April 29 Birthday
On April 29, 1945, the 45th Infantry Division of the US Seventh Army liberated Dachau concentration camp, the first Nazi concentration camp, established in 1933. The soldiers found 30,000 survivors and thirty railroad cars filled with decomposed bodies. The camp had held over 200,000 prisoners over twelve years and killed at least 41,500. The American troops who liberated Dachau were so horrified that some summarily executed SS guards — an act that was investigated but never prosecuted. General Patton, upon seeing the camp, vomited. Dwight Eisenhower, who had visited a different camp, ordered that the scenes be filmed and photographed because he knew people would later deny it. He was right. The Los Angeles riots began on April 29, 1992, after a jury in Simi Valley acquitted four LAPD officers of beating Rodney King. The verdict was announced at 3:15 PM. By 6 PM, riots had begun in South Central LA. Fires were set, stores were looted, and motorists were pulled from their cars and beaten. The riots lasted six days. 63 people died, 2,383 were injured, and over 3,600 fires were set. Property damage exceeded $1 billion. 11,740 people were arrested. The National Guard was called in on April 30, and Marines were deployed on May 1. The riots stopped when Rodney King went on television and asked, "Can we all get along?" The question was mocked then and mocked since, but it was the only question that mattered. Joan of Arc arrived at the besieged city of Orléans on April 29, 1429. She was seventeen. The English had been besieging the city for six months. Joan had convinced the dauphin — the future Charles VII — to give her an army. She arrived in armor, carrying a banner. Within nine days, the siege was lifted. She then led the army to Reims, where Charles was crowned. Joan was captured at Compiègne in May 1430. The English turned her over to an ecclesiastical court, which tried her for heresy. The real charge was wearing men's clothing and claiming to hear voices. She was burned at the stake in Rouen on May 30, 1431. She was nineteen. Duke Ellington, born this day in 1899, composed over 1,000 works. He led his orchestra for fifty years, from 1923 to his death in 1974. He called his music "beyond category" — not jazz, not classical, not popular, just his. Willie Nelson, born this day in 1933, wrote "Crazy" for Patsy Cline in 1961. He grew his hair long, moved to Austin, and invented "outlaw country." His Fourth of July Picnic has been held annually since 1973. People born on April 29 fall under the zodiac sign of Taurus. The birthstone is Diamond and the birth flower is Daisy. Historical events on April 29 include 1429: Joan of Arc arrives at Orléans to lift the English siege, 1945: Dachau concentration camp liberated by US Seventh Army, 1992: Rodney King trial acquittals trigger Los Angeles riots. Famous people born on April 29 include Duke Ellington (1899), Willie Nelson (1933), Andre Agassi (1970).