANHAM MAURICE J. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BRICKMAN JOSEPH 04/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BRINTON KEITH 07/75 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BORDEN HOWARD A.
1975 BAKER JACKY D. 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 BAILEY MICHAEL RELEASED
1975 CANTON SUZAN 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 CHUNG YEN BINH 08/76 LEFT SAIGON
1975 HEUBECK NIBRIT H.
1975 JUDGE DARWIN LEE MARSHALTOWN IA 02/22/76 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV
1975 MC MAHON CHARLES JR. WOBURN MA 02/22/76 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV
1975 NYSTUL WILLIAM CRAIG CORONODO CA "KIA, FUEL RAN OUT DURING EVAC"
1975 SHEA MICHAEL J. EL PASO TX "KIA, FUEL RAN OUT DURING EVAC"

Births which occurred on April 29:

1584 Melchior Teschner composer
1636 Esaias Reusner composer
1642 Christian Weise German writer (Niederländische Bauer)
1660 Matthias Henriksen Schacht composer
1667 John Arbuthnot Scottish writer (Alexander Pope)
1727 Jean-Georges Noverre French dancer/choreographer (ballet d'action)
1745 Oliver Ellsworth 3rd Chief Justice Supreme Court (1796-1800)
1771 Matthaus Stegmayer composer
1780 Charles Nodier French writer (La fée aux miettes)
1783 David Cox English painter (Treatise on landscape painting)
1806 Earnest Freiherr von Feuchtersleben Austria, physician/philosopher
1808 Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch German politician/reformer [or 1883]
1815 Abram Duryee Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1890
1818 Alexander II [N Romanov] Tsar of Russia (1855-81)
1830 Adolph Sutro San Francisco mayor, built Cliff House, railways, tunnels
1842 Karl Millöcker Austria conductor/composer (Beggar Student)
1854 Henri Poincaré France, mathematician/astronomer/philosopher
1855 Anatol K Liadov Russian composer (Bewitched Lake)
1855 Edmund van der Straeten composer
1857 Edouard Rod France/Swiss writer (Mishel' Tes'e)
1857 Frantisek Ondricek composer
1860 Lorado Taft US, sculptor (Black Hawk)
1862 Vittorio Mario Vanzo composer
1863 William Randolph Hearst publisher (San Francisco Examiner, Seattle P-I)
1871 Louis William Stern German/US philosopher (Intelligence of Children)
1872 Eyvind Alnaes composer
1873 Alida J M Tartaud-Klein actress/stage star (Rotterdam Stage)
1879 Sir Thomas Beecham England, composer, founded London Philharmonic
1882 Hendrik N Werkman painter/printer/resistance fighter (Hot printing)
1885 Wallingford Riegger Albany GA, composer (Bacchangle)
1885 Egon E Kisch Czechoslovakia, writer/journalist (Rasende Reporter)
1893 Elisaveta Bagrjana [Beltsheva], Bulgaria, poet
1893 Harold C Urey Walkerton IN, physicist (discovered Deuterium, Nobel 1934)
1894 Paul Hörbiger Budapest Hungary, actor (Liebelei)
1895 Malcolm Sargent English conductor (Promenade Concerts)
1896 Jacques Leon Wolfe composer
1896 Walter Mehring writer
1899 Duke [Edward Kennedy] Ellington Washington DC, bandleader (Take the A Train, It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing))
1899 Karl Yngve Skold composer
1899 Natalie Talmadge actress (Our Hospitality)
19-- Greg Christian rocker (Testament-Souls of Black)
19-- Mark Kendall rocker (Great White-Twice Shy)
19-- Richard Kline New York NY, actor (Larry-3's Company, Dr. Mark Benson-Bold & the Beautiful)
1901 Emperor Hirohito of Japan (1926-89)
1901 George Osborne Sayles historian
1902 Theodore Chanler composer
1903 Frank Parker New York NY, singer (Arthur Godfrey Show, Masquerade Party)
1904 Russ Morgan Scranton PA, orchestra leader (Welcome Aboard)
1904 Enrico Mattei Italian oil magnate
1907 Fred Zinnemann Vienna Austria, movie director (From Here to Eternity, Day of the Jackal, Julia)
1907 Tino Rossi Ajaccio France, singer (Deux Amours, Marlene)
1908 Jack [Stewart] Williamson US, sci-fi author (Firechild, Golden Blood, Cometeers)
