July 29Birthdays & History

On this day: July 29 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 587 BCThe Neo-Babylonian Empire sacks Jerusalem and destroys the First Temple.Middle East
2. 238The Praetorian guard revolts against emperors Balbinus and Pupienus and arrests them.Europe
3. 615Pakal ascends the throne of Palenque at the age of 12.Latin America
4. 904Sack of Thessalonica: Saracen raiders under Leo of Tripoli sack Thessaloniki, the Byzantine Empire's second-largest city, after a short siege, and plunder it for a week.AfricaEurope
5. 923Battle of Firenzuola: Lombard forces under King Rudolph II and Adalbert I, margrave of Ivrea, defeat the dethroned Emperor Berengar I of Italy at Firenzuola (Tuscany).Europe
6. 1014Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, and his subsequent treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of a heart attack less than three months later, on October 6.Europe
7. 1018Count Dirk III defeats an army sent by Emperor Henry II in the Battle of Vlaardingen.Europe
8. 1030Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars: Battle of Stiklestad: King Olaf II fights and dies trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes.Europe
9. 1148The Siege of Damascus ends in a decisive crusader defeat and leads to the disintegration of the Second Crusade.Middle East
10. 1565The widowed Mary, Queen of Scots marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany, at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, Scotland, in a Catholic ceremony.Europe
11. 1567The infant James VI is crowned King of Scotland at Stirling.Europe
12. 1588Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: English naval forces under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.Europe
13. 1602Elizabeth I visits Harefield Place at Hillingdon and the Harefield Entertainment is performed.Europe
14. 1693War of the Grand Alliance: Battle of Landen: France wins a victory over Allied forces in the Netherlands.Europe
15. 1775Founding of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps: General George Washington appoints William Tudor as Judge Advocate of the Continental Army.North America
16. 1818French physicist Augustin Fresnel submits his prizewinning "Memoir on the Diffraction of Light", precisely accounting for the limited extent to which light spreads into shadows, and thereby demolishing the oldest objection to the wave theory of light.Europe
17. 1832An Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pascha defeats a larger Ottoman army in the battle of Belen Pass.Middle East
18. 1836Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.Europe
19. 1848Great Famine of Ireland: Tipperary Revolt: In County Tipperary, Ireland, then in the United Kingdom, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police.Europe
20. 1851Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia.Europe
21. 1858United States and Japan sign the Harris Treaty.North AmericaAsia
22. 1862American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.North America
23. 1871The Connecticut Valley Railroad opens between Old Saybrook, Connecticut and Hartford, Connecticut in the United States.North America
24. 1899The First Hague Convention is signed.Europe
25. 1900In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci. His son, Victor Emmanuel III, 31 years old, succeeds to the throne.Europe
26. 1901Land lottery begins in Oklahoma.North America
27. 1907Sir Robert Baden-Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout camp in Poole Harbour on the south coast of England. The camp runs from August 1 to August 9 and is regarded as the foundation of the Scouting movement.Europe
28. 1910The two-day Slocum massacre commences in Texas, a race riot in which more than 100 African Americans are murdered.North AmericaAfrica
29. 1914The Cape Cod Canal opened.North America
30. 1920Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project.North America
31. 1921Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers' Party.Europe
32. 1932Great Depression: In Washington, D.C., troops disperse the last of the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans using arson, bayonets, sabers, tanks, tear gas, and vomit gas.North America
33. 1937Tongzhou mutiny: In Tongzhou, China, the East Hebei Army attacks Japanese troops and civilians.AsiaAsia
34. 1945The BBC Light Programme radio station is launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.Europe
35. 1947A gas explosion in Harrisonburg, Virginia kills 11 and injures 30.North America
36. 1948Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad: After a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, open in London.Europe
37. 1950Korean War: After four days, the No Gun Ri Massacre ends when the US Army 7th Cavalry Regiment is withdrawn.AsiaNorth America
38. 1957The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.World
39. 1957Tonight Starring Jack Paar premieres on NBC with Jack Paar beginning the modern day talk show.North America
40. 1958U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).North America
41. 1965Vietnam War: The first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay.Asia
42. 1967Vietnam War: Off the coast of North Vietnam the USS Forrestal catches on fire in the worst U.S. naval disaster since World War II, killing 134.AsiaNorth America
43. 1967During the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela is shaken by an earthquake, leaving approximately 500 dead.Latin America
44. 1972Two Avianca Douglas DC-3 airliners collide over Colombia, killing 38.Latin America
45. 1973Greeks vote to abolish the monarchy, beginning the first period of the Metapolitefsi.Europe
46. 1973Driver Roger Williamson is killed during the Dutch Grand Prix, after a suspected tire failure causes his car to pitch into the barriers at high speed.Europe
47. 1976In New York City, David Berkowitz (a.k.a. the "Son of Sam") kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks.North America
48. 1980Iran adopts a new "holy" flag after the Islamic Revolution.Middle East
49. 1981After impeachment on June 21, Abolhassan Banisadr flees with Massoud Rajavi to Paris, in an Iranian Air Force Boeing 707, piloted by Colonel Behzad Moezzi, to form the National Council of Resistance of Iran.EuropeMiddle East
50. 1981A worldwide television audience of around 750 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London.Europe
51. 1985Space Shuttle Challenger launches on STS-51-F. The shuttle ends up in a lower orbit than planned due to an engine failure during ascent.World
52. 1987British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel (Channel Tunnel).Europe
53. 1987Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and President of Sri Lanka J. R. Jayewardene sign the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord on ethnic issues.Asia
54. 1993The Supreme Court of Israel acquits alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free.Middle East
55. 1996The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act is struck down by a U.S. federal court as too broad.North America
56. 2005Astronomers announce their discovery of the dwarf planet Eris.World
57. 2010An overloaded passenger ferry capsizes on the Kasai River in Bandundu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in at least 80 deaths.Africa
58. 2013Two passenger trains collide in the Swiss municipality of Granges-près-Marnand near Lausanne injuring 25 people.Europe
59. 2015The first piece of suspected debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is discovered on Réunion Island.Asia
60. 2019The 2019 Altamira prison riot between rival Brazilian drug gangs leaves 62 dead.Latin America
61. 2021The International Space Station temporarily spins out of control, moving the ISS 45 degrees out of attitude, following an engine malfunction of Russian module Nauka.Europe
62. 2024Three children are stabbed to death and 10 other people injured at a dance studio in Southport, England. This incident, coupled with widespread online misinformation, leads to various racially motivated riots across the UK.Europe

Source: Wikipedia "July 29" / CC BY-SA 4.0