April 29

April 29 in recent years

2024 (Monday)

2023 (Saturday)

2022 (Friday)

2021 (Thursday)

2020 (Wednesday)

2019 (Monday)

2018 (Sunday)

2017 (Saturday)

2016 (Friday)

2015 (Wednesday)

April 29 is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 246 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 1091 – Battle of Levounion: The Pechenegs are defeated by Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.
• 1386 – Battle of the Vikhra River: The Principality of Smolensk is defeated by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and becomes its vassal.
• 1429 – Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orléans.
• 1483 – Gran Canaria, the main island of the Canary Islands is conquered by the Kingdom of Castile.
• 1521 – Swedish War of Liberation: Swedish troops under Gustav Vasa defeat a Danish force under Didrik Slagheck in the Battle of Västerås and soon capture the city of Västerås. The Danish-held castle, however, does not surrender to the Swedes until 31 January the following year, after a nine-month siege.
• 1770 – James Cook arrives in Australia at Botany Bay, which he names.
• 1781 – American Revolutionary War: British and French ships clash in the Battle of Fort Royal off the coast of Martinique.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Maryland's House of Delegates votes not to secede from the Union.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Capture of New Orleans New Orleans falls to Union forces under Admiral David Farragut.
• 1864 – Theta Xi fraternity is founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the only fraternity to be founded during the American Civil War.
• 1903 – A 30 million cubic-metre landslide kills 70 people in Frank, North-West Territories, Canada.
• 1910 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the People's Budget, the first budget in British history with the expressed intent of redistributing wealth among the British public.
• 1916 – World War I: The British 6th Indian Division surrenders to Ottoman Forces at the Siege of Kut in one of the largest surrenders of British forces up to that point.
• 1916 – Easter Rising: After six days of fighting, Irish rebel leaders surrender to British forces in Dublin, bringing the Easter Rising to an end.
• 1944 – World War II: British agent Nancy Wake, a leading figure in the French Resistance and the Gestapo's most wanted person, parachutes back into France to be a liaison between London and the local maquis group.
• 1945 – World War II: The German army in Italy unconditionally surrenders to the Allies.
• 1945 – World War II: Start of Operation Manna.
• 1945 – World War II: The Template:Sclass- HMS Goodall (K479) is torpedoed by U-286 outside the Kola Inlet becoming the last ship of the Royal Navy sunk in the European theatre of World War II.
• 1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler marries his longtime partner Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker and designates Admiral Karl Dönitz as his successor; Hitler and Braun both commit suicide the following day.
• 1945 – The Dachau concentration camp is liberated by United States troops.
• 1945 – The Italian commune of Fornovo di Taro is liberated from German forces by Brazilian forces.
• 1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East convenes and indicts former Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo and 28 former Japanese leaders for war crimes.
• 1951 – Tibetan delegates to the Central People's Government arrive in Beijing and draft a Seventeen Point Agreement for Chinese sovereignty and Tibetan autonomy.
• 1953 – The first U.S. experimental 3D television broadcast showed an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV.
• 1965 – Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) successfully launches its seventh rocket in its Rehber series.
• 1967 – After refusing induction into the United States Army the day before (citing religious reasons), Muhammad Ali is stripped of his boxing title.
• 1968 – The controversial musical Hair, a product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, opens at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway, with its songs becoming anthems of the anti-Vietnam War movement.
• 1970 – Vietnam War: United States and South Vietnamese forces invade Cambodia to hunt Viet Cong.
• 1974 – Watergate scandal: United States President Richard Nixon announces the release of edited transcripts of White House tape recordings relating to the scandal.
• 1975 – Vietnam War: Operation Frequent Wind: The U.S. begins to evacuate U.S. citizens from Saigon before an expected North Vietnamese takeover. U.S. involvement in the war comes to an end.
• 1975 – Vietnam War: The North Vietnamese Army completes its capture of all parts of South Vietnamese-held Trường Sa Islands.
• 1986 – A fire at the Central library of the City of Los Angeles Public Library damages or destroys 400,000 books and other items.
• 1986 – Chernobyl disaster: American and European spy satellites capture the ruins of the 4th Reactor at the Chernobyl Power Plant
• 1991 – A cyclone strikes the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh with winds of around 155 miles per hour (249 km/h), killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as ten million homeless.
• 1991 – The 7.0 Mw Racha earthquake affects Georgia with a maximum MSK intensity of IX (Destructive), killing 270 people.
• 1992 – Los Angeles riots: Riots in Los Angeles, following the acquittal of police officers charged with excessive force in the beating of Rodney King. Over the next three days 53 people are killed and hundreds of buildings are destroyed.
• 1997 – The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 enters into force, outlawing the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons by its signatories.
• 2004 – Dick Cheney and George W. Bush testify before the 9/11 Commission in a closed, unrecorded hearing in the Oval Office.
• 2004 – Oldsmobile builds its final car ending 107 years of production.
• 2011 – The Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton takes place at Westminster Abbey in London.
• 2013 – A powerful explosion occurs in an office building in Prague, believed to have been caused by natural gas, injures 43 people.
• 2015 – A baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox sets the all-time low attendance mark for Major League Baseball. Zero fans were in attendance for the game, as the stadium was officially closed to the public due to the 2015 Baltimore protests.

