May 29

Events
Up to 1900
1176 - Battle of Legnano: The Lombard League defeats Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor.
1328 - Philip VI of France is crowned King.
1453 - Fall of Constantinople: Ottoman armies under Sultan Mehmed II Fatih captures Constantinople after a 53-day siege, ending the Byzantine Empire.
1613 - Heavy flooding in Thuringia kills 2,261 people.
1660 - Charles II becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland as the monarchy is restored.
1677 - The Treaty of Middle Plantation establishes peace between the Virginia colonists and the local Native Americans.
1717 - The Spanish colonists create the Viceroyalty of New Granada, consisting of present-day Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, as well as areas that are now part of Peru and Guyana.
1727 - Peter II becomes Tsar of Russia.
1780 - American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of the Waxhaws, the British continue attacking after the Continentals lay down their arms, killing 113.
1790 - Rhode Island becomes the 13th State of the US.
1798 - United Irishmen Rebellion: Between 300 and 500 United Irishmen are massacred by the British Army in County Kildare, Ireland.
1825 - King Charles X of France crowns himself in Reims.
1848 - Wisconsin becomes the 30th State of the US.
1852 - Operatic singer Jenny Lind leaves New York City after a two-year tour of the United States.
1867 - The Austro-Hungarian compromise establishes the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria becomes King of Hungary on June 8.
1886 - Chemist John Pemberton advertises Coca-Cola in the Atlanta Journal.
1900 - N'Djamena is founded as Fort Lamy by French commander Emile Gentil.
1901 2000
1913 - Igor Stravinsky's ballet score The Rite of Spring receives its first performance in Paris, with a riot later occurring.
1914 - The Ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sinks in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, killing 1,024 people.
1917 - John F. Kennedy is born in Brookline, Massachusetts.
1918 - The current Flag of Finland is introduced.
1918 - Armenia defeats the Ottoman Army in the Battle of Sardarabad.
1919 - Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity is tested by Arthur Eddington and Andrew Claude de la Cherois.
1931 - Michele Schirru, a US citizen, is executed by an Italian military firing squad for intent to kill Benito Mussolini.
1935 - The Messerschmidt Bf 109 fighter aircraft has its first flight.
1939 - Albanian Fascist leader Tefik Mborja is appointed as member of the Italian Chamber of Fasces and Corporations.
1942 - Bing Crosby, the Ken Darby singers and the John Scott Trotter Orchestra record Irving Berlin's song White Christmas, which later becomes the best-selling Christmas single ever.
1948 - Creation of the UN peacekeeping force, the UN Truce Supervision Organization.
1953 - Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary become the first humans to reach the top of Mount Everest.
1954 - The first of the yearly Bilderberg conferences takes place.
1964 - The Arab League meets in East Jerusalem to discuss the Palestinian question, leading to the formation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
1966 - The Azteca Stadium opens in Mexico City and has a capacity of 105,000. It goes on to host the final of the FIFA World Cup on two occasions, in 1970 and 1986.
1973 - Tom Bradley is elected the first African American Mayor of Los Angeles.
1974 - Yitzhak Rabin replaces Golda Meir as Prime Minister of Israel.
1982 - Falklands War: British forces defeat the Argentines at the Battle of Goose Green.
1982 - Pope John Paul II visits Canterbury cathedral.
1985 - One of Europe's worst ever stadium disasters occurs after a riot at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, in which 39 people are killed. As a result, English football teams are banned from European Competition - the ban is removed a few years later.
1985 - Amputee Steve Fonyo completes a cross-Canada marathon in Victoria, British Columbia, after 14 months.
1986 - The current 12-star Flag of the European Union is first raised in Brussels.
1988 - US President Ronald Reagan begins his first official visit to the Soviet Union, to meet with Mikhail Gorbachev.
1990 - The Russian parliament elects Boris Yeltsin as President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
1994 - East Germany's former leader Erich Honecker dies in Santiago, Chile, at the age of 81.
1999 - Olusegun Obasanjo becomes President of Nigeria.
1999 - The Space Shuttle Discovery completes its first docking with the International Space Station.
From 2001
2004 - The US National World War II Memorial is unveiled in Washington, DC.
2005 - In a referendum, 54.8% of voters in France reject the proposed new European Constitution. Voters in the Netherlands also reject the Constitution by a majority a few days later.
2008 - 30 people are injured by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in Selfoss, Iceland.
2010 - Tropical storm Agatha kills 180 people in Guatemala. During the storm, a large sinkhole opens up in the middle of Guatemala City.
