Title: December 29 Content: == Events == === Up to 1900 === * 1170 – Thomas Becket, is slain in his own cathedral on orders from Henry II of England. * 1778 - American Revolutionary War: 3,000 British soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell capture Savannah, Georgia, US. * 1786 - French Revolution: The Assembly of the Notables is convened. * 1813 – War of 1812: British soldiers burn Buffalo, New York. * 1837 – The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, is destroyed by fire. * 1845 – Texas is admitted as the 28th U.S. state. * 1851 – The first American-based YMCA opens, in Boston, Massachusetts * 1860 – The first British seagoing iron-clad warship, the HMS Warrior is launched. * 1874 - Alfonso XII of Spain is declared as King. * 1876 – The Ashtabula River Railroad bridge disaster, 64 injured, 92 dead at Ashtabula, Ohio. * 1890 – Wounded Knee Massacre: The United States soldiers massacre over 400 men, women and children of the Great Sioux Nation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. * 1891 – Thomas Edison patents the radio. * 1893 - French astronomer Stéphane Javelle discovers the pair of galaxies named IC 298. === 1901 2000 === * 1911 – Sun Yat-sen becomes the first President of the Republic of China. * 1911 – Mongolia becomes independent. * 1913 – The first movie serial, The Unwelcome Throne is released by Seligs Polyscope Company. * 1921 – William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes Prime Minister of Canada for the first time. * 1930 - Muhammad Iqbal's presidential address in Allahabad introduces the two-nation theory and outlines a vision for what would become Pakistan. * 1934 – The first college basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York City is played, between the University of Notre Dame and New York University. * 1934 – Japan renounces the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930. * 1937 – The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Ireland when a new constitution is adopted. * 1940 – Battle of Britain: Luftwaffe firebombs London, killing almost 3000 civilians . * 1949 – KC2XAK of Bridgeport, Connecticut becomes the first Ultra high frequency (UHF) television station to operate a daily schedule. * 1959 - The Lisbon Metro begins operating. * 1972 – An Eastern Airlines Lockheed Tristar crashed on approach to Miami International Airport, Florida, killing 101 * 1975 – A bomb explodes at New York City's LaGuardia Airport killing 11. * 1978 – The first post-Franco constitution in Spain becomes effective. * 1981 - Singapore Changi Airport opens. * 1987 – Yuri Romanenko of USSR remained in outer space for 326 days and came back to Earth on this day that year. * 1989 – Václav Havel becomes President of Czechoslovakia * 1989 – Riots break-out after Hong Kong decides to forcibly repatriate Vietnamese refugees. * 1989 – On the final day of trading for the year and decade, the Japanese Nikkei 225 Average closes at an all-time high of 38,915.87. * 1992 – Fernando Collor de Mello, President of Brazil, resigns. * 1993 – Construction of the Tian Tan Buddha, the world's tallest outdoor bronze statue of the seated Buddha, is completed. * 1993 – Garry Kasparov wins the world champion chess title from Anatoly Karpov. * 1996 – Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union sign a peace accord that ends a 36-year civil war. * 1997 – Hong Kong begins to kill all the nation's chickens (1.25 million) to stop the spread of a potentially deadly influenza strain. * 1998 – Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologize for the genocide in Cambodia that claimed over 1 million lives in the 1970s. === From 2001 === * 2001 – A fire at the Mesa Redonda Shopping Centre in Lima, Peru, kills 292 people. * 2003 – The last speaker of the Akkala Sami language dies, making the language extinct. * 2007 - The New England Patriots defeated the New York Giants 38-35 and became the first team with 16 wins and no losses. * 2009 – Akmal Shaikh becomes the first citizen of a present-day European Union country to be executed in the People's Republic of China for over 50 years. * 2011 – This date is followed