On This Day in History January 29

January 29 – Events:

• 904 – Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.
• 1595 – William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet is probably first performed.
• 1676 – Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia.
• 1802 – John Beckley of Virginia appointed first Librarian of Congress.
• 1814 – France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne.
• 1834 – US President Andrew Jackson orders first use of federal soldiers to suppress a labor dispute.
• 1845 – “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe is published in the New York Evening Mirror.
• 1850 – Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.
• 1856 – Queen Victoria institutes the Victoria Cross.
• 1861 – Kansas admitted as the 34th U.S. state.
• 1863 – Bear River Massacre.
• 1886 – Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.
• 1891 – Liliuokalani is proclaimed Queen of Hawaii, its last monarch.
• 1900 – The American League is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with 8 founding teams.
• 1908 – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, at Cornell University, incorporates.
• 1916 – World War I: Paris is first bombed by German zeppelins.
• 1919 – Secretary of state proclaims the 18th amendment (prohibition).
• 1920 – Walt Disney starts first job as an artist; $40 week with KC Slide Co.
• 1921 – Hurricane hits Washington & Oregon.
• 1922 – Union of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras & El Salvador dissolved.
• 1924 – Ice cream cone rolling machine patented by Carl Taylor, Cleveland.
• 1929 – Seeing Eye Guide Dog Organization forms.
• 1936 – First players elected to Baseball Hall of Fame-Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson & Walter Johnson.
• 1940 – Three gasoline multiple units carrying factory workers crash and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi station, Yumesaki Line (Nishinari Line), Osaka, Japan, killing at least 181 people and injuring at least 92.
• 1943 – The first day of the Battle of Rennell Island, U.S. cruiser Chicago is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers.
• 1944 – USS Missouri the last battleship commissioned by the US Navy is launched.
• 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Cisterna takes place in central Italy.
• 1944 – World War II: About 38 men, women, and children die in the Koniuchy massacre in Poland.
• 1944 – In Bologna, Italy, the Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio is destroyed in an air-raid bombing.
• 1951 – Liz Taylor’s first divorce (Conrad Hilton, Jr.)
• 1959 – Sleeping Beauty, an animated feature produced by Walt Disney based upon a fairy tale, is released.
• 1963 – First inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced: Jim Thorpe, Red Grange, and George Halas.
• 1966 – The first of 608 performances of Sweet Charity opens at the Palace Theatre, New York.
• 1978 – Sweden outlaws aerosol sprays due to their harmful effect on the ozone layer, becoming the first nation to enact such a ban.
• 1979 – Emerson, Lake & Palmer disband after 10 years together.
• 1979 – President Carter commuted Patricia Hearst’s 7 year sentence to 2 years.
• 1979 – Brenda Ann Spencer opens fire at the Cleveland Elementary School playground in San Diego, California, killing two adults and wounding eight children and one police officer.
• 1989 – Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making them the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so.
• 1996 – President Jacques Chirac announces a “definitive end” to French nuclear testing.
• 1996 – La Fenice, Venice’s opera house, is destroyed by fire.
• 1998 – In Birmingham, Alabama, a bomb explodes at an abortion clinic, killing one and severely wounding another. Serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph is suspected as the culprit.
• 2001 – Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals.
• 2005 – The first direct commercial flights from the mainland China (from Guangzhou) to Taiwan since 1949 arrived in Taipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines carrier landed in Beijing.