Births

• 912 – Minamoto no Mitsunaka, Japanese samurai (d. 997)
• 1636 – Esaias Reusner, German lute player and composer (d. 1679)
• 1665 – James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, Irish general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1745)
• 1667 – John Arbuthnot, Scottish-English physician and polymath (d. 1735)
• 1686 – Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English politician, Lord Great Chamberlain (d. 1742)
• 1727 – Jean-Georges Noverre, French actor and dancer (d. 1810)
• 1745 – Oliver Ellsworth, American lawyer and politician, 3rd Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1807)
• 1758 – Georg Carl von Döbeln, Swedish general (d. 1820)
• 1762 – Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, French general and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1833)
• 1780 – Charles Nodier, French librarian and author (d. 1844)
• 1784 – Samuel Turell Armstrong, American publisher and politician, 14th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1850)
• 1810 – Thomas Adolphus Trollope, English journalist and author (d. 1892)
• 1814 – Sadok Barącz, Galician religious leader, historian, folklorist, archivist (d. 1892)
• 1818 – Alexander II of Russia (d. 1881)
• 1837 – Georges Ernest Boulanger, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1891)
• 1842 – Carl Millöcker, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1899)
• 1847 – Joachim Andersen, Danish flautist, composer, conductor, and co-founder of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (d. 1907)
• 1848 – Raja Ravi Varma, Indian painter and academic (d. 1906)
• 1854 – Henri Poincaré, French mathematician, physicist, and engineer (d. 1912)
• 1863 – Constantine P. Cavafy, Egyptian-Greek journalist and poet (d. 1933)
• 1863 – William Randolph Hearst, American publisher and politician, founded the Hearst Corporation (d. 1951)
• 1863 – Maria Teresia Ledóchowska, Austrian nun and missionary (d. 1922)
• 1872 – Harry Payne Whitney, American businessman and lawyer (d. 1930)
• 1872 – Forest Ray Moulton, American astronomer and academic (d. 1952)
• 1875 – Rafael Sabatini, Italian-English novelist and short story writer (d. 1950)
• 1876 – Zewditu I of Ethiopia (d. 1930)
• 1880 – Fethi Okyar, Turkish military officer, diplomat and politician (d. 1943)
• 1882 – Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, Dutch printer and typographer (d. 1945)
• 1891 – Bharathidasan, Indian poet and activist (d. 1964)
• 1894 – Marietta Blau, Austrian physicist and academic (d. 1970)
• 1885 – Egon Erwin Kisch, Czech journalist and author (d. 1948)
• 1887 – Raymond Thorne, American swimmer (d. 1921)
• 1893 – Harold Urey, American chemist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
• 1895 – Vladimir Propp, Russian scholar and critic (d. 1970)
• 1895 – Malcolm Sargent, English organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1967)
• 1899 – Douglas Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 1987)
• 1899 – Duke Ellington, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1974)
• 1899 – Mary Petty, American illustrator (d. 1976)
• 1901 – Hirohito, Japanese emperor (d. 1989)
• 1907 – Fred Zinnemann, Austrian-American director and producer (d. 1997)
• 1908 – Jack Williamson, American author and academic (d. 2006)
• 1909 – Tom Ewell, American actor (d. 1994)
• 1912 – Richard Carlson, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
• 1915 – Henry H. Barschall, German-American physicist and academic (d. 1997)
• 1917 – Maya Deren, Ukrainian-American director, poet, and photographer (d. 1961)
• 1917 – Celeste Holm, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
• 1917 – Marcel Trudel, Canadian historian and author (d. 2011)
• 1918 – George Allen, American football player and coach (d. 1990)
• 1919 – Gérard Oury, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2006)
• 1920 – Edward Blishen, English author and radio host (d. 1996)
• 1920 – Harold Shapero, American composer (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Helmut Krackowizer, Austrian motorcycle racer and journalist (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Toots Thielemans, Belgian guitarist and harmonica player
• 1923 – Irvin Kershner, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2010)
• 1924 – Al Balding, Canadian golfer (d. 2006)
• 1924 – Zizi Jeanmaire, French ballerina and actress
• 1925 – John Compton, Saint Lucian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Saint Lucia (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Iwao Takamoto, American animator, director, and producer (d. 2007)
• 1926 – Elmer Kelton, American journalist and author (d. 2009)
• 1927 – Dorothy Manley, English sprinter
