January 29 facts for kids

January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 336 days remain until the end of the year (337 in leap years).

Events

Pre-1600

• 904 – Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.
• 946 – Caliph al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler of the Buyid Empire. He is succeeded by al-Muti as caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate.

1601–1900

• 1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne.
• 1819 – Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore.
• 1845 – "The Raven" is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe.
• 1850 – Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.
• 1856 – Queen Victoria issues a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual that establishes the Victoria Cross to recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the Crimean War.
• 1861 – Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state.
• 1863 – The Bear River Massacre: A detachment of California Volunteers led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor engage the Shoshone at Bear River, Washington Territory, killing hundreds of men, women and children.
• 1886 – Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.
• 1891 – [[Liliʻuokalani]] is proclaimed the last monarch and only queen regnant of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

1901–present

• 1907 – Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American U.S. Senator.
• 1911 – Mexican Revolution: Mexicali is captured by the Mexican Liberal Party, igniting the Magonista rebellion of 1911.
• 1918 – Ukrainian–Soviet War: The Bolshevik Red Army, on its way to besiege Kyiv, is met by a small group of military students at the Battle of Kruty.
• 1918 – Ukrainian–Soviet War: An armed uprising organized by the Bolsheviks in anticipation of the encroaching Red Army begins at the Kiev Arsenal, which will be put down six days later.
• 1936 – The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced.
• 1943 – World War II: The first day of the Battle of Rennell Island, USS Chicago (CA-29) is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers.
• 1944 – World War II: In Bologna, Italy, the Anatomical theatre of the Archiginnasio is completely destroyed in an air-raid.
• 1959 – The first Melodifestivalen is held at Cirkus in Stockholm, Sweden.
• 1989 – Cold War: Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so.
• 1991 – Gulf War: The Battle of Khafji, the first major ground engagement of the war, as well as its deadliest, begins between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
• 1996 – President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear weapons testing.
• 2001 – Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals.
• 2002 – In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
• 2005 – The first direct commercial flights from mainland China (from Guangzhou) to Taiwan since 1949 arrived in Taipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines flight lands in Beijing.
• 2008 – An Egyptian court rules that people who do not adhere to one of the three government-recognised religions, while not allowed to list any belief outside of those three, are still eligible to receive government identity documents.
• 2009 – Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich is removed from office following his conviction of several corruption charges, including solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the United States Senate as a replacement for then-U.S. president-elect Barack Obama.
• 2014 – Rojava conflict: The Afrin Canton declares its autonomy from the Syrian Arab Republic.
• 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic: The Trump administration establishes the White House Coronavirus Task Force under Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1455 – Johann Reuchlin, German-born humanist and scholar (d. 1522)
• 1475 – Giuliano Bugiardini, Italian painter (d. 1555)
• 1499 – Katharina von Bora, wife of Martin Luther; formerly a Roman Catholic nun (d. 1552)
• 1525 – Lelio Sozzini, Italian humanist and reformer (d. 1562)
• 1584 – Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (d. 1647)
• 1591 – Franciscus Junius, German pioneer philologist (d. 1677)

