Important Events From This day in History – 29 April

Today in History

• 1997 The Chemical Weapons Convention becomes effective

  Chemical weapons production, storage, and use are all prohibited under the arms control treaty. It has been ratified by 190 countries so far.

• 1992 Deadly riots erupt in Los Angeles

  53 people died in the riots, which started after the acquittal of the 4 Los Angeles police officers accused of the brutal beating of Rodney King.

• 1975 Hubert van Es takes the famous picture of a helicopter airlift from a Saigon rooftop

  The photograph depicts South Vietnamese civilians employed by the US attempting to flee Saigon on the day before the city’s fall. It came to represent America’s defeat in Vietnam.

• 1968 The musical Hair goes to Broadway

  It was highly controversial at the time as a portrait of the 1960s hippie counterculture and sexual revolution. During the Vietnam War, some of the musical’s songs became anthems of the peace movement.

• 1945 A day before committing suicide, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun marry

  On the same day, U.S. troops liberated the Dachau concentration camp near Munich.