• 1927 – Bill Slater, English footballer
• 1928 – Heinz Wolff, German-English physiologist, engineer, and academic
• 1929 – Walter Kempowski, German author and academic (d. 2007)
• 1929 – Mickey McDermott, American baseball player and coach (d. 2003)
• 1929 – Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer and conductor (d. 2014)
• 1929 – Maurice Strong, Canadian businessman and diplomat (d. 2015)
• 1929 – Jeremy Thorpe, English lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
• 1930 – Jean Rochefort, French actor and director
• 1931 – Frank Auerbach, German-English painter and academic
• 1931 – Lonnie Donegan, Scottish-English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
• 1931 – Chris Pearson, Canadian politician, 1st Premier of Yukon (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Joy Clements, American soprano and actress (d. 2005)
• 1932 – David Tindle, English painter and educator
• 1933 – Ed Charles, American baseball player and coach
• 1933 – Mark Eyskens, Belgian economist and politician, 61st Prime Minister of Belgium
• 1933 – Rod McKuen, American singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2015)
• 1933 – Willie Nelson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
• 1934 – Luis Aparicio, Venezuelan-American baseball player
• 1934 – Peter de la Billière, English general
• 1934 – Erika Fisch, German sprinter and hurdler
• 1934 – Pedro Pires, Cape Verdean politician, 3rd President of Cape Verde
• 1936 – Zubin Mehta, Indian bassist and conductor
• 1936 – Adolfo Nicolás, Spanish priest, 13th Superior General of the Society of Jesus
• 1936 – Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, English banker and philanthropist
• 1937 – Arvo Mets, Estonian-Russian poet and translator (d. 1997)
• 1937 – Jill Paton Walsh, English author
• 1938 – Bernard Madoff, American businessman and financier
• 1938 – Klaus Voormann, German artist, bass player, and producer
• 1940 – Stephanos of Tallinn, Estonian metropolitan
• 1940 – Brian Taber, Australian cricketer
• 1941 – Jonah Barrington, English-Irish squash player
• 1941 – Hanne Darboven, German painter (d. 2009)
• 1942 – Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, English politician, Minister of State for Europe
• 1942 – Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie, English civil servant and academic
• 1942 – Galina Kulakova, Russian skier
• 1943 – İlker Başbuğ, Turkish general
• 1943 – Brenda Dean, Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde, English union leader and politician
• 1943 – Ruth Deech, Baroness Deech, English lawyer and academic
• 1944 – Princess Benedikte of Denmark
• 1944 – Richard Kline, American actor and director
• 1944 – Francis Lee, English footballer and businessman
• 1945 – Brian Charlesworth, English biologist, geneticist, and academic
• 1945 – Catherine Lara, French singer-songwriter and violinist
• 1946 – Aleksander Wolszczan, Polish astronomer
• 1947 – Serge Bernier, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1947 – Tommy James, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1947 – Joey Levine, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1947 – Johnny Miller, American golfer and sportscaster
• 1947 – Jim Ryun, American runner and politician
• 1948 – Bruce Cutler, American lawyer
• 1948 – Michael Karoli, German guitarist and songwriter (d. 2001)
• 1950 – Paul Holmes, New Zealand journalist (d. 2013)
• 1950 – Phillip Noyce, Australian director and producer
• 1950 – Debbie Stabenow, American social worker and politician
• 1951 – Dale Earnhardt, American race car driver (d. 2001)
• 1951 – John Holmes, English diplomat, British Ambassador to France
• 1952 – Nora Dunn, American actress and comedian
• 1952 – David Icke, English footballer and sportscaster
• 1952 – Bob McClure, American baseball player and coach
• 1952 – Rob Nicholson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 11th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1952 – Brian D. Ripley, English statistician and academic
• 1952 – Ron Washington, American baseball player and manager
• 1954 – Jake Burton Carpenter, American snowboarder and businessman, founded Burton Snowboards
• 1954 – Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian, actor, and producer
• 1955 – Don McKinnon, Australian rugby league player
• 1955 – Kate Mulgrew, American actress
• 1956 – Karen Barad, American physicist and philosopher
• 1957 – Daniel Day-Lewis, British-Irish actor
• 1957 – Mark Kendall, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1957 – Sofia Sakorafa, Greek javelin thrower and politician
• 1957 – Timothy Treadwell, American ecologist and environmentalist (d. 2003)
• 1958 – Ramachandra Guha, Indian historian and author
