December 29

December 29 is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are two days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1170 – Thomas Becket: 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 Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
• 1778 – American Revolutionary War: 3,500 British soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell capture Savannah, Georgia without firing a shot.
• 1786 – French Revolution: The Assembly of Notables is convened.
• 1812 – The USS Constitution under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captures the HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three hour battle.
• 1813 – British soldiers burn Buffalo, New York during the War of 1812.
• 1835 – The Treaty of New Echota is signed, ceding all the lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States.
• 1845 – Texas is admitted as the 28th U.S. state.
• 1851 – The first American YMCA opens in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1860 – The first British seagoing iron-clad warship, HMS Warrior is launched.
• 1876 – The Ashtabula River Railroad bridge disaster occurs, leaving 64 injured and 92 dead at Ashtabula, Ohio.
• 1890 – United States soldiers kill more than 200 Oglala Lakota men, women, and children with 4 Hotchkiss guns in the Wounded Knee Massacre.
• 1911 – Sun Yat-sen becomes the provisional President of the Republic of China; he formally takes office on January 1, 1912.
• 1911 – Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty.
• 1930 – Sir Muhammad Iqbal's presidential address in Allahabad introduces the Two-Nation Theory and outlines a vision for the creation of Pakistan.
• 1934 – Japan renounces the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930.
• 1937 – The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution.
• 1939 – First flight of the Consolidated B-24.
• 1940 – World War II: In The Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe firebombs London, killing almost 200 civilians.
• 1949 – KC2XAK of Bridgeport, Connecticut becomes the first Ultra high frequency (UHF) television station to operate a daily schedule.
• 1972 – An Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (a Lockheed Tristar) crashes on approach to Miami International Airport, Florida, killing 101.
• 1975 – A bomb explodes at La Guardia Airport in New York City, killing 11 people and injuring 74.
• 1989 – Riots break-out after Hong Kong decides to forcibly repatriate Vietnamese refugees.
• 1989 – Václav Havel is elected president of Czechoslovakia. He becomes the first non-Communist to attain the post in more than four decades.
• 1992 – Fernando Collor de Mello, president of Brazil, tries to resign amidst corruption charges, but is then impeached.
• 1996 – Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union sign a peace accord ending a 36-year civil war.
• 1997 – Hong Kong begins to kill all the nation's 1.25 million chickens to stop the spread of a potentially deadly influenza strain.
• 1998 – Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologize for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed over 1 million.
• 2001 – A fire at the Mesa Redonda shopping center in Lima, Peru, kills at least 291.
• 2003 – The last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct.

