On This Day — 29 March

2021

The ship Ever Given is dislodged from the Suez Canal.

Ever Given

2017

Prime Minister Theresa May invokes Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, formally beginning the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union.

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

2015

Air Canada Flight 624 skids off the runway at Halifax Stanfield International Airport, after arriving from Toronto shortly past midnight. All 133 passengers and five crews on board survive, with 23 treated for minor injuries.

Air Canada Flight 624

2014

The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales are performed.

Same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom

2013

At least 36 people are killed when a 16-floor building collapses in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

2013 Dar es Salaam building collapse

2010

Two suicide bombers hit the Moscow Metro system at the peak of the morning rush hour, killing 40.

2010 Moscow Metro bombings

2004

Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia join NATO as full members.

Bulgaria

2004

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat certifies Taipei 101 as the world's tallest building, based on the building having been topped out on 1 July 2003, even though the building was not completed until 31 December 2004.

Council on Vertical Urbanism

2002

In reaction to the Passover massacre two days prior, Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield against Palestinian militants, its largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.

Passover massacre

2001

A Gulfstream III crashes on approach to Aspen/Pitkin County Airport in Aspen, Colorado. All 18 people on board are killed.

Gulfstream III

1999

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10,000 mark (10,006.78) for the first time, during the height of the dot-com bubble.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

1999

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake in India strikes the Chamoli district in Uttar Pradesh, killing 103.

1999 Chamoli earthquake

1990

The Czechoslovak parliament is unable to reach an agreement on what to call the country after the fall of Communism, sparking the so-called Hyphen War.

Czechoslovakia

1984

The Baltimore Colts load their possessions onto fifteen Mayflower moving trucks in the early morning hours and transfer their operations to Indianapolis.

Indianapolis Colts

1982

The Canada Act 1982 receives the Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth II, setting the stage for the Queen of Canada to proclaim the Constitution Act, 1982.

Canada Act 1982

1979

Quebecair Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport in Quebec City, killing 17.

Quebecair Flight 255

1974

NASA's Mariner 10 becomes the first space probe to fly by Mercury.

NASA

1974

The Terracotta Army is discovered in Shaanxi province, China.

Terracotta Army

1973

Vietnam War: The last United States combat soldiers leave South Vietnam.

Vietnam War

1973

Operation Barrel Roll, a covert American bombing campaign in Laos to stop communist infiltration of South Vietnam, ends.

Operation Barrel Roll

1971

My Lai massacre: Lieutenant William Calley is convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison.

My Lai massacre

1968

The funeral of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, begins in Moscow, with thousands of people in attendance.

Funeral of Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Seryogin

1962

Arturo Frondizi, the president of Argentina, is overthrown in a military coup by Argentina's armed forces, ending an 11+1⁄2 day constitutional crisis.

Arturo Frondizi

1961

The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.

Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution

1957

The New York, Ontario and Western Railway makes its final run, the first major U.S. railroad to be abandoned in its entirety.

New York, Ontario and Western Railway

1951

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

1951

Hypnosis murders in Copenhagen.

Copenhagen hypnosis murders

1947

The Malagasy Uprising against French colonial rule begins in Madagascar.

Malagasy Uprising

1942

The Bombing of Lübeck in World War II is the first major success for the RAF Bomber Command against Germany and a German city.

Bombing of Lübeck in World War II

1941

The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement goes into effect at 03:00 local time.

North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement

1941

World War II: British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy forces defeat those of the Italian Regia Marina off the Peloponnesian coast of Greece in the Battle of Cape Matapan.

World War II

1936

The 1936 German parliamentary election and referendum seeks approval for the recent remilitarization of the Rhineland.

1936 German parliamentary election and referendum

1927

Sunbeam 1000hp breaks the land speed record at Daytona Beach, Florida.

Sunbeam 1000 hp

1882

The Knights of Columbus is established.

Knights of Columbus

1879

Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Kambula: British forces defeat 20,000 Zulus.

Anglo-Zulu War

1871

Royal Albert Hall is opened by Queen Victoria.

Royal Albert Hall

1867

Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act which establishes Canada on July 1.

Queen Victoria

1857

Sepoy Mangal Pandey of the 34th Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry mutinies against the East India Company's rule in India and inspires the protracted Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny.

Sepoy

1849

The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

1847

Mexican–American War: United States forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz after a siege.

Mexican–American War

1809

King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden abdicates after a coup d'état.

Gustav IV Adolf

1809

At the Diet of Porvoo, Finland's four Estates pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, commencing the secession of the Grand Duchy of Finland from Sweden.

Diet of Porvoo

1806

Construction is authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway.

National Road

1792

King Gustav III of Sweden dies after being shot in the back at a midnight masquerade ball at Stockholm's Royal Opera 13 days earlier.

Gustav III

1632

Treaty of Saint-Germain is signed returning Quebec to French control after the English had seized it in 1629.

Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1632)

1549

The city of Salvador, Bahia, the first capital of Brazil, is founded.

Salvador, Bahia

1461

Battle of Towton: Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England, bringing a temporary stop to the Wars of the Roses.

Battle of Towton

1430

The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of Venice.

Ottoman Empire

1139

Pope Innocent II issues the bull Omne datum optimum in which he endorses the Knights Templar and approves the Templar Rule.

Pope Innocent II