29 March

Events

• 1461 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton - Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England.
• 1638 - Swedish colonists establish first settlement in Delaware, called New Sweden.
• 1799 - New York passes a law aimed at gradually abolishing slavery in the state
• 1806 - The Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becomes the first United States federal highway.
• 1847 - Mexican-American War: United States forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz after a siege.
• 1848 - An upstream ice jam stops almost all water flow over Niagara Falls.
• 1849 - The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab
• 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Appomattox Court House begins
• 1867 - Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act which establishes the Dominion of Canada starting on July 1.
• 1871 - The Royal Albert Hall is opened by Queen Victoria.
• 1879 - Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Kambula: British forces defeat 20,000 Zulus.
• 1882 - The Knights of Columbus are established.
• 1930 - Heinrich Brüning is appointed German Reichskanzler.
• 1941 - World War II: Battle of Cape Matapan - Off the Peloponnesus coast in the Mediterranean, British naval forces defeat those of Italy sinking five warships. Battle started on March 27.
• 1945 - World War II: Last day of V1 Flying Bomb attacks on England.
• 1951 - Red Scare: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.
• 1961 - The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, DC to vote in presidential elections.
• 1971 - My Lai massacre: Lieutenant William Calley is convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison.
• 1971 - A Los Angeles, California jury recommends the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers.
• 1973 - Vietnam War: The last United States soldiers leave South Vietnam.
• 1974 - NASA's Mariner 10 becomes the first spaceprobe flyby Mercury. It was launched on November 3, 1973.
• 1981 - First running of the London Marathon
• 1982 - The Canada Act 1982 (U.K.) receives the Royal Assent by Queen Elizabeth II in London setting the stage for the Queen of Canada to proclaim the Constitution Act, 1982 on April 17 at Parliament Hill in Canada (see 1867 above).
• 1982 - Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney release their single "Ebony and Ivory"
• 1993 - Catherine Callbeck becomes Premier of Prince Edward Island, becoming the first female Premier in Canada.
• 1993 - Edouard Balladur becomes Prime Minister of France
• 1999 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 10006.78 which is the first time the index closed above the 10,000 mark.
• 2001 - A chartered Gulfstream III jet crashes into a hillside during approach into Aspen, Colorado killing 18

Births

• 1790 - John Tyler, 10th President of the United States († 1862)
• 1826 - Wilhelm Liebknecht, journalist and politician († 1900)
• 1835 - Gustaf Zander, physician († 1920)
• 1867 - Cy Young, Baseball Hall of Famer († 1955)
• 1874 - Lou Hoover, First Lady of the United States († 1944)
• 1889 - Warner Baxter, actor († 1951)
• 1891 - Yvan Goll, lyricist and dramatist († 1950)
• 1895 - Ernst Jünger, author († 1998)
• 1899 - Lavrenty Beria, Soviet Communist leader († 1953)
• 1901 - Andrija Maurovic, Croatian illustrator († 1981)
• 1902 - Marcel Aymé, narrator and dramatist, humorist and satirist († 1967)
• 1902 - William Walton, composer († 1983)
• 1908 - Arthur O'Connell, actor († 1981)
• 1911 - Brigitte Horney, actress († 1988)
• 1913 - Tony Zale, world champion boxer († 1997)
• 1913 - R. S. Thomas, Welsh poet († 2000)
• 1918 - Pearl Bailey, singer, actress († 1990)
• 1931 - Aleksei Gubarev, cosmonaut
• 1942 - Stingray Davis, musician (P-Funk)
• 1943 - Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, aka Vangelis, new age musician
• 1943 - Eric Idle, actor, writer, composer
• 1943 - John Major, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1945 - Walt Frazier, basketball player
• 1950 - Bud Cort, actor
• 1952 - Teofilo Stevenson, boxer
• 1955 - Earl Campbell, American football star
• 1956 - Kurt Thomas, gymnast
• 1957 - Christopher Lambert, actor
• 1959 - Perry Farrell, musician ("Jane's Addiction", "Porno for Pyros")
• 1964 - Elle Macpherson, model
• 1968 - Lucy Lawless, actress, singer

Deaths

• 1772 - Emanuel Swedenborg, philosopher and mathematician
• 1792 - King Gustav III of Sweden, after being shot on March 16
• 1912 - Robert Falcon Scott, explorer
• 1934 - Otto Hermann Kahn, millionaire and benefactor
• 1937 - Karol Szymanowski, composer
• 1959 - Barthelemy Boganda, first President of the Central African Republic
• 1972 - Lord J. Arthur Rank, movie theater owner
• 1980 - Mantovani, musician
• 1991 - Lee Atwater, Republican advisor
• 1992 - Paul Henreid, actor
• 1999 - Joe Williams, jazz singer
• 2001 - Helge Ingstad, explorer

Holidays and observances

March 28 - March 30 - February 29 - April 29 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Referenced By