1429 – French national heroine Joan of Arc and her troops entered the besieged city of Orléans during the Hundred Years’ War. 1862– New Orleans falls to Union forces during US Civil War 1864– Battle of Gate Pa (Pukehinahina): 1,700 British troops suffer their worst defeat of the New Zealand Wars at the hands of 230 entrenched Maori warriors in Tauranga 1916– Irish republicans abandon the post office in Dublin and surrender unconditionally, marking the end of the Easter Rising 1945– US Army liberates 31,601 people from the Dachau Nazi concentration camp in Germany 1975– Vietnam War: US begins to evacuate its citizens from Saigon in Operation Frequent Wind in response to advancing North Vietnamese forces, bringing an end to US involvement in the war 1990– Wrecking cranes began tearing down the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate 1991– Cyclone strikes the Chittagong district in Bangladesh, killing 139,000 people and leaving 10 million homeless 1992 – Riots erupted in Los Angeles in response to the verdict of a highly publicized trial of four white Los Angeles police officers who were acquitted of charges related to the 1991 beating of Rodney King, a black motorist who had resisted arrest. 2011 - Prince William of Wales, second in line to the British throne, married his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Middleton, in a lavish ceremony broadcast to millions of television viewers.
Births & Deaths: 1899 – American composer, bandleader, and pianist Duke Ellington, among the most significant figures in jazz history, was born. 1954 – Comedian Jerry Seinfeld, whose television show Seinfeld was a landmark of American pop culture in the late 20th century, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
Music: 1967– “Respect” single released by Aretha Franklin (Billboard Song of the Year 1967)
Sport: 1922– 1st official International Weightlifting Federation Champ in Tallinn, Estonia 2015 – In what was thought to be the lowest-attended baseball game in MLB history, the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Chicago White Sox, 8–2, in an empty Camden Yards, Baltimore; the game was closed to fans because of rioting in the city following the death of an African American man who was fatally injured while in police custody.