2010 - Lena Meyer-Landrut of Germany wins the 55th Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, Norway, with the song "Satellite".
2012 - A magnitude 5.8 earthquake hits Northern Italy near Bologna, killing at least 24 people.
2012 - Mitt Romney secures the Republican Party nomination for the US presidential election, in which he is defeated by incumbent Barack Obama on November 6.
2013 - The first same-sex marriage in France takes place.
2015 - Muhammadu Buhari takes office as President of Nigeria.
2015 - Sepp Blatter is controversially re-elected President of FIFA in a week of scandal at football's world governing body. He announces his resignation four days later.
2018 - 2018 Liege attack: A gunman kills 3 people (including two female police officers) in the Belgian city of Liege before being killed by police.
2018 - Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko is initially reported to have been shot dead, but appears alive at a press conference the following day; the Ukrainian secret services say they had faked his murder to prevent an attempt on his life.
2018 - US TV network ABC cancels the recently returned show Roseanne after a row erupts over its main star Roseanne Barr's Twitter comments.
Births
Up to 1900
1265 - Dante Alighieri, Italian poet (d. 1321)
1439 - Pope Pius III (d. 1503)
1594 - Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, Bavarian field marshal (d. 1632)
1627 - Anne Marie Louise d'Orleans, Duchess of Montpensier, French aristocrat (d. 1693)
1630 - Charles II, King of England, Ireland and Scotland (d. 1685)
1675 - Humphry Ditton, English mathematician (d. 1715)
1716 - Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, French botanist (d. 1800)
1736 - Patrick Henry, 1st Governor of Virginia (d. 1799)
1773 - Princess Sophia of Gloucester (d. 1844)
1780 - Henri Braconnot, French chemist and pharmacist (d. 1855)
1794 - Johann Heinrich von Madler, German astronomer (d. 1874)
1823 - John H. Balsley, American carpenter and inventor (d. 1895)
1830 - Louise Michel, French author and anarchist (d. 1905)
1860 - Isaac Albeniz, Spanish composer (d. 1909)
1868 - Abdulmecid II, last Caliph of the Ottoman Dynasty (d. 1944)
1871 - Clark Greenwood Voorhees, American painter (d. 1933)
1873 - Rudolf Tobias, Estonian composer (d. 1918)
1874 - G. K. Chesterton, English novelist (d. 1936)
1880 - Oswald Spengler, German philosopher (d. 1936)
1892 - Alfonsina Storni, Swiss-Argentine poet (d. 1938)
1893 - Max Brand, American author (d. 1944)
1894 - Beatrice Lillie, Canadian actress (d. 1989)
1894 - Josef von Sternberg, Austrian-American director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1969)
1897 - Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Austrian composer (d. 1957)
1899 - Douglas Abbott, Canadian politician (d. 1987)
1901 1950
1903 - Bob Hope, British-born American comedian and actor (d. 2003)
1904 - Gregg Toland, American cameraman (d. 1948)
1905 - Sebastian Shaw, English actor, director and playwright (d. 1994)
1906 - T. H. White, English writer (d. 1964)
1911 - Armida, Mexican-American actress, singer and dancer (d. 1989)
1914 - Stacy Keach, Sr., American actor (d. 2003)
1914 - Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, Nepalese mountain guide, reached the top of Mount Everest with Edmund Hillary (d. 1986)
1917 - John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States (d. 1963)
1919 - Jacques Genest, Canadian physician
1920 - John Harsanyi, Hungarian-born economist (d. 2000)
1923 - Bernard Clavel, French writer (d. 2010)
1924 - Lars Bo, Danish author and artist (d. 1999)
1924 - Behjat Sadr, Iranian painter (d. 2009)
1926 - Katie Boyle, British actress and television presenter (d. 2018)
1926 - Charles Denner, French actor (d. 1995)
1926 - Abdoulaye Wade, former President of Senegal
1928 - Jacques Taminiaux, Belgian philosopher
1929 - Peter Higgs, British physicist (Higgs boson) and Nobel Prize in Physics winner
1929 - Harry Frankfurt, American philosopher
1932 - Richie Guerin, American basketball player
1932 - Paul R. Ehrlich, American biologist and writer
1933 - Helmuth Rilling, German choral conductor and teacher
