This Day in History is DUE’s daily dose of trivia for all the history buffs out there. So sit back and take a ride of all the fascinating things that happened on 29th April!
People are trapped in history and history is trapped in people, and hence, every day has been a significant one in the foibles of history. Now, let’s take a tour of “This Day in History – 29th April”.
1864: British suffer their worst defeat in Battle of Gate Pā
1,700 British troops suffered their worst defeat of the New Zealand Wars at the hands of 230 entrenched Maori warriors. The Tauranga Campaign was a six-month-long armed conflict in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty in early 1864. It was part of the New Zealand wars that were fought over issues of land ownership and sovereignty. British forces suffered a humiliating defeat in the Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina) with 31 killed and 80 wounded despite vastly outnumbering their Māori foe.
1982: International Dance Day
The Dance Committee of International Theatre Institute (ITI) founded the International Dance Day. The date was selected to honour the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, who is known as the creator of modern ballet. The International Dance Day aims to celebrate dance, revel in the universality of this art form, and cross all political, cultural and ethnic barriers. Every year, the International Dance Committee and the Executive Council of ITI select an outstanding choreographer or dancer to circulate a message throughout the world. According to media portal dashamlav.com, the International Dance Day 2021 theme is: ‘Purpose of dance’.
2004 World War II monument opens in Washington DC
The World War II Memorial opened in Washington DC to thousands of visitors, providing overdue recognition for the 16 million who served in the war. The memorial is located at the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. An Announcement Stone proclaims that the memorial honours those “Americans who took up the struggle during the Second World War and made the sacrifices to perpetuate the gift our forefathers entrusted to us: A nation conceived in liberty and justice.”
2011: Britain’s Prince William weds Kate Middleton
Great Britain’s Prince William married his longtime girlfriend Catherine Elizabeth “Kate” Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London. Some 1,900 guests attended the ceremony, while another 1 million spectators lined the streets of London and an estimated 2 billion people around the world watched on television. On July 22, 2013, the duchess gave birth to the couple’s first child, George, who is third in line to the throne. She gave birth to Princess Charlotte on May 2, 2015, and Prince Louis on April 23, 2018.
2020: Bollywood gem Irrfan passes away
Diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour in March 2018, Irrfan Khan passed away in Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai while being treated for a colon infection. Irrfan’s career spanned over 30 years, including films like Life of Pi, The Lunchbox, Haider and Hindi Medium. His accolades include a National Film Award, an Asian Film Award, six Filmfare Awards and the Padma Shri. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian described him as “a distinguished and charismatic star in Hindi and English-language movies whose hardworking career was an enormously valuable bridge between South Asian and Hollywood cinema”.
