On This Day in History — August 29

Highlights of August 29

• 2016 — Chen Quanguo became the Chinese Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang, and in that role later oversaw the creation of the Xinjiang internment camps. Read more
• 2007 — Six nuclear warheads were mistakenly loaded onto a United States Air Force heavy bomber that flew from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. Read more
• 2007 — Six nuclear warheads were mistakenly loaded onto a United States Air Force heavy bomber that flew from North Dakota to Louisiana. Read more
• 1996 — Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 crashed on approach to Svalbard Airport, Norway, killing all 141 on board. Read more
• 1991 — Italian businessman Libero Grassi was killed by the Sicilian Mafia in Palermo after taking a public stand against their extortion demands. Read more
• 1984 — Followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (pictured) began deliberately infecting people in The Dalles, Oregon, with Salmonella in the first and largest bioterrorist attack in United States history. Read more
• 1984 — Followers of Osho began deliberately infecting people in The Dalles, Oregon, with Salmonella in the first and largest bioterrorist attack in United States history. Read more
• 1960 — Air France Flight 343 crashed while attempting to land at Yoff Airport, Dakar, killing all 63 occupants. Read more
• 1959 — Mona Best opened the Casbah Coffee Club with a performance by the Quarrymen, the precursor of the Beatles. Read more
• 1949 — The Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear weapons test, detonating the 22-kiloton RDS-1. Read more
• 1916 — Congress passed the Philippine Autonomy Act, the first formal and official declaration of the U.S.'s commitment to grant independence to the Philippines. Read more
• 1916 — Congress passed the Philippine Autonomy Act, the first formal and official declaration of the U.S.'s commitment to grant independence to the Philippines. Read more
• 1914 — Due to price increases on macaroni products, rioting occurred in the Little Italy area of Providence, Rhode Island. Read more
• 1911 — The last member of the Yahi, known as Ishi, emerged from the wilderness near Oroville, California, to join European American society. Read more
• 1903 — Slava, the last of five Borodino-class battleships, was launched by the Imperial Russian Navy. Read more
• 1903 — Slava (pictured), the last of five Borodino-class battleships, was launched by the Imperial Russian Navy. Read more
• 1885 — Gottlieb Daimler patented the world's first internal-combustion motorcycle, the Reitwagen (replica pictured). Read more
• 1842 — Under the Treaty of Nanking, an "unequal treaty" that ended the First Opium War, the Chinese island from which Hong Kong would grow was ceded to Britain. Read more
• 1831 — Michael Faraday (pictured) first experimentally demonstrated electromagnetic induction, leading to the formulation of the law of induction named after him. Read more
• 1786 — Angered by high tax burdens and disfranchisement, farmers in western Massachusetts led by Daniel Shays began an armed uprising against the U.S. federal government. Read more
• 1786 — Angered by high tax burdens and disfranchisement, farmers in western Massachusetts led by Daniel Shays began an armed uprising against the U.S. federal government. Read more
• 1475 — France signed the Treaty of Picquigny with England, freeing Louis XI to deal with the threat posed by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Read more
• 1350 — Hundred Years' War: Led by King Edward III, a fleet of 50 English ships captured at least 14 Castilian vessels and sank several more at the Battle of Winchelsea. Read more