1908 Philippe Brun jazz trumpeter
1909 Daniel Raphael Mayer journalist/resistance leader
1909 Tom Ewell [S Yewell Tompkins] Owensboro KY, actor (Tom Ewell Show, 7 Year Itch, Adam's Rib)
1910 John Beavan newspaper editor
1912 Richard Carlson Albert Lea MN, actor (All I Desire, Flat Top, Valley of Gwangi)
1912 Italo Valenti Italian sculptor
1912 Terence de Vere White novelist/critic
1913 Jack Alexander Bently trombonist
1913 Thomas Chalmers broadcaster
1914 Ewan Roberts Edinburgh Scotland, actress (Pvt Benjamin)
1915 Donald Mills singer (Mills Brothers)
1918 Mervyn Roye Harvey cricketer (brother of Neil, Test for Australia)
1919 Celeste Holm New York NY, actress (Gentleman's Agreement, All About Eve)
1920 Edward Blishen writer teacher/broadcaster
1920 Harold Samuel Shapero Lynn MA, composer (9 Minute Opera)
1921 Cornelis de Jager Dutch astronomer (Sun)
1922 George Allen football coach (Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins)
1922 Parren J Mitchell (Representative-Democrat-MD, 1971- )
1922 Tommy Noonan Bellingham WA, actor (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Promises Promises)
1922 Toots [Jean] Thielemans Belgian/US jazz musician/composer
1923 Irvin Kershner Philadelphia PA, director (Never Say Never Again)
1923 Maxine Audley London, actress (Peeping Tom, Ricochet, House of Cards)
1924 Al Balding Toronto Ontario Canada, Canadian Tour golfer (Québec Open-1952)
1924 Renée Jeanmaire Paris France, dancer (Hans Christian Anderson)
1925 Ab Abspoel Dutch actor/director (Surprise Attack, Elevator)
1925 Danny Davis rocker (Nashville Brass
1926 Carie Meek (Representative-Democrat-FL)
1927 Dorothy Manley England, 100 meter sprint (Olympics-silver-1948)
1927 Betsy Ancker-Johnson physicist/auto company exec
1928 Big Jay McNeely rocker
1928 Carl Gardner Tyler TX, rock vocalist (Coasters-Searchin)
1929 [John] Jeremy Thorpe British MP (Liberal)
1929 Peter Joshua Sculthorpe composer
1929 Vaclav Kucera composer
1929 Walter Kempowski German writer (Tadellöser & Wolff)
1930 Alf[red Lewis] Valentine Jamaican cricket player (great West Indian lefty spinner)
1931 Aleksei Aleksandrovich Gubarev USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 17, 28)
1931 Anthony "Lonnie" Donegan Glasgow Scotland, skiffle vocalist/guitarist
1931 William Ball actor (Suburban Commando)
1932 Alexei A Gubarev cosmonaut (Soyuz 17, 28)
1932 King Hu film director
1932 Yevgeni Alekseyevich Zaikin Russian cosmonaut (Voshkod 2 backup)
1933 Keith Baxter South Wales, actor (Barretts at Wimpole Street)
1933 Darijan Bozic composer
1933 Raymond Earl Hill saxophonist
1933 Rod [Marvin] McKuen Oakland CA, singer/composer (Alone, Beatsville)
1934 Pedro Pires premier (Cape Verde, 1975-91)
1935 Len Weinrib New York NY, comedian (Spike Jones Show)
1935 Otto M Zykan composer
1936 April Stevens Niagara Falls NY, rock vocalist (Deep Purple)
1936 Lane Smith Memphis TN, actor (Perry-Lois & Clark, Chiefs, Nathan-V)
1936 Richard Lynch actor (Xavier-Battlestar Galactica)
1936 Zubin Mehta Bombay India, conductor (New York Philharmonic)
1936 Jacob Rothschild English banker/multi-millionaire
1940 Brian Taber cricket wicket-keeper (Australian between Grout & Marsh)
1941 Jonah Barrington British World champion squash player (1966-73)
1942 Galina Kulakova USSR, skier (Olympics-3 golds-1972)
1942 Klaus Voorman rock bassist (Manfred Mann-Mighty Quinn)
1943 Duane Allen Taylortown TX, country singer (Oak Ridge Boys-Elvira)
1944 Jim Hart Evanston IL, NFL quarterback (St Louis Cardinals)
1944 Benedikte Danish princess/daughter of Frederik IX
1945 [Thomasina] Tammi Terrell [Montgomery] singer (Ain't No Mountain High Enough)
1945 Hugh Hopper rocker (Soft Machine)
1945 Richard Warwick actor (Johnny Dangerously, Sebastine, If)
1946 Franc Roddam director (K2, Bride, Aria, Quadrophenia)
1946 John Waters Baltimore MD, director (Hairspray)
