Historical events on March 29
MARCH 29, 1865
American Civil War: The Appomattox campaign opened with the Battle of Lewis's Farm, in which the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was forced into a series of retreats that would culminate in their surrender.
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in
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MARCH 29, 1968
The funeral of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, began in Moscow with tens of thousands of people in attendance.
The funeral of Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Seryogin on 29–30 March 1968 consisted of a joint farewell ceremony, a funeral procession and
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MARCH 29, 1975
Jeff Beck released Blow by Blow, his most successful album in the U.S., reaching the top five and selling over one million copies.
Geoffrey Arnold Beck was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards
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MARCH 29, 1941
The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement to define technical standards for AM band radio stations came into effect.
The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement refers to a series of international treaties that defined technical standards for AM band (mediumwave) radio
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MARCH 29, 1461
Wars of the Roses: Yorkist troops defeated Lancastrian forces in Yorkshire at the Battle of Towton, one of the largest land battles ever fought in England.
The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed
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MARCH 29, 845
Viking expansion: Viking raiders, possibly led by the legendary Ragnar Lodbrok, plundered and occupied Paris (depicted), holding the city for a large ransom.
Viking expansion was the historical movement which led Norse explorers, traders and warriors, the latter known in modern scholarship as Vikings, to
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MARCH 29, 1981
Dick Beardsley and Inge Simonsen jointly won the Men's Elite Race and Joyce Smith won the Women's Elite Race in the inaugural London Marathon.
Dick Beardsley is an American long-distance runner. He tied for first place with Inge Simonsen in the inaugural 1981 London Marathon and
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MARCH 29, 1974
A group of farmers in the Chinese province of Shaanxi discovered a vast collection of terracotta statues (pictured) depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China.
Shaanxi is a province in north Central China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan
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MARCH 29, 2010
Islamist separatists of the Caucasus Emirate detonated two bombs on the Moscow Metro, killing 40 people and injuring 102 others.
The Caucasus Emirate, also known as the Caucasian Emirate, Emirate of Caucasus, or Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, was a jihadist organisation
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MARCH 29, 1999
The Chamoli earthquake, one of the strongest to hit the foothills of the Himalayas in more than 90 years, killed at least 100 people.
The 1999 Chamoli earthquake occurred on 29 March in the Chamoli district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Approximately 103 people died in the earthquake.
MARCH 29, 1461
Wars of the Roses: The Yorkists defeated the Lancastrian army at the Battle of Towton, allowing Edward IV to secure the English throne.
The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed
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MARCH 29, 2014
The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales took place following the passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.
Same-sex marriage is legal in all parts of the United Kingdom. As marriage is a devolved legislative matter, different parts of the
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MARCH 29, 1974
NASA's Mariner 10 (pictured) became the first space probe to make a flyby of Mercury.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space
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MARCH 29, 1941
Second World War: British and Australian ships defeated Italian Regia Marina vessels at the Battle of Cape Matapan.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all
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MARCH 29, 1800
William Matthews was ordained as the first Catholic priest born in British America.
William Matthews, occasionally spelled Mathews, was an American who became the fifth Roman Catholic priest ordained in the United States and the
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MARCH 29, 2017
British prime minister Theresa May invoked Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, formally beginning the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union.
Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead, is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader
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MARCH 29, 1982
Queen Elizabeth II granted royal assent to the Canada Act 1982, which ended any remaining constitutional dependence of Canada on the United Kingdom by a process known as patriation.
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She had been
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MARCH 29, 1807
German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers discovered Vesta, the brightest asteroid and second-most massive body in the asteroid belt.
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers was a German astronomer. He found a convenient method of calculating the orbit of comets, and in 1802
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MARCH 29, 1430
After an eight-year siege, the Ottoman Empire captured the city of Thessalonica from the Republic of Venice.
The siege of Thessalonica between 1422 and 1430 saw the Ottoman Empire, under Sultan Murad II, capture the city of Thessalonica. Afterwards, the
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