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Today is Wednesday, April 29, the 120th day of 2020. There are 246 days left in the year.

IN MINNESOTA  HISTORY

ON THIS DAY IN 1858, entertainer Daniel D. Emmett obtained a business license for his “Ethiopean Minstrels.” Emmett visited the state often in the 1850s while his brother Lafayette served as chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. It is believed that while in Minnesota he wrote an early version of “Dixie,” which was performed at Russell C. Munger’s music store in St. Paul.

Today’s Birthdays: 

Actor Keith Baxter is 87. Conductor Zubin Mehta is 84. Pop singer Bob Miranda (The Happenings) is 78. Country singer Duane Allen (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 77. Singer Tommy James is 73. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., is 70. Movie director Phillip Noyce is 70. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 66. Actor Leslie Jordan is 65. Actress Kate Mulgrew is 65. Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is 63. Actress Michelle Pfeiffer is 62. Actress Eve Plumb is 62. Rock musician Phil King is 60. Country singer Stephanie Bentley is 57. Actor Vincent Ventresca is 54. Singer Carnie Wilson (Wilson Phillips) is 52. Actor Paul Adelstein is 51. Actress Uma Thurman is 50. International Tennis Hall of Famer Andre Agassi is 50. Rapper Master P is 50. Actor Darby Stanchfield is 49. Country singer James Bonamy is 48. Gospel/rhythm-and-blues singer Erica Campbell (Mary Mary) is 48. Rock musician Mike Hogan (The Cranberries) is 47. Actor Tyler Labine is 42. Actress Megan Boone is 37. Actress-model Taylor Cole is 36. Actor Zane Carney is 35. Pop singer Amy Heidemann (Karmin) is 34. NHL center Jonathan Toews is 32. Pop singer Foxes is 31. Actress Grace Kaufman is 18.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 29, 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Dachau concentration camp. Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun inside his “Fuhrerbunker” and designated Adm. Karl Doenitz president.

Today in History:

In 1798, Joseph Haydn’s oratorio “The Creation” was rehearsed in Vienna, Austria, before an invited audience.

In 1916, the Easter Rising in Dublin collapsed as Irish nationalists surrendered to British authorities.

In 1946, 28 former Japanese officials went on trial in Tokyo as war criminals; seven ended up being sentenced to death.

In 1957, the SM-1, the first military nuclear power plant, was dedicated at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

In 1967, Aretha Franklin’s cover of Otis Redding’s “Respect” was released as a single by Atlantic Records.

In 1961, “ABC’s Wide World of Sports” premiered, with Jim McKay as host.

In 1991, a cyclone began striking the South Asian country of Bangladesh; it ended up killing more than 138,000 people, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In 1992, a jury in Simi Valley, California, acquitted four Los Angeles police officers of almost all state charges in the videotaped beating of motorist Rodney King; the verdicts were followed by rioting in Los Angeles resulting in 55 deaths.

In 1997, Staff Sgt. Delmar Simpson, a drill instructor at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, was convicted of raping six female trainees (he was sentenced to 25 years in prison and dishonorably discharged). A worldwide treaty to ban chemical weapons went into effect.

In 2000, Tens of thousands of angry Cuban-Americans marched peacefully through Miami’s Little Havana, protesting the raid in which armed federal agents yanked 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez from the home of relatives.

In 2008, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama denounced his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, for what he termed “divisive and destructive” remarks on race.

In 2018, T-Mobile and Sprint reached a $26.5 billion merger agreement that would reduce the U.S. wireless industry to three major players. (The deal would be approved by federal regulators in July 2019).

Ten years ago: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency in the face of the worsening oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Navy officially ended a ban on women serving on submarines, saying the first women would be reporting for duty by 2012. A knife-wielding man slashed 29 children and three teachers at a school in eastern China (the assailant was executed a month later). The NCAA’s Board of Directors approved a 68-team format for the men’s basketball tournament beginning the next season.

Five years ago: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered condolences for Americans killed in World War II in the first address by a Japanese leader to a joint meeting of Congress, but stopped short of apologizing for wartime atrocities. In what was believed to be the first major league game played without fans in attendance, Chris Davis hit a three-run homer in a six-run first inning and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 8-2. (The gates at Camden Yards were locked because of concern for fan safety following recent rioting in Baltimore.) Calvin Peete, 71, who became the most successful black player on the PGA Tour before the arrival of Tiger Woods, died in Atlanta.

One year ago: President Donald Trump, his family and the Trump Organization filed a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank and Capital One in an attempt to block congressional subpoenas seeking their banking and financial records. At his first public rally as a 2020 presidential candidate, Joe Biden accused President Donald Trump of abusing the powers of his office and ignoring everyone but his political base. John Singleton, director of the Oscar-nominated “Boyz N the Hood,” died in Los Angeles at the age of 51; he had suffered a major stroke eleven days prior.