1. On April 29, 1865, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered the last major Confederate army to Union General William T. Sherman in Durham, North Carolina, effectively ending the Civil War in the state.

2. On April 29, 1913, Duke University was officially chartered as a private university in Durham, named after tobacco magnate James B. Duke who provided a generous endowment to establish the institution.

3. On April 29, 1942, the United States Army established Camp Mackall near Southern Pines, North Carolina, as a training center for paratroopers during World War II. Over 100,000 soldiers received training at the camp, which was named after Private John Thomas Mackall, a paratrooper killed in a training accident.

4. On April 29, 1986, the North Carolina Zoo officially opened in Asheboro, becoming the world's largest natural habitat zoo at the time. The 2,600-acre zoo has over 1,600 animals representing 52 species from around the world.

5. On April 29, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana, causing one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. The resulting oil spill reached North Carolina's coast several weeks later, affecting wildlife and the local economy.