December 29

### 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.
- 2024 – Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, dies at the age of 100.

### 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 and member of the band Wallows

### 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)
- 2024 – Jimmy Carter, American politician, 39th President of the United States (b. 1924)

## Observances

- Independence Day (Mongolia)
- Constitution Day (Republic of Ireland)
- Start of the Four Hills Ski jumping tournament (Germany and Austria)