Soldiers Returning from Wounded Knee

1890

U.S. Army massacres Lakota Indians at Wounded Knee

Born on This Day

Smiling Mary

Mary Tyler Moore

1936 - 2017

Actress known for her warm, effortless charm on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

Diego Luna Presents "Cada Vez Nos Despedimos Mejor" In Madrid

Diego Luna

1979 -

Mexican actor known for his roles in films "Y Tu Mamá También," "Frida" and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."

Mr. Mayor - Season 1

Ted Danson

1947 -

Actor known for roles in TV's "Cheers" and "The Good Place" and films like "Three Men and a Baby."

1851

DEC

29

Young man, there’s no need to feel down, as the first YMCA in the US opens at the Old South Church in Boston. Today, you can get yourself clean and have a good meal at almost 2,700 locations nationwide.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on December 29th

1170

Archbishop Thomas Becket is murdered

Archbishop Thomas Becket is brutally murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by four knights of King Henry II of England, apparently on orders of the king. In 1155, Henry II appointed Becket as chancellor, a high post in the English government. Becket proved a skilled diplomat and won the trust of Henry, who nominated him as archbishop […]

1610

Hungarian countess’s torturous escapades are exposed

On December 29, 1609 or 1610 (sources are not conclusive), Count Gyorgy Thurzo makes an investigative visit to Csejthe Castle in Hungary on orders from King Matthias and discovers Countess Elizabeth Bathory directing a torture session of young girls. Bathory was already infamous in the area for her torture and murder of servants and peasants, […]

1778

British capture Savannah, Georgia

On December 29, 1778, British Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell and his force of between 2,500 and 3,600 troops, which included the 71st Highland regiment, New York Loyalists, and Hessian mercenaries, launch a surprise attack on American forces defending Savannah, Georgia. American Major General Robert Howe and his paltry force of between 650 and 900 men […]

1845

Texas enters the Union

Six months after the congress of the Republic of Texas accepts U.S. annexation, Texas is admitted into the United States as the 28th state. After gaining independence from Spain in the 1820s, Mexico welcomed foreign settlers to sparsely populated Texas, and a large group of Americans led by Stephen F. Austin settled along the Brazos […]

1940

London is devastated by German air raid

On the evening of December 29, 1940, London suffers its most devastating air raid when Germans firebomb the city. Hundreds of fires caused by the exploding bombs engulfed areas of London, but firefighters showed a valiant indifference to the bombs falling around them and saved much of the city from destruction. The next day, a […]

1985

The “Railway Rapist” commits his first murder

The “Railway Rapist” attacks 19-year-old Alison Day and abducts her from a London train. Her strangled body was recovered two weeks later. Although the perpetrator had attacked and raped many women since 1982, this was his first murder. The Railway Rapist had a distinctive method of operation: He used a knife, bound the victim’s hands […]

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