July 29

July 29 is the 210th day of the year (211th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 155 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1900

238 – The Praetorian Guard storm the palace and capture Pupienus and Balbinus, who are then dragged through the streets of Rome and executed.
904 – Sack of Thessaloniki – 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.
1014 – Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine Emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army. The way he treats 15,000 prisoners is said to have caused Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria to die of a heart attack just over two months later, on October 6.
1030 – Battle of Stiklestad: King Olaf II of Norway fights and dies trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes.
1565 – Mary, Queen of Scots marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh.
1567 – King James VI of Scotland, barely a year old, is crowned in the Church of the Holy Rude in Stirling.
1588 – The Spanish Armada is defeated.
1793 – John Graves Simcoe decides to build a fort and settlement at Toronto, having sailed into the bay there.
1836 – Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
1848 – Tipperary Revolt during the Irish Potato Famine: An unsuccessful national revolt against British rule is put down by police.
1851 – Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia.
1864 – American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained in Old Capitol Prison, Washington, DC.
1894 – First Sino-Japanese War: Japanese troops defeat Chinese troops in the Battle of Seonghwan.
1899 – The first Hague Convention is signed.
1900 – King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by anarchist Gaetano Bresci.

1901 – 2000

1907 – Robert Baden-Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout Camp in Dorset on the South coast of England. This is regarded as the founding of the Scouting movement.
1914 – The first transcontinental telephone service begins with first conversation between New York City and San Francisco.
1921 – Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi Party.
1937 – Tongzhou Incident: In Tongzhou, China, the East Hopei Army attacks Japanese troops and civilians.
1948 – The 1948 Summer Olympics in London begin.
1954 – J. R. R. Tolkien's novel, Lord of the Rings is first published.
1957 – The International Atomic Energy Agency is founded.
1958 – Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
1959 – Hawaii holds its first elections to the United States Congress. It becomes a state on August 21.
1967 – Off North Vietnam the military ship USS Forrestal catches fire, killing 134 people.
1967 – An earthquake strikes Caracas and kills 500 people.
1968 – The Arenal volcano in Costa Rica erupts, destroying settlements in Pueblo Nuevo and Tabacon.
1973 – Most voters in Greece choose to get rid of their monarchy and become a republic.
1973 – At the Dutch Grand Prix, Roger Williamson is killed in the race, after his car hits the barriers at high speed.
1976 – The first victims of the Son of Sam serial killer are murdered.
1980 – The Flag of Iran is modified.
1981 – Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales marry.
1987 – Margaret Thatcher and Francois Mitterrand sign an agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel.
1987 – Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan Prime Minister J. R. Jayewardene sign the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord on ethnic issues.
1993 – The Israeli Supreme Court acquits John Demjanjuk, who is later found guilty of war crimes.

From 2001

2004 – Italy decides to get rid of conscription from July 1, 2005.
2005 – The discovery of the dwarf planet Eris is announced.
2006 – Declaration of Montreal for human rights of LGBT is adopted.
2010 – Start of a major flooding disaster in Pakistan.
2010 – A overloaded passenger ferry capsizes on the Kasai River, Bandundu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing over 80 people.
2014 – Israel–Gaza Conflict: Over 100 people in the Gaza Strip are reported to have been killed in a single day.
2015 – Microsoft Windows 10 launches.
2018 – Geraint Thomas becomes the first Welsh cyclist to win the Tour de France.
2019 – A prison riot in Altamira, Pará, Brazil, results in 57 people being killed.
2025 – 2025 Kamchatka Peninsula earthquake occurs.

