July 29

## Events 
### Up to 1900 
*238 &ndash; The Praetorian Guard storm the palace and capture Pupienus and Balbinus, who are then dragged through the streets of Rome and executed.
*904 &ndash; 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 &ndash; 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 &ndash; Battle of Stiklestad: King Olaf II of Norway fights and dies trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes.
*1565 &ndash; Mary, Queen of Scots marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh.
*1567 &ndash; King James VI of Scotland, barely a year old, is crowned in the Church of the Holy Rude in Stirling.
*1588 &ndash; The Spanish Armada is defeated.
*1793 &ndash; John Graves Simcoe decides to build a fort and settlement at Toronto, having sailed into the bay there.
*1836 &ndash; Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
*1848 &ndash; Tipperary Revolt during the Irish Potato Famine: An unsuccessful national revolt against British rule is put down by police.
*1851 &ndash; Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia.
*1864 &ndash; American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained in Old Capitol Prison, Washington, DC.
*1894 &ndash; First Sino-Japanese War: Japanese troops defeat Chinese troops in the Battle of Seonghwan.
*1899 &ndash; The first Hague Convention is signed.
*1900 &ndash; King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by anarchist Gaetano Bresci.

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
*1907 &ndash; 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 &ndash; The first transcontinental telephone service begins with first conversation between New York City and San Francisco.
*1921 &ndash; Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi Party. 
*1937 &ndash; Tongzhou Incident: In Tongzhou, China, the East Hopei Army attacks Japanese troops and civilians.
*1948 &ndash; The 1948 Summer Olympics in London begin.
*1954 &ndash; J. R. R. Tolkien's novel, Lord of the Rings is first published.
*1957 &ndash; The International Atomic Energy Agency is founded.
*1958 &ndash; Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
*1959 &ndash; Hawaii holds its first elections to the United States Congress. It becomes a state on August 21.
*1967 &ndash; Off North Vietnam the military ship USS *Forrestal* catches fire, killing 134 people.
*1967 &ndash; An earthquake strikes Caracas and kills 500 people.
*1968 &ndash; The Arenal volcano in Costa Rica erupts, destroying settlements in Pueblo Nuevo and Tabacon.
*1973 &ndash; Most voters in Greece choose to get rid of their monarchy and become a republic.
*1973 &ndash; At the Dutch Grand Prix, Roger Williamson is killed in the race, after his car hits the barriers at high speed.
*1976 &ndash; The first victims of the Son of Sam serial killer are murdered.
*1980 &ndash; The Flag of Iran is modified.
*1981 &ndash; Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales marry.
*1987 &ndash; Margaret Thatcher and Francois Mitterrand sign an agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel.
*1987 &ndash; Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan Prime Minister J. R. Jayewardene sign the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord on ethnic issues.
*1993 &ndash; The Israeli Supreme Court acquits John Demjanjuk, who is later found guilty of war crimes.

### From 2001 
*2004 &ndash; Italy decides to get rid of conscription from July 1, 2005.
*2005 &ndash; The discovery of the dwarf planet Eris is announced.
*2006 &ndash; Declaration of Montreal for human rights of LGBT is adopted.
*2010 &ndash; Start of a major flooding disaster in Pakistan.
*2010 &ndash; A overloaded passenger ferry capsizes on the Kasai River, Bandundu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing over 80 people.
*2014 &ndash; Israel–Gaza Conflict: Over 100 people in the Gaza Strip are reported to have been killed in a single day.
*2015 &ndash; Microsoft Windows 10 launches.
*2018 &ndash; Geraint Thomas becomes the first Welsh cyclist to win the Tour de France.
*2019 &ndash; A prison riot in Altamira, Pará, Brazil, results in 57 people being killed.
*2025 &ndash; 2025 Kamchatka Peninsula earthquake occurs.