1947 Jim Ryun US, 1500 meter runner/broke 4 minute mile (Olympics-silver-1968)
1947 Tommy James singer (cri-im-son & clo-o-ver o-o-ver & o-o-ver)
1947 John[ny Laurence] Miller San Francisco CA, golfer (US Open 1973, 1974 PGA Player of the Year, British Open 1976)
1948 Reb Brown Los Angeles CA, actor (Cage, Yor, Captain America, Fast Break)
1949 Anita Dobson England, actress (Annie Watts-EastEnders)
1949 Eddie Hart US, 100 meter runner (Olympics-1972)
1949 Susan Pratt actress (Barbara Montgomery-All My Children, Claire Ramsey-Guiding Light)
1951 [Ralph] Dale Earnhardt Kannapolis NC, NASCAR driver/"The Intimidator"
1952 Deborah Van Valkenburgh Schnectady, actress (Too Close for Comfort)
1952 Nora Dunn Chicago IL, comedienne (Saturday Night Live, Miami Blues, Working Girl)
1953 Dale Earnhardt auto racer (6-time NASCAR national champion)
1953 Nikolai Nikolayevich Budarin Kirya Russia, cosmonaut (STS 71, TM-27)
1954 Bill Paxon (Representative-Republican-NY)
1954 Deborah Iyall rocker (Romeo Void)
1955 Kate Mulgrew Dubuque IA, actress (Captain Janeway-Star Trek Voyager, Heartbeat, Kate Loves a Mystery)
1955 Jerry Seinfeld comedian/actor (Seinfeld)
1956 Ron Verlin rocker (Shooting Star)
1957 Richie C Robertson rock bassist/vocalist (Fabulous Poodles)
1958 Eve Plumb Burbank, actress (Jan-Brady Bunch, I'm Gonna Get You Sucka)
1958 Michelle Pfeiffer Santa Ana CA, actress (What Lies Beneath, Up Close & Personal, Ladyhawke, Married to the Mob, Grease 2)
1958 Simon Edwards rocker (Fairground Attraction-Find My Love)
1958 Daniel Day-Lewis England, actor (Last of the Mohicans, My Left Foot)
1960 Joseph Guzaldo Chicago IL, actor (Stir Crazy)
1960 Gerard Joling Dutch singer (Love is in Your Eyes)
1960 William Lee Glasson Jr Fresno CA, PGA golfer (1985 Kemper Open)
1962 Bruce Driver Toronto Ontario Canada, NHL defenseman (New York Rangers)
1962 Dieter Hegen Kaufbeuren Germany, hockey forward (Team Germany 1998)
1962 Robert Druppers runner (world record 1 km indoor)
1965 Reggie Miller NBA player (Indiana Pacers)
1966 John VanderWal Grand Rapids MI, outfielder (Colorado Rockies)
1966 Phil Tufnell cricketer (England slow lefty & slower fieldsman)
1967 Curtis Joseph Keswick Ontario Canada, NHL goalie (Team Canada, Edmonton Oilers)
1967 Elizabeth "Betsy" McCagg Kirkland WA, rower/twin sister of Mary (Olympics-4th-92, 96)
1967 Mary McCagg Kirkland WA, rower/twin sister of Elizabeth (Olympics-4th-92, 96)
1967 Rachel Williams Greenwich Village NY, model (Absolut Vodka, Elle)
1968 Browning Nagle NFL quarterback (New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons)
1968 Carnie Wilson Los Angeles CA, rock vocalist (Wilson Phillips-Hold On)
1969 Arthur Marshall NFL wide receiver (New York Giants)
1970 Andre Agassi Las Vegas NV, tennis star (Olympics-gold-96, US Open-1994 & 1999, Wimbledon-1992)
1970 Arnaud Briand hockey forward (Team France 1998)
1970 Derrick Frazier NFL cornerback (Philadelphia Eagles)
1970 J R Phillips West Covina CA, infielder (Philadelphia Phillies)
1970 Leuea Tagoai CFL defensive end (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
1970 Mark McMillian NFL cornerback (Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs)
1970 Uma Thurman Boston MA, actress (Baron Munchausen, Pulp Fiction)
1970 William Martin III Charleston SC, Finnish yachter (Olympics-23rd-1996)
1971 Sterling Hitchcock Fayetteville NC, pitcher (New York Yankees, Sea Mariners)
1972 Gwendolyn Wentland Flint MI, high jumper
1974 Alana Blahoski ice hockey forward (USA, Olympics-98)
1975 John Macready Los Angeles CA, gymnast (Olympics-5th-96)
1976 God Shammgod NBA guard (Washington Wizards)
1976 Nayla Micherif Miss Brazil-Universe (1997)
1978 Mike Bryan Oxnard CA, tennis star (USTA National 18 doubles)
1993 Aurelia Clasina Lucia Wildeboer daughter of Pieter & Mirtle
======================================================

