FlashForward - What Happened April 29?

April 29, 1429 – Joan of Arc liberated the besieged city of Orleans from English forces. Strangely enough, exactly 233 years later, on April 29, 1862, the city of New Orleans was captured by the Union army during the Civil War. Word to the wise: avoid places named "Orleans" on April 29, because chances are pretty good that an army will be attacking you.

April 29, 1861 – Speaking of the Civil War, on this date the Maryland legislature voted not to secede, changing the course of world history. Without this decision, the price of crab cakes in New York would be astronomical and it would be much more difficult for Red Sox fans to take over Camden Yards nine times a year.

April 29, 1916 – The Easter Rebellion, which pitted legions of egg-hurling chocolate bunnies against their bonnet wearing oppressors... wait, one second. Oh. We're being told this actually was an uprising by the Irish against British occupation. That's not deliciously creamy, it's fairly upsetting; but either way, the Rebellion ended on this date. And now we're hungry.

April 29, 1945 – Arguably the end of World War II. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun married. German forces in Italy unconditionally surrendered, while American troops liberated Dachau. (Side note: Hitler and Braun committed suicide the next day.)

April 29, 1951 – One of the most beloved figures in NASCAR history, Dale Earnhardt, was born. Over his 26 year career, "The Intimidator", as Earnhardt was awkwardly known, won 76 races and single-handedly jump-started the rear window decal business with his truck-friendly number 3 icon. Millions of peeing Calvin caricatures have been paying homage from the back of pick-ups ever since.

April 29, 1954 – Comedian Jerry Seinfeld was born in Brooklyn. Considering his famous brand of humor, it would have been pretty funny if we had just said that on this date "nothing happened". But only Jerry would get the joke. On the plus side, he would then know how everyone else felt trying to watch his show. Oh, snap, we went there.

April 29, 1958 – In a rare blonde bombshell double billing, two actresses were born on this date: the always stunning Michelle Pfeiffer ('Dangerous Liaisons,' 'The Fabulous Baker Boys') and the equally gorgeous Eve Plumb (Jan on The 'Brady Bunch'). Eve, don't listen to those Marcia Firsters: we always thought you were the cutest one. Sometimes you have to speak truth to power.

April 29, 1968 – One of the seminal moments of the hippie movement took place when the acclaimed Broadway musical 'Hair' debuted. Perhaps looking to tap in to this legacy, Rent followed suit 28 years later, debuting on April 29, 1996. No official date has yet been announced for Spider-man: the Musical, but we have our fingers crossed.

April 29, 1980 – Legendary film and television director Alfred Hitchcock died of kidney failure in his L. A. home at the age of 80. Reputedly his last words were, "this dying stuff is for the birds." Okay, trust us: six months from now, you're going to find that joke funny.

April 29, 1992 – Four Los Angeles police officers accused of brutality in the beating of motorist Rodney King were acquitted of all charges, touching off a firestorm of violence, looting and arson that left 54 people dead and caused over a billion dollars in property damage.

April 29, 2010 - To be determined.

See FlashForward stars John Cho, Sonya Walger, Joseph Fiennes and Courtney B. Vance interview each other on AOL Television's Outside the Box >>>

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