• 1958 – Kevin Moore, English footballer (d. 2013)
• 1958 – Michelle Pfeiffer, American actress
• 1958 – Mike Stenhouse, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1958 – Martin Whitmarsh, English businessman
• 1960 – Bill Glasson, American golfer
• 1960 – Robert J. Sawyer, Canadian author and academic
• 1960 – Caveh Zahedi, American actor and director
• 1962 – Bruce Driver, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1962 – Rob Druppers, Dutch runner
• 1963 – Mike Babcock, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1963 – Claude Loiselle, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
• 1963 – Rajneesh Narula, English economist and academic
• 1964 – Federico Castelluccio, Italian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1964 – Radek Jaroš, Czech mountaineer and author
• 1965 – Michel Bussi, French geographer, author, and academic
• 1965 – Peter Rauhofer, Austrian-American disc jockey and producer (d. 2013)
• 1965 – Larisa Turchinskaya, Russian-Australian heptathlete and coach
• 1965 – Brendon Tuuta, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1966 – Marie Plourde, Canadian journalist
• 1966 – Phil Tufnell, English cricketer and radio host
• 1966 – Christian Tetzlaff, German violinist
• 1967 – Marcel Albers, Dutch race car driver (d. 1992)
• 1967 – Curtis Joseph, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1967 – Master P, American rapper, producer, and actor
• 1968 – Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, 4th President of Croatia (2015-)
• 1968 – Carnie Wilson, American singer-songwriter
• 1969 – Jack Mackenroth, American swimmer, model, and fashion designer
• 1970 – Andre Agassi, American tennis player
• 1970 – China Forbes, American singer-songwriter
• 1970 – Uma Thurman, American actress
• 1971 – Sam Michael, Australian engineer
• 1972 – Dustin McDaniel, American lawyer and politician, 55th Arkansas Attorney General
• 1974 – Jasper Wood, Canadian violinist and educator
• 1975 – Rafael Betancourt, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1975 – Artem Yashkin, Ukrainian footballer
• 1976 – Chiyotaikai Ryūji, Japanese sumo wrestler
• 1977 – Zuzana Hejdová, Czech tennis player
• 1977 – Claus Jensen, Danish footballer and sportscaster
• 1977 – Titus O'Neil, American football player and wrestler
• 1977 – Attila Zsivoczky, Hungarian decathlete and high jumper
• 1978 – Tony Armas, Jr., Venezuelan baseball player
• 1978 – Bob Bryan, American tennis player
• 1978 – Mike Bryan, American tennis player
• 1978 – Javier Colon, American singer-songwriter and musician
• 1978 – Craig Gower, Australian rugby player
• 1978 – Tyler Labine, Canadian actor and comedian
• 1979 – Nihan Anaz, Turkish basketball player
• 1979 – Lee Dong-gook, South Korean footballer
• 1979 – Ryan Sharp, Scottish race car driver and manager
• 1980 – Mathieu Biron, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 – Kian Egan, Irish singer-songwriter
• 1980 – Luciano Milo, Italian ice dancer
• 1980 – Kelly Shoppach, American baseball player
• 1981 – Lisa Allen, English chef
• 1981 – George McCartney, Northern Irish footballer
• 1981 – Émilie Mondor, Canadian runner (d. 2006)
• 1981 – Tom Smith, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
• 1982 – Mersad Selimbegović, Bosnian footballer
• 1982 – Travis Smith, American drummer
• 1983 – Jay Cutler, American football player
• 1983 – Tommie Harris, American football player
• 1983 – David Lee, American basketball player
• 1983 – Valérie Létourneau, Canadian mixed martial artist
• 1984 – Kirby Cote, Canadian swimmer
• 1984 – Paulius Jankūnas, Lithuanian basketball player
• 1984 – Lina Krasnoroutskaya, Russian tennis player
• 1984 – Vassilis Xanthopoulos, Greek basketball player
• 1985 – Jean-François Jacques, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1986 – Viljar Veski, Estonian basketball player
• 1986 – Sisa Waqa, Fijian rugby league player
• 1987 – Knut Børsheim, Norwegian golfer
• 1987 – Sara Errani, Italian tennis player
• 1988 – Younha, South Korean singer-songwriter
• 1988 – Elías Hernández, Mexican footballer
• 1988 – Jovan Leacock, American footballer
• 1988 – Taoufik Makhloufi, Algerian runner
• 1988 – Steve Mason, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1988 – Julian Reus, German sprinter
• 1988 – Jonathan Toews, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1991 – Adam Smith, English footballer
• 1991 – Cole Vosbury, American singer-songwriter
• 1991 – Misaki Doi, Japanese tennis player
• 1992 – Emilio Orozco, American soccer player
• 1994 – Christina Shakovets, German tennis player
• 1995 – Victoria Sinitsina, Russian ice dancer
• 1998 – Kimberly Birrell, Australian tennis player

