History of Today in India – 29 May

Explore the history of today 29 May in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 29 May 2026, 10:01 AM

📜 Important Events on 29 May in World History

29 May 2022: Tara Air Flight 197 crashes in Nepal's Mustang District, killing 22. Read more
29 May 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. Read more
29 May 2020: An oil spill in Norilsk releases 17,500 tons of diesel oil into nearby rivers. Read more
29 May 2015: One World Observatory at One World Trade Center opens. Read more
29 May 2012: A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hits northern Italy near Bologna, killing at least 24 people. Read more
29 May 2008: A doublet earthquake, of combined magnitude 6.1, strikes Iceland near the town of Selfoss, injuring 30 people. Read more
29 May 2005: France rejects the Constitution of the European Union in a national referendum. Read more
29 May 2004: The National World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C. Read more
29 May 2001: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the disabled golfer Casey Martin can use a cart to ride in tournaments. Read more
29 May 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. Read more
29 May 1999: Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station. Read more
29 May 1993: The Miss Sarajevo beauty pageant is held in war-torn Sarajevo drawing global attention to the plight of its citizens. Read more
29 May 1990: The Congress of People's Deputies of Russia elects Boris Yeltsin as President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Read more
29 May 1989: Signing of an agreement between Egypt and the United States that allows for the manufacture of F-16 Falcon parts in Egypt. Read more
29 May 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. Read more
29 May 1985: Heysel Stadium disaster: Thirty-nine association football fans die and hundreds are injured when a dilapidated retaining wall collapses. Read more
29 May 1985: Amputee Steve Fonyo completes cross-Canada marathon at Victoria, British Columbia, after 14 months. Read more
29 May 1982: Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit Canterbury Cathedral. Read more
29 May 1982: Falklands War: The British Army defeats the Argentine Army at the Battle of Goose Green. Read more
29 May 1974: SETA, a Finnish LGBT rights organisation, is founded in Helsinki. Read more
29 May 1973: Tom Bradley is elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles, California. Read more
29 May 1964: The Arab League meets in East Jerusalem to discuss the Palestinian question, leading to the formation of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Read more
29 May 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". Read more
29 May 1962: Chinese police open fire on protesters in Yining, Xinjiang, killing at least five people and wounding a dozen others. Read more
29 May 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. Read more
29 May 1950: The St. Roch, the first ship to circumnavigate North America, arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Read more
29 May 1948: United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is founded. Read more
29 May 1947: United Airlines Flight 521 crashes at LaGuardia Airport, killing 43. Read more
29 May 1945: First combat mission of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator heavy bomber. Read more
29 May 1935: First flight of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aeroplane. Read more
29 May 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. Read more
29 May 1931: Michele Schirru, a citizen of the United States, is executed by a Royal Italian Army firing squad for intent to kill Benito Mussolini. Read more
29 May 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. Read more
29 May 1919: Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity is tested (later confirmed) by Arthur Eddington and Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin. Read more
29 May 1918: Armenia defeats the Ottoman Army in the Battle of Sardarabad. Read more
29 May 1914: The ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sinks in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with the loss of 1,012 lives. Read more
29 May 1913: Igor Stravinsky's ballet score The Rite of Spring receives its premiere performance in Paris, France, provoking a near-riot. Read more
29 May 1903: In the May Coup, Alexander I, King of Serbia, and Queen Draga, are assassinated in Belgrade by the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) organization. Read more
29 May 1900: N'Djamena is founded as Fort-Lamy by the French commander Émile Gentil. Read more
29 May 1886: The pharmacist John Pemberton places his first advertisement for Coca-Cola, which appeared in The Atlanta Journal. Read more
29 May 1867: The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 ("the Compromise") is born through Act 12, which establishes the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Read more
29 May 1864: Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico arrives in Mexico for the first time. Read more
29 May 1861: The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is founded, in Hong Kong. Read more
29 May 1852: Jenny Lind leaves New York after her two-year American tour. Read more
29 May 1851: Sojourner Truth delivers her famous Ain't I a Woman? speech at the Woman's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. Read more
29 May 1825: The Coronation of Charles X of France takes place in Reims Cathedral, the last-ever coronation of a French monarch. Read more
29 May 1807: Mustafa IV becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 29 May in World History

29 May 2006: Dommaraju Gukesh, Youngest contender to compete for the title of World Chess Champion Gukesh Dommaraju is an Indian chess grandmaster and the reigning World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, Gukesh is the youngest undisputed world champion; the youngest player to have surpassed a FIDE rating of 2750, doing so at the age of 17; and the third-youngest to have surpassed 2700 Elo at age 16. He earned the title of grandmaster at age 12 and is the fourth-youngest grandmaster in chess history. Read more