Deaths which occurred on April 29:

0852 Amalarius/Fortunatus/Symphosius of Metz/Lyon bishop, dies at 76
1499 John IV Dutch army leader/earl of Egmond, dies
1535 John Houghton English, executed
1676 Michiel A de Ruyter Dutch Rear-Admiral, (Newport), killed at 69
1699 Samuel Apostool vicar/theologist (Zonisten), dies at 50
1712 Juan Bautista Jose Cabanilles composer, dies at 67
1813 Christian Danner composer, dies at 55
1841 A Bertrand writer, dies
1864 Charles-Julien Brianchon math (Brianchon's theorem), dies at 80
1871 John Gelinde van Blom Fries notary/author, dies at 75
1905 Ignacio Cervantes composer, dies at 57
1918 Gavrilo Princip Bosnian murderer of arch duke Ferdinand, dies at 22
1921 Arthur Mold British cricket bowler (1893, banished for throwing), dies
1928 Henrich Federer Switzerland, writer (I Switch Off The Light), dies at 61
1935 Leroy Carr blues singer/songwriter/pianist, dies=
1936 Florentinus M Wibaut Amsterdam social alderman, dies at 76
1943 Joseph Achron Latvian violinist/composer (Golem suite), dies at 56
1943 Karl Adrian Wohlfart composer, dies at 68
1943 Sidney A K Keyes English poet (Foreign Gate), dies at 20
1947 Irving Fisher US economist, dies at 80
1951 Jules Verstraete [Julien G de Graef] actor (Boefje), dies at 67
1951 Ludwig J J Wittgenstein Austria/English philosopher, dies at 62
1953 Moïse Kisling Polish/French painter (La souris boiteuse), dies at 62
1954 Ernst Heldring Dutch merchant/ship owner/financier, dies at 82
1956 Nemesio Otano y Eugenio composer, dies at 75
1957 Otallo Morales composer, dies at 82
1964 Albert Saverys Flemish painter, dies at 77
1966 Eugene O'Brien actor (Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm), dies at 85
1967 Anthony Mann US director (El Cid, Last Frontier), dies at 60
1968 Frankie Lymon rocker (& Teenagers), dies of a drug overdose at 25
1972 Ntare V deposed King of Burundi, killed in an abortive coup
1973 Manfred Gurlitt composer, dies at 82
1975 Charles McMahon Jr US USMC lance corporal, killed in Vietnam
1975 Darwin Judge USMC-corporal, 1 of last US soldiers killed in Viet
1975 Michael John Shea USMC-Lieutenant/pilot, 1 of last soldiers killed in Vietnam
1975 William Craig Nystul USMC Captain, 1 of last US soldiers killed in Viet
1976 Wilhelm Maler composer, dies at 73
1979 Julia A Perry US composer/conductor (Soul Symphony), dies at 55
1980 Alfred Joseph Hitchcock British director (Psycho, Birds), dies at 80
1984 Marvin Gaye rocker (Sexual Healing), shot dead by his father at 45
1986 Seamus McElwaine Irish IRA-terrorist, killed at 25
1988 Andrew Cruickshank actor (Body in Library, Murder Most Foul), dies
1988 Jan Kapr composer, dies at 74
1991 Claude Gallimard French publisher, dies
1992 Mae Clarke actress (Public Enemy, Frankenstein), dies at 84
1993 Cy Howard director (Lovers & Other Strangers), dies at 77
1993 Michael Gordon actor/director (Pillow Talk), dies at 83
1993 Mick Ronson English guitarist/producer (Mott the Hoople), dies at 46
1994 Bill Quinn US actor (Quinn Brothers, Birds, Lucky Stiff), dies at 81
1994 Erik Erikson anthropologist, dies at 53
1994 Oscar Sheldon A Williams artist/critic, dies at 74
1995 Robert Gibb zoo/theme park creator, dies at 57
1996 David William Eric Davis broadcaster, dies at 87
1996 Jaime Garcia Terre poet/essayist, dies at 71
1996 Siti Hartinah Suharto wife of President Suharto of Indonesia, dies at 72
1996 Tony Hymphris political activist, dies at 45
1997 Keith Ferguson blues (Fabulous Thunderbirds), dies of overdose at 50
1997 Mike Royko columnist, dies of stroke at 64
1997 Peter Tali Coleman Governor of American Samoa (1956-61, 78-85, 89-93), dies