Deaths

• 643 – Hou Junji, Chinese general and politician, Chancellor of the Tang dynasty
• 926 – Burchard II, Duke of Swabia (b. 883)
• 1380 – Catherine of Siena, Italian mystic, philosopher, and saint (b. 1347)
• 1594 – Thomas Cooper, English bishop, lexicographer, and theologian (b. 1517)
• 1630 – Agrippa d'Aubigné, French soldier and poet (b. 1552)
• 1658 – John Cleveland, English poet and author (b. 1613)
• 1676 – Michiel de Ruyter, Dutch admiral (b. 1607)
• 1688 – Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1620)
• 1698 – Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk (b. 1655)
• 1707 – George Farquhar, Irish-English actor and playwright (b. 1678)
• 1743 – Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French theorist and author (b. 1658)
• 1768 – Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (b. 1694)
• 1771 – Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, French-Italian architect, designed Winter Palace and Catherine Palace (b. 1700)
• 1776 – Edward Wortley Montagu, English explorer and author (b. 1713)
• 1793 – Yechezkel Landau, Polish rabbi and author (b. 1713)
• 1793 – John Michell, English geologist and astronomer (b. 1724)
• 1798 – Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus, Austrian entomologist and author (b. 1723)
• 1833 – William Babington, Irish-born, English physician and mineralogist (b. 1756)
• 1854 – Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1768)
• 1903 – Paul Du Chaillu, French-American anthropologist and zoologist (b. 1835)
• 1905 – Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (b. 1847)
• 1916 – Jørgen Pedersen Gram, Danish mathematician and academic (b. 1850)
• 1920 – William H. Seward, Jr., American general and banker (b. 1839)
• 1921 – Arthur Mold, English cricketer (b. 1863)
• 1933 – Constantine P. Cavafy, Greek poet and journalist (b. 1863)
• 1935 – Leroy Carr, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1905)
• 1937 – William Gillette, American actor and playwright (b. 1853)
• 1944 – Bernardino Machado, Portuguese academic and politician, 3rd President of Portugal (b. 1851)
• 1945 – Matthias Kleinheisterkamp, German SS officer (b. 1893)
• 1947 – Irving Fisher, American economist and statistician (b. 1867)
• 1951 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (b. 1889)
• 1954 – Kathleen Clarice Groom, Australian-English author and screenwriter (b. 1872)
• 1956 – Harold Bride, English soldier and operator (b. 1890)
• 1956 – Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, German field marshal (b. 1876)
• 1959 – Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson, India-born English soldier and Governor of Gibraltar (b. 1891)
• 1961 – Cisco Houston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1918)
• 1966 – William Eccles, English physicist and engineer (b. 1875)
• 1966 – Paula Strasberg, American actress and acting coach (b. 1909)
• 1967 – J. B. Lenoir, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1929)
• 1976 – Edvard Drabløs, Norwegian actor and director (b. 1883)
• 1978 – Theo Helfrich, German racing driver (b. 1913)
• 1979 – Muhsin Ertuğrul, Turkish actor and director (b. 1892)
• 1979 – Hardie Gramatky, American author and illustrator (b. 1907)
• 1980 – Alfred Hitchcock, English-American director and producer (b. 1899)
• 1982 – Raymond Bussières, French actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1907)
• 1992 – Mae Clarke, American actress (b. 1910)
• 1993 – Michael Gordon, American actor and director (b. 1909)
• 1993 – Mick Ronson, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1946)