1934 - Bill Vander Zalm, Dutch-Canadian politician, 28th Premier of British Columbia
1935 - Andre Brink, South African writer (d. 2015)
1937 - Jasper Griffin, English classical philologist
1937 - Hibari Misora, Japanese actress (d. 1989)
1937 - Alwin Schockemohle, German showjumper
1938 - Christopher Bland, British businessman and politician (d. 2017)
1939 - Al Unser, American racing driver
1940 - Farooq Leghari, President of Pakistan (d. 2010)
1940 - Taiho Koki, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 2013)
1941 - Doug Scott, English mountaineer
1941 - Bob Simon, American television correspondent (d. 2015)
1942 - Pierre Bourque, Canadian politician, 40th Mayor of Montreal
1942 - Kevin Conway, American actor
1944 - Bob Benmosche, American businessman (d. 2015)
1944 - Maurice Bishop, Prime Minister of Grenada (d. 1983)
1944 - Quentin Davies, Baron Davies of Stamford, English politician
1945 - Gary Brooker, English singer-songwriter and pianist
1945 - Peter Fraser, Baron Fraser of Carmyllie, Scottish politician (d. 2013)
1945 - Catherine Lara, French singer-songwriter and violinist
1947 - Anthony Geary, American actor
1947 - Joey Levine, American singer-songwriter and producer
1947 - Gene Robinson, American bishop
1947 - Constantino Romero, Spanish radio host and actor (d. 2013)
1948 - Nick Mancuso, Italian-Canadian actor
1949 - Robert Axelrod, American actor
1949 - Francis Rossi, English musician (Status Quo)
1950 - Rebbie Jackson, American singer
1951 1975
1951 - Peter Chernin, President of News Corporation
1952 - Zeituni Onyango, Kenyan-American computer programmer (d. 2014)
1953 - Aleksandr Abdulov, Russian actor and director (d. 2008)
1953 - Danny Elfman, American singer, composer, musician ("Oingo Boingo")
1955 - Carme Forcadell, Catalan politician
1955 - Gordon Rintoul, Director of the National Museums of Scotland
1955 - Mike Porcaro, American musician (Toto) (d. 2015)
1955 - John Hinckley, Jr., American attempted assassin
1956 - La Toya Jackson, American singer
1956 - Mark Lyall Grant, English diplomat, UK Ambassador to the United Nations
1956 - Bjarni Fridriksson, Icelandic judoka
1957 - Ted Levine, American actor
1958 - Karen Maruyama, Japanese-American actress
1958 - Mike Stenhouse, American baseball player
1958 - Wayne Duvall, American actor
1958 - Annette Bening, American actress
1959 - Rupert Everett, English actor
1959 - Steve Hanley, Irish-English bass player and songwriter
1961 - Melissa Etheridge, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist
1962 - Fandi Ahmad, Singaporean footballer, coach and manager
1962 - Carol Kirkwood, Scottish weather presenter
1962 - Semino Rossi, Argentine-Italian singer
1963 - Blaze Bayley, English singer-songwriter (Iron Maiden)
1967 - Noel Gallagher, English musician (Oasis)
1970 - Roberto Di Matteo, Italian footballer and manager
1971 - Rob Womack, British paralympic athlete
1972 - Stanislas, French singer-songwriter
1972 - Bill Curley, American basketball player
1972 - Simon Jones, British singer and bass player
1975 - Melanie Brown, English singer (Spice Girls)
1975 - Sarah Millican, English comedienne
From 1976
1976 - Yegor Titov, Russian footballer
1977 - Massimo Ambrosini, Italian footballer
1977 - Marco Cassetti, Italian footballer
1977 - Antonio Lebo Lebo, Angolan footballer
1978 - Pelle Almqvist, Swedish singer-songwriter and bass player (The Hives)
1978 - Sebastien Grosjean, French tennis player
1978 - Lorenzo Odone, Italian Adrenoleukodystrophy patient (d. 2008)
1978 - Adam Rickitt, English singer and actor
1979 - Arne Friedrich, German footballer
1979 - Brian Kendrick, American professional wrestler
1979 - Fonseca, Colombian singer
1981 - Andrei Arshavin, Russian footballer
1982 - Ana Beatriz Barros, Brazilian model
1982 - Joanne Borgella, American singer and model (d. 2014)
1982 - Anita Briem, Icelandic actress
1982 - Bjarte Myrhol, Norwegian handball player
1983 - Jean Makoun, Cameroonian footballer
1984 - Carmelo Anthony, American NBA basketball player
1985 - Hernanes, Brazilian footballer
1986 - Hornswoggle, American professional wrestler
1987 - Alessandra Torresani, American actress
1988 - Cheng Fei, Chinese gymnast
1988 - Steve Mason, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
