Today in History - April 29
• Joan of Arc Defeats the English
• Pope Pius IX v. Italian National Movement
• U.S. Evacuates As Saigon Falls
-- Compiled by James Finlayson-Bald
Pope Pius IX was the last pope to rule as Sovereign of the Papal States, which were invaded by the Italian nationalist armies in 1870 and were subsumed by the Kingdom of Italy.
This 1870 German drawing shows Pius IX as Papst und König (Pope and King)
On this date:
1429--Joan of Arc enters Orleans, France, and wins victory over English.
1628--Sweden and Denmark sign defence treaty against Duke of Wallenstein, bringing Sweden into the Thirty Years War.
1706--Electors of Bavaria and Cologne are outlawed by Holy Roman Empire.
1781--French fleet under Admiral Suffren prevents Britain from seizing Cape of Good Hope.
1826--Liberal constitution is promulgated in Portugal for a hereditary monarchy.
1848--Pope Pius IX disassociates himself from Italian national movement.
1859--Austrian forces cross Sardinian frontier.
1918--Germany's main offensive on Western Front in World War I ends.
1928--British ultimatum forces Egypt to provide freedom of public meetings.
1946--Anglo-US Committee advises against partition of Palestine; Former Japanese leaders are indicted in Tokyo as war criminals.
1965--Australia decides to send troops to South Vietnam.
1975--US task force evacuates foreigners and Vietnamese by helicopter from Saigon.
Birthdays:
-- John Arbuthnot, English physicist-satirist (1667-1745)
-- Japan's Emperor Hirohito (1901-89)
-- Sir Malcolm Sargent, English conductor (1895-1967)
Quote:
"Money is a stupid measure of achievement but unfortunately it is the only universal measure we have."
-- C. P. Steinmetz, German-born electrical engineer, (1865-1923)
The above article was written by James Finlayson-Bald.
Edited and illustrations added by David Paul Wagner.
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