January 29 – Birthdays:

• 1584 – Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (d. 1647)
• 1632 – Johann Georg Graevius, German classical scholar and critic (d. 1703)
• 1688 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish scientist and philosopher (d. 1772)
• 1711 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (d. 1788)
• 1715 – Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Austrian composer (d. 1777)
• 1717 – Jeffrey Amherst, British military leader (d. 1797)
• 1718 – Paul Rabaut, French Huguenot pastor (d. 1794)
• 1737 – Thomas Paine, English-born American patriot (d. 1809)
• 1749 – King Christian VII of Denmark (d. 1808)
• 1754 – Moses Cleaveland, founder of the city of Cleveland (d. 1806)
• 1756 – Henry Lee III, American General
• 1761 – Albert Gallatin, Swiss-American United States Secretary of the Treasury
• 1782 – Daniel Auber, French composer (d. 1871)
• 1801 – Horatia Nelson, the illegitimate daughter of Emma Hamilton and Horatio Nelson (d. 1881)
• 1810 – Ernst Kummer, German mathematician (d. 1893)
• 1843 – William McKinley, 25th President of the United States (d. 1901)
• 1846 – Karol Olszewski, Polish scientist (d. 1915)
• 1860 – Anton Chekhov, Russian writer (d. 1904)
• 1862 – Frederick Delius, English composer (d. 1934)
• 1866 – Romain Rolland, French writer, Nobel Laureate (d. 1944)
• 1867 – Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Spanish writer (d. 1928)
• 1874 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American entrepreneur (d. 1960)
• 1876 – Havergal Brian, British composer (d. 1972)
• 1877 – Georges Catroux, French general (d. 1969)
• 1880 – W.C. Fields, American actor (d. 1946)
• 1891 – Elizaveta Gerdt, Russian ballerina (d. 1975)
• 1891 – R. Norris Williams, American tennis player, also a survivor of the RMS Titanic Disaster d. 1968)
• 1895 – Muna Lee, American poet (d. 1965)
• 1901 – Allen B. DuMont, American scientist and inventor (d. 1965)
• 1905 – Barnett Newman, American painter (d. 1970)
• 1910 – Colin Middleton, Irish artist (d. 1983)
• 1911 – Peter von Siemens, German industrialist (d. 1986)
• 1913 – Victor Mature, American actor (d. 1999)
• 1913 – Daniel Taradash, American screenwriter (d. 2003)
• 1913 – Peter von Zahn, German journalist and writer (d. 2001)
• 1915 – John Serry, Sr., American musician, composer, arranger (d. 2003)
• 1918 – John Forsythe, American actor
• 1920 – José Luis de Villalonga, Spanish aristocrat, author, and actor (d. 2007)
• 1921 – Anthony George, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Gerda Steinhoff, Nazi concetration camp supervisor (d. 1946)
• 1923 – Paddy Chayefsky, American writer (d. 1981)
• 1923 – Ivo Robic, Croatian singer and songwriter (d. 2000)
• 1924 – Luigi Nono, Italian composer (d. 1990)
• 1924 – Marcelle Ferron, Quebec painter and stained glass artist (d. 2001)
• 1924 – Peter Voulkos, American artist (d. 2002)
• 1926 – Franco Cerri, Italian musician
• 1926 – Abdus Salam, Pakistani physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1996)
• 1927 – Edward Abbey, American author and environmentalist (d. 1989)
• 1928 – Lee Shau Kee, Hong Kong property developer
• 1929 – Gordon Solie, American professional wrestling announcer (d. 2000)
• 1930 – Derek Bailey, English guitar virtuoso (d. 2005)
• 1930 – John Junkin, English radio, television and film performer and scriptwriter (d. 2006)
• 1932 – Tommy Taylor, English footballer (d. 1958)
• 1932 – George Allen, English footballer
• 1933 – Sacha Distel, French singer and guitarist (d. 2004)
• 1933 – Ron Townson, American singer (The 5th Dimension) (d. 2001)
• 1936 – James Jamerson, American bass guitarist for Motown Records (d. 1983)
• 1939 – Germaine Greer, Australian writer
• 1940 – Katharine Ross, American actress
• 1940 – Kunimitsu Takahashi, Japanese motorcycle racer and racing driver
