July 29

Events

*1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, and his subsequent savage treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of shock.
*1030 - Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars: Battle of Stiklestad - King Olaf II fights and dies trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes.
*1565 - The widowed Mary Queen of Scots marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland.
*1567 - James VI is crowned King of Scotland at Stirling.
*1588 - Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines - English naval forces under command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.
*1693 - War of the Grand Alliance: Battle of Landen - France wins a Pyrrhic victory over Allied forces in the Netherlands.
*1793 - John Graves Simcoe decides to build a fort and settlement at Toronto, having sailed into the bay there.
*1830 - Abdication of Charles X of France.
*1836 - Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
*1847 - Cumberland School of Law founded in Lebanon, Tennessee, USA. At the end of 1847 only 15 law schools exist in the United States.
*1848 - Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt - in Tipperary, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police.
*1851 - Annibale 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.
*1899 - The First Hague Convention is signed.
*1900 - In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by Italian-born anarchist Gaetano Bresci.
*1907 - Sir Robert Baden-Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout camp in Poole Harbour on the south coast of England. The camp ran from August 1-9, 1907, and is regarded as the founding of the Scouting movement.
*1920 - Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project.
*1921 - Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.
*1932 - Great Depression: in Washington, DC, U.S. troops disperse the last of the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans.
*1937 - Tongzhou Incident
*1945 - The BBC Light Programme radio station was launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.
*1948 - Olympic 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 opened in London.
*1957 - The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.
*1958 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
*1959 - First United States Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union.
*1965 - Vietnam War: the first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay.
*1966 - Bob Dylan is injured in a motorcycle accident near Woodstock, New York.
*1967 - Vietnam 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.
* 1967 - At the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela was shaken by an earthquake, leaving approximately 500 dead.
*1976 - In New York City, the "Son of Sam" kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks.
*1981 - Marriage of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer.
*1987 - British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build the tunnel under the English Channel (Eurotunnel).
* 1987 - Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayawardene sign the Indo-Lankan Pact on ethnic issues.
*1993 - The Israeli Supreme Court acquits alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free.
*1996 - The controversial child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act (1996) is struck down as too broad by a U.S. federal court.
*2005 - Astronomers announce their discovery of Eris.

