The Land Rover, a British-made all-terrain vehicle that will soon
earn a reputation for its use in exotic locales, debuted at an auto
show in Amsterdam on April 30, 1948.

The first Land Rover, known as the Series 1, was the brainchild
of Maurice Wilks, the head designer for the British car company
Rover, of which his brother Spencer Wilks was the managing
director.

Maurice Fernand Cary Wilks
(19 August 1904 – 8 September 1963)

On April 30, 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters
in Berlin, Adolf Hitler committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide
capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces, ending Hitler’s
dreams of a “1,000-year” Reich. He was 56. 

July 1947 photo of the rear entrance to the Führerbunker in the
garden of the Reich Chancellery.

On April 29, 2004, the last Oldsmobile came off the assembly
line at the Lansing Car Assembly plant in Michigan, signaling
the end of the 106-year-old automotive brand, America’s oldest.

Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950)

On April 29, 2004, the World War II Memorial opened in
Washington, D.C. to thousands of visitors, providing
overdue recognition for the 16 million U.S. men and
women who served in the war. The memorial is located
on 7.4 acres on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at
the National Mall between the Washington Monument
and the Lincoln Memorial. The Capitol dome is seen to
the east, and Arlington Cemetery is just across the
Potomac River to the west.

 
SANDY KOZEL

Jerome Allen Seinfeld

Stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer is 70
today. Comedy Central named him the 12th-greatest
stand-up comedian of all time.