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Today July 29th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
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, United States. 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 is struck down as too broad by a U.S. federal court.
2005 – Astronomers announce their discovery of Eris.
2008 – The Chino Hills earthquake strikes southern California.
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)
1846 – Isabel of Brazil
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, 60th 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, 64th 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
1970 – Andi Peters, British TV presenter
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 Aljancic, 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.
MnM Day
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