Events

• 2022 — Russo-Ukrainian war: Ukraine begins its southern counteroffensive in the Kherson Oblast, eventually culminating in the liberation of the city of Kherson. Read more
• 2020 — 2020 Women's FA Community Shield. Read more
• 2012 — At least 26 Chinese miners are killed and 21 missing after a blast in the Xiaojiawan coal mine, located at Panzhihua, Sichuan Province. Read more
• 2012 — The XIV Paralympic Games open in London, England, United Kingdom. Read more
• 2005 — Hurricane Katrina devastates much of the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, killing up to 1,392 people and causing $125 billion in damage. Read more
• 2003 — Sayed Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, is assassinated in a terrorist bombing, along with nearly 100 worshippers as they leave a mosque in Najaf. Read more
• 2001 — Four people are killed when Binter Mediterráneo Flight 8261 crashes into the N-340 highway near Málaga Airport. Read more
• 1998 — Eighty people are killed when Cubana de Aviación Flight 389 crashes during a rejected takeoff from the Old Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito, Ecuador. Read more
• 1997 — Netflix is launched as an internet DVD rental service. Read more
• 1997 — At least 98 villagers are killed by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria GIA in the Rais massacre, Algeria. Read more
• 1996 — Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801, a Tupolev Tu-154, crashes into a mountain on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, killing all 141 aboard. Read more
• 1991 — Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union suspends all activities of the Soviet Communist Party. Read more
• 1991 — Libero Grassi, an Italian businessman from Palermo, is killed by the Sicilian Mafia after taking a solitary stand against their extortion demands. Read more
• 1987 — Odaeyang mass suicide: Thirty-three individuals linked to a religious cult are found dead in the attic of a cafeteria in Yongin, South Korea. Investigators attribute their deaths to a murder–suicide pact. Read more
• 1982 — Meitnerium, a synthetic chemical element with the atomic number 109, is first synthesized at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany. Read more
• 1975 — El Tacnazo: Francisco Morales Bermúdez, Peruvian Prime Minister carries out a coup d'état in the city of Tacna, forcing the sitting President of Peru, Juan Velasco Alvarado, to resign and assuming his place as the new President. Read more
• 1970 — Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War, East Los Angeles, California. Police riot kills three people, including journalist Rubén Salazar. Read more
• 1966 — The Beatles perform their last concert before paying fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Read more
• 1966 — Leading Egyptian thinker Sayyid Qutb is executed for plotting the assassination of President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Read more
• 1965 — The Gemini V spacecraft returns to Earth, landing in the Atlantic Ocean. Read more
• 1960 — Air France Flight 343 crashes on approach to Yoff Airport in Senegal, killing all 63 aboard. Read more
• 1958 — United States Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Read more
• 1952 — American experimental composer John Cage's 4’33” premieres at Maverick Concert Hall, played by American pianist David Tudor. Read more
• 1950 — Korean War: British Commonwealth Forces Korea arrives to bolster the US presence. Read more
• 1949 — Soviet atomic bomb project: The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, known as First Lightning or Joe 1, at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. Read more
• 1948 — Northwest Airlines Flight 421 crashes in Fountain City, Wisconsin, killing all 37 aboard. Read more
• 1944 — World War II: Slovak National Uprising takes place as 60,000 Slovak troops turn against the Nazis. Read more
• 1943 — World War II: German-occupied Denmark scuttles most of its navy; Germany dissolves the Danish government. Read more
• 1941 — World War II: Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is occupied by Nazi Germany following an occupation by the Soviet Union. Read more
• 1930 — The last 36 remaining inhabitants of St Kilda are voluntarily evacuated to other parts of Scotland. Read more
• 1918 — World War I: Bapaume taken by the New Zealand Division in the Hundred Days Offensive. Read more
• 1916 — The United States passes the Philippine Autonomy Act. Read more
• 1915 — US Navy salvage divers raise F-4, the first U.S. submarine sunk in an accident. Read more
• 1914 — World War I: Start of the Battle of St. Quentin in which the French Fifth Army counter-attacked the invading Germans at Saint-Quentin, Aisne. Read more
• 1912 — A typhoon strikes China, killing at least 50,000 people. Read more
• 1911 — Ishi, considered the last Native American to make contact with European Americans, emerges from the wilderness of northeastern California. Read more
• 1911 — The Canadian Naval Service becomes the Royal Canadian Navy. Read more
• 1910 — The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, also known as the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty, becomes effective, officially starting the period of Japanese rule in Korea. Read more
• 1907 — The Quebec Bridge collapses during construction, killing 75 workers. Read more
• 1903 — The Slava, the last of the five Borodino-class battleships, is launched. Read more
• 1898 — The Goodyear tire company is founded in Akron, Ohio. Read more
• 1885 — Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first motorcycle with an internal combustion engine, the Reitwagen. Read more
• 1871 — Emperor Meiji orders the abolition of the han system and the establishment of prefectures as local centers of administration. (Traditional Japanese date: July 14, 1871). Read more
• 1869 — The Mount Washington Cog Railway opens, making it the world's first mountain-climbing rack railway. Read more
• 1861 — American Civil War: The Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries gives Federal forces control of Pamlico Sound. Read more
• 1842 — Treaty of Nanking signing ends the First Opium War. Read more
• 1831 — Michael Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction. Read more
• 1825 — Portuguese and Brazilian diplomats sign the Treaty of Rio de Janeiro, which has Portugal recognise Brazilian independence, formally ending the Brazilian War of Independence. The treaty will be ratified by the King of Portugal three months later. Read more
• 1807 — British troops under Sir Arthur Wellesley defeat a Danish militia outside Copenhagen in the Battle of Køge. Read more
• 1786 — Shays' Rebellion, an armed uprising of Massachusetts farmers, begins in response to high debt and tax burdens. Read more
• 1779 — American Revolutionary War: American forces battle and defeat the British and Iroquois forces at the Battle of Newtown. Read more
• 1778 — American Revolutionary War: British and American forces battle indecisively at the Battle of Rhode Island. Read more
• 1758 — The Treaty of Easton establishes the first American Indian reservation, at Indian Mills, New Jersey, for the Lenape. Read more
• 1756 — Frederick the Great attacks Saxony, beginning the Seven Years' War in Europe. Read more
• 1741 — The eruption of Oshima–Ōshima and the Kampo tsunami: At least 2,000 people along the Japanese coast drown in a tsunami caused by the eruption of Oshima. Read more
• 1728 — The city of Nuuk in Greenland is founded as the fort of Godt-Haab by the royal governor Claus Paarss. Read more
• 1604 — The Guru Granth Sahib is fully compiled and completed by Guru Arjan. Read more
• 1588 — Toyotomi Hideyoshi issues a nationwide sword hunting ordinance, disarming the peasantry so as to firmly separate the samurai and commoner classes, prevent peasant uprisings, and further centralise his own power. Read more
• 1541 — The Ottoman Turks capture Buda, the capital of the Hungarian Kingdom. Read more
• 1526 — Battle of Mohács: The Ottoman Turks led by Suleiman the Magnificent defeat and kill the last Jagiellonian king of Hungary and Bohemia. Read more