1601–1900

• 1602 – Countess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg (d. 1651)
• 1632 – Johann Georg Graevius, German scholar and critic (d. 1703)
• 1688 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish astronomer, philosopher, and theologian (d. 1772)
• 1711 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (d. 1788)
• 1715 – Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1777)
• 1717 – Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, English field marshal and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (d. 1797)
• 1718 – Paul Rabaut, French pastor (d. 1794)
• 1737 – Thomas Paine, English-American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary (d. 1809)
• 1749 – Christian VII of Denmark (d. 1808)
• 1754 – Moses Cleaveland, American general, lawyer, and politician, founded Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1806)
• 1756 – Henry Lee III, American general and politician, 9th Governor of Virginia (d. 1818)
• 1761 – Albert Gallatin, Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, and politician, 4th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1849)
• 1782 – Daniel Auber, French composer (d. 1871)
• 1792 – Lemuel H. Arnold, American politician (d. 1852)
• 1801 – Johannes Bernardus van Bree, Dutch violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1857)
• 1810 – Ernst Kummer, Polish-German mathematician and academic (d. 1893)
• 1810 – Mary Whitwell Hale, American teacher, school founder, and hymnwriter (d. 1862)
• 1843 – William McKinley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 25th President of the United States (d. 1901)
• 1846 – Karol Olszewski, Polish chemist, mathematician and physicist (d. 1915)
• 1852 – Frederic Hymen Cowen, Jamaican-English pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1935)
• 1858 – Henry Ward Ranger, American painter and academic (d. 1916)
• 1860 – Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and short story writer (d. 1904)
• 1861 – Florida Ruffin Ridley, American civil rights activist, teacher, editor, and writer (d. 1943)
• 1862 – Frederick Delius, English composer (d. 1934)
• 1864 – Richard Arman Gregory, British astronomer (d. 1952)
• 1866 – Romain Rolland, French historian, author, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1944)
• 1867 – Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Spanish journalist and author (d. 1928)
• 1874 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1960)
• 1876 – Havergal Brian, English composer (d. 1972)
• 1880 – W. C. Fields, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (d. 1946)
• 1881 – Alice Catherine Evans, American microbiologist (d. 1975)
• 1884 – Juhan Aavik, Estonian-Swedish composer and conductor (d. 1982)
• 1886 – Karl Freudenberg, German chemist (d. 1983)
• 1888 – Sydney Chapman, English mathematician and geophysicist (d. 1970)
• 1888 – Wellington Koo, Chinese statesman (d. 1985)
• 1892 – Ernst Lubitsch, German American film director, producer, writer, and actor (d. 1947)
• 1895 – Muna Lee, American poet and author (d. 1965)

