Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Today is the 210th day of 2025. There are 155 days left in this year.
Notable Events
1565
The widowed Mary, Queen of Scots marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany, at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, Scotland.
1588
Battle of Gravelines: English naval forces under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.
1754
The first international boxing match was held in Harlston, England. Jack Slack, the champion from Great Britain, knocked out the French challenger, Jean Petit. The bout lasted only 25 minutes.
1773
The first schoolhouse to be located west of the Allegheny Mountains was built in Schoenbrunn, OH.
1775
Founding of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps: General George Washington appoints William Tudor as Judge Advocate of the Continental Army.
1818
French physicist Augustin Fresnel submits his prizewinning "Memoir on the Diffraction of Light", precisely accounting for the limited extent to which light spreads into shadows, and thereby demolishing the oldest objection to the wave theory of light.
1836
Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
1848
Tipperary Revolt: In County Tipperary, Ireland, then in the United Kingdom, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police.
1862
Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.
1899
The First Hague Convention is signed.
1900
In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci. His son, Victor Emmanuel III, 31 years old, succeed to the throne.
1907
Sir Robert Baden-Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout camp in Poole Harbour on the south coast of England. The camp runs from August 1 to August 9 and is regarded as the foundation of the Scouting movement.
1914
Transcontinental telephone service began with the first phone conversation between New York and San Francisco.
1921
Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers' Party.
1945
The BBC Light Programme radio station is launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.
1957
The International Atomic Energy Agency was established.
1957
Jack Paar made his debut as host of NBC's "Tonight" show beginning the modern day talk show.
1958
President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which created NASA.
1958
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
1967
Fire swept the USS Forrestal in the Gulf of Tonkin, killing 134 servicemen.
1967
During the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela is shaken by an earthquake, leaving approximately 500 dead.
1967
Off the coast of North Vietnam the USS Forrestal catches on fire in the worst U.S. naval disaster since World War II, killing 134.
1968
Pope Paul VI reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church's stance against artificial methods of birth control.
1973
Driver Roger Williamson is killed during the Dutch Grand Prix, after a suspected tire failure causes his car to pitch into the barriers at high speed.
1975
President Ford became the first U.S. president to visit the site of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz in Poland as he paid tribute to the camp's victims.
1976
In New York City, David Berkowitz (a.k.a. the "Son of Sam") kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks.
1981
Britain's Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
1981
A worldwide television audience of around 750 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London.
1993
The Israeli Supreme Court acquitted retired Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk of being Nazi death camp guard ''Ivan the Terrible,'' and threw out his death sentence.
1996
Carl Lewis won his ninth Olympic gold medal by winning the long jump competition at the 1996 games. Lewis tied swimmer Mark Spitz for most golds by an American athlete. Lewis also won the same track event in four straight Olympics.
1997
Minamata Bay in Japan - once a worldwide symbol of industrial pollution - was declared free of mercury 40 years after contaminated food fish were blamed for deaths and birth defects.
1998
Pres. Clinton reached an agreement with Kenneth Starr to provide closed-circuit videotaped testimony at the White House on Aug. 17 about whether he tried to cover up a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
1999
A day trader, apparently upset over stock losses, opened fire in two Atlanta brokerage offices, killing nine people and wounding 13 before shooting himself to death; authorities say Mark O. Barton also killed his wife and two children.
1999
A federal judge ordered Pres. Clinton to pay $90,000 to the lawyers of Paula Jones in compensation for extra work due his false testimony.
2003
President Bush refused to release a congressional report on possible links between Saudi Arabian officials and the Sept. 11 hijackers, saying disclosure "would help the enemy" by revealing intelligence sources and methods.
2003
Boston's Bill Mueller became the first player in major league history to hit grand slams from both sides of the plate in a game and connected for three homers in a 14-7 win at Texas.
2004
John Kerry gave his acceptance speech as the Democratic presidential nominee before 15,000 supporters in Boston's FleetCenter: "I'm John Kerry, and I'm reporting for duty."
2010
An overloaded passenger ferry capsizes on the Kasai River in Bandundu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in at least 80 deaths.
2019
The 2019 Altamira prison riot between rival Brazilian drug gangs leaves 62 dead.
2021
The International Space Station temporarily spins out of control, moving the ISS 45 degrees out of attitude, following an engine malfunction of Russian module Nauka.