Births

*1166 - Henry II of Champagne (d. 1197)
*1605 - Simon Dach, German poet (d. 1659)
*1763 - Philip Charles Durham, Royal Navy Admiral (d. 1845)
*1797 - Daniel Drew, American financier (d. 1879)
*1801 - George Bradshaw, English publisher (d. 1853)
*1805 - Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and political scientist (d. 1859)
*1843 - Johannes Schmidt, German linguist (d. 1901)
*1849 - Max Nordau, Austrian author and Zionist leader (d. 1923)
*1869 - Booth Tarkington, American author (d. 1946)
*1872 - Eric Alfred Knudsen, American folklorist (d. 1957)
*1874 - James Shaver Woodsworth, Canadian politician (d. 1942)
*1876 - Maria Ouspenskaya, Russian-born actress (d. 1949)
*1878 - Don Marquis, American author (d. 1937)
*1883 - Porfirio Barba-Jacob, Colombian poet and writer (d. 1942)
* 1883 - Benito Mussolini, Italian dictator (d. 1945)
*1884 - Ralph A. Bard, U.S. Navy Undersecretary (d. 1975)
*1885 - Theda Bara, American film actress (d. 1955)
*1887 - Sigmund Romberg, Hungarian-born composer (d. 1951)
*1892 - William Powell, American actor (d. 1984)
*1897 - Sir Neil Ritchie, British general (d. 1983)
*1898 - Isidor Isaac Rabi, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1988)
*1899 - Walter Beall, American baseball player (d. 1959)
*1900 - Eyvind Johnson, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1976)
* 1900 - Don Redman, American musician (d. 1964)
*1904 - J. R. D. Tata, Indian industrialist (d. 1993)
*1905 - Clara Bow, American actress (d. 1965)
* 1905 - Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish 2nd UN Secretary-General, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1961)
* 1905 - Thelma Todd, American actress (d. 1935)
* 1905 - Stanley Kunitz, American poet (d. 2006)
*1906 - Diana Vreeland, French-born fashion editor (d. 1989)
*1907 - Melvin Belli, American lawyer and actor (d. 1996)
*1911 - Foster Furcolo, 60^th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1995)
* 1911 - Iakovos, Archbishop of America (d. 2005)
*1913 - Erich Priebke, Nazi war criminal
*1914 - Irwin Corey, American stand-up comedian
*1915 - Bruce R. McConkie, LDS apostle and author (d. 1985)
* 1915 - Francis W. Sargent, 64^th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1998)
*1916 - Charlie Christian, American jazz guitarist (d. 1942)
* 1916 - Budd Boetticher, American film director (d. 2001)
*1918 - Edwin O'Connor, American novelist and Pulitzer Prize winner (d. 1968)
*1920 - Rodolfo Acosta, Mexican actor (d. 1974)
* 1920 - Neville Jeffress, Australian founder of Media Monitors Australia (d. 2007)
*1921 - Richard Egan, American actor (d. 1987)
*1923 - Jim Marshall, founder of Marshall Amplification
* 1923 - Gordon Mitchell, American actor (d. 2003)
*1924 - Lloyd Bochner, Canadian actor (d. 2005)
* 1924 - Robert Horton, American actor
* 1924 - Elizabeth Short, victim in the Black Dahlia case (d. 1947)
*1925 - Mikis Theodorakis, Greek composer
* 1925 - Ted Lindsay, Canadian hockey player
*1927 - Harry Mulisch, Dutch author
*1929 - Jean Baudrillard, French philosopher
*1930 - Paul Taylor, American dancer and choreographer
*1932 - Nancy Kassebaum Baker, United States Senator from Kansas
*1933 - Lou Albano, American pro wrestling manager
* 1933 - Colin Davis, British racing driver
* 1933 - Robert Fuller, American actor
*1935 - Peter Schreier, German tenor
*1936 - Elizabeth Dole, U.S. Senator from North Carolina
*1937 - Daniel McFadden, American economist, Nobel Prize Laureate
*1938 - Peter Jennings, Canadian-born journalist (d. 2005)
* 1938 - Jean Rochon, Quebec politician
*1941 - Jennifer Dunn, American politician (d. 2007)
* 1941 - David Warner, English actor
*1942 - Tony Sirico, American actor
*1943 - David Taylor, English snooker player
*1946 - Neal Doughty, American musician (REO Speedwagon)
* 1946 - Diane Keen, English actress
*1947 - Dick Harmon, American golf instructor (d. 2006)
*1949 - Leslie Easterbrook, American actress
*1951 - Dan Driessen, American baseball player
* 1951 - Dean Pitchford, American songwriter, filmmaker and novelist
*1953 - Ken Burns, American producer and director
* 1953 - Geddy Lee, Canadian bassist and singer (Rush)
* 1953 - Patti Scialfa, American singer, guitarist and songwriter
* 1953 - Tim Gunn, American television personality
*1955 - Dave Stevens, American illustrator
* 1955 - Jean-Hugues Anglade, French actor
*1956 - Teddy Atlas, American boxing trainer and commentator
* 1956 - Ronnie Musgrove, Former Governor of Mississippi
*1957 - Nellie Kim, Russian gymnast
* 1957 - Alessandra Marc, American operatic soprano
*1959 - Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor
* 1959 - Ruud Janssen, Dutch writer and artist
* 1959 - Dave LaPoint, American baseball player
* 1959 - John Sykes, British guitarist (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Tygers of Pan Tang)
*1962 - Vincent Rousseau, Belgian athlete
* 1962 - Scott Steiner, American professional wrestler
*1963 - Graham Poll, English football referee
* 1963 - Jim Beglin, Irish football commentator
* 1963 - Alexandra Paul, American actress
*1965 - Chang-Rae Lee, Korean-born author
* 1965 - Luis Alicea, baseball coach
* 1965 - Dean Haglund, Canadian actor
*1966 - Martina McBride, American singer
* 1966 - Richard Steven Horvitz, American comic voiceactor
*1968 - Paavo Lotjonen, Finnish Cellist (Apocalyptica)
*1970 - John Rennie, Former Zimbabwean cricketer
*1971 - Monica Calhoun, American actress
* 1971 - Lisa Ekdahl, Swedish singer songwriter
*1972 - Wil Wheaton, American actor
*1973 - Stephen Dorff, American actor
* 1973 - Wanya Morris, American singer (Boyz II Men)
*1974 - Josh Radnor, American actor
*1975 - Corrado Grabbi, Italian footballer
* 1975 - Lanka de Silva, Former Sri Lankan cricketer
*1979 - Karim Essediri, Tunisian footballer
* 1979 - Ronald Murray, American basketball player
*1980 - Ryan Braun, Canadian baseball player
* 1980 - Fernando González, Chilean tennis player
* 1980 - Rachel Miner, American actress
*1981 - Fernando Alonso, Spanish Formula 1 Driver
* 1981 - Andrés Madrid, Argentine footballer
* 1981 - Troy Perkins, American soccer player
*1982 - Janez Aljančič, Slovenian footballer
* 1982 - Jônatas Domingos, Brazilian footballer
* 1982 - Allison Mack, American actress
*1983 - Alexei Kaigorodov, Russian hockey player
*1984 - Chad Billingsley, American baseball player
*1987 - Sabra Johnson, American dancer
*1991 - Miki Ishikawa, American actress