## Births 
### Up to 1900 
*1166 &ndash; Henry II, Count of Champagne, King of Jerusalem (d. 1197)
*1356 &ndash; Martin of Aragon (d. 1410)
*1580 &ndash; Francesco Mochi, Italian sculptor (d. 1654)
*1605 &ndash; Simon Dach, German poet (d. 1659)
*1793 &ndash; Jan Kollar, Slovakian writer (d. 1852)
*1794 &ndash; Thomas Corwin, Governor of Ohio (d. 1865)
*1796 &ndash; Christian Winther, Danish writer and poet (d. 1876)
*1801 &ndash; George Bradshaw, English publisher (d. 1853)
*1805 &ndash; Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and political scientist (d. 1859)
*1814 &ndash; Hermann Bonitz, German philosopher (d. 1888)
*1817 &ndash; Ivan Aivazovsky, Armenian–Russian painter (d. 1900)
*1817 &ndash; Wilhelm Griesinger, German psychiatrist (d. 1868)
*1825 &ndash; George Pendleton, American legislator (d. 1889)
*1836 &ndash; Wilhelm Kress, Austrian aviation pioneer (d. 1913)
*1841 &ndash; Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Norwegian doctor and scientist (d. 1912)
*1843 &ndash; Johannes Schmidt, German linguist (d. 1901)
*1846 &ndash; Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (d. 1921)
*1846 &ndash; Sophie Menter, German pianist and composer (d. 1918)
*1849 &ndash; Max Nordau, writer, philosopher and Zionist leader (d. 1923)
*1860 &ndash; Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, Governor of Queensland (d. 1940)
*1865 &ndash; Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer (d. 1936)
*1869 &ndash; Booth Tarkington, writer (d. 1946)
*1874 &ndash; James Shaver Woodsworth, Methodist minister, social worker, and politician (d. 1942)
*1876 &ndash; Maria Ouspenskaya, actress (d. 1949)
*1878 &ndash; Don Marquis, writer (d. 1937)
*1879 &ndash; Giuseppe Garibaldi II, Italian adventurer (d. 1950)
*1883 &ndash; Benito Mussolini, Italian dictator (d. 1945)
*1883 &ndash; Porfirio Barba-Jacob, Colombian poet and writer (d. 1942)
*1884 &ndash; Ralph A. Bard, U.S. Navy Under Secretary (d. 1975)
*1885 &ndash; Theda Bara, American silent movie actress (d. 1955)
*1887 &ndash; Sigmund Romberg, composer (d. 1951)
*1888 &ndash; Vladimir Zworykin, Russian–American physicist and inventor (d. 1982) 
*1889 &ndash; Ernst Reuter, German politician (d. 1953)
*1891 &ndash; Bernhard Zondek, German–Israeli gynecologist (d. 1966)
*1892 &ndash; William Powell, actor (d. 1984)
*1897 &ndash; Sir Neil Ritchie, British general (d. 1983)
*1898 &ndash; Isidor Isaac Rabi, Hungarian–born American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
*1900 &ndash; Eyvind Johnson, Swedish writer (d. 1976)
*1900 &ndash; Don Redman, American composer and bandleader (d. 1964)

