December 29

Historic Events

2024

Jeju Air Flight 2216 crashes into a wall in Muan, South Korea, killing 179 of the 181 occupants. It is the worst aircraft accident on South Korean soil in history. ›

2023

South Africa files a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over Israeli conducts in the Gaza Strip. ›

2020

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake hits near the town of Petrinja in Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia, killing seven people. ›

2013

A suicide bomb attack at the Volgograd-1 railway station in the southern Russian city of Volgograd kills at least 18 people and wounds 40 others. ›

2013

Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher suffers a massive head injury while skiing in the French Alps. ›

2012

A Tupolev Tu-204 airliner crashes in a ditch between the airport fence and the M3 highway after overshooting a runway at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, killing five people and leaving three others critically injured. ›

2006

The UK settles its Anglo-American loan, post-WWII loan debt. ›

2003

The last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct. ›

1998

Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologize for the Cambodian genocide that claimed over one million lives. ›

1996

Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity sign a peace accord ending a 36-year civil war. ›

1994

Turkish Airlines Flight 278 (a Boeing 737-400) crashes on approach to Van Ferit Melen Airport in Van, Turkey, killing 57 of the 76 people on board. ›

1992

Fernando Collor de Mello, president of Brazil, tries to resign amidst corruption charges, but is then impeached. ›

1989

Czech writer, philosopher and dissident Václav Havel is elected the first post-communist President of Czechoslovakia. ›

1989

The Nikkei 225 for the Tokyo Stock Exchange hits its all-time intra-day high of 38,957.44 and closing high at 38,915.87, serving as the apex of the Japanese asset price bubble. ›

1975

A bomb explodes at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing 11 people and injuring more than 75. ›

1972

Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar) crashes in the Florida Everglades on approach to Miami International Airport, Florida, killing 101 of the 176 people on board. ›

1937

The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution. ›

1934

Japan renounces the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930. ›

1930

Sir Muhammad Iqbal's presidential address in Allahabad introduces the two-nation theory and outlines a vision for the creation of Pakistan. ›

1913

Cecil B. DeMille starts filming Hollywood's first feature film, The Squaw Man. ›

1911

Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty, enthroning 8th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu as Khagan of Mongolia. ›

1890

Wounded Knee Massacre: On Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 300 Lakota are killed by the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment. ›

1876

The Ashtabula River railroad disaster occurs, leaving 64 injured and 92 dead at Ashtabula, Ohio. ›

1874

The military coup of Gen. Martinez Campos in Sagunto ends the failed First Spanish Republic and the monarchy is restored as Prince Alfonso is proclaimed King of Spain. ›

1862

American Civil War: The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou ends in a Union defeat as forces under General William T. Sherman are repulsed with heavy losses by Confederate troops under General John C. Pemberton. ›

1860

The launch of HMS Warrior, with her combination of screw propeller, iron hull and iron armour, renders all previous warships obsolete. ›

1845

The United States annexes the Republic of Texas and admits it as the 28th state. ›

1835

The Treaty of New Echota is signed, ceding all the lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States. ›

1812

USS Constitution, under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captures HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three-hour battle. ›

1778

American Revolutionary War: British forces under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell defeat American forces under Major General Robert Howe and capture the port city of Savannah, Georgia. ›

1607

According to John Smith, Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan leader Wahunsenacawh, successfully pleads for his life after tribal leaders attempt to execute him. ›

1503

The Battle of Garigliano was fought between a Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and a French army commanded by Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo. ›

1170

Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II; he subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church. ›