The People History Home

April 29th Major News Events

  1. 1945 Dachau concentration camp liberated during WWII
  2. 1958 Broadway musical My Fair Lady opens in London
  3. 1970 US invades Cambodia
  4. 1974 Nixon announces release of transcripts during Watergate scandal
  5. 1993 Buckingham Palace to open doors to public
  6. 2011 Kate Middleton and Prince William are married

Find More Details for What happened 29th April This Day in History on your birthday

1992 Rioting in Los Angeles

1992: Rioting has broken out in Los Angeles following the decision by a jury to acquit four white police officers accused of beating black motorist Rodney King. The case centered on a video, taped by an amateur cameraman which caught the scene on film as the four police officers beat, kicked and clubbed unemployed laborer Rodney King while other officers looked on. The officers did face a second trial a year later, on federal charges of violating Rodney King's civil rights, 2 were found guilty and faced prison sentences of two years. The violence continued for 4 days in which 55 people were killed caused by revenge attacks against whites and Asians by the black rioters. Find More What happened in 1992

1958 Britain My Fair Lady

1958: The Broadway musical "My Fair Lady" opens for its first night in London, with Rex Harrison as Professor Higgins, and Julie Andrews playing Eliza Doolittle. Tickets for the show cost just over £1, the first month is sold out before opening night.

1922 USA Lower Louisiana Floods

1922: Starvation threatens victims of the overflow of flood waters in lower Louisiana with nearly 3,500 square miles underwater and fifty thousand people affected many losing their homes and all possessions.

1934 USA John Dillinger

1934: John Dillinger is still on the run from a nationwide hunt after escaping from a band of policemen with orders to catch him dead or alive 1 week ago in North woods Wisconsin, after escaping a dragnet was put up in surrounding countryside but again he escaped and is still Americas Public Enemy Number 1 and still running wild and free.

1934 Europe Growth of Fascism

1934: With fascist dictators in power across Europe now parading their might and power including Hitler in Germany and Italy's Mussolini democracy is challenged more in this decade than any other.

1941 Greece Conquest of the Balkans

1941: Hitler and Germany completed the conquest of the Balkans in 1941 when they swept across Southern Greece taking many thousands of prisoners including British, Australian and new Zealand.

1945 Germany Dachau Concentration Camp

1945: Dachau concentration camp was liberated today when troops of the U.S. Seventh Army cleared the enemy guards from the camp where gruesome torture rooms and gas chambers were located.

1956 Britain Plane Crash

1956: A transport plane loaded with servicemen and their wives and children crashed today at Stanstead Airport while taking off to go to war torn Cyprus.

1963 Saipan Typhoon Olive

1963: Typhoon Olive with 110 MPH Winds destroyed 95% of the homes on the Island of Saipan and all electric power and telephones were down , there were no reported deaths but most of the population of the Island are now homeless.

1970 US Troops Invade Cambodia

1970: Following 12 months of bombing by US during Operation Menu, On This Day the South Vietnamese troops invade Cambodia and US troops follow 2 days later. The operation to invade Cambodia lasted until the end of June when US and South Vietnam's troops pull back out.

1974 USA President Nixon Watergate

1974: President Nixon announced in a nationally broadcast address he will hand over 1200 pages of White House Transcripts that will tell it all about Watergate and will prove his innocence.

1986 England Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson

1986: The Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson, is laid to rest alongside her husband, the abdicated King Edward VIII, at Frogmore in Windsor. Members of the Royal family including the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne, and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, as well as The Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher attended the ceremony.

Born This Day In History April 29th

Celebrating Birthdays Today

Michelle Pfeiffer

Born: Michelle Marie Pfeiffer, 29th April 1958, Santa Ana, California, U.S.

Known For: Michelle Pfeiffer is an American actress who has won a number of awards including a Golden Globe Award (The Fabulous Baker Boys) and a BAFTA Award (Dangerous Liaisons), she is recognized for her talent and beauty and was at one time featured in People Magazine's '50 Most Beautiful People in the World' issue in 1990. She has appeared in numerous films during her career including Grease 2, Scarface, Married to the Mob, Dangerous Liaisons, Batman Returns and The Fabulous Baker Boys. She is married (1993) to television writer and producer David E. Kelley a successful writer and producer with a number of hits shows to his credit including Chicago Hope, Ally McBeal, and Boston Legal.

1991 Bangladesh Cyclone

1991: A cyclone hits Bangladesh with winds in excess of 150 MPH and a 20 foot storm surge and kills more than 135,000 people in flat low lying Bangladesh.

1993 England Buckingham Palace

1993: Buckingham Palace will open its doors to the public in order to raise money to repair the fire-damaged Windsor Castle. The palace will only be open in August and September when the Queen is at her Scottish residence, Balmoral. The cost of entrance will be £8 for an adult.

2004 USA National World War II Memorial

2004: The National World War II Memorial between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument a monument to the 16 million U.S. men and women who served during World War II opened to the public in Washington D.C.