Births

Up to 1900

1166 – Henry II, Count of Champagne, King of Jerusalem (d. 1197)
1356 – Martin of Aragon (d. 1410)
1580 – Francesco Mochi, Italian sculptor (d. 1654)
1605 – Simon Dach, German poet (d. 1659)
1793 – Jan Kollar, Slovakian writer (d. 1852)
1794 – Thomas Corwin, Governor of Ohio (d. 1865)
1796 – Christian Winther, Danish writer and poet (d. 1876)
1801 – George Bradshaw, English publisher (d. 1853)
1805 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and political scientist (d. 1859)
1814 – Hermann Bonitz, German philosopher (d. 1888)
1817 – Ivan Aivazovsky, Armenian–Russian painter (d. 1900)
1817 – Wilhelm Griesinger, German psychiatrist (d. 1868)
1825 – George Pendleton, American legislator (d. 1889)
1836 – Wilhelm Kress, Austrian aviation pioneer (d. 1913)
1841 – Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Norwegian doctor and scientist (d. 1912)
1843 – Johannes Schmidt, German linguist (d. 1901)
1846 – Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (d. 1921)
1846 – Sophie Menter, German pianist and composer (d. 1918)
1849 – Max Nordau, writer, philosopher and Zionist leader (d. 1923)
1860 – Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, Governor of Queensland (d. 1940)
1865 – Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer (d. 1936)
1869 – Booth Tarkington, writer (d. 1946)
1874 – James Shaver Woodsworth, Methodist minister, social worker, and politician (d. 1942)
1876 – Maria Ouspenskaya, actress (d. 1949)
1878 – Don Marquis, writer (d. 1937)
1879 – Giuseppe Garibaldi II, Italian adventurer (d. 1950)
1883 – Benito Mussolini, Italian dictator (d. 1945)
1883 – Porfirio Barba-Jacob, Colombian poet and writer (d. 1942)
1884 – Ralph A. Bard, U.S. Navy Under Secretary (d. 1975)
1885 – Theda Bara, American silent movie actress (d. 1955)
1887 – Sigmund Romberg, composer (d. 1951)
1888 – Vladimir Zworykin, Russian–American physicist and inventor (d. 1982)
1889 – Ernst Reuter, German politician (d. 1953)
1891 – Bernhard Zondek, German–Israeli gynecologist (d. 1966)
1892 – William Powell, actor (d. 1984)
1897 – Sir Neil Ritchie, British general (d. 1983)
1898 – Isidor Isaac Rabi, Hungarian–born American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
1900 – Eyvind Johnson, Swedish writer (d. 1976)
1900 – Don Redman, American composer and bandleader (d. 1964)

1901 - 1950

1904 – Mahasi Sayadaw, Burmese Buddhist monk and meditation master (d. 1982)
1904 – J. R. D. Tata, French–Indian pilot and businessman (d. 1993)
1905 – Clara Bow, American actress (d. 1965)
1905 – Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish UN Secretary-General (d. 1961)
1905 – Thelma Todd, American actress (d. 1935)
1905 – Stanley Kunitz, American poet (d. 2006)
1906 – Diana Vreeland, fashion editor (d. 1989)
1907 – Melvin Belli, lawyer and actor (d. 1996)
1911 – Foster Furcolo, 60th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1995)
1913 – Erich Priebke, German SS officer (d. 2013)
1914 – Irwin Corey, American comedian, actor and activist (d. 2017)
1915 – Francis W. Sargent, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1998)
1916 – Rupert Hamer, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Victoria (d. 2004)
1917 – Rochus Misch, German SS officer (d. 2013)
1921 – Richard Egan, American actor (d. 1987)
1921 – Chris Marker, French movie maker (d. 2012)
1923 – Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
1923 – Jim Marshall, English founder of Marshall Amplification (d. 2012)
1924 – Lloyd Bochner, Canadian actor (d. 2005)
1924 – Robert Horton, American actor (d. 2016)
1925 – Mikis Theodorakis, Greek composer and political activist
1926 – Don Carter, bowler
1927 – Harry Mulisch, Dutch writer (d. 2010)
1929 – Julio Botelho, Brazilian footballer (d. 2003)
1930 – Paul Taylor, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2018)
1932 – Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker, U.S. Senator
1933 – Lou Albano, American professional wrestling manager (d. 2009)
1933 – Robert Fuller, American actor
1934 – Albert Speer Jr., German architect and urban planner (d. 2017)
1935 – Peter Schreier, German tenor
1936 – Elizabeth Dole, former United States Senator
1937 – Daniel McFadden, American economist
1937 – Ryutaro Hashimoto, former Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2006)
1938 – Peter Jennings, Canadian–American television news anchor (d. 2005)
1938 – Klaus Töpfer, German politician
1940 – Ole Lund Kirkegaard, Danish children's book author (d. 1979)
1941 – David Warner, actor
1942 – Fitzhugh Mullan, American physician and medical writer (d. 2019)
1942 – Tony Sirico, American actor
1943 – David Taylor, English snooker player
1945 – Mircea Lucescu, Romanian football manager
1945 – Sharon Creech, American author
1946 – Neal Doughty, American musician
1947 – Bill Forsyth, Scottish movie director
1949 – Vida Blue, American Major League Baseball player
1949 – Jamil Mahuad, former President of Ecuador
1949 – Marilyn Quayle, wife of former US Vice President Dan Quayle
1949 – Sergio Martini, Italian mountaineer
1950 – Jenny Holzer, American conceptual artist

