March 29

Events

• 1461 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton - Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England.
• 1638 - Swedish colonists establish first settlement in Delaware, called New Sweden.
• 1799 - New York passes a law aimed at gradually abolishing slavery in the state
• 1806 - The Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becomes the first United States federal highway.
• 1847 - Mexican-American War: United States forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz after a siege.
• 1848 - An upstream ice jam stops almost all water flow over Niagara Falls.
• 1849 - The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab
• 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Appomattox Court House[?] begins
• 1867 - Queen Victoria approves the North America Act[?] which establishes the Dominion of Canada[?] starting on July 1.
• 1871 - The Royal Albert Hall is opened by Queen Victoria.
• 1879 - Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Kambula[?]: British forces defeat 20,000 Zulus.
• 1882 - The Knights of Columbus are established.
• 1930 - Heinrich Brüning is appointed German Reichskanzler.
• 1941 - World War II: Battle of Cape Matapan - Off the Peloponnesus coast in the Mediterranean, British naval forces defeat those of Italy sinking five warships. Battle started on March 27.
• 1951 - Red Scare: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.
• 1961 - The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, DC to vote in presidential elections.
• 1971 - My Lai massacre: Lieutenant William Calley is convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison.
• 1971 - A Los Angeles, California jury recommends the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers.
• 1973 - Vietnam War: The last United States soldiers leave South Vietnam.
• 1974 - NASA's Mariner 10 becomes the first spaceprobe flyby Mercury. It was launched on November 3, 1973.
• 1981 - First running of the London Marathon
• 1982 - Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney release their single "Ebony and Ivory[?]"
• 1993 - Catherine Callbeck[?] becomes Premier of Prince Edward Island, becoming the first female Premier in Canada.
• 1999 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 10006.78 which is the first time the index closed above the 10,000 mark.

Births

• 1790 - John Tyler, 10th President of the United States (+ 1862)
• 1826 - Wilhelm Liebknecht[?], journalist and politician (+ 1900)
• 1835 - Gustaf Zander[?], physician (+ 1920)
• 1867 - Cy Young, Baseball Hall of Famer (+ 1955)
• 1874 - Lou Hoover[?], First Lady (+ 1944)
• 1889 - Warner Baxter, actor (+ 1951)
• 1891 - Yvan Goll[?], lyricist and dramatist (+ 1950)
• 1895 - Ernst Jünger[?], author (+ 1998)
• 1902 - Marcel Aymé[?], narrator and dramatist, humorist and satirist (+ 1967)
• 1902 - William Walton, composer (+ 1983)
• 1908 - Arthur O'Connell[?], actor (+ 1981)
• 1911 - Brigitte Horney[?], actress (+ 1988)
• 1913 - Tony Zale[?], world champion boxer (+ 1997)
• 1918 - Pearl Bailey[?], singer, actress (+ 1990)
• 1942 - Stingray Davis[?], musician (P-Funk)
• 1943 - Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, aka Vangelis, new age musician
• 1943 - Eric Idle, actor, writer, composer
• 1943 - John Major, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1945 - Walt Frazier[?], basketball player
• 1950 - Bud Cort[?], actor
• 1952 - Teofilo Stevenson, boxer
• 1955 - Earl Campbell[?], American football star
• 1956 - Kurt Thomas[?], gymnast
• 1957 - Christopher Lambert, actor
• 1959 - Perry Farrell[?], musician ("Jane's Addiction", "Porno for Pyros[?]")
• 1964 - Elle Macpherson[?], model
• 1968 - Lucy Lawless[?], actress, singer

Deaths

• 1772 - Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish philosopher and mathematician
• 1792 - King Gustav III of Sweden, after being shot on March 16
• 1912 - Robert Falcon Scott, explorer
• 1959 - Barthelemy Boganda[?], first President of the Central African Republic
• 1972 - Lord J. Arthur Rank[?], movie theater owner
• 1980 - Mantovani[?], musician
• 1992 - Paul Henreid[?], actor
• 1999 - Joe Williams, jazz singer

Holidays and observances

See Also:

March 28 - March 30 - February 29 - April 29 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December