2007 Turkish Protest In Support of Secularism

2007: Hundreds of thousands of Turks have rallied in Istanbul in support of the country's secularism, amid rows on one of their presidential candidate's Islamic roots. The protesters are concerned that the ruling party's candidate, Abdullah Gul, is too loyal to Islam. Gul, himself, has said he would not quit, despite growing criticism from his opponents and from the army.

2007 Iran Bans Western Hairstyles

2007: Iranian police have been warning barbers not to give men Western hairstyles, or to use make-up on them. This is part of a fierce crackdown on what is known as bad hijab, or un-Islamic clothing. Iranian television has said that the crackdown on un-Islamic clothing has started its next phase, in which mobile police units will patrol Tehran in search of those who do not observe Islamic dress sense. Tehran's public prosecutor has suggested that women who violate dress rules should be exiled from the capital, and forced to live in remote areas of the country.

2009 First US Swine Flu Death

2009: A Mexican child has died of swine flu in Texas. He was twenty-three months old. The child is one of the 91 cases of swine flu that have been reported in the U.S. The World Health Organization has said that the virus was still spreading. Spain has said that it has confirmed its first case in a person who has not traveled to Mexico. The Mexican boy had arrived in the Texan border city of Brownsville on April 4th, and had developed flu symptoms within a few days.

2010 US Gulf Oil Spill

2010: The U.S. government has designated the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as an "incident of national significance". The Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has told reporters that this will allow resources to be ordered in from other areas of the country. Some five thousand barrels of oil a day are leaking into the water from the explosion that took place on a B.P.-operated rig. The Coast Guard has said that the oil is expected to start washing ashore on April 30th. Louisiana's coastline is the most threatened.

2010 US Navy Lifts Ban on Female Submarine Crew

2010: Women can now serve on U.S. submarines. The Defense Department had announced that the ban would be lifted in February, and the deadline for Congressional objections was passed at midnight on April 28th. Training women for their new duties and the creation of appropriate quarters will mean that it will be more than a year before women can take up their posts. The cramped conditions had previously precluded women, despite their being able to serve alongside men on surface ships.About 15% of Navy personnel are women.

From 1950s Toys Page

  • Tweedie Singing Bird in Cage Tweedie Singing Bird in Cage
    Price $2.67
    Pretty bird trills a merry tune as he swings to and fro on perch. The cage has two feeding cups and a ring at the top for hanging.

  • Caterpillar Earthmoving Equipment Caterpillar Earthmoving Equipment
    Price $2.98
    Caterpillar earthmoving equipment has real working action. Three big pieces in yellow and black: caterpillar scraper, motor grader, and wagon with tractor.
    From Our 1952 Toys Page

  • Toni Doll Toni Doll
    Ideal
    Price $11.95, $13.95, $19.95
    Toni doll made of all plastic with magic nylon wig that can be shampooed and play waved. Beautifully dressed. Comes with complete play wave kit. Choose from 14-inch, 16-inch, or 21-inch dolls.

2011 UK Celebrates Royal Wedding

2011: Well-wishers around the world celebrated the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in the United Kingdom. The wedding took place at Westminster Abbey with nearly two thousand guests in attendance. The newly appointed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were greeted by half a million supporters as they shared a kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

2013 NBA Player Comes Out

2013: American basketball player, Jason Collins, came out as gay, becoming the first active player in a major sport to do so in the United States. Collins came out in a Sports Illustrated article and was greeted with an outpouring of support from other players, President Obama and others.

2014 Kenyan President Signs Polygamy Law

2014: The president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, signed a controversial bill into law that would legalized polygamy in the African country. The law would also ban marriage for those under the age of eighteen, have it a requirement for all marriages to be registered, allow women to be entitled to half of the property that was acquired during a marriage, and not recognize the customary needed approval of a first wife in cases of polygamy.

From our 1980s Furniture

1989 Videotape Storage Cabinet

1989 Videotape Storage Cabinet

Price: $79.99

This custom-crafted oak-grained cabinet opens to reveal storage for up to 120 video tapes. With inserts included, holds 92 video tapes, 18 CD's and 14 audio cassettes. Doors lock for complete security.


1987 Clock Radio TV

1987 Clock Radio TV

Price: $79.95

AM/FM Clock/Radio with four and a half inch black and white TV. Red LED digital time display with AM indicator. High/low dimmer control. Snooze bar. Battery backup system. Earphone jack. Telescopic FM antenna. White plastic cabinet.


Toys From The 1990s

Vintage Nintendo Game Boy Compact Video Game System

Vintage Nintendo Game Boy Compact Video Game System

Vintage Nintendo Game Boy Compact Video Game System
Manufacturer: Nintendo
Price: $89.99

A hand-held version of the Nintendo Entertainment System. Features Tetris Game Pack, LCD dot-matrix game screen, and digital stereo sound with earphones for private play. Video Link cable hook-up allows two Game Boy systems to go head-to-head.




Tickle Me Elmo

Tickle Me Elmo

Tickle Me Elmo
Manufacturer: Tyco
Price: $27.99

Tickle his tummy once to make him giggle, twice to make him laugh longer. Tickle him a third time and he shakes with laughter. This was one of the most popular toys for the 1996 Christmas season, with many stores running out of stock and battling crowds trying to get their hands on one.
From Our 1996 Toys Page