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This day marked the liberation of South Vietnam by the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN), the armed forced of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam when they captured Saigon, the capital of the Republic of Vietnam. This event also marked the end of the second Indochine War and the reunification of the country under Communist rule.

PAVN forces began their attack on April 29 with heavy artillery bombardment and by the afternoon of the next day, the North Vietnamese soldiers occupied the most important parts of the city and raised their flag over the Independence Palace. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City.

Just before the city fell, almost all American and civilian personnel in Saigon were evacuated as well as tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians. This evacuation concluded with Operation Frequent Wind, the largest helicopter evacuation in history. As early as the end of March, some Americans left Saigon and all flights were full. Throughout April, the speed of the evacuation picked up. The situation became more desperate when on April 29, Tan Son Nhut Airport was hit by rockets and heavy artillery that took out a C-130 plane. The continued shelling and debris on the runways made them unfit for use and the decision was made to use helicopters for the emergency evacuation. At 3:30 pm, the Saigon government was dissolved at all levels effectively ending the Vietnam War.

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The Siege of Orleans (1428-29) was a turning point in the Hundred Years’ War between France and England. It was Joan of Arc’s first major military victory and the first significant French success after being soundly defeated at Agincourt in 1415. Orleans had both symbolic and strategic importance to both sides. For half a year the English had the advantage but the siege failed nine days after Joan arrived.

The siege began on October 12, 1428. English forces already controlled several towns in the area with Orleans being the last major stronghold. For years, French prophecies foretold of an armed maid who would rescue France and so when word reached the citizens of Orleans of Joan of Arc’s journey, they were excited and relieved. In March, she joined the relief army which was being assembled. She sent the English forces two letters telling them to quit the siege, surrender all the cities and territories they occupied, and return to England.

Joan of Arc arrived with the relief army on the outskirts of Orleans on April 28, 1429 and entered the city the next day. For weeks Joan had heated arguments with those in charge of the city’s defenses over the best battle tactics. She pushed for an aggressive attack on the English forces and led an army (against orders not to do so) to Tourelles taking it back in several days of intense fighting in which she was wounded. Inspired by this victory, the French army went on the offensive eventually reaching English-held Paris.

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Character actor Bruno Kirby was born in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City. His father Bruce was an actor and his brother John was an acting coach. Kirby’s first film was the obscure The Young Graduates (1971) and he also appeared on several television shows until his profile in Hollywood was given a boost with a role in The Godfather Part II (1974).

Kirby became best known for his scene stealing parts in This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), and The Freshman (1990). He excelled at playing working class characters with a distinctive voice that was pure New York. However, Kirby was able to show a dramatic side as evident in solid performance in Donnie Brasco (1997).

The films he best and most fondly remembered for are the two he did with Billy Crystal – When Harry Met Sally… (1989) and City Slickers (1991), playing the comedian’s best friend. He also developed a long-running working relationship with director Barry Levinson, appearing in two of his films and a memorable guest spot on his TV show Homicide: Life on the Streets.

Kirby died on August 14, 2006 at age 57 in Los Angeles from complications related to leukemia.

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The Canadian Corporation for the 1967 World Exhibition opened on April 27, 1967 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and closed on October 29 of that same year. It was considered the most successful World’s Fair of the 20th century with over 50 million visitors, 62 nations participating, and a record for single-day attendance for a world’s fair with 569,000 visitors on its third day.

It was originally to be held in Moscow to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution but the Soviet Union had to cancel and Canada was awarded it in the fall of 1962. It went on to become the country’s main celebration during its centennial year. The official opening ceremonies were held on Thursday afternoon in an invitation-only event held at the Place des Nations. Governor General of Canada Roland Michener proclaimed the fair open after the Expo flame was ignited by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. Over 1,000 reporters covered the event which was broadcast, via satellite, to a worldwide audience of over 700 million viewers and listeners. Expo 67 was officially opened to the public the next day with an estimated crowd of between 310,000 and 335,000 visitors.

The Expo featured 90 pavilions representing Man and His World themes with the Soviet Union’s being the most popular, attracting 13 million visitors. The Ed Sullivan Show was broadcast live twice from the Expo and notable people such as Queen Elizabeth II, Robert F. Kennedy, Bing Crosby, and Marlene Dietrich visited during the fair’s run.

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An aerial attack by planes of the German Luftwaffe “Condor Legion” and the Italian Fascist Aviazione Legionaria occurred on April 26, 1937 in Basque town of Guernica causing massive destruction and civilian deaths during the Spanish Civil War. The city was (and is) of great importance to the Basque people which made the air raid even more infamous.

At the time, Guernica represented a key strategic point for the Republican Government’s forces as it stood between the Basque Nationalists and the capture of Bilbao, a key location to concluding the war in the north of Spain. The first wave arrived over Guernica around 4:30 pm with a bomber dropping approximately twelve 50 kg bombs. The second wave, consisting of 36 light explosive bombs was meant to block retreat.

Three more waves occurred and finally ended around 6 pm. Afterwards, three bomber squadrons attacked along with biplane strafing the roads leading out of town. The attacks destroyed three quarters of the city’s buildings. Government figures released at the time claimed that 1,654 people were killed and 889 wounded but these figures remain disputed. The incident was immortalized in Pablo Picasso’s famous painting Guernica, a world-famous symbol of civilian suffering as a result of conflict and a symbol of Basque nationalism.

