Did you know
Olusegun Obasanjo was born on March 5, 1937, in Abeokuta, Nigeria.
May 29 in History
1999 — Olusegun Obasanjo takes office as President of Nigeria, the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule
May 29 spans 65 recorded events across recorded history, from 363 to 2022. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
65 events
363 – 2022
Today in history
More major events on May 29
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1999 Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station. Source
- 1973 Tom Bradley is elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles, California. Source
- 1990 The Congress of People's Deputies of Russia elects Boris Yeltsin as President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Source
Did you know
He served as Nigeria's Military Head of State from 1976 to 1979, handing over power to a civilian government.
Did you know
Obasanjo was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party from 1998 to 2015.
Did you know
He was imprisoned from 1995 to 1998 by the Abacha regime on charges of plotting a coup.
Did you know
Obasanjo's presidency from 1999 to 2007 focused on economic reforms and anti-corruption efforts.
363
The Roman emperor Julian defeats the Sasanian army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sasanian capital, but is unable to take the city.
Ruler of the Roman Empire
526
A catastrophic earthquake hits Antioch, killing several thousands including patriarch Euphrasius.
Earthquake striking Syria and Antioch in 526
757
Election of pope Paul I following the death of pope Stephen II in the previous month.
Calendar year
1108
Battle of Uclés: Almoravid troops under the command of Tamim ibn Yusuf defeat a Castile and León alliance under the command of Prince Sancho Alfónsez.
Part of the Reconquista in present day Spain
1138
Antipope Victor IV gives up his claim to the papacy due to the instigation of Bernard of Clairvaux.
Italian priest, antipope in 1138
1167
Battle of Monte Porzio: A Roman army supporting Pope Alexander III is defeated by Christian of Buch and Rainald of Dassel.
1167 battle between the Holy Roman Empire and the Commune of Rome
1176
Battle of Legnano: The Lombard League defeats Emperor Frederick I.
1176 Lombard League victory over Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
1233
Mongol–Jin war: The Mongols enter Kaifeng after a successful siege and begin looting in the fallen capital of the Jin dynasty.
1211–1234 campaign in northern China
1328
1416
Battle of Gallipoli: The Venetians under Pietro Loredan defeat a much larger Ottoman fleet off Gallipoli.
1416 Naval battle between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire
1453
Fall of Constantinople: Ottoman armies under Sultan Mehmed II capture Constantinople after a 53-day siege, ending the Roman Empire after over 2,000 years.
1453 Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine capital
1555
The Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire sign a peace treaty to end the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1532–1555.
Turkish Empire (c. 1299–1922)
1658
Battle of Samugarh: Decisive battle in the struggle for the throne during the Mughal war of succession (1658–1659).
1658 battle in the Mughal war of succession
1660
English Restoration: Charles II is restored to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland.
1660 restoration of the monarchy in the British Isles
1733
The right of settlers in New France to enslave natives is upheld at Quebec City.
Area colonized by France in North America
1780
American Revolutionary War: At the Waxhaws Massacre, the British continue attacking after the Continentals lay down their arms, killing 113 and critically wounding all but 53 that remained.
1775–1783 conflict in North America
1790
Rhode Island becomes the last of North America's original Thirteen Colonies to ratify the Constitution and become one of the United States.
U.S. state
1798
United Irishmen Rebellion: Between 300 and 500 United Irishmen are executed as rebels by the British Army in County Kildare, Ireland.
Part of the French Revolutionary Wars
1807
Mustafa IV becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1807 to 1808
1825
The Coronation of Charles X of France takes place in Reims Cathedral, the last-ever coronation of a French monarch.
1825 coronation in France
1851
Sojourner Truth delivers her famous Ain't I a Woman? speech at the Woman's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio.
American abolitionist (c. 1797–1883)
1852
Jenny Lind leaves New York after her two-year American tour.
Swedish opera singer (1820–1887)
1861
The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is founded, in Hong Kong.
Nonprofit business advocacy group in Hong Kong
1864
Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico arrives in Mexico for the first time.
Ruler of the Mexican Empire
1867
The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 ("the Compromise") is born through Act 12, which establishes the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Establishment of Austria-Hungary
1886
The pharmacist John Pemberton places his first advertisement for Coca-Cola, which appeared in The Atlanta Journal.
Healthcare professional
1900
N'Djamena is founded as Fort-Lamy by the French commander Émile Gentil.
Capital and largest city of Chad
1903
In the May Coup, Alexander I, King of Serbia, and Queen Draga, are assassinated in Belgrade by the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) organization.