by December 31 in Samoa and Tokelau, as the International Date Line is shifted. * 2012 - 2012 Delhi gang rape case: A 23-year-old student attacked on a bus on December 16 dies of her injuries. * 2013 - A suicide bomb attack on a train station in Volgograd, southern Russia, kills at least 16 people. * 2013 - Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is severely injured in a skiing accident in the French Alps. * 2014 - Politicians in Greece are unable to elect a President, with main candidate Stavros Dimas failing to get enough votes. New elections are called for January 2015. * 2016 - The Duge Bridge in Luipanshui, People's Republic of China, the tallest bridge in the world, is opened to traffic. * 2016 - Barack Obama's administration expels 35 Russian diplomats in response to alleged Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. * 2017 - A fire at a hotel and restaurant complex in Mumbai kills 14 people. == Births == === Up to 1900 === * 1019 - Munjong of Goryeo, Korean monarch (d. 1083) * 1709 – Empress Elizabeth of Russia (d. 1762) * 1721 – Madame de Pompadour, mistress to King Louis XV of France (d. 1764) * 1766 - Charles Macintosh, Scottish inventor (d. 1843) * 1778 – Friedrich Ast, German philosopher (d. 1841) * 1788 - Christian Jürgensen Thomsen, Danish historian (d. 1865) * 1788 - Tomas de Zumalacarregui, Spanish general (d. 1835) * 1796 – Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist (d. 1877) * 1800 – Charles Goodyear, American inventor of the vulcanization of rubber (d. 1860) * 1808 – Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States (d. 1875) * 1809 – William Ewart Gladstone, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1897) * 1809 - Albert Pike, American attorney, soldier and writer (d. 1891) * 1813 - Alexander Parkes, English metallurgist and inventor (d. 1890) * 1813 - Karel Sabina, Czech journalist, politician and writer (d. 1877) * 1816 - Carl Ludwig, German physician (d. 1895) * 1838 - Walter Runeberg, Finnish sculptor (d. 1920) * 1840 – Anton Dohrn, zoologist (d. 1909) * 1843 - Elisabeth of Wied, Queen of Romania and novelist (d. 1916) * 1844 - Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee, Indian barrister and first President of the Indian National Congress (d. 1906) * 1856 - Thomas Joannes Stieltjes, Dutch-French mathematician and academic (d. 1894) * 1859 – Venustiano Carranza, President of Mexico (d. 1920) * 1871 - William Thomas Calman, Scottish zoologist (d. 1952) * 1871 - Giuseppe Motta, Swiss politician (d. 1940) * 1876 – Pablo Casals, Catalan cellist and conductor (d. 1973) * 1879 – Billy Mitchell, United States Army officer, United States Air Force pioneer (d. 1936) * 1881 – Jess Willard, boxing champion (d. 1968) * 1888 - Josef Beran, Czech cardinal (d. 1969) * 1890 – Käthe Dorsch, German actress (d. 1957) * 1899 - Nie Rongzhen, Chinese Communist leader (d. 1992) === 1901 1950 === * 1904 - Kuvempu, Indian Kannada writer (d. 1994) * 1908 – Helmut Gollwitzer, German theologian (d. 1993) * 1910 – Ronald Coase, British economist (d. 2013) * 1910 – Gunnar Thoroddsen, Icelandic politician, Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1983) * 1911 – Klaus Fuchs, German-British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (d. 1988) * 1913 – Pierre Werner, Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 2002) * 1914 – Billy Tipton, American jazz musician (d. 1989) * 1914 – Albert Tucker, Australian artist (d 1999) * 1917 – Tom Bradley, Mayor of Los Angeles, California (d. 1998) * 1919 - Alfred de Grazia, American political scientist and author (d. 2014) * 1919 - Roman Vlad, Romanian-Italian composer (d. 2013) * 1920 – Ratu Iosefa Iloilo, President of Fiji (d. 2011) * 1920 – Viveca Lindfors, Swedish actress (d. 1995) * 1921 - Dobrica Cosic, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (d. 2014) * 1921 - Robert C. Baker, American chef, inventor of the Chicken nugget (d. 2006) * 1923 - Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegalese historian, anthropologist and physicist (d. 1986) * 1923 - Dina Merrill, American actress (d. 2017) * 1925 - Luis Alberto Monge, President of Costa Rica (d. 2016) * 