1951 – 1975

1951 – Susan Blackmore, British writer, lecturer and psychologist
1951 – Jack Blessing, American actor (d. 2017)
1951 – Dean Pitchford, American songwriter, movie maker and journalist
1952 – Norman Blackwell, Baron Blackwell, English businessman and politician
1953 – Ken Burns, American television producer and director
1953 – Geddy Lee, musician (Rush)
1953 – Patti Scialfa, rock singer
1953 – Tim Gunn, American television presenter
1955 – Stephen Timms, English politician
1955 – Eusèbe Jaojoby, Malagasy composer and singer
1956 – Ronnie Musgrove, 62nd Governor of Mississippi
1957 – Liam Davison, Australian novelist (d. 2014)
1957 – Nellie Kim, Soviet–Russian gymnast
1957 – Viktor Gavrikov, Lithuanian–Swiss chess player
1957 – Ulrich Tukur, German actor and musician
1958 – Piero Marazzo, Italian journalist and politician
1959 – Ruud Janssen, teacher, writer, and artist
1959 – Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor
1963 – Graham Poll, English football referee
1965 – Chang-Rae Lee, writer
1966 – Martina McBride, American country singer
1966 – Sally Gunnell, British athlete
1966 – Richard Steven Horvitz, American voice actor
1967 – Matthew C. Henderson, American actor and baseball player
1968 – Paavo Lötjönen, Finnish cellist
1969 – Joel Fan, American pianist
1971 – Lisa Ekdahl, Swedish singer
1972 – Wil Wheaton, American actor
1973 – Stephen Dorff, American actor
1974 – Josh Radnor, American actor
1974 – Steve-O, American musician and actor

From 1976

1977 – Danger Mouse, American DJ
1979 – Abs Breen, singer
1980 – Rachel Miner, American actress
1980 – Fernando González, Chilean tennis player
1981 – Troy Perkins, American soccer player
1981 – Fernando Alonso, Spanish race car driver
1982 – Allison Mack, American actress
1982 – Prince Azim of Brunei
1983 – Alexei Kaigorodov, Russian ice hockey player
1984 – Oh Beom-Seok, South Korean footballer
1984 – Hanna Bessenova, Ukrainian gymnast
1984 – Wilson Palacios, Honduran footballer
1984 – Viktoria Tolstoy, Swedish jazz singer
1988 – Alexander Lee Eusebio, Hong Kong–South Korean singer
1988 – Sabrina van der Donk, Dutch model
1990 – Shin Se-kyung, South Korean actress
1990 – Valentina Golubenko, Russian–Croatian chess player
1990 – Matt Prokop, American actor
1990 – Joey Essex, English television personality
1993 – Dak Prescott, American football player
1998 – Anna Murashige, Japanese singer

Deaths

Up to 1900

238 – Pupienus and Balbinus, Roman emperors (assassinated)
1030 – King Olaf II of Norway (b. 995)
1099 – Pope Urban II (b. 1042)
1095 – King Ladislaus I of Hungary (b. 1040)
1108 – King Philip I of France (b. 1081)
1507 – Martin Behaim, navigator and geographer (b. 1459)
1573 – John Caius, English physician (b. 1510)
1644 – Pope Urban VIII (b. 1568)
1694 – Sufi, Shah of Persia (b. 1647)
1781 – Johann Kies, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1713)
1833 – William Wilberforce, campaigner against slavery (b. 1759)
1844 – Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian composer (b. 1791)
1856 – Robert Schumann, German composer (b. 1810)
1857 – Charles Lucien Bonaparte, French zoologist and ornithologist (b. 1803)
1887 – Agostino Depretis, 9th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1813)
1890 – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter (b. 1853)
1895 – Floriano Peixoto, 2nd President of Brazil (b. 1839)
1900 – King Umberto I of Italy (b. 1844)