### 1901 - 1950 
*1904 &ndash; Mahasi Sayadaw, Burmese Buddhist monk and meditation master (d. 1982)
*1904 &ndash; J. R. D. Tata, French–Indian pilot and businessman (d. 1993)
*1905 &ndash; Clara Bow, American actress (d. 1965)
*1905 &ndash; Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish UN Secretary-General (d. 1961)
*1905 &ndash; Thelma Todd, American actress (d. 1935)
*1905 &ndash; Stanley Kunitz, American poet (d. 2006)
*1906 &ndash; Diana Vreeland, fashion editor (d. 1989)
*1907 &ndash; Melvin Belli, lawyer and actor (d. 1996)
*1911 &ndash; Foster Furcolo, 60th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1995)
*1913 &ndash; Erich Priebke, German SS officer (d. 2013)
*1914 &ndash; Irwin Corey, American comedian, actor and activist (d. 2017)
*1915 &ndash; Francis W. Sargent, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1998)
*1916 &ndash; Rupert Hamer, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Victoria (d. 2004)
*1917 &ndash; Rochus Misch, German SS officer (d. 2013)
*1921 &ndash; Richard Egan, American actor (d. 1987)
*1921 &ndash; Chris Marker, French movie maker (d. 2012)
*1923 &ndash; Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
*1923 &ndash; Jim Marshall, English founder of Marshall Amplification (d. 2012)
*1924 &ndash; Lloyd Bochner, Canadian actor (d. 2005)
*1924 &ndash; Robert Horton, American actor (d. 2016)
*1925 &ndash; Mikis Theodorakis, Greek composer and political activist
*1926 &ndash; Don Carter, bowler
*1927 &ndash; Harry Mulisch, Dutch writer (d. 2010)
*1929 &ndash; Julio Botelho, Brazilian footballer (d. 2003)
*1930 &ndash; Paul Taylor, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2018)
*1932 &ndash; Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker, U.S. Senator
*1933 &ndash; Lou Albano, American professional wrestling manager (d. 2009)
*1933 &ndash; Robert Fuller, American actor
*1934 &ndash; Albert Speer Jr., German architect and urban planner (d. 2017)
*1935 &ndash; Peter Schreier, German tenor
*1936 &ndash; Elizabeth Dole, former United States Senator
*1937 &ndash; Daniel McFadden, American economist
*1937 &ndash; Ryutaro Hashimoto, former Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2006)
*1938 &ndash; Peter Jennings, Canadian–American television news anchor (d. 2005)
*1938 &ndash; Klaus Töpfer, German politician
*1940 &ndash; Ole Lund Kirkegaard, Danish children's book author (d. 1979)
*1941 &ndash; David Warner, actor
*1942 &ndash; Fitzhugh Mullan, American physician and medical writer (d. 2019)
*1942 &ndash; Tony Sirico, American actor
*1943 &ndash; David Taylor, English snooker player
*1945 &ndash; Mircea Lucescu, Romanian football manager
*1945 &ndash; Sharon Creech, American author
*1946 &ndash; Neal Doughty, American musician
*1947 &ndash; Bill Forsyth, Scottish movie director
*1949 &ndash; Vida Blue, American Major League Baseball player
*1949 &ndash; Jamil Mahuad, former President of Ecuador
*1949 &ndash; Marilyn Quayle, wife of former US Vice President Dan Quayle
*1949 &ndash; Sergio Martini, Italian mountaineer
*1950 &ndash; Jenny Holzer, American conceptual artist

### 1951 &ndash; 1975 
*1951 &ndash; Susan Blackmore, British writer, lecturer and psychologist
*1951 &ndash; Jack Blessing, American actor (d. 2017)
*1951 &ndash; Dean Pitchford, American songwriter, movie maker and journalist
*1952 &ndash; Norman Blackwell, Baron Blackwell, English businessman and politician
*1953 &ndash; Ken Burns, American television producer and director
*1953 &ndash; Geddy Lee, musician (Rush)
*1953 &ndash; Patti Scialfa, rock singer
*1953 &ndash; Tim Gunn, American television presenter
*1955 &ndash; Stephen Timms, English politician
*1955 &ndash; Eusèbe Jaojoby, Malagasy composer and singer
*1956 &ndash; Ronnie Musgrove, 62nd Governor of Mississippi
*1957 &ndash; Liam Davison, Australian novelist (d. 2014)
*1957 &ndash; Nellie Kim, Soviet–Russian gymnast
*1957 &ndash; Viktor Gavrikov, Lithuanian–Swiss chess player
*1957 &ndash; Ulrich Tukur, German actor and musician
*1958 &ndash; Piero Marazzo, Italian journalist and politician
*1959 &ndash; Ruud Janssen, teacher, writer, and artist
*1959 &ndash; Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor
*1963 &ndash; Graham Poll, English football referee
*1965 &ndash; Chang-Rae Lee, writer
*1966 &ndash; Martina McBride, American country singer
*1966 &ndash; Sally Gunnell, British athlete
*1966 &ndash; Richard Steven Horvitz, American voice actor
*1967 &ndash; Matthew C. Henderson, American actor and baseball player
*1968 &ndash; Paavo Lötjönen, Finnish cellist
*1969 &ndash; Joel Fan, American pianist
*1971 &ndash; Lisa Ekdahl, Swedish singer
*1972 &ndash; Wil Wheaton, American actor
*1973 &ndash; Stephen Dorff, American actor
*1974 &ndash; Josh Radnor, American actor
*1974 &ndash; Steve-O, American musician and actor

