Historical Events on September 29
- 1789: The first session of the U.S Congress begins.
- 1829: The Metropolitan Police of London is founded on this day.
- 1864: On this day during the American Civil War, the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm is waged.
- 1907: The cornerstone is laid for the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
- 1918: At the Battle of St. Quentin Canal during World War I, Allied forces break through the Hindenburg Line.
- 1918: During WWI, Bulgaria signs the Armistice of Salonica with Allied forces.
- 1941: The Babi Yar Massacre begins in the Ukrainian city of Kiev during World War II by German Einsatzgruppe C.
- 1954: A convention is signed that establishes the European Organization for Nuclear Research – otherwise known as CERN.
- 1971: The Arab League gets a new member: Oman.
- 1975: The world’s first black-owned and operated TV station – WGPR – begins operation on this day.
- 1988: Following the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, NASA regroups and launches a return to flight mission – the STS 26.
- 1990: The predecessor to the F-22 Raptor, the YF-22, flies for the first time on this day.
Famous Birthdays on September 29
- Roman general and politician, Pompey is born in 106 BC.
- Queen consort of Scots, Margaret of England is born in 1240.
- Joan of Kent is born in 1328.
- Spanish novelists, playwright and poet, Miguel de Cervantes is born in 1547.
- Italian painter Caravaggio is born in 1571.
- English archbishop Thomas Tenison is born in 1636.
- Italian-American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate, Enrico Fermi is born in 1901.
- American journalist Diana Vreeland is born in 1903.
- English-American actress Greer Garson is born in 1904.
- American singer and actor Gene Autry is born in 1907.
- American actress Virginia Bruce is born in 1910.
- American singer-songwriter and pianist, Jerry Lee Lewis is born in 1935.
- American author James Fogle is born in 1936.