Did you know
The Metapolitefsi period began after the fall of the Ioannides military junta in 1974.
July 29 in History
1973 — Greeks vote to abolish the monarchy, beginning the first period of the Metapolitefsi
July 29 spans 62 recorded events across recorded history, from 587 BC to 2024. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
62 events
587 BC – 2024
Today in history
More major events on July 29
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 2015 The first piece of suspected debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is discovered on Réunion Island. Read story Source
- 1965 Vietnam War: The first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay. Source
- 1948 Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad: After a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, open in London. Source
Did you know
Konstantinos Karamanlis was the first prime minister of Greece during the Metapolitefsi period.
Did you know
The 1974 legislative elections marked a significant transition in Greek politics during this time.
Did you know
Andreas Papandreou's Panhellenic Socialist Movement played a crucial role in shaping the Metapolitefsi era.
Did you know
The Metapolitefsi period came to an end shortly after the 1974 legislative elections, paving the way for a new political landscape in Greece.
-587
The Neo-Babylonian Empire sacks Jerusalem and destroys the First Temple.
Ancient Mesopotamian empire (626–539 BC)
238
The Praetorian guard revolts against emperors Balbinus and Pupienus and arrests them.
Calendar year
615
Pakal ascends the throne of Palenque at the age of 12.
Ajaw of Palenque from 615 to 683
904
Sack of Thessalonica: Saracen raiders under Leo of Tripoli sack Thessaloniki, the Byzantine Empire's second-largest city, after a short siege, and plunder it for a week.
Part of the Arab-Byzantine Wars
923
Battle of Firenzuola: Lombard forces under King Rudolph II and Adalbert I, margrave of Ivrea, defeat the dethroned Emperor Berengar I of Italy at Firenzuola (Tuscany).
Battle between allied Burgundy and Ivrea against Italy in 923 AD
1014
Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, and his subsequent treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of a heart attack less than three months later, on October 6.
Conflicts in the Balkans (680–1355)
1018
Count Dirk III defeats an army sent by Emperor Henry II in the Battle of Vlaardingen.
Count of Holland from 993 to 1039
1030
Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars: Battle of Stiklestad: King Olaf II fights and dies trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes.
9th-11th century Norse dynasty in Norway
1148
The Siege of Damascus ends in a decisive crusader defeat and leads to the disintegration of the Second Crusade.
Muslim victory of the Second Crusade
1565
The widowed Mary, Queen of Scots marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany, at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, Scotland, in a Catholic ceremony.
Queen of Scotland from 1542 to 1567
1567
The infant James VI is crowned King of Scotland at Stirling.
King of Scotland from 1567 to 1625, King of England and Ireland from 1603
1588
Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: English naval forces under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.
War between the kingdoms of Spain and England
1602
Elizabeth I visits Harefield Place at Hillingdon and the Harefield Entertainment is performed.
Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 to 1603
1693
War of the Grand Alliance: Battle of Landen: France wins a victory over Allied forces in the Netherlands.
War between France and a European coalition (1688–1697)
1775
Founding of the U.S.
Army Judge Advocate General's Corps: General George Washington appoints William Tudor as Judge Advocate of the Continental Army.
1818
French physicist Augustin Fresnel submits his prizewinning "Memoir on the Diffraction of Light", precisely accounting for the limited extent to which light spreads into shadows, and thereby demolishing the oldest objection to the wave theory of light.
French optical physicist (1788–1827)
1832
An Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pascha defeats a larger Ottoman army in the battle of Belen Pass.
Egyptian general and Wāli of Egypt and Sudan (1789–1848)
1836
Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
Triumphal arch in Paris, France
1848
Great Famine of Ireland: Tipperary Revolt: In County Tipperary, Ireland, then in the United Kingdom, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police.
1845–1852 mass starvation in Ireland
1851
1858
United States and Japan sign the Harris Treaty.
1858 trade agreement between the U.S. and Tokugawa Japan
1862
American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.
1861–1865 conflict in the United States
1871
The Connecticut Valley Railroad opens between Old Saybrook, Connecticut and Hartford, Connecticut in the United States.
