29 July

238     The Praetorian Guard storm the palace and capture Pupienus and Balbinus. They are dragged through the streets of Rome and executed. On the same day, Gordian III, age 13, is proclaimed emperor.

869     Muhammad al-Mahdi (born), Iraqi 12th Imam (died 941)

904     Sack of Thessalonica: 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.

1099   Pope Urban II (died) (born 1042)

1108    Philip I of France (died) (born 1052)

1507    Martin Behaim (died), German-Bohemian geographer and astronomer (born 1459)

1565    The widowed Mary, Queen of Scots, marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany, at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1573    John Caius (died), English physician (born 1510)

1588   Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines – English naval forces under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.

1612    Jacques Bongars (died), French scholar and diplomat (born 1554)

1644    Pope Urban VIII (died) (born 1568)

1646    Johann Theile (born), German composer (died 1724)

1781    Johann Kies (died), German astronomer and mathematician (born 1713)

1793    John Graves Simcoe decides to build a fort and settlement at Toronto, having sailed into the bay there.

1801    George Bradshaw (born), English cartographer and publisher (died 1853)

1805   Alexis de Tocqueville (born), French historian and philosopher (died 1859)

1836   Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.

1843   Johannes Schmidt (born), German linguist (died 1901)

1848   Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt   in Tipperary, Ireland, then in the United Kingdom, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police.

1851    Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia.

1856    Robert Schumann (died), German composer (born 1810)

1864   American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.

1869   Booth Tarkington (born), American author and playwright (died 1946)

1872    Eric Alfred Knudsen (born), American author, lawyer, and politician (died 1957)

1883   Benito Mussolini (born), Italian journalist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (died 1945)

1884   Ralph Austin Bard (born), American financier and politician (died 1975)

1890   Vincent van Gogh (died), Dutch painter (born 1853)

1900   Umberto I of Italy (died) (born 1844)

1904   J. R. D. Tata (born), France-Indian pilot and businessman, founded Tata Motors and Tata Global Beverages (died 1993)

1905    Clara Bow (born), American actress (died 1965)

1905    Dag Hammarskjöld (born), Swedish economist and diplomat, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Prize Laureate (died 1961)

1907    Melvin Belli (born), American lawyer and actor (died 1996)

1907    Sir Robert Baden-Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout camp in Poole Harbour on the south coast of England. The camp runs from August 1 to August 9, 1907, and is regarded as the foundation of the Scouting movement.

1921    Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.

1923    Jim Marshall (born), English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (died 2012)

1924    Black Dahlia (born), American waitress and murder victim (died 1947)

1932    Great Depression: in Washington, D.C., troops disperse the last of the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans.

1936    Elizabeth Dole (born), American politician, 20th United States Secretary of Labor

1938   Peter Jennings (born), Canadian-American journalist (died 2005)

1945    The BBC Light Programme radio station is launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.

1946    Neal Doughty (born), American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (REO Speedwagon)

1948   Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad       after a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, open in London.

1953    Geddy Lee (born), Canadian singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (Rush and Big Dirty Band)

1957    The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.

1958    U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

1959    First United States Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union.

1959    John Sykes (born), English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Tygers of Pan Tang, and Blue Murder)

1965    Vietnam War: the first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay.

1966    Martina McBride (born), American singer-songwriter and producer

1967    Vietnam War: off the coast of North Vietnam the USS Forrestal catches on fire in the worst U.S. naval disaster since World War II, killing 134.

1973    During the Dutch Grand Prix driver Roger Williamson was killed in the race, after a suspected tire failure caused the car to pitch into the barriers at high speed.

1974    Cass Elliot (died), American singer (The Mamas & the Papas, The Big 3, and The Mugwumps) (born 1941)

1976    In New York City, David Berkowitz (aka the “Son of Sam”) kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks.

1979    Bill Todman (died), American screenwriter and producer (born 1916)

1980   Iran adopts a new “holy” flag after the Islamic Revolution.

1981    A worldwide television audience of over 700 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

1981    Fernando Alonso (born), Spanish race car driver

1983   David Niven (died), English actor, singer, and producer (born 1910)

1983   Raymond Massey (died), Canadian-American actor (born 1896)

1984   Fred Waring (died), American television host and bandleader (Waring’s Pennsylvanians) (born 1900)

1987    British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel (Eurotunnel).

1995    Les Elgart (died), American trumpet player and bandleader (born 1917)

1996    The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act is struck down by a U.S. federal court as too broad.

1998   Jerome Robbins (died), American director, producer, and choreographer (born 1918)

2005   Astronomers announce their discovery of the dwarf planet Eris.

2007   Tom Snyder (died), American journalist (born 1936)

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EO Smith

Interests include biological anthropology, evolution, social behavior, and human behavior. Conducted field research in the Tana River National Primate Reserve, Kenya and on Angaur, Palau, Micronesia, as well as research with captive nonhuman primates at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and the Institute for Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya.
EO Smith
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