July 29

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, Para, Brazil, results in 57 people being killed.
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 Hammarskjold, 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 Topfer, 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 - Eusebe 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 Lotjonen, 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 Gonzalez, 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 Kastner, 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 Bunuel, 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 Benitez, 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 - Peter Kiss, Hungarian politician (b. 1959)
2014 - Maria 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
Olavsoka, feast day of Olaf II of Norway - Faroe Islands
International Tiger Day
National Anthem Day (Romania)
National Thai language Day (Thailand)
Days of the year