29 May 2002: Paul Skenes, American baseball player Paul David Skenes is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024. Skenes played college baseball for the Air Force Falcons and Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers. Read more
29 May 2001: Puka Nacua, American football player Makea "Puka" Nacua is an American professional football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies and BYU Cougars and was selected by the Rams in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft. Nacua exceeded expectations in his first year, setting the NFL rookie record for receiving yards and receptions and earning Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors. Read more
29 May 2001: Andrew Torgashev, American figure skater Andrew Torgashev is an American figure skater. He is the 2024 Grand Prix de France bronze medalist, 2025 and 2026 U.S. national silver medalist, 2019 Asian Open Trophy silver medalist, the 2016 Tallinn Trophy bronze medalist, and the 2015 U.S. national junior champion. Read more
29 May 2000: Gennaro Nigro, American soccer player Gennaro Michael Nigro is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Las Vegas Lights FC. Read more
29 May 1999: Park Ji-hoon, South Korean actor and singer Park Ji-hoon is a South Korean singer and actor. He started his career in the entertainment industry as a commercial model and child actor in 2006. In 2017, he rose to fame by placing second in the second season of the reality competition series Produce 101 and becoming a member of the show's resulting boy group Wanna One. As a solo recording artist, Park has released the EP O'Clock with the lead single "L.O.V.E" in 2019, followed by his debut studio album Message in 2020. As an actor, he is known for his leading roles in the first and second seasons of television series Weak Hero (2022–2025) and the historical film The King's Warden (2026). Read more
29 May 1998: Markelle Fultz, American basketball player Markelle N'Gai Fultz is an American professional basketball player for the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies before being selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. Read more
29 May 1998: Austin Reaves, American basketball player Austin Tyler Reaves is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wichita State Shockers and the Oklahoma Sooners. Reaves joined the Lakers as an undrafted free agent. Read more
29 May 1997: Tyler Nevin, American baseball player Tyler Joseph Nevin is an American professional baseball infielder for the Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and Oakland Athletics. Read more
29 May 1995: Konosuke Takeshita, Japanese professional wrestler Konosuke Takeshita is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW International Champion in his second reign. He is also signed to Japanese promotions DDT Pro-Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current NJPW World Television Champion in his first reign. Read more
29 May 1993: Jana Čepelová, Slovak tennis player Jana Čepelová is a Slovak former professional tennis player. Read more
29 May 1993: Maika Monroe, American actress and kiteboarder Maika Monroe is an American actress. She is most notable for her leading roles in Reminders of Him (2026), The Guest and It Follows, the latter two which established her as a scream queen. Such roles recurred in the horror films Villains (2019) and Longlegs (2024). Read more
29 May 1993: Grete Šadeiko, Estonian heptathlete Grete Griffin is an Estonian heptathlete. At the 2010 World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada, she placed fourth with her personal record 5705 points, just one point behind Helga Margrét Thorsteinsdóttir. In the fall of 2012, she joined Florida State University. Read more
29 May 1992: Sarah Moundir, Swiss tennis player Sarah Moundir is a Swiss tennis player. Read more
29 May 1992: Gregg Sulkin, English actor Gregg Sulkin is an English actor. He made his television debut in the 2002 miniseries Doctor Zhivago, and his film debut in the 2006 comedy Sixty Six, before gaining early recognition for his leading role in the Disney Channel comedy series As the Bell Rings (2007–2008). Sulkin's breakthrough came with his Hollywood debut in the television series Wizards of Waverly Place (2010–2012) and its 2013 television film sequel. He also starred in the Disney television film Avalon High (2010). Read more
29 May 1991: Yaime Perez, Cuban discus thrower Yaime Pérez Tellez is a Cuban athlete specialising in the discus throw. In 2022, she defected to the United States. Read more
29 May 1991: Tan Zhongyi, Women's World Chess Champion, 2017–2018 Tan Zhongyi is a Chinese chess grandmaster (GM). She is a former Women's World Champion, winning the 2017 knockout edition of the world championship in Iran where she defeated Anna Muzychuk in the final. Tan is also a former Women's World Rapid Champion. She is the three-time reigning Chinese women's national champion, and is a five-time national champion overall with titles in 2015, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Read more
29 May 1990: Joe Biagini, American baseball pitcher Joseph Carlo Biagini is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs. The San Francisco Giants selected Biagini in the 26th round of the 2011 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut for Toronto in 2016. Born in the United States, he represented the Italy national baseball team. Read more
29 May 1990: Erica Garner, American civil rights activist (died 2017) Erica Garner-Snipes was an American activist who advocated for police reform, particularly in the use of force during arrests. Garner became involved in activism following the 2014 killing of her father, Eric Garner, after a New York City police officer placed him in a lethal chokehold during an arrest. Read more
