Today October 29th in history click read more below to view detail events, deaths, births, Holidays and observances, and video clips in hisotry. Please comments, last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
437 – Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II, Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople unifying the two branches of the House of Theodosius
969 – Byzantine troops occupy Antioch Syria
1268 – Conradin, the last legitimate male heir of the Hohenstaufen dynasty of Kings of Germany and Holy Roman Emperors, is executed along with his companion Frederick I, Margrave of Baden by Charles I of Sicily, a political rival and ally to the hostile Roman Catholic church.
1390 – First trial for witchcraft in Paris.
1422 – Charles VII of France becomes king in succession to his father Charles VI of France
1467 – Battle of Brusthem: Charles the Bold defeats Liege
1618 – English adventurer, writer, and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh is beheaded for allegedly conspiring against James I of England.
1658 – Action of 29 October 1658 (Naval battle)
1665 – Battle of Ambuila, where Portuguese forces defeated the forces of the Kingdom of Kongo and decapitated king Antonio I of Kongo, also called Nvita a Nkanga.
1675 – Leibniz makes the first use of the long s (?) as a symbol of the integral in calculus.
1787 – Mozart s opera Don Giovanni receives its first performance in Prague.
1792 – Mount Hood (Oregon) is named after the British naval officer Alexander Arthur Hood by Lt. William E. Broughton who spotted the mountain near the mouth of the Willamette River.
1859 – Spain declares war on Morocco.
1863 – Sixteen countries meeting in Geneva agree to form the International Red Cross.
1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Wauhatchie – forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant ward off a Confederate attack led by General James Longstreet. Union forces thus open a supply line into Chattanooga, Tennessee.
1881 – Judge (U.S. magazine) is first published.
1886 – The first ticker-tape parade takes place in New York City when office workers spontaneously throw ticker tape into the streets as the Statue of Liberty is dedicated.
1901 – In Amherst, Massachusetts nurse Jane Toppan is arrested for murdering the Davis family of Boston with an overdose of morphine.
1901 – Capital punishment: Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of US President William McKinley, is executed by electrocution.
1913 – Floods in El Salvador kill thousands.
1918 – The German High Seas Fleet is incapacitated when sailors mutiny on the night of the 29th-30th, an action which would trigger the German revolution.
1921 – The Link River Dam, a part of the Klamath Reclamation Project, is completed.
1921 – Second trial of Sacco and Vanzetti in USA.
1921 – The Harvard University football team loses to Centre College, ending a 25 game winning streak. This is considered one of the biggest upsets in college football.
1922 – The King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, appoints Benito Mussolini as Prime Minister.
1923 – Turkey becomes a republic following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.
1929 – The New York Stock Exchange crashes in what will be called the Crash of 29 or Black Tuesday, ending the Great Bull Market of the 1920s and beginning the Great Depression.
1941 – Holocaust: In the Kaunas Ghetto over 10,000 Jews are shot by German occupiers at the Ninth Fort, a massacre known as the Great Action.
1942 – Holocaust: In the United Kingdom, leading clergymen and political figures hold a public meeting to register outrage over Nazi Germany s persecution of Jews.
1944 – Breda in the Netherlands is liberated by 1st Polish Armoured Division.
1945 – Getulio Vargas, president of Brazil, resigns.
1948 – Safsaf massacre
1955 – The Soviet battleship Novorossiisk strikes a World War II mine in the harbor at Sevastopol.
1956 – Suez Crisis begins: Israeli forces invade the Sinai Peninsula and push Egyptian forces back toward the Suez Canal.
1956 – Tangier Protocol is signed: The international city Tangier is reintegrated into Morocco.
1957 – Israel s prime minister David Ben Gurion and five of his ministers are injured when a hand grenade is tossed into Israel s parliament, the Knesset.
1960 – In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (who later takes the name Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight.
1961 – Syria exits from the United Arab Republic.
1964 – Tanganyika and Zanzibar unite to form the Republic of Tanzania.
1964 – A collection of irreplaceable gems, including the 565 carat (113 g) Star of India, is stolen by a group of thieves (among them is Murph the surf) from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
1967 – London criminal Jack McVitie is murdered by the Kray twins, leading to their eventual imprisonment and downfall.