Born on August 29

• 2008 — Rio Ngumoha, English footballer Read more
• 1996 — Daryll Neita, British sprinter Read more
• 1994 — Ysaline Bonaventure, Belgian tennis player Read more
• 1993 — Lucas Cruikshank, American YouTuber and actor Read more
• 1993 — Liam Payne, English singer-songwriter from One Direction (died 2024) Read more
• 1992 — Noah Syndergaard, American baseball player Read more
• 1991 — Néstor Araujo, Mexican footballer Read more
• 1991 — Deshaun Thomas, American basketball player Read more
• 1990 — Jakub Kosecki, Polish footballer Read more
• 1990 — Chris Taylor, American baseball player Read more
• 1990 — Patrick van Aanholt, Dutch footballer Read more
• 1989 — Charlotte Ritchie, English actress Read more
• 1987 — Tony Kane, Northern Irish footballer Read more
• 1986 — Hajime Isayama, Japanese illustrator Read more
• 1986 — Lea Michele, American actress and singer Read more
• 1983 — Jennifer Landon, American actress Read more
• 1983 — Antti Niemi, Finnish ice hockey player Read more
• 1983 — Anthony Recker, American baseball player Read more
• 1982 — Ruhila Adatia-Sood, Kenyan journalist and radio host (died 2013) Read more
• 1982 — Carlos Delfino, Argentine–Italian basketball player Read more
• 1982 — Yakhouba Diawara, French basketball player Read more
• 1982 — Vincent Enyeama, Nigerian footballer Read more
• 1981 — Martin Erat, Czech ice hockey player Read more
• 1981 — Geneviève Jeanson, Canadian cyclist Read more
• 1980 — Chris Simms, American football player Read more
• 1980 — David West, American basketball player Read more
• 1979 — Stijn Devolder, Belgian cyclist Read more
• 1979 — Kristjan Rahnu, Estonian decathlete Read more
• 1979 — Ryan Shealy, American baseball player Read more
• 1978 — Volkan Arslan, German-Turkish footballer Read more
• 1978 — Celestine Babayaro, Nigerian footballer Read more
• 1977 — Cayetano, Greek DJ and producer Read more
• 1977 — Devean George, American basketball player Read more
• 1977 — John Hensley, American actor Read more
• 1977 — John Patrick O'Brien, American soccer player Read more
• 1977 — Roy Oswalt, American baseball player Read more
• 1977 — Charlie Pickering, Australian comedian and radio host Read more
• 1977 — Aaron Rowand, American baseball player and sportscaster Read more
• 1976 — Stephen Carr, Irish footballer Read more
• 1976 — Phil Harvey, English manager Read more

