September 29



Events

Up to 1900 
 61 BC  Pompey the Great celebrates his third triumph, for victories over the pirates and the end of the Mithridatic Wars on his 45th birthday.
 48 BC  Ptolemy XIII of Egypt had Pompey murdered and his head cut off on his 58th birthday. Pompey's head and ring are kept for Julius Caesar (some sources give September 28).
 AD 855  Pope Benedict III becomes Pope.
 1015  St. Michael's Church in Hildesheim, present-day Lower Saxony, Germany, is consecrated; It is now on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
 1227  Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor is excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX for not taking part in the Crusades.
 1364  Battle of Auray – English forces defeat French at Brittany; end of the Breton War of Succession
 1567  At a dinner, the Duke of Alva arrests the Count of Egmont and the Count of Horne for treason.
 1717  An earthquake strikes Antigua, Guatemala, destroying much of the city.
 1760  The French surrender at Fort Detroit to the British.
 1774  Publication of the Sorrows of Young Werther makes Johann Wolfgang von Goethe famous.
 1789  United States War Department first establishes regular army with strength of several hundred men.
 1789  First United States Congress adjourns.
 1829  London's reorganized police force goes on duty, and later becomes known as Scotland Yard. The Metropolitan Police force is founded.
 1850  A Roman Catholic hierarchy is re-established in England, Wales by Pope Pius IX.
 1864  American Civil War: Battle of Chaffin's Farm is fought.
 1885  The first practical public electric tramway in the world is opened in Blackpool, England, United Kingdom.

1901  2000 
 1902  Impresario David Belasco's first Broadway theater opens.
 1907  The cornerstone is laid at Washington National Cathedral.
 1911  Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
 1913  Mexican Revolution: The Battle of Torreon is fought.
 1918  Hindenburg Line is broken by Allied forces during World War I.
 1923  The British mandate for Palestine takes effect.
 1932  Chaco War: Last Day of the Battle of Boquerón.
 1934  The Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City is opened.
 1938  Britain and France, Nazi Germany and Italy sign the Munich Agreement allowing Germany to occupy the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia.
 1939  World War II: Poland is divided between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
 1941  Holocaust: The Babi Yar massacre begins.
 1943  World War II: United States General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Italian Marshal Pietro Badoglio sign an armistice aboard the British ship Nelson off the shore of Malta.
 1944  World War II: Soviet forces invade Yugoslavia.
 1949  The Communist Party of China writes the Common Programme for the future People's Republic of China, which is declared by Mao Zedong two days later, on October 1.
 1954  Convention establishing CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) is signed.
 1960  Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev disrupts the UN General Assembly meeting with a series of angry outbursts.
 1961  The New York Times publishes music critic Robert Sheldon's review of a performance from little known singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, which will lead to Dylan's discovery by Columbia Records representative John Hammond
 1962  Alouette 1, the first Canadian satellite is launched.
 1963  The University of East Anglia is founded in Norwich, England, United Kingdom.
 1964  Mafalda, a comic strip by the Argentine cartoonist Quino, first appears in newspapers.
 1966  The Chevrolet Camaro, originally named "Panther", is introduced.
 1971  Oman joins the Arab League.
 1972  Sino-Japanese relations: Japan establishes diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China after breaking official ties with the Republic of China.
 1977  Muhammad Ali defends his heavyweight boxing world title against Earnie Shavers.
 1988  NASA resumes space shuttle flights, grounded after the Challenger disaster.
 1990  Washington National Cathedral is completed.
 1991  A military coup occurs in Haiti.
 1992  Fernando Collor de Mello, President of Brazil, resigns.
 1995  PlayStation goes on sale in Europe.
 1996  Super Mario 64, a well-known Nintendo 64 video game, is released in the US.

From 2001 
 2002  The 14th Asian Games begin in Busan, South Korea.
 2004  The asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within four lunar distances of Earth.
 2006  A plane collision in Brazil kills 154 people on board a Boeing 737. The cargo plane manages an emergency landing.
 2007  Calder Hall power station at Sellafield, Cumbria, England, is demolished.
 2008  The Dow Jones Industrial Average index falls by 777.68 points in a single day.
 2009  A magnitude 8.1 earthquake causes a tsunami near Samoa and American Samoa, killing at least 189 people, including 9 in Tonga.
 2013  At least 42 people are killed by members of Boko Haram in Gujba, Nigeria.
 2014  Ashraf Ghani is sworn in as President of Afghanistan.
 2019 - Big fights following the Afghani elections

Births

Up to 1800 
 106 BC  Pompey the Great, Roman politician and general (died 48 BC)
 1240  Margaret of England, Queen Consort of Scotland (died 1275)
 1276  King Christopher II of Denmark (died 1332)
 1328  Joan of Kent, mother of King Richard II of England (died 1385)
 1388  Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, son of Henry IV of England (died 1421)
 1511  Michael Servetus, Spanish humanist, theologian, and scientist (died 1553)
 1518  Tintoretto, Italian painter (died 1594)
 1547  Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer (died 1616)
 1548  William V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1621)
 1561  Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish mathematician (died 1615)
 1571  Caravaggio, Italian painter (died 1610)
 1636  Thomas Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury (died 1715)
 1678  Adrien-Maurice, 3rd Duke of Noailles, French soldier (died 1766)
 1691  Richard Challoner, English bishop (died 1781)
 1718  Nikita Ivanovich Panin, Russian statesman (died 1783)
 1725  Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, British politician (died 1774)
 1735  James Keir, Scottish physician and chemist (died 1820)
 1758  Horatio Nelson, British admiral (died 1805)
 1766  Charlotte, Princess Royal (died 1828)
 1786  Guadalupe Victoria, 1st President of Mexico (died 1843)

1801  1900 
 1803  Jacques Charles Francois Sturm, French mathematician (died 1855)
 1810  Elizabeth Gaskell, English writer (died 1865)
 1810  Hugh Allan, Scottish-Canadian businessman (died 1882)
 1818  Nathaniel B. Baker, 24th Governor of New Hampshire (died 1876)
 1820  Henri, Count of Chambord, claimant to the French throne (died 1883)
 1843  Mikhail Skobelev, Russian general (died 1882)
 1844  Miguel Angel Juarez Colman, President of Argentina (died 1909)
 1853  Princess Thyra of Denmark (died 1933)
 1863  Hugo Haase, German politician (died 1919)
 1864  Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish writer and philosopher (died 1936)
 1866  Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Ukrainian politician (died 1934)
 1866  J. E. Casely Hayford, Ghanaian politician, lawyer and writer (died 1930)
 1867  Walther Rathenau, German politician (died 1922)
 1880  Liberato Pinto, Portuguese general and politician (died 1949)
 1881  Ludwig von Mises, Austrian-American economist, sociologist and philosopher (died 1973)
 1895  Roscoe Turner, American pilot (died 1970)
 1899  László Biró, Hungarian inventor (died 1985)
 1899  Billy Butlin, South African-British holiday entrepreneur (d. 1980)
 1900  Auguste van Pels, Dutch Holocaust victim (died 1945)
 1900  Michel Koliqi, Albanian cardinal (died 1997)

1901  1950 
 1901  Enrico Fermi, Italian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1954)
 1901  Lanza del Vasto, Italian philosopher, poet and activist (died 1981)
 1902  Miguel Aleman Valdes, President of Mexico (died 1983)
 1903  Diana Vreeland, American fashion designer (died 1989)
 1904  Greer Garson, British actress (died 1996)
 1904  Egon Eiermann, German architect and designer (died 1970)
 1907  Gene Autry, American country music singer and actor (died 1998)
 1908  Eddie Tolan, American athlete (died 1967)
 1910  Virginia Bruce, American actress and singer (died 1982)
 1911  Charles Court, English-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Western Australia (died 2007)
 1912  Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian movie director (died 2007)
 1913  Silvio Piola, Italian footballer (died 1996)
 1913  Stanley Kramer, American movie director (died 2001)
 1913  Trevor Howard, English actor (died 1988)
 1915  Brenda Marshall, American actress (died 1992)
 1916  Antonio Buero Vallejos, Spanish playwright (died 2000)
 1919  Margot Hielscher, German singer and actress (died 2017)
 1919  Kira Zvorykina, Belarussian chess player (died 2014)
 1920  Peter D. Mitchell, English chemist (died 1992)
 1920  Vaclav Neumann, Czech conductor, violinist and violist (died 1995)
 1921  Franny Beecher, American guitarist (died 2014)
 1922  Esther Brand, South African athlete (died 2015)
 1922  Lizabeth Scott, American actress (died 2015)
 1923  Stan Berenstain, American writer and illustrator (died 2005)
 1924  Marina Berti, Italian actress (died 2002)
 1925  Steve Forrest, American actor (died 2013)
 1928  Gerhard Stoltenberg, German politician (died 2001)
 1928  Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, English politician (died 2016)
 1930  Colin Dexter, English writer (died 2017)
 1931  Anita Ekberg, Swedish actress (died 2015)
 1931  James Watson Cronin, American nuclear physicist (died 2016)
 1931  Paul Oestreicher, German-English priest and theologian
 1932  Rainer Weiss, German-American physicist, 2017 Nobel laureate
 1932  Mehmood, Indian actor (died 2004)
 1932  Robert Benton, American director
 1933  Samora Machel, President of Mozambique (died 1986)
 1935  Jerry Lee Lewis, American early rock and roll musician
 1935  Mylene Demongeot, French actress
 1935  Ingrid Noll, German writer
 1936  Silvio Berlusconi, former Prime Minister of Italy
 1937  Nina Wang, Chinese businesswoman (died 2007)
 1938  Wim Kok, Dutch politician, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands (died 2018)
 1939  Rhodri Morgan, Welsh politician, former First Minister of Wales (died 2017)
 1939  Jim Baxter, Scottish footballer (died 2001)
 1939  Larry Linville, American actor (died 2000)
 1940  Nicola di Bari, Italian singer
 1940  Carlos Morales Troncoso, Vice President of the Dominican Republic (died 2014)
 1941  Fred West, British serial killer (died 1995)
 1942  Ian McShane, British actor
 1942  Jean-Luc Ponty, French jazz violinist
 1942  Bill Nelson, American politician
 1942  Madeline Kahn, American actress (died 1999)
 1942  Felice Gimondi, Italian cyclist (died 2019)
 1943  Mohammad Khatami, former President of Iran
 1943  Wolfgang Overath, German footballer
 1943  Lech Walesa, former President of Poland
 1945  Nadezhda Chizhova, Russian athlete
 1946  Steve Dalachinsky, American poet (died 2019)
 1946  Patricia Hodge, English actress
 1947  S. H. Kapadia, Chief Justice of India (died 2016)
 1948  Theo Jörgensmann, German jazz clarinet player
 1948  Mike Pinera, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer

1951  1975 
 1951  Maureen Caird, Australian athlete
 1951  Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile
 1951  Pier Luigi Bersani, Italian politician
 1951  Jutta Ditfurth, German author and activist
 1952  Gábor Csupo, Hungarian-born animator
 1952  Patrícia Gabancho, Argentine-Spanish writer (d. 2017)
 1952  Monika Zehrt, German athlete
 1954  Debbie Shapiro, American actress and singer
 1955  Ann Bancroft, American adventurer, polar explorer and writer
 1955  Gareth Davies, Welsh rugby player
 1955  Ken Weatherwax, American actor (died 2014)
 1956  Sebastian Coe, English athlete and politician
 1957  Chris Broad, English cricketer
 1957  Andrew Dice Clay, American comedian and actor
 1959  Raffaele Riefoli, Italian singer
 1961  Julia Gillard, Welsh-Australian politician, 27th Prime Minister of Australia
 1961  Stephanie Miller, American comedienne and radio host
 1961  Tom Sizemore, American actor
 1962  Janne Andersson, Swedish footballer and manager
 1966  Helsey Hawkins, American basketball player
 1966  Bujar Nishani, former President of Albania
 1968  Luke Goss, English actor and singer
 1968  Matt Goss, English singer
 1969  Erika Eleniak, American actress and model
 1969  Ivica Vastic, Austrian footballer
 1970  Emily Lloyd, English actress
 1971  Mackenzie Crook, English actor and comedian
 1972  Robert Webb, English comedian, actor and screenwriter (Peep Show)
 1974  Alexis Cruz, American actor
 1975  Albert Celades, Spanish footballer

From 1976 
 1976  Andriy Shevchenko, Ukrainian footballer
 1977  Heath Bell, American baseball player
 1978  Aleš Fućak, Croatian comedian
 1979  Gaitana, Ukrainian singer
 1980  Patrick Agyemang, English footballer
 1980  Zachary Levi, American actor
 1980  Dallas Green, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
 1981  Shane Smeltz, New Zealand footballer
 1982  Amy Williams, British skeleton bobsledder
 1984  Per Mertesacker, German footballer
 1984  Rune Almenning Jarstein, Norwegian footballer
 1985  Dani Pedrosa, Spanish motorcycle racer
 1987  Josh Farro, American bassist (Paramore)
 1988  Kevin Durant, American basketball player
 1989  Yevhen Konoplyanka, Ukrainian footballer
 1990  Doug Brochu, American actor
 1990  Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir, Icelandic footballer
 1990  Lena Wermelt, German footballer
 1993  Carlos Salcedo, Mexican footballer
 1994  Halsey, American singer-songwriter
 1994  Andy Polo, Peruvian footballer
 1999  Juan Valentín Urdangarín, Spanish royal
 2008  Emma Tallulah Behn, member of the extended Norwegian Royal Family

Deaths

Up to 1950 
 48 BC  Pompey the Great, Roman general (assassinated) (b. 106 BC)
 722  Leudwinus, Frankish bishop (b. 660)
 855  Lothair I, Emperor of the Romans (b. 795)
 1364  Charles de Blois, Duke of Brittany (b. 1319)
 1560  King Gustav I of Sweden (b. 1496)
 1637  Lorenzo Ruiz, Filipino saint (b. 1600)
 1800  Michael Denis, Austrian poet (b. 1729)
 1804  Michael Hillegas, first Treasurer of the United States (b. 1728)
 1833  King Ferdinand VII of Spain (b. 1784)
 1862  William "Bull" Nelson, American military officer (b. 1824)
 1887  Bernhard von Langenbeck, German surgeon (b. 1810)
 1900  Michael Denis, Austrian priest (b. 1729)
 1902  Émile Zola, French writer (b. 1840)
 1902  William Topaz McGonagall, Scottish poet (b. 1825)
 1908  Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Brazilian writer (b. 1839)
 1910  Winslow Homer, American painter (b. 1836)
 1913  Rudolf Diesel, German inventor and engineer (b. 1858)
 1925  Léon Bourgeois, French politician (b. 1851)
 1927  Willem Einthoven, Dutch doctor, won the 1924 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1860)
 1930  Ilya Repin, Ukrainian painter (b. 1844)
 1937  Ray Ewry, American athlete (b. 1873)

1951  2000 
 1952  John Cobb, British racing driver (b. 1899)
 1953  Ernst Reuter, German politician (b. 1889)
 1958  Aarre Merikanto, Finnish composer (b. 1893)
 1964  Fred Tootell, American athlete (b. 1902)
 1967  Carson McCullers, American writer (b. 1917)
 1970  Edward Everett Horton, actor (b. 1886)
 1973  W. H. Auden, English poet (b. 1907)
 1975  Casey Stengel, American baseball player and coach (b. 1890)
 1981  Bill Shankly, Scottish football manager (b. 1913)
 1982  Monty Stratton, American Major League Baseball pitcher (b. 1912)
 1987  Henry Ford II, American businessman (b. 1917)
 1988  Charles Addams, American cartoonist (b. 1912)
 1989  August Anheuser Busch, Jr., American brewer (b. 1899)
 1993  Gordon Douglas, American movie director (b. 1907)
 1994  Cheb Hasni, Algerian singer (b. 1968)
 1996  Leslie Crowther, English comedian, actor and game show host (b. 1933)
 1997  Roy Lichtenstein, American artist (b. 1923)
 1998  Tom Bradley, Mayor of Los Angeles, California (b. 1917)

From 2001 
 2001  Nguyen Van Thieu, President of South Vietnam (b. 1923)
 2004  Christer Pettersson, Swedish murder suspect (b. 1947)
 2006  Louis-Albert Vachon, French-Canadian cardinal and Archbishop of Quebec (b. 1912)
 2006  Walter Hadlee, 91, New Zealand cricketer, (b. 1915)
 2007  Lois Maxwell, Canadian actress (b. 1927)
 2009  Pavel Popovich, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1930)
 2010  Georges Charpak, Polish-born physicist (b. 1924)
 2010  Tony Curtis, American actor (b. 1925)
 2010  Greg Giraldo, American comedian (b. 1965)
 2011  Hella Haasse, Dutch writer (b. 1918)
 2012  Hebe Camargo, Brazilian actress, singer and television presenter (b. 1929)
 2012  Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, American publisher (b. 1926)
 2013  Carl Joachim Classen, German scholar (b. 1928)
 2014  Miguel Boyer, French-Spanish economist and politician (b. 1939)
 2014  Luis Nishizawa, Mexican painter (b. 1918)
 2014  George Shuba, American baseball player (b. 1924)
 2015  Phil Woods, American jazz musician, bandleader and composer (b. 1931)
 2015  Hellmuth Karasek, German literary critic and journalist (b. 1934)
 2016  Miriam Defensor Santiago, Filipina politician (b. 1945)
 2017  Tom Alter, Indian actor (b. 1950)
 2017  Ludmila Belousova, Russian skater (b. 1935)
 2017  Magdalena Ribbing, Swedish etiquette expert, writer and journalist (b. 1940)
 2017  Dmitry Smolsky, Belarussian composer and teacher (b. 1937)
 2018  Alves Barbosa, Portuguese cyclist (b. 1931)
 2018  Otis Rush, American blues guitarist and singer (b. 1935)
 2019  Beatriz Aguirre, Mexican actress (b. 1925)
 2019  Busbee, American songwriter (b. 1976)
 2019  Ilkka Laitinen, Finnish military officer and politician (b. 1962)
 2019  Yuriy Meshkov, Russian politician (b. 1945)
 2020  Mac Davis, American country singer (b. 1942)
 2020  Helen Reddy, Australian-American singer (b. 1941)

Observances 
 Christian Feast Day of Michaelmas and Feast day of the three Archangels, honouring St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael
 Inventors' Day in Argentina
 International Coffee Day
 Victory of Boquerón Day (Paraguay)

Other websites 
 BBC: On This Day

Days of the year