### From 1976 
*1977 &ndash; Danger Mouse, American DJ
*1979 &ndash; Abs Breen, singer
*1980 &ndash; Rachel Miner, American actress
*1980 &ndash; Fernando González, Chilean tennis player
*1981 &ndash; Troy Perkins, American soccer player
*1981 &ndash; Fernando Alonso, Spanish race car driver
*1982 &ndash; Allison Mack, American actress
*1982 &ndash; Prince Azim of Brunei
*1983 &ndash; Alexei Kaigorodov, Russian ice hockey player
*1984 &ndash; Oh Beom-Seok, South Korean footballer
*1984 &ndash; Hanna Bessenova, Ukrainian gymnast
*1984 &ndash; Wilson Palacios, Honduran footballer
*1984 &ndash; Viktoria Tolstoy, Swedish jazz singer
*1988 &ndash; Alexander Lee Eusebio, Hong Kong–South Korean singer
*1988 &ndash; Sabrina van der Donk, Dutch model
*1990 &ndash; Shin Se-kyung, South Korean actress
*1990 &ndash; Valentina Golubenko, Russian–Croatian chess player
*1990 &ndash; Matt Prokop, American actor
*1990 &ndash; Joey Essex, English television personality
*1993 &ndash; Dak Prescott, American football player
*1998 &ndash; Anna Murashige, Japanese singer

## Deaths 
### Up to 1900 
*238 &ndash; Pupienus and Balbinus, Roman emperors (assassinated)
*1030 &ndash; King Olaf II of Norway (b. 995)
*1099 &ndash; Pope Urban II (b. 1042)
*1095 &ndash; King Ladislaus I of Hungary (b. 1040)
*1108 &ndash; King Philip I of France (b. 1081)
*1507 &ndash; Martin Behaim, navigator and geographer (b. 1459)
*1573 &ndash; John Caius, English physician (b. 1510)
*1644 &ndash; Pope Urban VIII (b. 1568)
*1694 &ndash; Sufi, Shah of Persia (b. 1647)
*1781 &ndash; Johann Kies, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1713)
*1833 &ndash; William Wilberforce, campaigner against slavery (b. 1759)
*1844 &ndash; Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian composer (b. 1791)
*1856 &ndash; Robert Schumann, German composer (b. 1810)
*1857 &ndash; Charles Lucien Bonaparte, French zoologist and ornithologist (b. 1803)
*1887 &ndash; Agostino Depretis, 9th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1813)
*1890 &ndash; Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter (b. 1853)
*1895 &ndash; Floriano Peixoto, 2nd President of Brazil (b. 1839)
*1900 &ndash; King Umberto I of Italy (b. 1844)

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
*1913 &ndash; Tobias Asser, Dutch writer (b. 1838)
*1918 &ndash; Ernest William Christmas, Australian painter (b. 1863)
*1924 &ndash; Sotirios Krokidas, Greek law professor and acting Prime Minister (b. 1852)
*1934 &ndash; Didier Pitre, French–Canadian ice hockey (b. 1883)
*1938 &ndash; Nikolai Krylenko, Russian lawyer, jurist and politician (b. 1885)
*1951 &ndash; Ali Sami Yen, Turkish sports official (b. 1886)
*1954 &ndash; Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (b. 1879)
*1956 &ndash; Ludwig Klages, German philosopher and psychologist (b. 1872)
*1960 &ndash; Robert P. Bass, Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1873)
*1966 &ndash; Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigerian military leader (b. 1924)
*1970 &ndash; John Barbirolli, conductor (b. 1899)
*1970 &ndash; George Szell, Hungarian conductor (b. 1897)
*1973 &ndash; Roger Williamson, racing driver (b. 1948)
*1974 &ndash; Mama Cass Elliot, American musician (b. 1941)
*1974 &ndash; Erich Kästner, German writer (b. 1899)
*1979 &ndash; Bill Todman, American game show producer (b. 1916)
*1981 &ndash; Robert Moses, New York public works official (b. 1888)
*1982 &ndash; Vladimir Zworykin, Russian–American physicist and inventor (b. 1889)
*1983 &ndash; David Niven, British actor (b. 1910)
*1983 &ndash; Raymond Massey, Canadian actor (b. 1896)
*1983 &ndash; Luis Buñuel, Spanish director (b. 1900)
*1984 &ndash; Fred Waring, band leader, inventor (b. 1900)
*1990 &ndash; Bruno Kreisky, Chancellor of Austria (b. 1911)
*1992 &ndash; Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1952)
*1994 &ndash; Dorothy Hodgkin, British chemist (b. 1910)
*1995 &ndash; Severino Varela, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1913)

