October 29

Historic Events

2022

At least 156 die at a crowd crush during a Halloween celebration in Itaewon district, Seoul, South Korea. ›

2022

At least 100 people are killed and over 300 are injured by a double car bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia. ›

2020

Jeremy Corbyn, former Leader of the Labour Party and of the Opposition in the United Kingdom is suspended from the Labour Party following his response to findings from the EHRC on the issue of antisemitism within the party. ›

2018

A Boeing 737 MAX plane crashes after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia killing 189 people on board. This is the first of two crashes that will lead to the plane being grounded worldwide. ›

2015

China announces the end of its one-child policy after 35 years. ›

2014

A mud slide; the 2014 Badulla landslide, in south-central Sri Lanka, kills at least 16 people, and leaves hundreds of people missing. ›

2012

Hurricane Sandy hits the east coast of the United States, killing hundreds, while leaving nearly $70 billion in damages and causing major power outages. ›

2008

Delta Air Lines merges with Northwest Airlines, creating the world's largest airline and reducing the number of US legacy carriers to five. ›

2008

A pair of deadly earthquakes hits Baluchistan, Pakistan, killing 215. ›

2006

ADC Airlines Flight 053 crashes after takeoff from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria killing 96 people and injuring nine. ›

2005

Bombings in Delhi, India kill 67 and injure over 200 people. ›

2004

The Arabic-language news network Al Jazeera broadcasts an excerpt from a 2004 Osama bin Laden video in which the terrorist leader first admits direct responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks and references the 2004 U.S. presidential election. ›

2002

A fire destroys a luxurious department store in Ho Chi Minh City, where 1,500 people are shopping. More than 60 people die and over 100 are unaccounted for in the deadliest peacetime disaster in Vietnam. ›

1999

A large cyclone devastates Odisha, India. ›

1998

In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission presents its report, which condemns both sides for committing atrocities. ›

1998

Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off on STS-95 with 77-year-old John Glenn on board, making him the oldest person to go into space at that time. ›

1998

ATSC HDTV broadcasting in the United States is inaugurated with live coverage of the launch of the STS-95 space shuttle mission. ›

1998

Hurricane Mitch, the second deadliest Atlantic hurricane in history, makes landfall in Honduras. ›

1998

The Gothenburg discothèque fire in Sweden kills 63 and injures over 200. ›

1994

Francisco Martin Duran fires over two dozen shots at the White House; he is later convicted of trying to kill U.S. President Bill Clinton. ›

1991

The American Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid. ›

1986

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opens the last stretch of the M25 motorway. ›

1985

Major General Samuel K. Doe is announced as the winner of the first multi-party election in Liberia. ›

1980

Demonstration flight of a secretly modified C-130 for an Iran hostage crisis rescue attempt ends in a crash landing at Eglin Air Force Base's Duke Field, Florida, leading to the cancellation of Operation Credible Sport. ›

1972

The three surviving perpetrators of the Munich massacre are released from prison in exchange for the hostages of the hijacked Lufthansa Flight 615. ›

1969

The first-ever computer-to-computer link is established on ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet. ›

1967

Montreal's World Fair, Expo 67, closes with over 50 million visitors. ›

1964

The United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar is renamed to the United Republic of Tanzania. ›

1964

Biggest jewel heist in American history when Murph the Surf and gang burgle the American Museum of Natural History stealing the Star of India and other gems. ›

1960

An airplane carrying the Cal Poly football team crashes on takeoff in Toledo, Ohio. ›

1957

Israel's prime minister David Ben-Gurion and five of his ministers are injured when Moshe Dwek throws a grenade into the Knesset. ›

1956

Suez Crisis begins: Israeli forces invade the Sinai Peninsula and push Egyptian forces back toward the Suez Canal. ›

1955

The Soviet battleship Novorossiysk sinks after probably striking a World War II mine in the harbor at Sevastopol, with a loss of more than 600 sailers. ›

1953

BCPA Flight 304 DC-6 crashes near San Francisco. ›

1948

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Safsaf massacre: Israeli soldiers capture the Palestinian village of Safsaf in the Galilee; afterwards, between 52 and 64 villagers are massacred by the IDF. ›

1944

World War II: The Dutch city of Breda is liberated by 1st Polish Armoured Division. ›

1944

World War II: The Soviet Red Army enters Hungary. ›

1941

The Holocaust: In the Kaunas Ghetto, over 10,000 Jews are shot by German occupiers at the Ninth Fort, a massacre known as the "Great Action". ›

1929

Black Tuesday: The New York Stock Exchange crashes, ending the Great Bull Market of the 1920s and eventually contributing to the Great Depression. ›

1923

Turkey becomes a republic following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. ›

1918

World War I: the German High Seas Fleet is incapacitated when sailors mutiny, an action which would trigger the German Revolution of 1918–19. ›

1914

World War I : the Ottoman Empire enters the war on the side of the Central Powers. ›

1888

The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace. ›

1863

Eighteen countries meet in Geneva and agree to form the International Red Cross. ›

1792

Mount Hood (Oregon) is named after Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood by Lt. William E. Broughton who sighted the mountain near the mouth of the Willamette River. ›

1675

Leibniz makes the first use of the long s (∫) as a symbol of the integral in calculus. ›

1665

Portuguese forces defeat the Kingdom of Kongo and decapitate King António I of Kongo, also known as Nvita a Nkanga. ›

1658

Second Northern War: Naval forces of the Dutch Republic defeat the Swedes in the Battle of the Sound. ›

1621

The London Pageant of 1621 celebrates the inauguration of Edward Barkham (Lord Mayor). ›

1611

Russian homage to the King of Poland, Sigismund III Vasa. ›

1467

Battle of Brustem: Charles the Bold defeats Prince-Bishopric of Liège. ›

1390

First trial for witchcraft in Paris leading to the death of three people. ›

437

Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II, Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople unifying the two branches of the House of Theodosius. ›

312

Constantine the Great enters Rome after his victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, stages a grand adventus in the city, and is met with popular jubilation. Maxentius' body is fished out of the Tiber and beheaded. ›