Births

• 1709 – Empress Elizabeth of Russia (d. 1762)
• 1721 – Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV of France (d. 1764)
• 1796 – Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist (d. 1877)
• 1800 – Charles Goodyear, American inventor (d. 1860)
• 1808 – Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States (d. 1875)
• 1809 – William Ewart Gladstone, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1898)
• 1816 – Carl Ludwig, German physician (d. 1895)
• 1843 – Elisabeth of Wied (pen name was Carmen Sylva), queen of Romania and writer (d. 1916)
• 1856 – Thomas Joannes Stieltjes, Dutch mathematician (d. 1894)
• 1859 – Venustiano Carranza, 54th President of Mexico (d. 1920)
• 1876 – Pablo Casals, Catalan musician (d. 1973)
• 1881 – Jess Willard, American boxer (d. 1968)
• 1896 – David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican painter (d. 1974)
• 1899 – Nie Rongzhen, People's Liberation Army Chief of General Staff (d. 1992)
• 1902 – Nels Stewart, National Hockey League player (d. 1957)
• 1908 – Helmut Gollwitzer, German theologian (d. 1993)
• 1910 – Ronald Coase, British economist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1914 – Billy Tipton, American musician (d. 1989)
• 1914 – Albert Tucker, Australian artist (d. 1999)
• 1915 – Bill Osmanski, American football player (d. 1996)
• 1917 – Tom Bradley, American politician (d. 1998)
• 1917 – Ramanand Sagar, Indian film director (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Viveca Lindfors, Swedish-American actress (d. 1995)
• 1921 – Robert C. Baker, Inventor of the chicken nugget (d. 2006)
• 1922 – William Gaddis, American writer (d. 1998)
• 1925 – Pete Dye, American golf course architect
• 1927 – Andy Stanfield, American athlete (d. 1985)
• 1928 – Bernard Cribbins, British actor
• 1931 – Prince Gu of Korea, Korean royalty (d. 2005)
• 1932 – Inga Swenson, American actress
• 1934 – Ed Flanders, American actor (d. 1995)
• 1936 – Mary Tyler Moore, American actress
• 1936 – Ray Nitschke, American football player (d. 1998)
• 1937 – Wayne Huizenga, American football team owner
• 1937 – Barbara Steele, British actress
• 1938 – Harvey Smith, English showjumper
• 1938 – Jon Voight, American actor
• 1941 – Ray Thomas, British musician (The Moody Blues)
• 1942 – Rick Danko, Canadian musician (The Band) (d. 1999)
• 1942 – Rajesh Khanna, Indian actor
• 1946 – Marianne Faithfull, British singer
• 1947 – Ted Danson, American actor
• 1947 – Cozy Powell, English rock drummer (d. 1998)
• 1947 – Vincent Winter, British actor (d. 1998)
• 1948 – Peter Robinson, first minister of Northern Ireland
• 1949 – Syed Kirmani, Indian cricket player
• 1949 – David Topliss, rugby league player
• 1950 – Jon Polito, American actor
• 1951 – Yvonne Elliman, American disco singer
• 1951 – Georges Thurston, Canadian singer (d. 2007)
• 1952 – Gelsey Kirkland, American dancer
• 1953 – Gali Atari, Israeli singer and actress
• 1953 – Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian
• 1953 – Stanley Tookie Williams, American author/murderer (d. 2005)
• 1954 – Roger Voudouris, American singer (d. 2003)
• 1954 – Prince Takamado of Japan (d. 2002)
• 1956 – Fred MacAulay, Scottish comedian
• 1957 – Brad Grey, American film producer
• 1957 – Paul Rudnick, American screenwriter/playwright
• 1958 – Nancy J. Currie, American astronaut
• 1959 – Patricia Clarkson, American actress
• 1959 – Paula Poundstone, American comedian
• 1960 – David Boon, Australian Cricketer
• 1960 – Thomas Lubanga, founder and leader of Union of Congolese Patriots
• 1960 – Matthew Kandegas, American Painter
• 1961 – Kevin Granata, American associate professor at Virginia Tech, victim of the Virginia Tech massacre (d. 2007)
• 1961 – Jim Reid, Scottish singer (The Jesus and Mary Chain, Freeheat)
• 1962 – Devon White, Jamaican baseball player
• 1963 – Francisco Bustamante, Filipino billiard player
• 1963 – Des Foy, British rugby league player
• 1963 – Dave McKean, British artist and filmmaker
• 1963 – Sean Payton, American football coach
• 1965 – Dexter Holland, American musician (The Offspring)
• 1966 – Stefano Eranio, Italian footballer
• 1966 – Martin Offiah, former rugby league footballer
• 1967 – Ashleigh Banfield, Canadian journalist
• 1967 – Chris Barnes, American singer
• 1967 – Andy Wachowski, American director
• 1967 – Evan Seinfeld, American musician (Biohazard) and actor
• 1969 – Jennifer Ehle, American actress
• 1969 – Allan McNish, Scottish race car driver
• 1970 – Aled Jones, Welsh singer
• 1970 – Hidetoshi Mitsusada, Japanese racing driver
• 1970 – Glen Phillips, American musician (Toad The Wet Sprocket)
• 1970 – Kevin Weisman, American actor
• 1971 – Margot Thien, American synchronized swimmer
• 1972 – Asheru, American rapper
• 1972 – Jason Kreis, American soccer player
• 1972 – Jude Law, British actor
• 1973 – Pimp C, American rapper (UGK) (d. 2007)
• 1973 – Theo Epstein, American baseball general manager
• 1974 – Mekhi Phifer, American actor
• 1974 – Richie Sexson, American baseball player
• 1975 – Jaret Wright, American baseball player
• 1976 – Danny R. McBride, American actor, writer, and producer
• 1976 – Filip Kuba, Czech hockey player, defenseman for the Ottawa Senators
• 1977 – Katherine Moennig, American actress
• 1977 – Jimmy Journell, American baseball player
• 1978 – Matthew Carr, Australian rules footballer
• 1978 – Alexis Amore, Peruvian pornographic actress
• 1978 – Kieron Dyer, English footballer
• 1978 – LaToya London, American singer
• 1978 – Steve Kemp, British musician (Hard-Fi)
• 1979 – Diego Luna, Mexican actor
• 1979 – Mitsuhiro Ishida, Japanese mixed-martial arts fighter
• 1979 – Ariel Schrag, American Cartoonist
• 1981 – Shizuka Arakawa, Japanese figure skater
• 1982 – Dale Morris, Australian rules footballer
• 1982 – Gabrielle Destroismaisons, Quebec singer
• 1983 – James Kelly, Australian rules footballer
• 1983 – Jessica Andrews, American country/pop singer
• 1985 – Cho Cho Cheng, Chinese American fashion designer
• 1986 – Kim Ok-bin, South Korean actress and model
• 1987 – Yuhi Sekiguchi, Japanese racing driver
• 1988 – Ágnes Szávay, Hungarian tennis player
• 1989 – Nathan Forbes, British footballer
• 1994 – Princess Kako of Akishino of Japan