Died on August 29

• 2024 — Johnny Gaudreau, American ice hockey player (born 1993) Read more
• 2023 — Mike Enriquez, Filipino broadcaster (born 1951) Read more
• 2021 — Ed Asner, American actor (born 1929) Read more
• 2021 — Lee "Scratch" Perry, Jamaican reggae producer (born 1936) Read more
• 2021 — Jacques Rogge, Belgian orthopedic surgeon, Olympic sailor and the 8th President of the International Olympic Committee (born 1942) Read more
• 2018 — James Mirrlees, Scottish economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1936) Read more
• 2018 — Paul Taylor, American choreographer (born 1930) Read more
• 2016 — Gene Wilder, American stage and screen comic actor, screenwriter, film director, and author (born 1933) Read more
• 2014 — Octavio Brunetti, Argentine pianist and composer (born 1975) Read more
• 2014 — Björn Waldegård, Swedish race car driver (born 1943) Read more
• 2013 — Joan L. Krajewski, American lawyer and politician (born 1934) Read more
• 2013 — Medardo Joseph Mazombwe, Zambian cardinal (born 1931) Read more
• 2013 — Bruce C. Murray, American geologist and academic, co-founded The Planetary Society (born 1931) Read more
• 2012 — Ruth Goldbloom, Canadian academic and philanthropist, co-founded Pier 21 (born 1923) Read more
• 2012 — Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, English historian and author (born 1953) Read more
• 2012 — Shoshichi Kobayashi, Japanese-American mathematician and academic (born 1932) Read more
• 2012 — Anne McKnight, American soprano (born 1924) Read more
• 2012 — Les Moss, American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1925) Read more
• 2012 — Sergei Ovchinnikov, Russian volleyball player and coach (born 1969) Read more
• 2011 — Honeyboy Edwards, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1915) Read more
• 2011 — Junpei Takiguchi, Japanese voice actor (born 1931) Read more
• 2008 — Geoffrey Perkins, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1953) Read more
• 2008 — Michael Schoenberg, American geophysicist and theorist (born 1939) Read more
• 2007 — James Muir Cameron Fletcher, New Zealand businessman (born 1914) Read more
• 2007 — Richard Jewell, American police officer (born 1962) Read more
• 2007 — Pierre Messmer, French civil servant and politician, 154th Prime Minister of France (born 1916) Read more
• 2007 — Alfred Peet, Dutch-American businessman, founded Peet's Coffee & Tea (born 1920) Read more
• 2004 — Hans Vonk, Dutch conductor (born 1942) Read more
• 2003 — Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, Iraqi politician (born 1939) Read more
• 2003 — Patrick Procktor, English painter and academic (born 1936) Read more
• 2002 — Lance Macklin, English race car driver (born 1919) Read more
• 2001 — Graeme Strachan, Australian singer-songwriter & television personality (born 1952) Read more
• 2001 — Francisco Rabal, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1926) Read more
• 2000 — Shelagh Fraser, English actress (born 1922) Read more
• 2000 — Willie Maddren, English footballer and manager (born 1951) Read more
• 2000 — Conrad Marca-Relli, American-Italian painter and academic (born 1913) Read more
• 1995 — Frank Perry, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1930) Read more
• 1992 — Félix Guattari, French philosopher and theorist (born 1930) Read more
• 1991 — Libero Grassi, Italian businessman (born 1924) Read more
• 1990 — Manly Palmer Hall, Canadian-American mystic and author (born 1901) Read more

Holidays & observances

Christian feast day: Adelphus of Metz; Christian feast day: Beheading of St. John the Baptist; Christian feast day: Bronislava of Poland; Christian feast day: Eadwold of Cerne; Christian feast day: Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice; Christian feast day: Euphrasia Eluvathingal (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church); Christian feast day: Jeanne Jugan; Christian feast day: John Bunyan (Episcopal Church); Christian feast day: Sabina; Christian feast day: Blessed Teresa Bracco; Christian feast day: Vitalis, Sator and Repositus; Christian feast day: August 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); International Day against Nuclear Tests; Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine (Ukraine); National Sports Day (India); Slovak National Uprising Anniversary (Slovakia)

More from the Almanac

Sunrise & SunsetStar TransitMoon & Planting CalendarsAncient Measures