May 29

Historic Events

2022

Tara Air Flight 197 crashes in Nepal's Mustang District, killing 22. ›

2021

A Cessna Citation I/SP crashes into Percy Priest Lake in Tennessee, killing all six people on board, including actor Joe Lara and his wife Gwen Shamblin Lara. ›

2020

An oil spill in Norilsk releases 17,500 tons of diesel oil into nearby rivers. ›

2015

One World Observatory at One World Trade Center opens. ›

2012

A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hits northern Italy near Bologna, killing at least 24 people. ›

2008

A doublet earthquake, of combined magnitude 6.1, strikes Iceland near the town of Selfoss, injuring 30 people. ›

2005

France rejects the Constitution of the European Union in a national referendum. ›

2004

The National World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C. ›

2001

The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the disabled golfer Casey Martin can use a cart to ride in tournaments. ›

1999

Olusegun Obasanjo takes office as President of Nigeria, the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule. ›

1999

Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station. ›

1993

The Miss Sarajevo beauty pageant is held in war-torn Sarajevo drawing global attention to the plight of its citizens. ›

1990

The Congress of People's Deputies of Russia elects Boris Yeltsin as President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. ›

1989

Signing of an agreement between Egypt and the United States that allows for the manufacture of F-16 Falcon parts in Egypt. ›

1988

U.S. President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union when he arrives in Moscow for a superpower summit with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. ›

1985

Heysel Stadium disaster: Thirty-nine association football fans die and hundreds are injured when a dilapidated retaining wall collapses. ›

1985

Amputee Steve Fonyo completes cross-Canada marathon at Victoria, British Columbia, after 14 months. ›

1982

Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit Canterbury Cathedral. ›

1982

Falklands War: The British Army defeats the Argentine Army at the Battle of Goose Green. ›

1974

SETA, a Finnish LGBT rights organisation, is founded in Helsinki. ›

1973

Tom Bradley is elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles, California. ›

1964

The Arab League meets in East Jerusalem to discuss the Palestinian question, leading to the formation of the Palestine Liberation Organization. ›

1964

Having deposed them in a January coup South Vietnamese leader Nguyễn Khánh has rival Generals Trần Văn Đôn and Lê Văn Kim convicted of "lax morality". ›

1962

Chinese police open fire on protesters in Yining, Xinjiang, killing at least five people and wounding a dozen others. ›

1953

Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on Tenzing Norgay's (adopted) 39th birthday. ›

1950

The St. Roch, the first ship to circumnavigate North America, arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. ›

1948

United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is founded. ›

1947

United Airlines Flight 521 crashes at LaGuardia Airport, killing 43. ›

1945

First combat mission of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator heavy bomber. ›

1935

First flight of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aeroplane. ›

1932

World War I veterans begin to assemble in Washington, D.C., in the Bonus Army to request cash bonuses promised to them to be paid in 1945. ›

1931

Michele Schirru, a citizen of the United States, is executed by a Royal Italian Army firing squad for intent to kill Benito Mussolini. ›

1920

The Louth flood of 1920, a severe flash flood in the Lincolnshire market town of Louth, results in 23 fatalities in 20 minutes. It has been described as one of the most significant flood disasters in the United Kingdom during the 20th century. ›

1919

Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity is tested (later confirmed) by Arthur Eddington and Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin. ›

1918

Armenia defeats the Ottoman Army in the Battle of Sardarabad. ›

1914

The ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sinks in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with the loss of 1,012 lives. ›

1913

Igor Stravinsky's ballet score The Rite of Spring receives its premiere performance in Paris, France, provoking a near-riot. ›

1903

In the May Coup, Alexander I, King of Serbia, and Queen Draga, are assassinated in Belgrade by the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) organization. ›

1900

N'Djamena is founded as Fort-Lamy by the French commander Émile Gentil. ›

1886

The pharmacist John Pemberton places his first advertisement for Coca-Cola, which appeared in The Atlanta Journal. ›

1867

The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 ("the Compromise") is born through Act 12, which establishes the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ›

1864

Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico arrives in Mexico for the first time. ›

1861

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is founded, in Hong Kong. ›

1852

Jenny Lind leaves New York after her two-year American tour. ›

1851

Sojourner Truth delivers her famous Ain't I a Woman? speech at the Woman's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. ›

1825

The Coronation of Charles X of France takes place in Reims Cathedral, the last-ever coronation of a French monarch. ›

1807

Mustafa IV becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam. ›

1798

United Irishmen Rebellion: Between 300 and 500 United Irishmen are executed as rebels by the British Army in County Kildare, Ireland. ›

1790

Rhode Island becomes the last of North America's original Thirteen Colonies to ratify the Constitution and become one of the United States. ›

1780

American Revolutionary War: At the Waxhaws Massacre, the British continue attacking after the Continentals lay down their arms, killing 113 and critically wounding all but 53 that remained. ›

1733

The right of settlers in New France to enslave natives is upheld at Quebec City. ›

1660

English Restoration: Charles II is restored to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland. ›

1658

Battle of Samugarh: Decisive battle in the struggle for the throne during the Mughal war of succession (1658–1659). ›

1555

The Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire sign a peace treaty to end the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1532–1555. ›

1453

Fall of Constantinople: Ottoman armies under Sultan Mehmed II capture Constantinople after a 53-day siege, ending the Roman Empire after over 2,000 years. ›

1416

Battle of Gallipoli: The Venetians under Pietro Loredan defeat a much larger Ottoman fleet off Gallipoli. ›

1328

Philip VI is crowned King of France. ›

1233

Mongol–Jin war: The Mongols enter Kaifeng after a successful siege and begin looting in the fallen capital of the Jin dynasty. ›

1176

Battle of Legnano: The Lombard League defeats Emperor Frederick I. ›

1167

Battle of Monte Porzio: A Roman army supporting Pope Alexander III is defeated by Christian of Buch and Rainald of Dassel. ›

1138

Antipope Victor IV gives up his claim to the papacy due to the instigation of Bernard of Clairvaux. ›

1108

Battle of Uclés: Almoravid troops under the command of Tamim ibn Yusuf defeat a Castile and León alliance under the command of Prince Sancho Alfónsez. ›

757

Election of pope Paul I following the death of pope Stephen II in the previous month. ›

526

A catastrophic earthquake hits Antioch, killing several thousands including patriarch Euphrasius. ›

363

The Roman emperor Julian defeats the Sasanian army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sasanian capital, but is unable to take the city. ›