1967 – Montreal s World Fair, Expo 67, closes with over 50 million visitors.
1969 – The first-ever computer-to-computer link is established on ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet.
1971 – Vietnam War: Vietnamization – The total number of American troops still in Vietnam drops to a record low of 196,700 (the lowest level since January 1966).
1980 – Demonstration flight of a secretly modified C-130 for an Iran hostage crisis rescue attempt ends in crash landing at Eglin Air Force Base s Duke Field, Florida leading to cancellation of Operation Credible Sport.
1983 – Over 500,000 people demonstrate against cruise missiles in The Hague, The Netherlands.
1985 – Major General Samuel K. Doe is announced the winner of the first multi-party election in Liberia.
1986 – British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opens the last stretch of the M25 motorway.
1988 – Pakistan s General Rahimuddin Khan resigns from his post as Governor of Sindh, following the efforts by President of Pakistan Ghulam Ishaq Khan to limit the powers Rahimuddin had accumulated.
1991 – The American Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid.
1994 – Francisco Martin Duran fires over two dozen shots at the White House (Duran was later convicted of trying to kill US President Bill Clinton).
1998 – Apartheid: In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission presents its report, which condemns both sides for committing atrocities.
1998 – Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off on STS-95 with 77-year old John Glenn on board, making him the oldest person to go into space.
1998 – ATSC HDTV broadcasting in the United States is inaugurated with the launch of STS-95 space shuttle mission.
1998 – While en route from Adana to Ankara, a Turkish Airlines flight with a crew of 6 and 33 passengers is hijacked by a Kurdish militant who orders the pilot to fly to Switzerland. The plane instead lands in Ankara after the pilot tricked the hijacker into thinking that he was landing in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia to refuel.
1998 – Hurricane Mitch, the second deadliest Atlantic hurricane in history, makes landfall in Honduras.
1998 – The Gothenburg nightclub fire in Sweden claims 63 lives and injures 200.
1999 – A large cyclone devastates Orissa, India.
2002 – Ho Chi Minh City ITC Inferno, a fire destroys a luxurious department store where 1500 people shopping. Over 60 people died and over 100 are missing. It is the deadliest disaster in Vietnam during peacetime.
2004 – The Arabic news network Al Jazeera broadcasts an excerpt from a video of Osama bin Laden in which the terrorist leader first admits direct responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks and references the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
2004 – In Rome, European heads of state sign the Treaty and Final Act establishing the first European Constitution.
2005 – 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings kill more than 60.
2007 – Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is elected the first woman President of Argentina.
2008 – Delta Air Lines merges with Northwest Airlines. Creating the world s largest airline, and reducing the number of US legacy carriers to 5.
Births
1017 – Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1056)
1656 (O.S.) – Edmond Halley, English astronomer (d. 1742)
1682 – Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French historian (d. 1761)
1690 – Martin Folkes, English antiquarian (d. 1754)
1704 – John Byng, British admiral (d. 1757)
1740 – James Boswell, Scottish biographer of Samuel Johnson (d. 1795)
1815 – Daniel Emmett, American composer (d. 1904)
1815 – Ludovít Štúr, Slovak politician, author of Slovak language (d. 1856)
1822 – Mieczyslaw Halka Ledóchowski, Polish Catholic Cardinal (d. 1902)
1827 – Marcellin Berthelot, French chemist (d. 1907)
1855 – Paul Bruchési, archbishop of Montreal (d. 1939)
1861 – Andrei Ryabushkin, Russian painter (d. 1904)
1875 – Marie of Edinburgh, queen of Romania (d. 1938)
