On This Day — 29 May

2022

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

Tara Air Flight 197

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.

Cessna Citation I

2020

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

Norilsk oil spill

2015

One World Observatory at One World Trade Center opens.

One World Trade Center

2012

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

2012 Northern Italy earthquakes

2008

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

2008 Iceland earthquake

2005

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

France

2004

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

World War II Memorial

2001

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

Supreme Court of the United States

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.

Olusegun Obasanjo

1999

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

Space Shuttle Discovery

1993

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

Sarajevo

1990

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

Congress of People's Deputies of Russia

1989

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

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.

President of the United States

1985

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

Heysel Stadium disaster

1985

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

Amputation

1982

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

Pope John Paul II

1982

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

Falklands War

1974

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

Seta (organization)

1973

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

Tom Bradley (mayor)

1964

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

Arab League

1964

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

January 1964 South Vietnamese coup

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.

Edmund Hillary

1950

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

St. Roch (ship)

1948

United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is founded.

United Nations Truce Supervision Organization

1947

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

United Air Lines Flight 521

1945

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

Combat

1935

First flight of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aeroplane.

Messerschmitt Bf 109

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.

World War I

1931

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

Assassination attempts on Benito Mussolini

1920

The Louth flood of 1920 was a severe flash flooding in the Lincolnshire market town of Louth, resulting 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.

1920 Louth flood

1919

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

Albert Einstein

1918

Armenia defeats the Ottoman Army in the Battle of Sardarabad.

Armenia

1914

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

Ocean liner

1913

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

Igor Stravinsky

1903

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

May Coup (Serbia)

1900

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

N'Djamena

1886

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

Pharmacist

1867

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

Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867

1864

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

Emperor of Mexico

1861

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

Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce

1852

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

Jenny Lind

1851

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

Sojourner Truth

1825

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

Coronation of Charles X of France

1807

Mustafa IV became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.

Mustafa IV

1798

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

Irish Rebellion of 1798

1790

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

Rhode Island

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.

American Revolutionary War

1733

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

New France

1660

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

Stuart Restoration

1658

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

Battle of Samugarh

1555

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

Ottoman Empire

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.

Fall of Constantinople

1416

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

Battle of Gallipoli (1416)

1328

Philip VI is crowned King of France.

Philip VI of France

1233

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

Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty

1176

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

Battle of Legnano

1167

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

Battle of Monte Porzio

1138

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

Antipope Victor IV (1138)

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.

Battle of Uclés (1108)

757

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

Pope Paul I

526

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

526 Antioch earthquake

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.

Roman emperor