• 1942 – Claudine Longet, French singer, dancer and convicted murderer
• 1944 – Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda
• 1945 – Jim Nicholson, Irish politician
• 1945 – Tom Selleck, American actor
• 1947 – Linda B. Buck, American scientist, Nobel laureate
• 1947 – David Byron, English singer (Uriah Heep) (d. 1985)
• 1947 – Marián Varga, Slovak musician
• 1948 – Cristina Saralegui, American talk-show host
• 1948 – Marc Singer, Canadian-born actor
• 1948 – Pat Kenny, Irish TV presenter & radio host
• 1950 – Ann Jillian, American actress
• 1950 – Jody Scheckter, South African race car driver and one-time F1 world champion
• 1951 – Andy Roberts, West Indian cricketer
• 1952 – Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-born musician and record producer (The Ramones)
• 1953 – Paulin Bordeleau, Quebec ice hockey player
• 1953 – Hwang Woo-Suk, South Korean biomedical scientist
• 1953 – Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (d. 1995)
• 1953 – Lynne McGranger, Australian actress
• 1954 – Richard “Handsome Dick” Manitoba, American singer (The Dictators and MC5)
• 1954 – Terry Kinney, American actor
• 1954 – Oprah Winfrey, American producer, actress, talk show host, and publisher
• 1954 – Doug Risebrough, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive
• 1955 – Lynne McGranger, Australian actress
• 1957 – Grazyna Miller, Italian poet, translator, and journalist
• 1960 – Matthew Ashford, American actor
• 1960 – Gia Carangi, American model (d. 1986)
• 1960 – Sean Kerly, English field hockey player
• 1960 – Greg Louganis, American diver
• 1960 – Steve Sax, American baseball player
• 1960 – J. G. Thirlwell, Australian-born musician
• 1962 – Nicholas Turturro, American actor
• 1963 – Bob Holly, American professional wrestler
• 1964 – Andre Reed, American football player
• 1964 – John Habyan, American baseball player
• 1964 – Roddy Frame, lead singer of Scottish New Wave band Aztec Camera
• 1964 – Anna Ryder Richardson, British interior designer and television presenter.
• 1965 – Dominik Hašek, Czech ice hockey player
• 1965 – Peter Lundgren, Swedish tennis coach
• 1966 – Romário, Brazilian footballer
• 1967 – Cyril Suk, Czech tennis player
• 1967 – Stacey King, American basketball player
• 1968 – Edward Burns, American actor
• 1968 – Susi Erdmann, German bobsledder and luger
• 1968 – Sora Jung, Korean actress
• 1969 – Thomas Jane, American actor
• 1969 – Hyde, Japanese singer1970 – Heather Graham, American actress
• 1970 – Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Indian shooter
• 1970 – Jörg Hoffmann, German swimmer
• 1973 – Jason Schmidt, American baseball player
• 1975 – Sara Gilbert, American actress
• 1976 – Charles Divins, American model-turned-actor
• 1977 – Justin Hartley, American actor
• 1978 – Martin Schmitt, German ski jumper
• 1978 – Rob Bironas, American football player
• 1979 – April Scott, American actress and model
• 1979 – Joseph Todd, Arena Football League player
• 1979 – Sui Feifei, Chinese basketball player
• 1980 – Yael Bar-Zohar, Israeli actress and model
• 1980 – Ivan Klasnic, Croatian football player
• 1981 – Jonny Lang, American musician
• 1981 – Álex Ubago, Spanish musician
• 1982 – Heidi Mueller, American actress
• 1983 – Nedžad Sinanovic, Bosnian basketball player
• 1985 – Athina Onassis, French heiress
• 1985 – Marc Gasol, Spanish basketball player
• 1986 – Drew Tyler Bell, American actor
• 1986 – Mark Howard, English football player
• 1986 – Simon Vukcevic, Montenegrin football player
• 1987 – Spencer Clark, American race car driver (d. 2006)
• 1987 – Matthew Wilson, English world rally driver
• 1988 – Stephanie Gilmore, Australian professional surfer
• 1993 – Michelle Larcher De Brito, Portuguese tennis player.
• 1996 – Megan Jossa, English actress

