July 29th

Events

• 1014 - Battle of Kleidion: Basil II inflicts not only a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, but his subsequent savage treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of shock.
• 1567 - James VI was crowned at Stirling.
• 1588 - Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is defeated by an English naval force under command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake off the coast of Gravelines, France.
• 1693 - The Battle of Landen
• 1793 - John Graves Simcoe decides to build a fort and settlement at Toronto, having sailed into the bay there.
• 1848 - Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt - In Tipperary, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put-down by police.
• 1851 - A De Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia.
• 1858 - United States and Japan sign the Harris Treaty.
• 1864 - American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, DC.
• 1900 - In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by Italian-born anarchist Gaetano Bresci.
• 1907 - Sir Robert Baden-Powell founds the Boy Scouts movement with the first scout camp at Brownsea Island.
• 1932 - Great Depression: In Washington, DC, US troops disperse the last of the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans.
• 1945 - The BBC Light Programme radio station was launched, aimed at mainstream light entertainment and music.
• 1947 - After being shut off on November 9, 1946 for a refurbishment, ENIAC, one of the world's first digital computers, is turned on after a memory upgrade. It will remain in continuous operation until October 2, 1955.
• 1954 - First ascent of K2.
• 1957 - The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.
• 1958 - The United States Congress formally creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
• 1965 - Vietnam War: The first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay.
• 1967 - Vietnam War: Off the coast of North Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, fire sweeps the USS Forrestal, in the worst US naval disaster since World War II (134 American servicemen are killed, 62 injured, 21 planes are destroyed and 42 more are damaged).
• 1976 - In New York City, the "Son of Sam" pulls a gun from a paper bag killing one and seriously wounding another in the first of a series of attacks that terrorized the city for the next year.
• 1981 - Lady Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales.
• 1993 - The Israeli Supreme Court acquits accused Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free.
• 1996 - The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act (1996) is struck down as too broad by a US federal court.

Births

• 1805 - Alexis de Tocqueville,historian, political scientist († 1859)
• 1869 - Booth Tarkington, author (+ 1946)
• 1871 - Grigori Rasputin, Russian spiritualist († 1916)
• 1874 - James Shaver Woodsworth, Methodist minister, social worker, politician († 1942)
• 1876 - Maria Ouspenskaya, actress († 1949)
• 1878 - Don Marquis, author († 1937)
• 1883 - Benito Mussolini, Italian dictator († 1945)
• 1887 - Sigmund Romberg, composer († 1951)
• 1892 - William Powell, actor († 1984)
• 1905 - Clara Bow, actress († 1965)
• 1905 - Thelma Todd, actress († 1935)
• 1905 - Dag Hammarskjöld, UN Secretary-General († 1961)
• 1906 - Diana Vreeland, fashion editor († 1989)
• 1907 - Melvin Belli, attorney, actor († 1996)
• 1924 - Lloyd Bochner, actor
• 1926 - Don Carter, bowler
• 1928 - Jane Barbe, voice of the telephone operator recording († 2003)
• 1930 - Paul Taylor, dancer, choreographer
• 1932 - Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker, US Senator (1978-1996)
• 1938 - Peter Jennings, television news anchor
• 1941 - David Warner, actor
• 1949 - Vida Blue, Major League Baseball player
• 1953 - Ken Burns, television producer and director
• 1953 - Geddy Lee of Rush, musician
• 1959 - Ruud Janssen, Teacher, writer, artist, active in mail art
• 1965 - Chang-Rae Lee, author
• 1972 - Wil Wheaton, actor
• 1973 - Stephen Dorff, actor
• 1974 - Josemon Andrews, Blesses The Earth

Deaths

• 238 - Pupienus and Balbinus, Roman emperors, assassinated
• 1099 - Pope Urban II
• 1644 - Pope Urban VIII
• 1833 - William Wilberforce, campaigner against slavery
• 1890 - Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter
• 1900 - King Umberto I of Italy
• 1951 - Hozumi Shigeto, Japanese author
• 1954 - Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater
• 1970 - John Barbirolli, conductor
• 1974 - Mama Cass Elliott, musician
• 1975 - James Blish, science fiction writer
• 1979 - Bill Todman, game show producer
• 1983 - David Niven, actor
• 1983 - Raymond Massey, actor
• 1984 - Fred Waring, band leader, inventor
• 2001 - Henryk Jablonski, Polish president

Holidays and observations

July 28 - July 30 - June 29 - August 29 -- listing of all days

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

Referenced By