• 1997 – Mike Royko, American journalist and author (b. 1932)
• 1998 – Hal Laycoe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1922)
• 2000 – Phạm Văn Đồng, Vietnamese lieutenant and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1906)
• 2001 – Arthur B. C. Walker, Jr., American physicist and academic (b. 1936)
• 2002 – Bob Akin, American race car driver and journalist (b. 1936)
• 2004 – Sid Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1925)
• 2005 – William J. Bell, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1927)
• 2005 – Louis Leithold, American mathematician and academic (b. 1924)
• 2006 – John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to India (b. 1908)
• 2007 – Milt Bocek, American baseball player and soldier (b. 1912)
• 2007 – Josh Hancock, American baseball player (b. 1978)
• 2007 – Dick Motz, New Zealand cricketer and rugby player (b. 1940)
• 2007 – Ivica Račan, Croatian politician, 7th Prime Minister of Croatia (b. 1944)
• 2007 – Selvarajah Rajivarnam, Sri Lankan journalist (b. 1982)
• 2008 – Chuck Daigh, American racing driver (b. 1923)
• 2008 – Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist and academic (b. 1906)
• 2010 – Sandy Douglas, English computer scientist and academic, designed OXO (b. 1921)
• 2011 – Siamak Pourzand, Iranian journalist and critic (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Éric Charden, Vietnamese-French singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
• 2012 – Shukri Ghanem, Libyan politician, Prime Minister of Libya (b. 1942)
• 2012 – Joel Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (b. 1957)
• 2012 – Roland Moreno. French engineer, invented the smart card (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Kenny Roberts, American singer-songwriter (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Alex Elisala, New Zealand-Australian rugby player (b. 1992)
• 2013 – Pesah Grupper, Israeli politician, 13th Israel Minister of Agriculture (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Parekura Horomia, New Zealand politician, 40th Minister of Māori Affairs (b. 1950)
• 2013 – John La Montaine, American pianist and composer (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Ernest Michael, American mathematician and scholar (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Kevin Moore, English footballer (b. 1958)
• 2013 – Marianna Zachariadi, Greek pole vaulter (b. 1990)
• 2014 – Iveta Bartošová, Czech singer and actress (b. 1966)
• 2014 – Al Feldstein, American author and illustrator (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Bob Hoskins, English actor (b. 1942)
• 2014 – Michael Kadosh, Israeli footballer and manager (b. 1940)
• 2015 – François Michelin, French businessman (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Jean Nidetch, American businesswoman, co-founded Weight Watchers (b. 1923)
• 2015 – Calvin Peete, American golfer (b. 1943)
• 2015 – Dan Walker, American lawyer and politician, 36th Governor of Illinois (b. 1922)
• 2016 – Renato Corona, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (b. 1948)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Catherine of Siena (Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican Church)
  • Endelienta
  • Hugh of Cluny
  • Robert of Molesme
  • Torpes of Pisa
  • April 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare (United Nations)
• International Dance Day (UNESCO)
• Princess Bedike's Birthday (Denmark)
• Shōwa Day, traditionally the start of the Golden Week holiday period, which is April 29 and May 3–5. (Japan)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada