Did you know
In 1989, Cold War: Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
January 29 in History
1989 — Cold War: Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so
January 29 spans 38 recorded events across recorded history, from 904 to 2025. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
38 events
904 – 2025
Today in history
More major events on January 29
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 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. Source
- 1845 "The Raven" is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe. Source
- 2025 A chartered Beechcraft 1900 crashes near the Unity oilfield in South Sudan, killing 20 people. Source
Did you know
Hungary–South Korea relations are the bilateral relations between Hungary and South Korea. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
Hungary has an embassy in Seoul and an honorary consulate in Incheon. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
In 1989, Cold War: Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
Did you know
In 1989, Cold War: Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
904
Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.
Head of the Catholic Church from 904 to 911
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.
1814
War of the Sixth Coalition: France engages Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne.
1813–1814 conflict during the Napoleonic Wars
1819
Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore.
British colonial official (1781–1826)
1845
"The Raven" is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe.
1845 narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe
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.
Queen of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901
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.
1863 massacre of Shoshone by U.S. military
1886
Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.
German designer and engineer (1844–1929)
1891
Liliʻuokalani is proclaimed the last monarch and only queen regnant of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Queen of Hawaii from 1891 to 1893
1911
Mexican Revolution: Mexicali is captured by the Mexican Liberal Party, igniting the Magonista rebellion of 1911.
Nationwide armed struggle in Mexico (1910–1920)
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.
Armed conflict in Europe (1917–1921)
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.
Bolshevik-organized workers revolt (1918)
1940
Three trains on the Nishinari Line; present Sakurajima Line, in Osaka, Japan, collide and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi Station.
One hundred and eighty-one people are killed.
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.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1944
World War II: Approximately 38 people are killed and about a dozen injured when the Polish village of Koniuchy (present-day Kaniūkai, Lithuania) is attacked by Soviet partisan units.
Village in Lithuania
1944
World War II: In Bologna, Italy, the Anatomical theatre of the Archiginnasio is completely destroyed in an air-raid.
Capital and largest city of Emilia-Romagna, Italy
1959
The first Melodifestivalen is held at Cirkus in Stockholm, Sweden.
Swedish Eurovision Song Contest preselection
1971
The last of its many UFO sightings is made at Pudasjärvi, Finland.
Finnish UFO sightings between 1960s and 1970s
1973
EgyptAir Flight 741 crashes into the Kyrenia Mountains in Cyprus, killing 37 people.
1973 plane crash in Cyprus
1983
Singapore cable car crash: Panamanian-registered oil rig, Eniwetok, strikes the cables of the Singapore Cable Car system linking the mainland and Sentosa Island, causing two cabins to fall into the water and killing seven people and leaving thirteen others trapped for hours.
1983 fatal accident
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.
1990–1991 conflict in the Middle East
1996
President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear weapons testing.
President of France from 1995 to 2007
2001
Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals.
Country in Southeast Asia and Oceania
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.
2013
SCAT Airlines Flight 760 crashes near the Kazakh city of Almaty, killing 21 people.
2013 plane crash near Almaty, Kazakhstan
2014
Rojava conflict: The Afrin Canton declares its autonomy from the Syrian Arab Republic.
Military and political conflict in northern Syria
2017
A gunman opens fire at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, killing six people and wounding 19 others in a spree shooting.
2017 mass shooting in Quebec, Canada
2022
Canadian truck drivers and pedestrians gathered to rally and protest on Parliament Hill against Canadian COVID-19 restrictions, which caused traffic and closures around the city.
Person who drives goods vehicles
2025
American Eagle Flight 5342 collided mid-air with a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk operated by the United States Army and crashed into the Potomac River, killing all 67 people on board both aircraft.
Regional airline brand of the US
2025
A chartered Beechcraft 1900 crashes near the Unity oilfield in South Sudan, killing 20 people.
Commuter airliner and light transport aircraft