1901–present

• 1901 – Allen B. DuMont, American engineer and broadcaster, founded the DuMont Television Network (d. 1965)
• 1901 – E. P. Taylor, Canadian businessman and horse breeder (d. 1989)
• 1905 – Barnett Newman, American painter and etcher (d. 1970)
• 1913 – Victor Mature, American actor (d. 1999)
• 1915 – Bill Peet, American author and illustrator (d. 2002)
• 1915 – John Serry Sr., Italian-American concert accordionist and composer (d. 2003)
• 1916 – Roy Markham, British plant virologist (d. 1979)
• 1917 – John Raitt, American actor and singer (d. 2005)
• 1918 – John Forsythe, American actor (d. 2010)
• 1920 – Paul Gayten, American R&B pianist, songwriter, producer, and record company executive (d. 1991)
• 1923 – Paddy Chayefsky, American author and screenwriter (d. 1981)
• 1923 – Eddie Taylor, American electric blues guitarist and singer (d. 1985)
• 1926 – Abdus Salam, Pakistani-British physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
• 1927 – Edward Abbey, American environmentalist and author (d. 1989)
• 1928 – Joseph Kruskal, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 2010)
• 1929 – Elio Petri, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1982)
• 1931 – Leslie Bricusse, English playwright and composer (d. 2021)
• 1931 – Ferenc Mádl, Hungarian academic and politician, 2nd President of Hungary (d. 2011)
• 1932 – Raman Subba Row, English cricketer and referee
• 1933 – Sacha Distel, French singer and guitarist (d. 2004)
• 1934 – Alan Cowley, British chemist (d. 2020)
• 1936 – James Jamerson, American bass player (d. 1983)
• 1936 – Veturi, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 2010)
• 1937 – Jeff Clyne, British musician (d. 2009)
• 1939 – Germaine Greer, Australian journalist and author
• 1939 – Jeanne Lee, American jazz singer, poet and composer (d. 2000)
• 1940 – Justino Díaz, Puerto Rican opera singer
• 1940 – Katharine Ross, American actress and author
• 1941 – Robin Morgan, American actress, journalist, and author
• 1941 – Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, Sri Lankan politician (d. 2024)
• 1942 – Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, Cuban military officer, legislator and cosmonaut
• 1943 – Tony Blackburn, English radio and television host
• 1943 – Pat Quinn, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
• 1943 – Mark Wynter, English singer and actor
• 1945 – Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Malian academic and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (d. 2022)
• 1945 – Tom Selleck, American actor and businessman
• 1946 – Geater Davis, American singer-songwriter (d. 1984)
• 1946 – Bettye LaVette, American singer-songwriter
• 1947 – Linda B. Buck, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1947 – David Byron, English singer-songwriter (d. 1985)
• 1947 – Marián Varga, Slovak organist and composer (d. 2017)
• 1948 – Raymond Keene, English chess player and author
• 1948 – Cristina Saralegui, Cuban-American journalist, actress and talk show host
• 1948 – Marc Singer, Canadian-American actor
• 1949 – Doris Davenport, American poet and teacher
• 1949 – Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-American drummer and producer (d. 2014)
• 1950 – Ann Jillian, American actress and singer
• 1950 – Miklós Vámos, Hungarian writer, novelist, screenwriter and translator
• 1952 – Pete Geren, American attorney and politician
• 1952 – Tim Healy, British actor
• 1953 – Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (d. 1995)
• 1953 – Charlie Wilson, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1954 – Terry Kinney, American actor and director
• 1954 – Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host, actress, and producer, founded Harpo Productions
• 1955 – Greg Ballard, American basketball player and coach (d. 2016)
• 1955 – John Tate, American boxer (d. 1998)
• 1956 – Irlene Mandrell, American musician, actress, and model
• 1956 – Amii Stewart, American singer and dancer
• 1957 – Diane Delano, American actress
• 1957 – Ron Franscell, American author and journalist
• 1958 – Judy Norton, American actress and theater director
• 1960 – Cho-liang Lin, Taiwanese-American musician
• 1960 – Greg Louganis, American diver and author
• 1960 – Steve Sax, American baseball player
• 1961 – Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwean businessman and philanthropist
• 1962 – Gauri Lankesh, Indian journalist and activist (d. 2017)
• 1962 – Lee Terry, American politician and lawyer
• 1962 – Nicholas Turturro, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1964 – Roddy Frame, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician
• 1964 – Andre Reed, American football player
• 1965 – David Agus, American physician and author
• 1965 – Dominik Hašek, Czech ice hockey player
• 1967 – Sean Burke, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1967 – Stacey King, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1968 – Edward Burns, American actor, director, writer, and producer
• 1968 – Monte Cook, American game designer and writer
• 1968 – Aeneas Williams, American football player
• 1969 – Sam Trammell, American actor
• 1970 – Heather Graham, American actress
• 1970 – Jörg Hoffmann, German swimmer
• 1970 – Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Indian colonel and politician
• 1970 – Paul Ryan, American politician, 62nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
• 1971 – Clare Balding, English broadcaster, journalist and author
• 1972 – Brian Wood, American writer, illustrator and graphic designer
• 1973 – Megan McArdle, American journalist
• 1973 – Jason Schmidt, American baseball player
• 1975 – Sharif Atkins, American actor
• 1975 – Sara Gilbert, American actress, producer, and talk show host
• 1975 – Kelly Packard, American actress
• 1977 – Justin Hartley, American actor
• 1977 – Sam Jaeger, American actor and screenwriter
• 1979 – Andrew Keegan, American actor
• 1979 – Christina Koch, American engineer and astronaut
• 1980 – Jason James Richter, American actor and musician
• 1981 – Tenoch Huerta, Mexican actor
• 1981 – Jonny Lang, American singer, songwriter and guitarist
• 1982 – Adam Lambert, American singer, songwriter and actor
• 1983 – Tim Gleason, American ice hockey player
• 1985 – Marc Gasol, Spanish basketball player
• 1985 – Isabel Lucas, Australian actress and model
• 1985 – Rag'n'Bone Man, English singer-songwriter
• 1986 – Chris Bourque, American ice hockey player
• 1986 – Thomas Greiss, German ice hockey player
• 1986 – Jair Jurrjens, Curaçaoan baseball player
• 1987 – José Abreu, Cuban baseball player
• 1987 – Alex Avila, American baseball player
• 1987 – Jessica Burkhart, American author
• 1987 – Vladimír Mihálik, Slovak ice hockey player
• 1988 – Ayobami Adebayo, Nigerian author
• 1988 – Jake Auchincloss, American politician, businessman, and Marine veteran
• 1988 – Hank Conger, American baseball player
• 1988 – Shay Logan, English footballer
• 1989 – Mohamed Abou Gabal, Egyptian footballer
• 1989 – Kevin Shattenkirk, American ice hockey player
• 1992 – Markel Brown, American basketball player
• 1992 – Maxi Kleber, German basketball player
• 1993 – Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Japanese singer
• 1997 – Joel Eriksson Ek, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1997 – Jack Roslovic, American ice hockey player
• 2003 – Jarell Quansah, English footballer