1926 - John Spellman, American politician, Governor of Washington (d. 2018) * 1927 – Andy Stanfield, American athlete (d. 1985) * 1928 - Bernard Cribbins, English actor * 1931 – Prince Gu of Korea (d. 2005) * 1932 - Inga Swenson, American actress * 1934 – Ed Flanders, American actor (d. 1995) * 1936 – Mary Tyler Moore, American actress (The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Tyler Moore) (d. 2017) * 1936 – Ray Nitschke, American football player (d. 1998) * 1937 – Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, former President of the Maldives * 1937 – Dieter Thomas Heck, German singer and entertainer * 1937 – Barbara Steele, British actress * 1938 - Michael Hill, New Zealand businessman * 1938 – Jon Voight, American actor * 1941 - Daphne Arden, English athlete * 1941 - Ray Thomas, English singer-songwriter (d. 2018) * 1942 - Rajesh Khanna, Indian actor (d. 2012) * 1942 – Rick Danko, Canadian musician ("The Band") (d. 1999) * 1942 - Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, Honduran cardinal * 1943 - Atsutoshi Nishida, Japanese business executive (d. 2017) * 1946 – Marianne Faithfull, British singer * 1947 – Ted Danson, American actor * 1947 - Cozy Powell, English musician (d. 1998) * 1948 – Peter Robinson, Northern Irish politician, former First Minister of Northern Ireland * 1949 - Grant McBride, Australian politician (d. 2018) * 1950 - Jon Polito, American actor (d. 2016) === 1951 1975 === * 1951 – Mike deGruy, American documentary movie maker (d. 2012) * 1951 - Yvonne Elliman, American singer, songwriter and actress * 1952 – Gelsey Kirkland, American dancer * 1953 - Gali Atari, Israeli singer and actress * 1953 - Thomas Bach, German fencer and IOC President * 1953 - Matthias Platzeck, German politician * 1953 - Alan Rusbridger, British newspaper editor * 1954 – Roger Voudouris, American singer-songwriter * 1954 – Prince Takamado of Japan (d. 2002) * 1954 – Albrecht Böttcher, German mathematician * 1956 - Fred MacAulay, Scottish comedian and radio presenter * 1957 - Iain Paxton, Scottish rugby player and coach * 1957 – Bruce Beutler, American Nobel Prize-winning immunologist * 1957 - Oliver Hirschbiegel, German movie director * 1958 - Nancy J. Currie, American colonel, engineer and astronaut * 1959 – Patricia Clarkson, American actress * 1959 - Keith Crossan, Irish rugby player * 1959 - Paula Poundstone, American comedienne, actress and author * 1960 - Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Congolese militia leader * 1961 - Jim Reid, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist * 1962 – Wynton Rufer, New Zealand footballer * 1962 - Carles Puigdemont, Catalan politician * 1963 - Dave McKean, English artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician * 1965 – Dexter Holland, American singer and musician * 1966 - Stefano Eranio, Italian footballer and manager * 1966 - Chris Barnes, American singer * 1967 - Evan Seinfeld, American actor and musician * 1967 – Andy Wachowski, American director (The Matrix) * 1969 - Jennifer Ehle, American actress * 1969 – Allan McNish, Scottish racing driver * 1970 – Aled Jones, Welsh singer * 1970 – Kevin Weisman, American actor * 1970 – Enrico Chiesa, Italian footballer * 1971 - Dominic Dale, Welsh snooker player * 1972 – Jason Kreis, American soccer player * 1972 – Jude Law, British actor * 1973 - Pimp C, American rapper (d. 2007) * 1974 – Richie Sexson, American Major League Baseball All- Star * 1974 - Mekhi Phifer, American actor and producer === From 1976 === * 1976 - Danny McBride, American actor, screenwriter and producer * 1977 - Katherine Moennig, American actress * 1978 – Kieron Dyer, English footballer * 1978 - Danny Higginbotham, English footballer * 1979 - Diego Luna, Mexican actor * 1981 – Shizuka Arakawa, Japanese figure skater * 1982 - Alison Brie, American actress * 1983 – Dereck Chisora, British boxer * 1983 - Angela Scanlon, Irish television presenter * 1983 – Gonzalo Olave, Chilean actor (d. 2009) * 1985 – Alexa Ray Joel, American musician * 1987 - Iain De Caestecker, Scottish actor * 1989 - Jane Levy, American actress * 1989 - Kei Nishikori, Japanese tennis player * 1990 - Allen