Today in History

Today is Tuesday, April 29, the 119th day of 2014. There are 246 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 29, 1974, President Richard M. Nixon announced he was releasing edited transcripts of some secretly made White House tape recordings related to Watergate.

On this date:

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 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Dachau (DAH'-khow) concentration camp. Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun and designated Adm. Karl Doenitz president.

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 following limited engagements off-Broadway.

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.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney met behind closed doors with the September 11 commission; afterward, Bush said he'd told the panel his administration tried to protect America from terrorists as warnings grew before the devastating attack of 2001. A national monument to the 16 million U.S. men and women who'd served during World War II opened to the public in Washington, D.C. Internet search engine leader Google, Inc. filed its long-awaited IPO plans. The last Oldsmobile, an Alero, rolled off the line at the Lansing Car Assembly plant.

Five years ago: During a prime-time news conference marking his 100th day in office, President Barack Obama said that waterboarding authorized by former President George W. Bush was torture and that the information it gained from terror suspects could have been obtained by other means. The World Health Organization raised its alert level for swine flu to its next-to-highest notch. Twin car bombs ravaged a popular shopping area in Baghdad's biggest Shiite district, killing at least 51 people.

One year ago: Opening statements took place in Los Angeles in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, against concert giant AEG Live, claiming it failed to properly investigate a doctor who'd cared for Jackson and was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter in his 2009 death. (The jury determined in October 2013 that AEG Live was not liable.) Syria's prime minister, Wael al-Halqi, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb went off near his convoy in Damascus. NBA veteran center Jason Collins became the first male professional athlete in the major four American sports leagues to come out as gay in a first-person account posted on Sports Illustrated's website.

Today's Birthdays: Poet Rod McKuen is 81. Actor Keith Baxter is 81. Bluesman Otis Rush is 79. Conductor Zubin Mehta is 78. Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff is 76. Pop singer Bob Miranda (The Happenings) is 72. Country singer Duane Allen (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 71. Singer Tommy James is 67. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., is 64. Movie director Phillip Noyce is 64. Country musician Wayne Secrest (Confederate Railroad) is 64. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 60. Actor Leslie Jordan is 59. Actress Kate Mulgrew is 59. Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is 57. Actress Michelle Pfeiffer is 56. Actress Eve Plumb is 56. Rock musician Phil King is 54. Country singer Stephanie Bentley is 51. Actor Vincent Ventresca is 48. Singer Carnie Wilson (Wilson Phillips) is 46. Actor Paul Adelstein is 45. Actress Uma Thurman is 44. Tennis player Andre Agassi is 44. Rapper Master P is 44. Actor Darby Stanchfield is 43. Country singer James Bonamy is 42. Gospel/rhythm-and-blues singer Erica Campbell (Mary Mary) is 42. Rock musician Mike Hogan (The Cranberries) is 41. Actor Tyler Labine is 36. Actress Megan Boone (TV: "The Blacklist") is 31. Actress-model Taylor Cole is 30. Actor Zane Carney is 29. Pop singer Amy Heidemann (Karmin) is 28. Pop singer Foxes is 25.

Thought for Today: "An intellectual hatred is the worst." -- William Butler Yeats, Irish poet and playwright (1865-1939).

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