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 757 – An Lushan, Chinese general (b. 703)
• 1119 – Pope Gelasius II (b. 1060)
• 1597 – Elias Ammerbach, German organist and composer (b. 1530)

1601–1900

• 1647 – Francis Meres, English priest and author (b. 1565)
• 1678 – Jerónimo Lobo, Portuguese missionary and author (b. 1593)
• 1706 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and courtier (b. 1643)
• 1737 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, Scottish-English field marshal and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1666)
• 1743 – André-Hercule de Fleury, French cardinal (b. 1653)
• 1763 – Juan José Eguiara y Eguren, Mexican bishop and Catholic scholar (b. 1696)
• 1763 – Louis Racine, French poet (b. 1692)
• 1820 – George III of the United Kingdom (b. 1738)
• 1829 – Paul Barras, French captain and politician (b. 1755)
• 1870 – Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1797)
• 1888 – Edward Lear, English poet and illustrator (b. 1812)
• 1899 – Alfred Sisley, French-English painter (b. 1839)

1901–present

• 1901 – Eugène Louis-Marie Jancourt, French bassoonist, composer and pedagogue (b. 1815)
• 1906 – Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1818)
• 1910 – Édouard Rod, French-Swiss novelist (b. 1857)
• 1912 – Herman Bang, Danish journalist and author (b. 1857)
• 1916 – Sibylle von Olfers, German art teacher, author and nun (b. 1881)
• 1917 – Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, British statesman, diplomat and colonial administrator (b. 1841)
• 1923 – Elihu Vedder, American symbolist painter, book illustrator and poet (b. 1836)
• 1928 – Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, Scottish field marshal (b. 1861)
• 1929 – Jacques Bouhy, Belgian baritone (b. 1848)
• 1929 – Charles Fox Parham, American preacher and evangelist (b. 1873)
• 1933 – Sara Teasdale, American poet (b. 1884)
• 1934 – Fritz Haber, Polish-German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1868)
• 1934 – Dukinfield Henry Scott, British botanist (b. 1854)
• 1935 – Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh, American explorer (b. 1853)
• 1940 – Edward Harkness, American philanthropist (b. 1874)
• 1941 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and politician, 130th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1871)
• 1944 – William Allen White, American journalist and author (b. 1868)
• 1946 – Harry Hopkins, American businessman and politician, 8th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1890)
• 1946 – Sidney Jones, English conductor and composer (b. 1861)
• 1948 – Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta (b. 1900)
• 1951 – James Bridie, Scottish playwright, screenwriter and physician (b. 1888)
• 1954 – Walter Conrad Arensberg, American art collector, critic and poet (b. 1878)
• 1955 – Hans Hedtoft, Danish politician (b. 1903)
• 1956 – H. L. Mencken, American journalist and critic (b. 1880)
• 1959 – Pauline Smith, South African novelist, short story writer, memoirist and playwright (b. 1882)
• 1960 – Mack Harrell, American operatic and concert baritone vocalist (b. 1909)
• 1960 – George S. Messersmith, American diplomat (b. 1883)
• 1961 – Angela Thirkell, English novelist (b. 1890)
• 1962 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (b. 1875)
• 1962 – William Francis Gray Swann, Anglo-American physicist (b. 1884)
• 1963 – Robert Frost, American poet and playwright (b. 1874)
• 1964 – Vera Hall, American folk singer (b. 1902)
• 1964 – Alan Ladd, American actor (b. 1913)
• 1965 – Jack Hylton, English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario (b. 1892)
• 1966 – Pierre Mercure, Canadian composer, TV producer, bassoonist and administrator (b. 1927)
• 1967 – Harold Munro Fox, English zoologist (b. 1889)
• 1969 – Allen Dulles, American banker, lawyer, and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (b. 1893)
• 1969 - Max Weinreich, Russian-American-Jewish linguist and cofounder of YIVO (b. 1894)
• 1970 – Lawren Harris, Canadian painter (b. 1885)