1901 – 2000

1913 – Tobias Asser, Dutch writer (b. 1838)
1918 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian painter (b. 1863)
1924 – Sotirios Krokidas, Greek law professor and acting Prime Minister (b. 1852)
1934 – Didier Pitre, French–Canadian ice hockey (b. 1883)
1938 – Nikolai Krylenko, Russian lawyer, jurist and politician (b. 1885)
1951 – Ali Sami Yen, Turkish sports official (b. 1886)
1954 – Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (b. 1879)
1956 – Ludwig Klages, German philosopher and psychologist (b. 1872)
1960 – Robert P. Bass, Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1873)
1966 – Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigerian military leader (b. 1924)
1970 – John Barbirolli, conductor (b. 1899)
1970 – George Szell, Hungarian conductor (b. 1897)
1973 – Roger Williamson, racing driver (b. 1948)
1974 – Mama Cass Elliot, American musician (b. 1941)
1974 – Erich Kästner, German writer (b. 1899)
1979 – Bill Todman, American game show producer (b. 1916)
1981 – Robert Moses, New York public works official (b. 1888)
1982 – Vladimir Zworykin, Russian–American physicist and inventor (b. 1889)
1983 – David Niven, British actor (b. 1910)
1983 – Raymond Massey, Canadian actor (b. 1896)
1983 – Luis Buñuel, Spanish director (b. 1900)
1984 – Fred Waring, band leader, inventor (b. 1900)
1990 – Bruno Kreisky, Chancellor of Austria (b. 1911)
1992 – Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1952)
1994 – Dorothy Hodgkin, British chemist (b. 1910)
1995 – Severino Varela, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1913)

From 2001

2001 – Edward Gierek, Polish politician (b. 1913)
2001 – Wau Holland, German hacker (b. 1951)
2003 – Foday Sankoh, Sierra Leonean rebel leader (b. 1937)
2004 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek comedienne and actress (b. 1923)
2007 – Mike Reid, British actor (b. 1940)
2007 – Michel Serrault, French actor (b. 1928)
2007 – Tom Snyder, American television personality (b. 1936)
2010 – Zheng Ji, Chinese nutritionist and biochemist (b. 1900)
2013 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorean footballer (b. 1986)
2014 – M. Caldwell Butler, American politician (b. 1925)
2014 – Giorgio Gaslini, Italian jazz pianist and composer (b. 1929)
2014 – Jon R. Cavaiani, American soldier (b. 1943)
2014 – Idris Muhammad, American jazz musician (b. 1939)
2014 – Péter Kiss, Hungarian politician (b. 1959)
2014 – María Antonia Iglesias, Spanish writer (b. 1945)
2015 – Peter O'Sullevan, Irish–British horse racing commentator (b. 1918)
2016 – Lucille Dumont, Canadian singer and television host (b. 1919)
2017 – Yuri Alekseevich Ryzhov, Soviet–Russian scientist and politician (b. 1930)
2017 – Redha Malek, Algerian politician, Prime Minister of Algeria (b. 1931)
2017 – Charley Marouani, Tunisian impresario and celebrity agent (b. 1926)
2017 – Olivier Strebelle, Belgian sculptor (b. 1927)
2017 – Stephen T. Worland, American economist (b. 1923)
2018 – Hans Kristian Amundsen, Norwegian politician and newspaper editor (b. 1959)
2018 – Brickhouse Brown, American professional wrestler (b. 1960)
2018 – Brian Christopher, American professional wrestler (b. 1972)
2018 – Ron Dellums, American politician (b. 1935)
2018 – Abbas Duzduzani, Iranian politician (b. 1942)
2018 – Vibeke Skofterud, Norwegian cross–country skier (b. 1980)
2018 – Nikolai Volkoff, Croatian–American professional wrestler (b. 1947)
2019 – Egil Danielsen, Norwegian javelin thrower (b. 1933)
2019 – Enrique Lafourcade, Chilean writer, critic and journalist (b. 1927)
2019 – Mona-Liisa Nousiainen, Finnish cross–country skier (b. 1983)
2019 – Tuvya Ruebner, Israeli poet and translator (b. 1924)

Observances

Saint Martha Feast Day
Saint Lazarus Feast Day
Saint Mary of Bethany Feast Day
Olavsoka, feast day of Olaf II of Norway – Faroe Islands
International Tiger Day
National Anthem Day (Romania)
National Thai language Day (Thailand)