1877 – Wilfred Rhodes, English cricketer (d. 1973)
1877 – Narcisa de Leon, Filipino film mogul (d. 1966)
1879 – Alva B. Adams, American politician (d. 1941)
1879 – Franz von Papen, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1969)
1880 – Abram Ioffe, Soviet physicist (d. 1960)
1882 – Jean Giraudoux, French writer (d. 1944)
1891 – Fanny Brice, American singer (d. 1951)
1897 – Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda (d. 1945)
1899 – Akim Tamiroff, Russian actor (d. 1972)
1906 – Fredric Brown, American science fiction and mystery writer (d. 1972)
1907 – Edwige Feuillère, French film actress (d. 1998)
1910 – Alfred Ayer, British philosopher (d. 1989)
1915 – William Berenberg, American physician (d. 2005)
1917 – Eddie Constantine, American actor/singer (d. 1993)
1918 – Bernard Gordon, American writer and producer (d. 2007)
1920 – Baruj Benacerraf, Venezuelan-born immunologist, Nobel laureate
1920 – Catholicos Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I, Indian Catholic
1921 – Bill Mauldin, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
1922 – Neal Hefti, American jazz musician (d. 2008)
1923 – Carl Djerassi, Austrian chemist
1923 – Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs, Dutch athlete
1925 – Dominick Dunne, American author
1925 – Robert Hardy, English actor
1926 – Jon Vickers, Canadian tenor
1930 – Puck Brouwer, Dutch athlete (d. 2006)
1930 – Niki de Saint Phalle, French sculptor (d. 2002)
1930 – Natalie Sleeth, American composer (d. 1992)
1930 – Omara Portuondo, Cuban singer
1931 – Franco Interlenghi, Italian actor
1935 – Takahata Isao, Japanese animated film director
1936 – Akiko Kojima, Japanese model
1938 – Ralph Bakshi, Israeli cartoonist
1938 – Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia
1940 – Frida Boccara, French singer (d. 1996)
1940 – Connie Mack, U.S. Senator from Florida
1940 – José Ulises Macías Salcedo, Catholic bishop
1942 – Bob Ross, American artist and television host (d. 1995)
1943 – Don Simpson, American film producer (d. 1996)
1944 – Denny Laine, English musician (Moody Blues, Ginger Baker s Air Force, Wings)
1944 – Otto Wiesheu, German minister
1944 – Claude Brochu, Major League Baseball executive (Montreal Expos)
1946 – Peter Green, English guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
1946 – Lynn Carey, American actress and singer (Mama Lion)
1947 – Richard Dreyfuss, American actor
1947 – Helen Coonan, Australian politician
1948 – Kate Jackson, American actress
1949 – James Williamson, American guitarist
1949 – Paul Orndorff, American professional wrestler
1950 – Abdullah Gul, Turkish President
1951 – Dirk Kempthorne, American politician
1953 – Denis Potvin, Canadian ice hockey player
1955 – Kevin DuBrow, American singer (Quiet Riot) (d. 2007)
1955 – Roger O Donnell, English musician (The Cure)
1955 – Boy Abunda, Filipino journalist and television personality
1956 – Wilfredo Gómez, Puerto Rican boxer
1957 – Dan Castellaneta, American voice actor, Best known as the voice of Homer Simpson
1958 – David Remnick, American writer and editor of The New Yorker
1958 – Blažej Baláž, Slovak painter
1959 – Mike Gartner, Canadian ice hockey player
1960 – Finola Hughes, British actress
1961 – Randy Jackson, American musician
1961 – Joel Otto, National Hockey League player
1962 – Einar Örn Benediktsson, Icelandic musician (The Sugarcubes)
1964 – Yasmin Le Bon, British model
1964 – Eddie McGuire, Australian television presenter
1967 – Joely Fisher, American actress
1967 – Beth Chapman, Star of Dog the Bounty Hunter
1967 – Rufus Sewell, English actor
1968 – Johann Olav Koss, Norwegian speed skater
1968 – Tsunku, Japanese music producer
1969 – Giorgos Donis, Greek footballer
1969 – Eleni Menegaki, Greek TV presenter
1970 – Edwin van der Sar, Dutch footballer
1970 – Phillip Cocu, Dutch footballer
1971 – Winona Ryder, American actress
1971 – Daniel J. Bernstein, American professor
1971 – Matthew Hayden, Australian cricketer
1972 – Takafumi Horie, Japanese entrepreneur
1972 – Gabrielle Union, American actress
1972 – Tracee Ellis Ross, American actress