Heritage railway in Connecticut, United States
1899
The First Hague Convention is signed.
Yielded international treaties and declarations on the laws of war
1900
In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci.
His son, Victor Emmanuel III, 31 years old, succeeds to the throne.
1907
Sir Robert Baden-Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout camp in Poole Harbour on the south coast of England.
The camp runs from August 1 to August 9 and is regarded as the foundation of the Scouting movement.
1910
The two-day Slocum massacre commences in Texas, a race riot in which more than 100 African Americans are murdered.
1910 event in the U.S. state of Texas
1920
Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project.
Dam in Klamath Falls, U.S.
1921
Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers' Party.
Dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945
1932
Great Depression: In Washington, D.C., troops disperse the last of the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans using arson, bayonets, sabers, tanks, tear gas, and vomit gas.
Worldwide economic depression (1929–1939)
1937
Tongzhou mutiny: In Tongzhou, China, the East Hebei Army attacks Japanese troops and civilians.
1937 attempted rebellion in China
1945
The BBC Light Programme radio station is launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.
Former British national radio station (1945–1967)
1948
Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad: After a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, open in London.
International sporting events
1950
Korean War: After four days, the No Gun Ri Massacre ends when the US Army 7th Cavalry Regiment is withdrawn.
1950–1953 conflict on the Korean Peninsula
1957
1957
Tonight Starring Jack Paar premieres on NBC with Jack Paar beginning the modern day talk show.
American talk show (1957–1962)
1958
U.S.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
1959
First United States Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union.
Bicameral legislature of the United States
1965
Vietnam War: The first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay.
1955–1975 war in Southeast Asia
1967
Vietnam War: Off the coast of North Vietnam the USS Forrestal catches on fire in the worst U.S.
naval disaster since World War II, killing 134.
1967
During the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela is shaken by an earthquake, leaving approximately 500 dead.
Capital and largest city of Venezuela
1972
Two Avianca Douglas DC-3 airliners collide over Colombia, killing 38.
National airline of Colombia
1973
Driver Roger Williamson is killed during the Dutch Grand Prix, after a suspected tire failure causes his car to pitch into the barriers at high speed.
British racing driver (1948–1973)
1976
In New York City, David Berkowitz (a.k.a.
the "Son of Sam") kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks.
1981
A worldwide television audience of around 750 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London.
1981 British royal wedding
1981
After impeachment on June 21, Abolhassan Banisadr flees with Massoud Rajavi to Paris, in an Iranian Air Force Boeing 707, piloted by Colonel Behzad Moezzi, to form the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
President of Iran from 1980 to 1981
1985
Space Shuttle Challenger launches on STS-51-F.
The shuttle ends up in a lower orbit than planned due to an engine failure during ascent.
1987
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel (Channel Tunnel).
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990
1987
Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and President of Sri Lanka J.
R. Jayewardene sign the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord on ethnic issues.
1993
The Supreme Court of Israel acquits alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free.
Highest court in the State of Israel
1996
The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act is struck down by a U.S.
federal court as too broad.
2005
Astronomers announce their discovery of the dwarf planet Eris.
Most massive dwarf planet
2010
An overloaded passenger ferry capsizes on the Kasai River in Bandundu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in at least 80 deaths.
2010 passenger ferry disaster in Bandundu province, DR Congo
2013
Two passenger trains collide in the Swiss municipality of Granges-près-Marnand near Lausanne injuring 25 people.
2013 public transit disaster in Granges-près-Marnand, Switzerland
2015
The first piece of suspected debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is discovered on Réunion Island.
2014 aircraft disappearance
2019
The 2019 Altamira prison riot between rival Brazilian drug gangs leaves 62 dead.
Brazilian prison riot
2021
The International Space Station temporarily spins out of control, moving the ISS 45 degrees out of attitude, following an engine malfunction of Russian module Nauka.
Modular space station in low Earth orbit
2024
Three children are stabbed to death and 10 other people injured at a dance studio in Southport, England.
This incident, coupled with widespread online misinformation, leads to various racially motivated riots across the UK.