### From 2001 
*2001 &ndash; Edward Gierek, Polish politician (b. 1913)
*2001 &ndash; Wau Holland, German hacker (b. 1951)
*2003 &ndash; Foday Sankoh, Sierra Leonean rebel leader (b. 1937)
*2004 &ndash; Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek comedienne and actress (b. 1923)
*2007 &ndash; Mike Reid, British actor (b. 1940)
*2007 &ndash; Michel Serrault, French actor (b. 1928)
*2007 &ndash; Tom Snyder, American television personality (b. 1936)
*2010 &ndash; Zheng Ji, Chinese nutritionist and biochemist (b. 1900)
*2013 &ndash; Christian Benítez, Ecuadorean footballer (b. 1986)
*2014 &ndash; M. Caldwell Butler, American politician (b. 1925)
*2014 &ndash; Giorgio Gaslini, Italian jazz pianist and composer (b. 1929)
*2014 &ndash; Jon R. Cavaiani, American soldier (b. 1943)
*2014 &ndash; Idris Muhammad, American jazz musician (b. 1939)
*2014 &ndash; Péter Kiss, Hungarian politician (b. 1959)
*2014 &ndash; María Antonia Iglesias, Spanish writer (b. 1945)
*2015 &ndash; Peter O'Sullevan, Irish–British horse racing commentator (b. 1918)
*2016 &ndash; Lucille Dumont, Canadian singer and television host (b. 1919)
*2017 &ndash; Yuri Alekseevich Ryzhov, Soviet–Russian scientist and politician (b. 1930)
*2017 &ndash; Redha Malek, Algerian politician, Prime Minister of Algeria (b. 1931)
*2017 &ndash; Charley Marouani, Tunisian impresario and celebrity agent (b. 1926)
*2017 &ndash; Olivier Strebelle, Belgian sculptor (b. 1927)
*2017 &ndash; Stephen T. Worland, American economist (b. 1923)
*2018 &ndash; Hans Kristian Amundsen, Norwegian politician and newspaper editor (b. 1959)
*2018 &ndash; Brickhouse Brown, American professional wrestler (b. 1960)
*2018 &ndash; Brian Christopher, American professional wrestler (b. 1972)
*2018 &ndash; Ron Dellums, American politician (b. 1935)
*2018 &ndash; Abbas Duzduzani, Iranian politician (b. 1942)
*2018 &ndash; Vibeke Skofterud, Norwegian cross–country skier (b. 1980)
*2018 &ndash; Nikolai Volkoff, Croatian–American professional wrestler (b. 1947)
*2019 &ndash; Egil Danielsen, Norwegian javelin thrower (b. 1933)
*2019 &ndash; Enrique Lafourcade, Chilean writer, critic and journalist (b. 1927)
*2019 &ndash; Mona-Liisa Nousiainen, Finnish cross–country skier (b. 1983)
*2019 &ndash; Tuvya Ruebner, Israeli poet and translator (b. 1924)

## Observances 
* Saint Martha Feast Day 
* Saint Lazarus Feast Day
* Saint Mary of Bethany Feast Day
* Olavsoka, feast day of Olaf II of Norway – Faroe Islands
* International Tiger Day
* National Anthem Day (Romania)
* National Thai language Day (Thailand)