Kim, South Korean singer, dancer and actor (U-KISS) * 1994 – Princess Kako of Akishino of Japan * 1995 - Rina Ikoma, Japanese singer * 1995 - Ross Lynch, American actor and singer * 1996 - Dylan Minnette, American actor == Deaths == === Up to 1900 === * 721 – Empress Gemmei of Japan (b. 661) * 1170 – Thomas Becket, English bishop (assassinated) (b. 1118) * 1565 - Queen Munjeong of Korea (b. 1501) * 1605 - John Davis, English explorer (b. 1550) * 1634 - John Albert Vasa, Polish cardinal (b. 1612) * 1661 - Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant, French poet (b. 1594) * 1689 - Thomas Sydenham, English physician (b. 1624) * 1731 - Brook Taylor, English mathematician (b. 1624) * 1743 - Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (b. 1659) * 1785 – Johan Herman Wessel, Norwegian poet (b. 1742) * 1825 – Jacques-Louis David, French painter (b. 1748) * 1886 - A. C. Gibbs, American politician, Governor of Oregon (b. 1825) * 1891 – Leopold Kronecker, German mathematician (b. 1823) * 1894 – Christina Rossetti, English poet (b. 1830) * 1897 - William James Linton, English-American painter, author and activist (b. 1812) === 1901 2000 === * 1910 - Reginald Doherty, English tennis player (b. 1872) * 1916 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian monk (b. 1869) * 1924 – Carl Spitteler, Swiss writer (b. 1845) * 1925 - Félix Vallotton, Swiss-French artist (b. 1865) * 1926 – Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian writer (b. 1875) * 1929 - Wilhelm Maybach, German automobile designer (b. 1846) * 1934 - Alma Tell, American actress (b. 1898) * 1937 – Don Marquis, writer (b. 1878) * 1941 - Tullio Levi-Civita, Italian mathematician (b. 1873) * 1952 - Fletcher Henderson, American pianist, composer and bandleader (b. 1897) * 1960 – Eden Phillpotts, British writer (b. 1862) * 1967 – Paul Whiteman, American musician and conductor (b. 1890) * 1972 - Joseph Cornell, American sculptor, painter and filmmaker (b. 1903) * 1976 – Ivo van Damme, Belgian athlete (b. 1954) * 1980 – Nadezhda Mandelstam, Russian writer (b. 1899) * 1980 – Tim Hardin, musician (b. 1941) * 1986 – Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian director (b. 1932) * 1986 – Harold Macmillan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1894) * 1995 - Lita Grey, American actress (b. 1908) * 1996 - Mireille Hartuch, French singer and actress (b. 1906) === From 2001 === * 2003 – Earl Hindman, American actor (b. 1942) * 2003 – Bob Monkhouse, British comedian (b. 1928) * 2004 – Julius Axelrod, American biochemist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recipient (b. 1912) * 2004 – Liddy Holloway, New Zealand actress (b. 1945) * 2005 - Gerda Boyesen, Norwegian-English psychotherapist and author (b. 1922) * 2007 – Phil O'Donnell, Scottish footballer (b. 1972) * 2008 – Freddie Hubbard, American musician (b. 1938) * 2009 – Akmal Shaikh, British citizen executed for drug trafficking in China (b. 1956) * 2010 – Avi Cohen, Israeli footballer (b. 1956) * 2011 – Leopold Hawelka, Austrian cafetier (b. 1911) * 2012 - Paulo Rocha, Portuguese director and screenwriter (b. 1935) * 2012 - Mike Auldridge, American singer and guitarist (b. 1938) * 2012 - Tony Greig, South African- born cricketer (b. 1946) * 2013 - Wojciech Kilar, Polish composer (b. 1932) * 2013 - Mary Wibberley, English novelist (b. 1934) * 2014 - Odd Iversen, Norwegian footballer (b. 1945) * 2015 - Pavel Srnicek, Czech footballer (b. 1968) * 2015 - Elzbieta Krzesinska, Polish athlete (b. 1934) * 2015 - Om Prakash Malhotra, Indian politician, 25th Governor of the Punjab (b. 1922) * 2015 - Frank Malzone, American baseball player (b. 1930) * 2015 - Kim Yang- gon, North Korean politician (b. 1942) * 2016 - Ferdinand Kübler, Swiss cyclist (b. 1919) * 2016 - Néstor Gonçalves, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1936) * 2017 - Carmen Franco, 1st Duchess of Franco, Spanish noble (b. 1926) * 2017 - John C. Portman Jr., American architect (b. 1924) == Observances == * Independence Day (Mongolia) * Constitution Day (Republic of Ireland) * Start of the Four Hills Ski jumping tournament (Germany and Austria) Category:Days of the year