January 29 – Deaths:

• 1119 – Pope Gelasius II
• 1342 – Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1279)
• 1597 – Elias Ammerbach, German organist (b. 1530)
• 1608 – Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1557)
• 1647 – Francis Meres, English writer (b. 1565)
• 1676 – Tsar Alexis I of Russia (b. 1629)
• 1678 – Jeronimo Lobo, Portuguese Jesuit missionary (b. 1593)
• 1696 – Ivan V, Russian tsar (b. 1666)
• 1706 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and courtier (b. 1638)
• 1737 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, British soldier (b. 1666)
• 1743 – André-Hercule de Fleury, chief minister under Louis XV of France (b. 1653)
• 1763 – Louis Racine, French poet (b. 1692)
• 1820 – King George III of the United Kingdom (b. 1738)
• 1829 – Paul François Jean Nicolas Barras, French politician (b. 1755)
• 1870 – Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1797)
• 1871 – Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé, French Canadian writer and Seigneur (b. 1786)
• 1899 – Alfred Sisley, British impressionist painter (b. 1839)
• 1901 – Milan I, King of Serbia (b. 1855)
• 1906 – King Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1818)
• 1918 – Aleksei Maksimovich Kaledin, Russian counter revolutionary (b. 1861)
• 1928 – Douglas Haig, British soldier (b. 1861)
• 1933 – Sara Teasdale, American poet (b. 1884)
• 1934 – Fritz Haber, German chemist, Nobel Laureate (b. 1868)
• 1941 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and dictator (b. 1871)
• 1946 – Harry Hopkins, 8th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1890)
• 1948 – Tomislav II of Croatia, 4th Duke of Aosta, Italian aristocrat (b. 1900)
• 1950 – Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1885)
• 1951 – Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (b. 1880)
• 1956 – H. L. Mencken, American journalist (b. 1880)
• 1962 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian violinist (b. 1875)
• 1963 – Robert Frost, American poet (b. 1874)
• 1964 – Alan Ladd, American actor (b. 1913)
• 1966 – Pierre Mercure, French Canadian composer (b. 1927)
• 1969 – Allen Dulles, American CIA director (b. 1893)
• 1970 – Basil Liddell Hart, British historian (b. 1895)
• 1977 – Buster Nupen, South African cricketer (b. 1902)
• 1977 – Freddie Prinze, American actor and comedian (b. 1954)
• 1980 – Jimmy Durante, American actor and comedian (b. 1893)
• 1986 – Leif Erickson, American actor (b. 1911)
• 1989 – Halina Konopacka, Polish athlete (b. 1900)
• 1991 – Yasushi Inoue, Japanese historian (b. 1907)
• 1992 – Willie Dixon, American composer and musician (b. 1915)
• 1994 – Ulrike Maier, Austrian alpine skier (b. 1967)
• 1998 – Joseph Alioto, mayor of San Francisco (b. 1916)
• 1999 – Lili St. Cyr, American dancer (b. 1918)
• 2002 – Dick “Night Train” Lane, American football player (b. 1928)
• 2002 – Harold Russell, Canadian-born actor (b. 1914)
• 2003 – Frank Moss, United States Senator from Utah (b. 1911)
• 2004 – M. M. Kaye, British writer (b. 1908)
• 2004 – Janet Frame, New Zealand writer (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Eric Griffiths, Welsh guitarist (The Quarrymen) (b. 1940)
• 2005 – Ephraim Kishon, Israeli satirst (b. 1924)
• 2007 – Barbaro, American thoroughbred racehorse (b. 2003)
• 2007 – Dia Abdul Zahra Kadim, leader of the Iraqi cult Soldiers of Heaven (b. 1970)
• 2008 – Raymond Jacobs, United States Marine Corps F Company Radioman (Iwo Jima) (b. 1925)
• 2008 – Philippe Khorsand, French actor (b. 1948)

January 29 – Holidays:

• Roman Catholic saints – Valerius of Trèves, Saint Juniper
• Gibraltar – Constitution Day