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On This Day: Riots erupt in LA over Rodney King beating

On April 29, 1992, rioting erupted in Los Angeles after a jury in Simi Valley, Calif., acquitted four White police officers of nearly all charges in the videotaped beating of Black motorist Rodney King.
By UPI Staff   |   Updated April 29, 2021 at 10:43 AM
Prince William and Kate Middleton wave as they leave Westminster Abbey in a carriage following their wedding ceremony in London on April 29, 2011. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI Workers present the stolen iron gate with the slogan "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work will set you free") after its return to the site in Dachau, Germany, Feburary 22, 2017. On April 29, 1945, troops of the U.S. Seventh Army liberated 32,000 prisoners at the Nazi regime's Dachau concentration camp. File Photo by Sebastian Widmann/EPA Visitors to the St. Louis Auto Show stop to look at the special version of the Oldsmobile Aurora at America's Center in St. Louis on January 31, 2003. On April 29, 2004, the final Oldsmobile was manufactured. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI NBA Player Jason Collins arrives on the red carpet at the 10th Annual GLSEN Respect Awards at Gotham Hall in New York City on May 20, 2013. On April 29, 2013, Collins became the first active player in a North American major sports league to announce he is gay. File Photo by John Angelillo Marine One, with U.S. President Bill Clinton on board, lands at Oxford University in England on June 8, 1994. On April 29, 1885, women were admitted for the first time to examinations at England's Oxford University. UPI File Photo

April 29 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1854, Ashmun Institute in Pennsylvania, the first college founded solely for African-American students, was officially chartered.

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In 1885, women were admitted for the first time to examinations at England's Oxford University.

In 1913, Gideon Sundbach of Hoboken, N.J., was issued a patent for the zipper.

In 1945, troops of the U.S. Seventh Army liberated 32,000 prisoners at the Nazi regime's Dachau concentration camp near Munich, Germany.

In 1970, the South Vietnamese, with help from the United States, began a major ground operation into Cambodia to destroy Communist North Vietnamese sanctuaries.

In 1975, helicopters evacuated hundreds of American civilians and military support personnel, and thousands of South Vietnamese from Saigon -- the day before the North Vietnamese overran the city.

File Photo by Hugh Van Es/UPI

In 1985, four gunmen escaped with nearly $8 million in cash stolen from the Wells Fargo armored car company in New York.

In 1986, an arson fire destroyed more than 1 million books in the Los Angeles Central Library.

In 1991, a typhoon struck Bangladesh, killing some 135,000 people.

In 1992, rioting erupted in Los Angeles after a jury in Simi Valley, Calif., acquitted four White police officers of nearly all charges in the videotaped beating of Black motorist Rodney King. Fifty-three people died in three days of protest and violence.

In 2004, the final Oldsmobile was manufactured. The brand had been in existence for 107 years.

In 2010, U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced a policy change that allows women to serve on submarines.

File Photo by Adam K. Thomas/U.S. Navy

In 2011, British Prince William, grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, and college sweetheart Kate Middleton, the new duchess of Cambridge, exchanged wedding rings and vows in a regal ceremony at Westminster Abbey before an estimated worldwide audience of 2 billion people.

In 2013, Jason Collins of the NBA became the first active player in a North American major sports league to announce he is gay.

In 2020, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds welcomed their first child together.

File Photo by Will Oliver/EPA-EFE