Notable Births
1801
George Bradshaw was an English cartographer, printer and publisher. He developed Bradshaw's Guide, a widely sold series of combined railway guides and timetables. (d. 1853)
1883
Benito Mussolini, Italian fascist revolutionary and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1945)
1892
William Powell, American actor and singer (d. 1984)
1900
Don Redman, American composer, and bandleader (d. 1964)
1905
Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. (d. 1965)
1906
Thelma Alice Todd was an American actress and businesswoman who carried the nicknames "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy". She appeared in about 120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935. (d. 1935)
1907
Melvin Belli was a United States lawyer and writer known as "The King of Torts" and by insurance companies as "Melvin Bellicose". He had many celebrity clients, including Zsa Zsa Gabor, Errol Flynn, Chuck Berry, Muhammad Ali. (d. 1996)
1923
Gordon Mitchell was an American actor and bodybuilder who made about 200 B movies. (d. 2003)
1923
Jim Marshall known as The Father of Loud or The Lord of Loud, was an English businessman and pioneer of guitar amplification. His company, Marshall Amplification, has created equipment that is used by some of the biggest names in rock music. (d. 2012)
1925
Harold W. Kuhn was an American mathematician who studied game theory. He won the 1980 John von Neumann Theory Prize along with David Gale and Albert W. Tucker. (d. 2014)
1933
Randy Sparks is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority.
1933
Lou Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor, who performed under the ring/stage name "Captain" Lou Albano. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969 before becoming a manager. (d. 2009)
1935
Peter Schreier was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. (d. 2019)
1936
Elizabeth Dole, American lawyer and politician, 20th United States Secretary of Labor
1938
Peter Jennings was a Canadian-American television journalist, best known for serving as the sole anchor of ABC World News Tonight from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 2005.
1942
Tony Sirico was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri in The Sopranos. He also made numerous appearances in the films of Woody Allen. (d. 2022)
1946
Neal Doughty is an American keyboardist, best known as a founding member of the rock band REO Speedwagon and the only member to have played on every album. He formed the band in the fall of 1966, with original drummer Alan Gratzer.
1949
Leslie Easterbrook is an American actress and producer. She played Debbie Callahan in the Police Academy films and Rhonda Lee on the television series Laverne & Shirley.
1953
Geddy Lee is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, replacing original bassist and frontman Jeff Jones.
1953
Ken Burns is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture.
1954
Patti Scialfa is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 and has been married to Bruce Springsteen since 1991.
1959
John Sykes is an English guitarist, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang. He has also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums.
1966
Martina McBride is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material.
1974
Josh Radnor is an American actor, filmmaker, author, and musician. He is best known for portraying Ted Mosby on the Emmy Award-winning CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother.
1982
Allison Mack is an American actress. She played Chloe Sullivan on the superhero series Smallville (2001-2011) and had a recurring role on the comedy series Wilfred (2012-2014).
Notable Deaths
1856
Robert Schumann was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. (b. 1810)
1890
Artist Vincent van Gogh died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Auvers, France. (b. 1853)
1974
Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. (b. 1941)
1976
Mickey Cohen was an American gangster, boxer and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles during the mid-20th century. (b. 1913)
1983
David Niven was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. Niven was known as a handsome and debonair leading man in Classic Hollywood films. (b. 1910)
1994
John Britton was an American physician. He was assassinated in Pensacola, Florida, by anti-abortion extremist Paul Jennings Hill. Britton's death was the second assassination of a Pensacola abortion provider in under a year and a half. (b. 1925)
1998
Jerome Robbins, a master choreographer of modern ballet and a major Broadway innovator, died in New York at age 79.
2001
Wau Holland, was a German computer security activist and journalist who in 1981 cofounded the Chaos Computer Club (CCC), one of the world's oldest hacking clubs. (b. 1951)
2003
Foday Sankoh (65), an indicted Sierra Leone war criminal whose rebel forces were notorious for hacking off the limbs, lips and ears of civilians, died in UN custody at a Freetown hospital.
2007
Tom Snyder was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows Tomorrow, on NBC in the 1970s and 1980s, and The Late Late Show, on CBS in the 1990s. (b. 1936)
2014
Jon R. Cavaiani was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Vietnam War. (b. 1943)