Important Historical Events Today, What Happened Today in History?
Today's Historical Events. What Happened This Day In History? Here is a chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened 29 December in history.
Historical Events on December 29
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 1607 | According to John Smith, Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan leader Wahunsenacawh, successfully pleads for his life after tribal leaders attempt to execute him. |
| 1778 | American Revolutionary War: Three thousand British soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell capture Savannah, Georgia. |
| 1812 | USS Constitution, under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captures HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three-hour battle. |
| 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 | The United States annexes the Republic of Texas and admits it as the 28th state. |
| 1860 | The launch of HMS Warrior, with her combination of screw propeller, iron hull and iron armour, renders all previous warships obsolete. |
| 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. |
| 1876 | The Ashtabula River railroad disaster occurs, leaving 64 injured and 92 dead at Ashtabula, Ohio. |
| 1890 | On Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 300 Lakota are killed by the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment. |
| 1911 | Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty, enthroning 8th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu as Khagan of Mongolia. |
| 1913 | Cecil B. DeMille starts filming Hollywood's first feature film, The Squaw Man. |
| 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.[15] |
| 1937 | The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution. |
| 1940 | In the Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe fire-bombs London, England, killing almost 200 civilians during World War II. |
| 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. |
| 1975 | A bomb explodes at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing 11 people and injuring more than 75. |
| 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. |
| 1992 | Fernando Collor de Mello, president of Brazil, tries to resign amidst corruption charges, but is then impeached. |
| 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. |
| 1996 | Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity sign a peace accord ending a 36-year civil war. |
| 1998 | Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologize for the Cambodian genocide that claimed over one million lives. |
| 2003 | The last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct. |
| 2006 | The UK settles its Anglo-American loan, post-WWII loan debt. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 2020 | A large explosion at the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden kills at least 22 people and wounds 50. |
| 2020 | A magnitude 6.4 earthquake hits near the town of Petrinja in Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia, killing 7 people. |
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