1776 Nathanael Greene takes command of Long Island

On this day in 1776, shortly after the American victory at Boston, Massachusetts, General George Washington orders Brigadier General Nathanael Greene to take command of Long Island and set up defensive positions against a possible British attack on New York City.

Greene’s troops were arranged to defend themselves against a frontal attack in Brooklyn Heights across from Manhattan. On August 26, 1776, the British took the vast majority of Long Island with ease, as the island’s population was heavily Loyalist. On August 27, the troops at Brooklyn Heights disintegrated under an unexpected attack from their left flank. In a British effort to earn goodwill for a negotiated peace, they allowed American survivors to flee to Manhattan. Otherwise, the War for Independence might easily have been quashed less than three months after it began.

Born in Rhode Island in August 1742, Greene was elected to the Rhode Island legislature at the age of 28 in 1770. Overcoming his Quaker scruples against violence and warfare, Greene joined a local militia at the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1774 and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general of the Continental Army by Congress in 1775.

At the siege of Boston in March 1776, Greene was assigned to General Washington’s brigade and a lifelong friendship between the two men began. Shortly after several American losses in and around New York in the summer and fall of 1776, Greene was promoted to major general of the Continental Army under Washington.

After leading troops into several successful battles, including the Battle of Trenton in December 1776 and the Battle of Germantown in October 1777, Greene succeeded Thomas Mifflin as quartermaster general in March 1778. Greene was named commander in chief of the Southern Army in October 1778; he commanded troops on the battlefield throughout the rest of the revolution. After twice turning down offers to become secretary of war, Greene retired from the military in 1785. Less than one year later, in June 1786, Greene died at his Georgia home.
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1862 Union captures New Orleans

Union troops officially take possession of New Orleans, completing the occupation that had begun four days earlier.

The capture of this vital southern city was a huge blow to the Confederacy. Southern military strategists planned for a Union attack down the Mississippi, not from the Gulf of Mexico. In early 1862, the Confederates concentrated their forces in northern Mississippi and western Tennessee to stave off the Yankee invasion. Many of these troops fought at Shiloh on April 6 and 7. Eight Rebel gunboats were dispatched up the great river to stop a Union flotilla above Memphis, leaving only 3,000 militia, two uncompleted ironclads, and a few steamboats to defend New Orleans. The most imposing obstacles for the Union were two forts, Jackson and St. Phillip. In the middle of the night of April 24, Admiral David Farragut led a fleet of 24 gunboats, 19 mortar boats, and 15,000 soldiers large fleet of ships in a daring run past the forts.

Now, the River was open to New Orleans except for the rag-tag Confederate fleet. The mighty Union armada plowed right through, sinking eight ships. At New Orleans, Confederate General Mansfield Lovell surveyed his tiny force and realized that resistance was futile. If he resisted, Lovell told Mayor John Monroe, Farragut would bombard the city and inflict severe damage and casualties. Lovell pulled his troops out of New Orleans and the Yankees began arriving on April 25. The troops could not land until Forts Jackson and St. Phillip were secured. They surrendered on April 29, and now New Orleans had no protection. Crowds cursed the Yankees as all Confederate flags in the city were lowered and stars and stripes were raised in their place.

The Confederacy lost a major city, and the lower Mississippi soon became a Union highway for 400 miles to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
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1916 British forces surrender at Kut, Mesopotamia

In the single largest surrender of troops in British history to that time, some 13,000 soldiers under the command of Sir Charles Townshend give in on April 29, 1916, after withstanding nearly five months under siege by Turkish and German forces at the town of Kut-al-Amara, on the Tigris River in the Basra province of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq).

Under the command of Sir John Nixon, British troops had enjoyed early success in their invasion of Mesopotamia. Forces led by Nixon’s forward divisional commander, Sir Charles Townshend, reached and occupied the Mesopotamian province of Basra, including the town of Kut al-Amara, by late September 1915. From there, they attempted to move up the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers toward Baghdad, but were rebuffed by Turkish troops at Ctesiphon (or Selman Pak) in late November. Despite outnumbering the Turks two-to-one, Townshend’s troops, made up partially of soldiers dispatched from India, were forced to retreat to Kut, where on December 5 Turkish and German troops began to lay siege to the city.

Problems with illness plagued Townshend’s forces, as morale sank precipitously along with dwindling supplies and a lack of relief due to the heavy winter rains, which had swollen the Tigris River and made it difficult to maneuver troops along its banks. The British attempted four times over the course of the winter to confront and surround their Turkish opponents only to suffer 23,000 casualties, almost twice the strength of the entire remaining Kut regiment, without success. Kut finally fell on April 29, 1916, and Townshend and his 13,000 men were taken prisoner.
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1945 Adolf and Eva marry

Eva Braun met Hitler while employed as an assistant to Hitler's official photographer. Of a middle-class Catholic background, Braun spent her time with Hitler out of public view, entertaining herself by skiing and swimming. She had no discernible influence on Hitler's political career but provided a certain domesticity to the life of the dictator. Loyal to the end, she refused to leave the Berlin bunker buried beneath the chancellery as the Russians closed in. The couple was married only hours before they both committed suicide.

Also on this day in 1945, the Americans liberate the concentration camp at Dachau. Five hundred German garrison troops guarding the camp are killed within an hour, some by inmates, but most by the American liberators, who are horrified by what they bear witness to, including huge piles of emaciated dead bodies found in railway cars and near the crematorium.

There were 33,000 survivors of the camp, 2,539 of them Jewish. Dachau, about 12 miles north of Munich, was the first concentration camp established by the Nazi regime, only five weeks after Hitler came to power. At least 160,000 prisoners passed through the main camp and another 90,000 through its 150 branches scattered throughout southern Germany and Austria. Medical experiments, ranging from studying the effects of freezing on warm-blooded creatures to treating intentionally inflicted malaria, were carried out on prisoners. At least 32,000 prisoners died of malnutrition and mistreatment at the camp itself; innumerable more were transported to the Auschwitz gas chambers. A memorial was established at the campsite on September 11, 1956.
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1946 International Military Tribunal indicts Hideki

Also on this day in 1946, Tojo Hideki, wartime premier of Japan, is indicted by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East of war crimes. In September 1945, he tried to commit suicide by shooting himself but was saved by an American physician who gave him a transfusion of American blood. He was eventually hanged by the Americans in 1948 after having been found guilty of war crimes.
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1970 U.S.-South Vietnamese forces launch Cambodian "incursion"

U.S. and South Vietnamese forces launch a limited "incursion" into Cambodia. The campaign included 13 major ground operations to clear North Vietnamese sanctuaries 20 miles inside the Cambodian border. Some 50,000 South Vietnamese soldiers and 30,000 U.S. troops were involved, making it the largest operation of the war since Operation Junction City in 1967.

The operation began with South Vietnamese forces attacking into the "Parrot's Beak" area of Cambodia that projects into South Vietnam above the Mekong Delta. During the first two days, an 8,000-man South Vietnamese task force, including two infantry divisions, four ranger battalions, and four armored cavalry squadrons, killed 84 communist soldiers while suffering 16 dead and 157 wounded.

The second stage of the campaign began on May 2 with a series of joint U.S.-South Vietnamese operations. These operations were aimed at clearing communist sanctuaries located in the densely vegetated "Fishhook" area of Cambodia (across the border from South Vietnam, immediately north of Tay Ninh Province and west of Binh Long Province, 70 miles from Saigon). The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division and 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, along with the South Vietnamese 3rd Airborne Brigade, killed 3,190 communists in the action and captured massive amounts of war booty, including 2,000 individual and crew-served weapons, 300 trucks, and 40 tons of foodstuffs. By the time all U.S. ground forces had departed Cambodia on June 30, the Allied forces had discovered and captured or destroyed 10 times more enemy supplies and equipment than they had captured inside South Vietnam during the entire previous year.

Many intelligence analysts at the time believed that the Cambodian incursion dealt a stunning blow to the communists, driving main force units away from the border and damaging their morale, and in the process buying as much as a year for South Vietnam's survival. However, the incursion gave the antiwar movement in the United States a new rallying point. News of the incursion set off a wave of antiwar demonstrations, including one at Kent State University that resulted in the killing of four students by Army National Guard troops and another at Jackson State in Mississippi that resulted in the shooting of two students when police opened fire on a women's dormitory. The incursion also angered many in Congress, who felt that Nixon was illegally widening the scope of the war; this resulted in a series of congressional resolutions and legislative initiatives that would severely limit the executive power of the president.
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1971 New casualty figures released.

U.S. casualty figures for April 18 to April 24 are released. The 45 killed during that time brought total U.S. losses for the Vietnam War to 45,019 since 1961. These figures made Southeast Asia fourth in total losses sustained by the U.S. during a war, topped only by the number of losses incurred during the Civil War, World War I, and World War II.
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1975 Operation Frequent Wind begins

Operation Frequent Wind, the largest helicopter evacuation on record, begins removing the last Americans from Saigon.

The North Vietnamese had launched their final offensive in March 1975 and the South Vietnamese forces had fallen back before their rapid advance, losing Quang Tri, Hue, Da Nang, Qui Nhon, Tuy Hoa, Nha Trang, and Xuan Loc in quick succession. With the North Vietnamese attacking the outskirts of Saigon, U.S. Ambassador Graham Martin ordered the commencement of Frequent Wind.

In 19 hours, 81 helicopters carried more than 1,000 Americans and almost 6,000 Vietnamese to aircraft carriers offshore. Cpl. Charles McMahon, Jr. and Lance Cpl. Darwin Judge, USMC, were the last U.S. military personnel killed in action in Vietnam, when shrapnel from a North Vietnamese rocket struck them as they were guarding Tan Son Nhut Airbase during the evacuation. At 7:53 a.m. on April 30, the last helicopter lifted off the rook of the embassy and headed out to sea. Later that morning, North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace. North Vietnamese Col. Bui Tin accepted the surrender from Gen. Duong Van Minh, who had taken over from Tran Van Huong (who only spent one day in power after President Nguyen Van Thieu fled). The Vietnam War was over.