1973 – Robert Pirès, French footballer
1973 – Éric Messier, Canadian ice hockey player
1974 – Michael Vaughan, English cricketer
1975 – Kelly Lin, Chinese actress
1976 – Stephen Craigan, Northern Irish footballer
1976 – Milena Govich, American actress
1976 – Mohsen Emadi, Iranian poet
1977 – Brendan Fehr, Canadian actor
1978 – Travis Henry, American football player
1979 – Ignasi Giménez Renom, Catalan politician
1980 – Ben Foster, American actor
1980 – B.J. Sams, American football player
1981 – Amanda Beard, American swimmer
1981 – Jonathan Brown, Australian Australian rules footballer
1981 – Reema Sen, Indian actress
1982 – Chelan Simmons, Canadian actress
1982 – Ariel Lin, Taiwanese actress and singer
1983 – Maurice Clarett, American football player
1983 – Dana Eveland, American baseball player
1983 – Richard Brancatisano, Australian actor
1983 – Jason Tahincioglu, Turkish racing driver
1984 – Eric Staal, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 – Severino Jefferson, Brazilian footballer
1987 – Makoto Ogawa, Japanese singer
1990 – Carlson Young, American actress
Deaths
1038 – Aethelnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury
1138 – Boleslaw III Krzywousty, Duke of Poland (b. 1086)
1268 – Conradin, Duke of Swabia (executed) (b. 1252)
1268 – Frederick I, Margrave of Baden (beheaded) (b. 1249)
1590 – Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert, Dutch politician (b. 1522)
1618 – Sir Walter Raleigh, English explorer (executed) (b. 1554)
1650 – David Calderwood, Scottish historian (b. 1575)
1666 – Edmund Calamy the Elder, English Presbyterian leader (b. 1600)
1666 – James Shirley, English dramatist (b. 1596)
1783 – Jean le Rond d Alembert, French mathematician (b. 1717)
1829 – Maria Anna Mozart, Austrian musician (b. 1751)
1877 – Nathan Bedford Forrest, American Confederate general (b. 1821)
1901 – Leon Czolgosz, American assassin of U.S. President William McKinley (b. 1873)
1905 – Etienne Desmarteau, Canadian athlete (b. 1873)
1911 – Joseph Pulitzer, Hungarian-born newspaper publisher (b. 1847)
1919 – A. B. Simpson, Canadian preacher (b. 1843)
1932 – Joseph Babinski, Polish-French neurologist (b. 1857)
1933 – Albert Calmette, French physician (b. 1863)
1933 – Paul Painlevé, French mathematician and politician (b. 1853)
1939 – Dwight B. Waldo, American educator and historian (b. 1864)
1941 – Harvey Hendrick, American baseball player (b. 1897)
1949 – G. I. Gurdjieff, Armenian mystic (b. 1872)
1950 – King Gustaf V of Sweden (b. 1858)
1953 – William Kapell, American pianist (b. 1922)
1957 – Louis B. Mayer, American film producer (b. 1885)
1957 – Rosemarie Nitribitt, German call girl (b. 1933)
1958 – Zoe Akins, American playwright (b. 1886)
1963 – Adolphe Menjou, American actor (b. 1890)
1971 – Duane Allman, American musician (b. 1946)
1971 – Arne Tiselius, Swedish chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
1981 – Georges Brassens, French singer (b. 1921)
1986 – Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1913)
1987 – Woody Herman, American musician (b. 1913)
1995 – Terry Southern, American screenwriter (b. 1924)
1997 – Anton LaVey, American founder of the Church of Satan (b. 1930)
1998 – Paul Misraki, French songwriter (b. 1908)
1999 – Michel Regnier (Greg), Belgian comic-book writer and artist (Achille Talon) (b. 1931)
2002 – Glenn McQueen, American animator (b. 1960)
2003 – Hal Clement, American writer (b. 1922)
2003 – Franco Corelli, tenor (b. 1921)
2004 – Edward Oliver LeBlanc, Dominican politician (b. 1923)
2004 – Vaughn Meader, American comedian (b. 1936)
2004 – Peter Twinn, English mathematician (b. 1916)
2006 – Mohammadu Maccido, 18th Sultan of Sokoto (b. 1928)
2008 – Mike Baker, American singer Shadow Gallery (b. 1963)
Holidays and observances
R.C. Saints – October 29th is the feast day of the following Roman Catholic Saints:
Saint Narcissus of Jerusalem
St. Abraham of Rostov
Douai Martyrs
St. Maximillian
St. Gaetano Errico
Anglican Church – James Hannington
Turkey – Republic Day (1923)
Coronation Day of Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia
