Today In History

July 29 is the 210th day of the year

(211th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 155 days remain until the end of the year

1901–present

1901 – Land lottery begins in Oklahoma.[8]

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.[9]

1914 – The Cape Cod Canal opened.

1920 – Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project.

1921 – Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers' Party.

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.[10]

1937 – Tongzhou mutiny: In Tongzhou, China, the East Hebei Army attacks Japanese troops and civilians.

1945 – The BBC Light Programme radio station is launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.

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.

1950 – Korean War: After four days, the No Gun Ri Massacre ends when the US Army 7th Cavalry Regiment is withdrawn.

1957 – The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.

1957 – Tonight Starring Jack Paar premieres on NBC with Jack Paar beginning the modern day talk show.

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.

1965 – Vietnam War: The first 4,000

101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay.

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.

1972 – Two Avianca Douglas DC-3 airliners collide over Colombia, killing

38.[11]

1973 – Greeks vote to abolish the monarchy, beginning the first period of the Metapolitefsi.

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.