Major Events
- 539 BC King Cyrus "the Great" of Persia marches into Babylon, freeing Jewish captives and allowing them to return home
- 1268 Conradin, the last legitimate male heir of the German Hohenstaufen dynasty of Kings and Holy Roman Emperors, is executed with Frederick I, Margrave of Baden by Charles I of Sicily
- 1665 Battle of Mbwila [Ambuila]: Portuguese defeat forces of the Kingdom of Kongo and decapitate King Antonio I of Kongo / Nvita a Nkanga
- 1929 "Black Tuesday" Wall Street Stock Market crashes triggering the "Great Depression"
- 2015 China announces the end of their one-child policy after 35 years
- More October 29 Events
Oct 29 in Film & TV
- 1956 NBC anchors Chet Huntley and David Brinkley first team up in "The Huntley–Brinkley Report"
Oct 29 in Music
- 1787 Opera "Don Giovanni", music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte premieres at the National Theater of Bohemia in Prague
Oct 29 in Sport
- 1960 Cassius Clay's [Muhammad Ali] 1st professional fight; beats Tunney Hunsaker on points in 6 rounds in Louisville, Kentucky
Did You Know?
English adventurer, writer and courtier Walter Raleigh is beheaded for allegedly conspiring against King James I of England
Abraham Kuyper
Franz von Papen
Joseph Goebbels
Carl Djerassi
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Fanny Brice
Richard Dreyfuss
Kate Jackson
Winona Ryder
Frank Sedgman
Denis Potvin
Mike Gartner
Fun Fact About October 29
En route Adana to Ankara, Turkish Airlines flight with crew of 6 and 33 passengers hijacked by Kurdish militant, orders pilot fly to Switzerland. Pilot lands in Ankara tricking hijacker he was landing in Sofia to refuel.
Famous Weddings
- 437 Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II, Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople. This unifies the two branches of the House of Theodosius
- 1994 Canadian-American comic-impressionist Rich Little (55) weds American comedian Jeannette Markey (28) at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada; divorce in 1997
- 2004 "Jackass" member Chris Pontius (30) weds Claire Nolan in Malibu
Famous Divorces
- 1951 Singer and actor Frank Sinatra (35) and 1st wife Nancy (Barbato) (33) divorce due to infidelity after 12 years of marriage
- 2010 Country singer Randy Travis (51) divorces manager Lib Hatcher due to state of incompatibility between the two parties after 19 long years of marriage. One of country music's longest-lasting couples
More October 29 Weddings
Walter Raleigh
Jean-Baptiste Le Rond d'Alembert
Nathan Bedford Forrest
George McClellan
Joseph Pulitzer
Louis B. MayerArticles, Photos and Quiz
Surrender at Yorktown
'Surrender of Lord Cornwallis' by John Trumbull depicting the British surrender which ended the American Revolutionary War
October 29, 1781
'Splendid Achievement' becomes the 'Road To Hell'
London's orbital road, the M25 was hailed as a splendid achievement by PM Margaret Thatcher when she opened it on this day. But it soon developed another nickname...
October 29, 1986