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Born in East Harlem, Manhattan, Al Pacino is the son of Italian American parents who divorced when he was two-years-old. He attended a performing arts school as a child and would go on to study under legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg in 1966. In the late ‘60s, Pacino struggled financially until he won an Obie award for his work in The Indian Wants the Bronx and a Tony for Does the Tiger Wear a Necktie?

His performance as a heroin addict in The Panic in Needle Park (1971) brought Pacino to the attention of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola who would cast him in the mafia epic, The Godfather (1972) despite studio objections. Pacino became famous for this role and his next one, Serpico (1973) as an undercover cop fighting against corruption. He reprised the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974) and played a bank robber in Dog Day Afternoon (1975). Both films were critical and commercial hits. During the 1970s, he was nominated for the Academy Award four times.

In the 1980s, both Cruising (1980) and Author! Author! (1982) were unsuccessful with audiences and with critics but Pacino bounced back with Scarface (1983), an over-the-top remake of the original 1932 film directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone. It was a huge commercial success. Revolution (1985) was such a critical and commercial failure that Pacino did not make another film for four years – instead, he returned to the theater.

After making a comeback with Sea of Love (1989), Pacino reprised his most famous role in The Godfather Part III (1990) and finally won an Academy Award for Scent of a Woman (1992). During this decade he made two important films with Michael Mann – Heat (1995), where he appeared with fellow acting icon Robert De Niro onscreen together for the first time, and The Insider (1999), playing 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman in a powerful drama about big tobacco. In 2003, he appeared in the critically-acclaimed HBO miniseries Angels in America and won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance.

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The 57-story Woolworth Building is among the oldest and most famous skyscrapers in New York City. It is also one of the 50 tallest buildings in the United States and was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1966. It was constructed in a neo-Gothic style by architect Cass Gilbert who was commissioned by Frank Woolworth in 1910 to design a new corporate headquarters on Broadway opposite City Hall.

The Woolworth Building opened on April 24, 1913 when President Woodrow Wilson pressed a button in the White House that illuminated both the interior and exterior of the building. Initially, its project cost was $5 million with the building becoming the length of the entire city block. The final cost for it was $13.5 million.

The building utilizes Gothic-style ornamentation with a detailed terra cotta shell. In the early 20^th century it was home to a number of Fordham University schools and today some of its tenants include Control Group Inc. and New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies’ Center for Global Affairs. It was also featured prominently in recent films Enchanted (2007) and Cloverfield (2008).

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The battle took place on Good Friday, April 23, 1014 between the forces of Brian Boru, ruler of most of Ireland, and Mael Morda mac Murchada, King of Leinster, and his forces. Murchada’s army was consisted mostly of his own men, Viking mercenaries from Dublin, and the Orkney Islands led by his cousin Sigtrygg. The outcome was the defeat of Murchada’s army and the death of Boru, killed by a group of Norsemen retreating from the battle that happened upon his tent. Ireland returned to its splintered state with several small kingdoms fighting amongst themselves.

Boru had ruled most of Ireland since 1002 but wanted to unite the island. However, by 1012, Murchada began to revolt against Boru’s rule. At the time of the battle, Boru had 7,400 men under his command while Murchada had 7,000 men in his army. The two sides engaged in battle early in the morning with the Vikings getting the early advantage thanks to their heavier weapons. However, once they were rendered leaderless, they began retreating to their ships. By the end of the day, both Viking flanks were failing and many men drowned while trying to swim back to their ships. 6,000 of Murchada’s men were killed while 4,000 of Boru’s men died.

The Irish were now leaderless and the Viking political force had been destroyed resulting in bloody fighting among kingdoms. Sigtrygg watched the battle from afar and went on to rule Dublin until his death in 1042.

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The 1964/1965 New York World’s Fair was the third major World’s Fair to be held in New York City. It was held in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens and opened on April 22, 1964 running for two six-month seasons before closing on October 17, 1965. This was the largest World’s Fair to be held in the United States, occupying nearly a square mile of land.

The Fair’s theme was “Peace Through Understanding” and was dedicated to “Man’s Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe.” This theme was symbolized by a twelve-story stainless-steel model of the Earth known as the Unisphere. American corporations dominated the exhibitions and the Fair was remembered as a showcase of mid-twentieth century corporate culture. Another prominent theme was the emerging Space Age and its promise of an optimistic future. The most popular exhibit proved to be Futurama by General Motors in which visitors were seated in moving armchairs that went by detailed scenery depicting what life might be like in the near-future.

Over 50 million people attended the Fair; lower than the expected 70 million people. The Fair lost money, was unable to repay its financial backers, and became mired in legal disputes until 1970. The Unisphere still exists and has become a symbol of Queens.

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The Battle of San Jacinto was fought on April 21, 1836 and was the decisive event of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texas army defeated the Mexican army, led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. The battle lasted 18 minutes with nine Texans killed and 26 wounded and 630 Mexicans killed and 208 wounded. The following day, Santa Anna, the President of Mexico, was captured and held as a prisoner of war. Shortly afterwards, he signed peace treaties that forced the withdrawal of the Mexican army from the region and this resulted in the Republic of Texas becoming an independent country. Sam Houston became a national celebrity and the saying, “Remember the Alamo!” was immortalized in American history.

The Texan army of 800 soldiers attacked suddenly and quickly against unprepared and mostly unarmed Mexican forces numbering 1,400. They panicked and fled, resulting in a quick collapse of Santa Anna’s defensive line. Some of the Mexican army mounted a counter attack but failed to push back the well armed Texas army.

The San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site commemorates the battle and a reenactment is held annually in the month of April.

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