• 1970 – B. H. Liddell Hart, French-English soldier, historian, and journalist (b. 1895)
• 1973 – Johannes Paul Thilman, German composer (b. 1903)
• 1974 – H. E. Bates, English writer (b. 1905)
• 1976 – Jesse Fuller, American one-man band musician (b. 1896)
• 1977 – Johnny Franz, English record producer and pianist (b. 1922)
• 1977 – Freddie Prinze, American comedian and actor (b. 1954)
• 1978 – Tim McCoy, American actor and military officer (b. 1891)
• 1978 – Frank Nicklin, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Queensland (b. 1895)
• 1979 – Sonny Payne, American jazz drummer (b. 1926)
• 1980 – Jimmy Durante, American entertainer (b. 1893)
• 1981 – Jack A. W. Bennett, New Zealander literary scholar (b. 1911)
• 1981 – John Glassco, Canadian poet, memoirist and novelist (b. 1909)
• 1982 – Rudolph Peters, British biochemist (b. 1889)
• 1982 – Roger Stanier, Canadian microbiologist (b. 1916)
• 1982 – Charles Sykes, British physicist and metallurgist (b. 1905)
• 1983 – Stuart H. Ingersoll, American naval aviator, USN vice admiral (b. 1898)
• 1984 – Frances Goodrich, American actress, dramatist and screenwriter (b. 1890)
• 1984 – John Macnaghten Whittaker, British mathematician (b. 1905)
• 1987 – Vincent R. Impellitteri, American politician and judge, 101st Mayor of New York City (b. 1900)
• 1988 – James Rhyne Killian, American educator, scientist and White House advisor (b. 1904)
• 1989 – Morton DaCosta, American theatre and film director, film producer, writer and actor (b. 1914)
• 1991 – Yasushi Inoue, Japanese author and poet (b. 1907)
• 1992 – Willie Dixon, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1915)
• 1993 – Adetokunbo Ademola, Nigerian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of Nigeria (b. 1906)
• 1994 – Ulrike Maier, Austrian skier (b. 1967)
• 1999 – Lili St. Cyr, American model and dancer (b. 1918)
• 2002 – Harold Russell, Canadian-American soldier and actor (b. 1914)
• 2003 – Frank Moss, American lawyer and politician (b. 1911)
• 2004 – Janet Frame, New Zealand author and poet (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Ephraim Kishon, Israeli author, screenwriter, and director (b. 1924)
• 2006 – Nam June Paik, South Korean-American artist (b. 1932)
• 2008 – Margaret Truman, American singer and author (b. 1924)
• 2009 – Hélio Gracie, Brazilian martial artist (b. 1913)
• 2009 – John Martyn, British singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1948)
• 2011 – Milton Babbitt, American composer, educator, and theorist (b. 1916)
• 2012 – Ranjit Singh Dyal, Indian general and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Italian lawyer and politician, 9th President of Italy (b. 1918)
• 2012 – Camilla Williams, American soprano and educator (b. 1919)
• 2015 – Colleen McCullough, Australian neuroscientist, author, and academic (b. 1937)
• 2015 – Rod McKuen, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1933)
• 2015 – Alexander Vraciu, American commander and pilot (b. 1918)
• 2016 – Jean-Marie Doré, Guinean lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Guinea (b. 1938)
• 2016 – Jacques Rivette, French director, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1928)
• 2019 – George Fernandes, Indian politician (b. 1930)
• 2019 – James Ingram, American musician (b. 1952)
• 2021 – Walker Boone, Canadian actor (b. 1944)
• 2022 – Howard Hesseman, American actor (b. 1940)
• 2023 – Hazel McCallion, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 5th Mayor of Mississauga (b. 1921)
• 2023 – Will Steffen, American-Australian chemist (b. 1947)
• 2023 – Gero Storjohann, German politician (b. 1958)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Gildas
  • Sabinian of Troyes
  • Sulpitius I of Bourges
  • January 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day on which Fat Thursday can fall, while March 4 is the latest; celebrated on Thursday before Ash Wednesday. (Christianity)
• Kansas Day (Kansas, United States)

See also

In Spanish: 29 de enero para niños