# 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)