Today is Wednesday, April 29, the 119th day of 2026. There are 246 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On April 29, 2011, Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton were married in an opulent ceremony at London’s Westminster Abbey.
Also on this date:
In 1862, a Union naval force commanded by Flag Officer David Farragut captured New Orleans in the Civil War, striking a hard blow at the Confederacy. The North would eventually take control of the entire Mississippi River and drive a wedge through the South.
In 1916, the Easter Rising against English rule in Dublin collapsed as Irish nationalists surrendered to British forces.
In 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Dachau concentration camp in Nazi Germany.
In 1991, a powerful tropical cyclone made landfall in Bangladesh, creating a storm surge that resulted in more than 138,000 deaths.
In 1992, a jury in Simi Valley, California, acquitted four Los Angeles police officers charged with assault and using excessive force in the videotaped beating of motorist Rodney King; the verdicts were followed by six days of rioting in Los Angeles that destroyed hundreds of businesses and resulted in over 60 deaths.
In 1997, the Chemical Weapons Convention, a worldwide treaty banning the use of chemical weapons and mandating the destruction of existing chemical weapons, went into effect.
In 2008, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama denounced his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, for what he termed “divisive and destructive” remarks on race.
In 2022, a British judge sentenced retired tennis star Boris Becker to 2 1/2 years in prison for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding assets after he was declared bankrupt. (The three-time Wimbledon champion served eight months and was deported to his native Germany.)
Today’s Birthdays:
- Musician Willie Nelson is 93.
- Baseball Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio is 92.
- Conductor Zubin Mehta is 90.
- Singer Tommy James is 80.
- Golf Hall of Famer Johnny Miller is 79.
- Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 72.
- Actor Kate Mulgrew is 71.
- Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is 69.
- Actor Michelle Pfeiffer is 68.
- Singer-TV personality Carnie Wilson is 58.
- Tennis Hall of Famer Andre Agassi is 56.
- Actor Uma Thurman is 56.
- Actor Megan Boone is 43.
- NHL center Jonathan Toews is 38.
- Pop singer Foxes is 37.
- Golfer Justin Thomas is 33.
- TV Actor Grace Kaufman is 24.
- Actor and performer Shahadi Wright Joseph is 21.