1903 military coup against King Alexander I of Serbia; Peter I installed
1913
Igor Stravinsky's ballet score The Rite of Spring receives its premiere performance in Paris, France, provoking a near-riot.
Russian composer (1882–1971)
1914
The ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sinks in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with the loss of 1,012 lives.
Type of passenger ship
1918
1919
Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity is tested (later confirmed) by Arthur Eddington and Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin.
German-born theoretical physicist (1879–1955)
1920
The Louth flood of 1920, a severe flash flood in the Lincolnshire market town of Louth, results in 23 fatalities in 20 minutes.
It has been described as one of the most significant flood disasters in the United Kingdom during the 20th century.
1931
Michele Schirru, a citizen of the United States, is executed by a Royal Italian Army firing squad for intent to kill Benito Mussolini.
1932
World War I veterans begin to assemble in Washington, D.C., in the Bonus Army to request cash bonuses promised to them to be paid in 1945.
Global conflict from 1914 to 1918
1935
First flight of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aeroplane.
German WWII fighter aircraft family
1945
First combat mission of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator heavy bomber.
Purposeful violent conflict
1947
United Airlines Flight 521 crashes at LaGuardia Airport, killing 43.
1947 aviation accident over the United States
1948
United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is founded.
UN peacekeeping mission in the Middle East
1950
The St.
Roch, the first ship to circumnavigate North America, arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
1953
Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on Tenzing Norgay's (adopted) 39th birthday.
New Zealand mountaineer (1919–2008)
1962
Chinese police open fire on protesters in Yining, Xinjiang, killing at least five people and wounding a dozen others.
1962 mass exodus of people from China to the Soviet Union
1964
The Arab League meets in East Jerusalem to discuss the Palestinian question, leading to the formation of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Regional organisation
1964
Having deposed them in a January coup South Vietnamese leader Nguyễn Khánh has rival Generals Trần Văn Đôn and Lê Văn Kim convicted of "lax morality".
1964 overthrow of Gen. Dương Văn Minh's military junta in South Vietnam
1973
Tom Bradley is elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles, California.
American politician (1917–1998)
1974
SETA, a Finnish LGBT rights organisation, is founded in Helsinki.
Finnish LGBT rights organization
1982
Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit Canterbury Cathedral.
Head of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005
1982
Falklands War: The British Army defeats the Argentine Army at the Battle of Goose Green.
1982 undeclared Argentina–United Kingdom war
1985
Heysel Stadium disaster: Thirty-nine association football fans die and hundreds are injured when a dilapidated retaining wall collapses.
Fatal spectator riot in Brussels, Belgium in 1985
1985
Amputee Steve Fonyo completes cross-Canada marathon at Victoria, British Columbia, after 14 months.
Medical procedure that removes a part of the body
1988
U.S.
President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union when he arrives in Moscow for a superpower summit with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
1989
Signing of an agreement between Egypt and the United States that allows for the manufacture of F-16 Falcon parts in Egypt.
Country in North Africa
1990
The Congress of People's Deputies of Russia elects Boris Yeltsin as President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
Former legislature of Russia
1993
The Miss Sarajevo beauty pageant is held in war-torn Sarajevo drawing global attention to the plight of its citizens.
Capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina
1999
Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station.
Space Shuttle orbiter (1984–2011)
2001
The U.S.
Supreme Court rules that the disabled golfer Casey Martin can use a cart to ride in tournaments.
2004
The National World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C.
2005
France rejects the Constitution of the European Union in a national referendum.
Country primarily in Western Europe
2008
A doublet earthquake, of combined magnitude 6.1, strikes Iceland near the town of Selfoss, injuring 30 people.
Doublet earthquake with composite magnitude of 6.1 Mw
2012
A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hits northern Italy near Bologna, killing at least 24 people.
Severe earthquakes centered in Emilia-Romagna, Italy
2015
One World Observatory at One World Trade Center opens.
Skyscraper in Manhattan, New York
2020
An oil spill in Norilsk releases 17,500 tons of diesel oil into nearby rivers.
2020 industrial disaster in Russia
2021
A Cessna Citation I/SP crashes into Percy Priest Lake in Tennessee, killing all six people on board, including actor Joe Lara and his wife Gwen Shamblin Lara.
Business jet manufactured 1971–1985
2022
Tara Air Flight 197 crashes in Nepal's Mustang District, killing 22.
Passenger plane crash in Nepal