Deaths

• 721 – Empress Gemmei of Japan (b. 661)
• 1170 – Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (assassinated) (b. 1118)
• 1563 – Sebastian Castellio, French theologian (b. 1515)
• 1634 – John Albert Vasa, Polish bishop (b. 1612)
• 1661 – Antoine Gérard de Saint-Amant, French poet (b. 1594)
• 1689 – Thomas Sydenham, English physician (b. 1624)
• 1731 – Brook Taylor, English mathematician (b. 1685)
• 1737 – Joseph Saurin, French mathematician (b. 1659)
• 1785 – Johan Herman Wessel, Norwegian poet (b. 1742)
• 1825 – Jacques-Louis David, French painter (b. 1748)
• 1891 – Leopold Kronecker, German mathematician (b. 1823)
• 1894 – Christina Rossetti, English poet (b. 1830)
• 1897 – William James Linton, American wood engraver and political reformer. (b. 1812)
• 1916 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian monk (b. 1869)
• 1924 – Carl Spitteler, Swiss writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
• 1926 – Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian writer (b. 1875)
• 1929 – Wilhelm Maybach, German automobile designer (b. 1846)
• 1937 – Don Marquis, American author (b. 1878)
• 1953 – Violet MacMillan, American Broadway theatre actress(b. 1887)
• 1959 – Robin Milford, British composer (b. 1903)
• 1960 – Eden Phillpotts, British writer (b. 1862)
• 1960 – Philippe Panneton, Quebec physician, diplomat and writer (b. 1895)
• 1967 – Paul Whiteman, American musician and conductor (b. 1890)
• 1968 – Austin Farrer, English theologian and philosopher (b. 1904)
• 1970 – Marie Menken, American experimental filmmaker and socialite (b. 1909)
• 1976 – Ivo Van Damme, Belgian athlete (b. 1954)
• 1980 – Tim Hardin, American musician (b. 1941)
• 1980 – Nadezhda Mandelstam, Russian writer (b. 1899)
• 1981 – Miroslav Krleža, Croatian writer (b. 1893)
• 1986 – Harold Macmillan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1894)
• 1986 – Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian director (b. 1932)
• 1988 – Mike Beuttler, British racing driver (b. 1940)
• 1993 – Frunzik Mkrtchyan, Soviet Armenian actor (b. 1930)
• 1995 – Lita Grey, American actress (b. 1908)
• 1996 – Mireille Hartuch, French singer and actress (b. 1906)
• 1998 – Jean-Claude Forest, writer and illustrator of comics (Barbarella) (b. 1930)
• 1999 – Leon Radzinowicz, British criminologist (b. 1906)
• 2001 – Takashi Asahina, Japanese conductor (b. 1908)
• 2003 – Earl Hindman, American actor (b. 1942)
• 2003 – Dinsdale Landen, English actor (b. 1932)
• 2003 – Bob Monkhouse, English comedian and game show host (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Julius Axelrod, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1912)
• 2004 – Liddy Holloway, New Zealand actress (b. 1947)
• 2004 – Ken Burkhart, American baseball player (b. 1915)
• 2005 – Gerda Boyesen, Norwegian-born body psychotherapist (b. 1922)
• 2007 – Phil O'Donnell, Scottish footballer (b. 1972)
• 2007 – Kevin Greening, British radio presenter (b. 1962)
• 2008 – Freddie Hubbard, American jazz trumpet player (b. 1938)

Holidays and observances

• The fifth day of Christmas in Western Christianity.
• R.C. Saints – Thomas Becket (optional memorial)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: December 29

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada