Major Events
- 474 Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire together with his son Leo II (age 6 or 7)
- 661 Rashidun Caliphate, then the largest empire in history, ends with the death of its leader, Ali. Succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphate.
- 1595 William Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet" is thought to have been first performed. Officially published early 1597.
- 1850 Senator Henry Clay drafts the Compromise of 1850 to defuse tensions between slave states and free states over territories won during the Mexican–American War
- 1886 Karl Benz patents the "Benz Patent-Motorwagen" in Karlsruhe, Germany, the world's 1st automobile with a burning motor [1]
- 1892 The Coca-Cola Company is incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia
- 1896 American Emile Grubbe is the first doctor to use radiation treatment for breast cancer
- 2002 US President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address describes "regimes that sponsor terror" an "Axis of Evil", which includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea
- More January 29 Events
Jan 29 in Film & TV
- 1964 "Dr Strangelove", directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, premieres
Jan 29 in Music
- 1996 6,138th performance of "Cats" is held in London, surpassing record of Broadway's longest-running musical, "A Chorus Line"
Jan 29 in Sport
- 1936 1st players elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson & Walter Johnson
Did You Know?
Victoria Cross established to acknowledge valour in the face of the enemy (United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries)
Frederick Henry
Thomas Paine
William McKinley
Anton Chekhov
John D. Rockefeller Jr
John Forsythe
Tom Selleck
Oprah Winfrey
R. Norris Williams
Donna Caponi
Greg LouganisFamous Weddings
- 1839 English naturalist and "On the Origin of Species" author Charles Darwin (42) marries Emma Wedgwood (41)
- 1917 Sculptor Auguste Rodin (76) weds Rose Beuret
- 1923 President of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (41) weds Latife Hanim; divorce in 1925
Famous Divorces
- 1951 English-American actress Elizabeth Taylor's 1st divorce from American hotel heir Conrad Hilton Jr. after nearly 9 months of marriage
- 1987 Lisa files for separation from husband NY Met Darryl Strawberry
- 1990 Actor Michael Keaton (38) divorces actress Caroline McWilliams (44) after 7 years of marriage
More January 29 Weddings
George III
Douglas Haig
H. L. Mencken
Robert Frost
Jimmy Durante
Tom BrookshierArticles, Photos and Quiz
Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay's handwritten draft of one of the bills that formed the Compromise of 1850
January 29, 1850
Secret Behind Mona Lisa's Smile
The smile has beguiled art lovers for nearly 600 years and made the Mona Lisa the world's most famous work of art. But was her smile due to a medical condition?
January 29, 1987
