On This Day April 29th

 OTD

April 29th is the one-hundred-nineteenth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 246 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

1429 – Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orléans.

1483 – Gran Canaria, the main Canary Islands island, is conquered by the Kingdom of Castile.

1521 – Swedish War of Liberation: Swedish troops defeat a Danish force in the Battle of Västerås.

1770 – James Cook arrives in Australia at Botany Bay, which he names.

1826 – James Dunlop discovers the galaxy Centaurus A or NGC 5128.

1862 – American Civil War: The Capture of New Orleans by Union forces under David Farragut.

1903 – A landslide kills 70 people in Frank, in the District of Alberta, Canada

1916 – Easter Rising: After six days of fighting, Irish rebel leaders surrender to British forces in Dublin, bringing the Easter Rising to an end

1953 – The first U.S. experimental 3D television broadcast shows an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV.

1967 – After refusing induction into the United States Army the previous day, Muhammad Ali is stripped of his boxing title

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.

1992 – Riots in Los Angeles begin following the acquittal of police officers charged with excessive force in the beating of Rodney King. Over the next three days, 63 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 – The final Oldsmobile was built in Lansing, Michigan, and ended 107 years of vehicle production.

 

Birthdays

1727 – Jean-Georges Noverre, French actor and dancer (d. 1810)

1854 – Henri Poincaré, French mathematician, physicist, and engineer (d. 1912)

1899 – Duke Ellington, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1974)

1933 – Willie Nelson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor.

1935 – Otis Rush, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)

1951 – Dale Earnhardt, American race car driver (d. 2001)

1957 – Daniel Day-Lewis, British actor

1970 – Andre Agassi, American tennis player.

1989 – Candace Owens, American political commentator and activist.

1998 – Mallory Pugh, American soccer player

 

Holiday Highlight

Zipper Day

April 29th, a day that might seem ordinary, holds a unique significance- National Zipper Day. While the first occurrence of this day remains uncertain, there is quite an extensive history behind the zipper, a device dedicated to it for a whole day. It is believed that Elias Howe may have invented the first zipper and got a patent for what he called the “Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure” in the 1800s. However, he did not market his product or get any recognition.

A “clasp locker” was introduced at the Chicago World’s Fair to fasten shoes in that same period. While it somewhat resembled Howe’s creation, it wasn’t the same and lost steam quickly. However, the company that manufactured it, the Universal Fastener Company, continued to be fully operational nonetheless.

A Swedish-American electrical engineer employed at Universal Fastener, Gideon Sundback, was pivotal in the zipper's evolution. He is credited with designing the modern zipper. He got the first patent for a “Hookless Fastener” on April 29, 1913, which was later developed into the “Separable Fastener”. It took a while to become famous as it was mostly a shoe fastener, after which the military started using the device during World War 1 for flying suits. Some manufacturers even used the device on tobacco pouches.

Nevertheless, precisely a decade after this device received its first patent, it would be called the ‘zipper.’ The term was coined by B.F. Goodrich in 1923 because of the sound it made.

 

National Zipper Day helps put the humble zipper back in the spotlight, even for one day.

 

Holidays And Observance

Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare

International Dance Day

International Noise Awareness Day

National Shrimp Scampi Day

Peace Rose Day

Viral Video Day

We Jump The World Day

World Wish Day 

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