1988 - Muath Al-Kasasbeh, Jordanian air force pilot (d. 2015)
1989 - Riley Keough, American model and actress
1989 - Brandon Mychal Smith, American actor, singer and dancer
1992 - Gregg Sulkin, British actor
1998 - Lucia Gil, Spanish singer and actress
Deaths
Up to 1950
1259 - King Christopher I of Denmark (b. 1219)
1379 - Henry II of Castile (b. 1334)
1425 - Hongxi Emperor of China (b. 1378)
1453 - Constantine XI Palaiologus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1404)
1500 - Bartolomeu Dias, Portuguese explorer (b. 1451)
1546 - David Beaton, Scottish cardinal and politician (b. 1494)
1814 - Josephine de Beauharnais, Empress of France (b. 1763)
1829 - Humphrey Davy, British chemist (b. 1778)
1866 - Winfield Scott, American general (b. 1786)
1868 - Michael Obrenovich III of Serbia (b. 1823)
1883 - Princess Marianne of the Netherlands (b. 1810)
1892 - Baha'u'llah, founder of the Baha'i religion (b. 1817)
1903 - Bruce Price, American architect (b. 1845)
1910 - Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist, composer and conductor (b. 1837)
1911 - W. S. Gilbert, English playwright and poet (b. 1836)
1919 - Robert Bacon, 39th United States Secretary of State (b. 1860)
1931 - Michele Schirru, US citizen executed by an Italian military firing squad
1935 - Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1874)
1939 - Ursula Ledochowska, Austrian-Polish nun and saint (b. 1865)
1942 - John Barrymore, American actor (b. 1882)
1948 - May Whitty, English actress (b. 1865)
1951 2010
1951 - Fanny Brice, American singer and comedienne (b. 1891)
1958 - Juan Ramon Jimenez, Spanish writer (b. 1881)
1972 - Prithviraj Kapoor, Indian actor (b. 1901)
1973 - P. Ramlee, Malaysian actor, director, producer and composer (b. 1929)
1973 - George Harriman, English rugby player and managing director (b. 1908)
1977 - Ba Maw, Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1893)
1979 - Mary Pickford, Canadian-born actress (b. 1892)
1982 - Romy Schneider, Austrian-French actress (b. 1938)
1987 - Charan Singh, 5th Prime Minister of India (b. 1902)
1988 - Siaka Stevens, President of Sierra Leone (b. 1905)
1989 - John Cipollina, American guitarist (b. 1943)
1994 - Erich Honecker, East German political leader (b. 1913)
1996 - Tamara Toumanova, Russian-American ballerina and actress (b. 1919)
1997 - Jeff Buckley, American musician (b. 1966)
1998 - Barry Goldwater, United States Senator (b. 1909)
2004 - Archibald Cox, American lawyer and politician (b. 1912)
2008 - Luc Bourdon, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1987)
2009 - Karine Ruby, French snowboarder (b. 1978)
2010 - Dennis Hopper, American actor (b. 1936)
From 2011
2011 - Sergei Bagapsh, President of Abkhazia (b. 1949)
2011 - Ferenc Madl, President of Hungary (b. 1931)
2011 - Bill Clements, 42nd Governor of Texas (b. 1917)
2012 - Kaneto Shindo, Japanese director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1912)
2012 - Doc Watson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1923)
2013 - Mulgrew Miller, American pianist (b. 1955)
2013 - Franca Rame, Italian actress (b. 1929)
2014 - Karlheinz Bohm, Austrian-German actor (b. 1928)
2014 - Walter Jakob Gehring, Swiss developmental biologist (b. 1939)
2014 - Christine Charbonneau, Canadian singer and songwriter (b. 1943)
2015 - Bruno Pesaola, Italian footballer (b. 1925)
2015 - Ed Gilligan, American financial executive, President of American Express (b. 1960)
2015 - Doris Hart, American tennis player (b. 1925)
2015 - Betsy Palmer, American actress (b. 1926)
2016 - Ralph Ketner, American businessman (b. 1920)
2016 - T. Marshall Hahn, American academic administrator (b. 1926)
2016 - Don McNay, American financial author and columnist (b. 1959)
2017 - Konstantinos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1918)
2017 - Manuel Noriega, Panamanian military leader (b. 1934)
2017 - Mordechai Tzipori, Israeli general and politician (b. 1924)
2017 - Michael A'Hearn, American astronomer (b. 1940)
2018 - Yoseph Imry, Israeli physicist (b. 1939)
Observances
Democracy Day (Nigeria)
International UN Peacekeepers Day
Oak Apple Day (England)
Statehood Day (Rhode Island and Wisconsin)
Days of the year