Deaths

* 238 - Pupienus, Roman Emperor
* 238 - Balbinus, Roman Emperor
*1030 - Olaf II of Norway (b. 995)
*1099 - Pope Urban II (b. 1042)
*1108 - Philip I of France (b. 1052)
*1507 - Martin Behaim, German-born navigator and geographer (b. 1459)
*1612 - Jacques Bongars, French scholar and diplomat (b. 1554)
*1644 - Pope Urban VIII (b. 1568)
*1752 - Peter Warren, British admiral
*1781 - Johann Kies, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1713)
*1792 - René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, Chancellor of France (b. 1714)
*1813 - Jean-Andoche Junot, French general (b. 1771)
*1833 - William Wilberforce, English abolitionist (b. 1759)
*1839 - Gaspard de Prony, French mathematician (b. 1755)
*1844 - Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian composer (b. 1791)
*1856 - Robert Schumann, German composer (b. 1810)
*1857 - Thomas Dick, Scottish scientific teacher and writer (b. 1774)
*1887 - Agostino Depretis, Italian statesman (d. 1813)
*1890 - Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter (b. 1853)
*1900 - King Umberto I of Italy (b. 1844)
*1913 - Tobias Michael Carel Asser, Dutch jurist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1838)
*1918 - Ernest William Christmas, Australian painter (b. 1863)
*1934 - Didier Pitre, French Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1883)
*1938 - Nikolai Krylenko, Russian/Soviet jurist and politician (b. 1885)
*1950 - Joe Fry, British racing driver (b. 1915)
*1954 - Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (b. 1879)
*1964 - Vean Gregg, American baseball player (b. 1885)
*1970 - John Barbirolli, English conductor (b. 1899)
*1973 - Norm Smith, Australian rules footballer and coach (b. 1915)
* 1973 - Roger Williamson, English racing driver (b. 1948)
*1974 - Cass Elliot, American musician (b. 1941)
* 1974 - Erich Kästner, German author (b. 1899)
*1976 - Mickey Cohen, American gangster (b. 1913)
*1979 - Herbert Marcuse, German philosopher (b. 1898)
* 1979 - Bill Todman, American television producer (b. 1916)
*1981 - Robert Moses, American urban planner (b. 1888)
*1982 - Harold Sakata, Japanese-American actor (b. 1920)
* 1982 - Vladimir Zworykin, Russian physicist and inventor (b. 1889)
*1983 - Luis Buñuel, Spanish director (b. 1900)
* 1983 - Raymond Massey, Canadian actor (b. 1896)
* 1983 - David Niven, English actor (b. 1910)
*1984 - Fred Waring, American band leader and inventor (b. 1900)
*1987 - Bibhutibhushan Mukhopadhyay, Bengali author (b. 1894)
*1990 - Bruno Kreisky, Chancellor of Austria (b. 1911)
*1992 - Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1952)
*1994 - Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, British chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)
*1995 - Les Elgart, American jazz musician and bandleader (b. 1917)
*1996 - Ric Nordman, Canadian politician (b. 1919)
* 1996 - Jason Thirsk, American bassist (Pennywise) (b. 1967)
* 1996 - Marcel-Paul Schützenberger, French mathematician (b. 1920)
*1998 - Jerome Robbins, American choreographer (b. 1918)
*2001 - Edward Gierek, Polish politician (b. 1913)
* 2001 - Wau Holland, German computer hacker (b. 1951)
*2003 - Foday Sankoh, Sierra Leonean rebel leader (b. 1937)
*2004 - Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress and singer (b. 1923)
*2007 - Mike Reid, English comedian and actor (b. 1940)
* 2007 - Michel Serrault, French actor (b. 1928)
* 2007 - Tom Snyder, American television personality (b. 1936)
* 2007 - Marvin Zindler, American television reporter (b. 1921)
*2008 - Ishmeet Singh Sodhi, Indian Playback Singer (b. 1989)

Holidays and observances

*Faroe Islands - Ólavsøka: opening of the Løgting session.
*National Anthem Day in Romania.
Roman Catholicism
* Saint Eugenius, king [Magdeburg]
* Saint Felix I, pope, and companions (Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrix, (siblings)), martyrs [common]
* Saint Ladislas, king, confessor (Deposition) [Hungary]
* Saint Lupus, bishop of Troyes, confessor [Cologne, Constance, Metz, Paris, France]
* Saint Olaf II of Norway, king of Norway, martyr, patron of woodcarvers [Sleswig, Scandinavia] - celebrated in Norway as Olsok (St. Olav's Day)
* Saint Pantaleon [Paris]
* Saint Beatrice of Nazareth
* Saint Martha, host of Christ, sister of Lazarus, patron saint of cooks, domestic staff and dieticians [common]
* Saint Serafina

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/29 BBC: On This Day]
*
* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Juln&day=29 On This Day in Canada] ----