29 May 1989: Ezekiel Ansah, Ghanaian-American football player Ezekiel Nana "Ziggy" Ansah is a Ghanaian former professional American football defensive end. Born in Accra, Ghana, he moved to the United States to attend Brigham Young University, where he played college football for the Brigham Young Cougars. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions fifth overall in the 2013 NFL draft. Read more
29 May 1989: Diego Barisone, Argentinian footballer (died 2015) Diego Francisco Barisone was an Argentine footballer who played for Unión de Santa Fe, Argentinos Juniors and Lanús. Read more
29 May 1989: Riley Keough, American model and actress Danielle Riley Keough is an American actress. Born into the Presley family, she is the eldest daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and the eldest grandchild of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley. She began her career as a model from 2004 to 2008 before transitioning to acting making her feature film debut in a supporting part in the musical biopic The Runaways (2010), portraying Marie Currie. Read more
29 May 1988: Muath Al-Kasasbeh, Jordanian captain and pilot (died 2015) Muath Safi Yousef al-Kasasbeh was a Jordanian fighter pilot who was captured and burned to death by the Islamic State militant group after his F-16 fighter aircraft crashed over Syria. Read more
29 May 1988: Cheng Fei, Chinese gymnast Cheng Fei is a Chinese retired artistic gymnast. She is a three-time World Champion in the vault (2005–2007) and 2006 World Champion in floor exercise. She was a member of the gold medal-winning Chinese teams for the 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Aarhus, Denmark and 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. She was also a member of the silver medal-winning Chinese team for the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. Read more
29 May 1988: Tobin Heath, American soccer player Tobin Powell Heath is an American former professional soccer player and entrepreneur. Playing primarily as a forward and midfielder for the United States national team, she won gold at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, 2012 London Summer Olympics, 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup as well as silver at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. She was described as "perhaps the USA's most skillful player" by the United States Soccer Federation, and was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 2016 and U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year in 2009. Read more
29 May 1988: Steve Mason, Canadian ice hockey player Steve Mason is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his National Hockey League (NHL) career, he played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers and Winnipeg Jets. Read more
29 May 1987: Lina Andrijauskaitė, Lithuanian long jumper Lina Andrijauskaitė is a track and field various events athlete who competes internationally for Lithuania. Read more
29 May 1987: Jon Holland, Australian cricketer Jonathan Mark Holland is a former Australian cricketer. He played as a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and a right-handed tail-end batsman. Read more
29 May 1987: Issac Luke, New Zealand rugby league player Issac Luke is a former New Zealand professional rugby league footballer. Read more
29 May 1987: Kelvin Maynard, Dutch footballer (died 2019) Kelvin Ruben Maynard was a Surinamese professional footballer who played as a right defender. Read more
29 May 1987: Noah Reid, Canadian actor, musician, producer, and screenwriter Noah Nicholas Reid is a Canadian-American actor and musician, best known for his work on the television series Franklin and Schitt's Creek. In 2016, he received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Original Song for his work in the feature film People Hold On. In 2019, he received a Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for his work on Schitt's Creek. Read more
29 May 1987: Rui Sampaio, Portuguese footballer Fernando Rui Valadares Pinto Sampaio is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Read more
29 May 1985: Nathan Horton, Canadian ice hockey player Nathan Russell Horton is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. During his career, Horton played for the Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets. He was drafted third overall by the Panthers in the 2003 NHL entry draft. He won the Stanley Cup in 2011 with the Bruins. Read more
29 May 1984: Carmelo Anthony, American basketball player Carmelo Kyam Anthony is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Melo", Anthony played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a ten-time NBA All-Star and six-time All-NBA Team member. He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange, winning a national championship as a freshman in 2003 while being named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. In 2021, he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, and is regarded as one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. He was inducted twice into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025, as an individual player and also as a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. Read more
29 May 1984: Nia Jax, Australian-American professional wrestler Savelina Fanene is an Australian-American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Nia Jax. Read more
29 May 1984: Funmi Jimoh, American long jumper Funmilayo Kemi Jimoh, commonly known as Funmi Jimoh, is an American long jumper, who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Read more
29 May 1984: Dhar Mann, American entrepreneur, film producer and YouTuber Dharminder "Dhar" Mann is an American entrepreneur and film producer. He is the founder of Dhar Mann Studios, a video production company that creates short scripted videos primarily distributed on platforms such as YouTube. The content is aimed at a young audience and often includes narratives with moral lessons conveyed through plot reversals. The studio produces and finances its content independently and reports a combined following of over 136 million across social media platforms as of July 2025. Read more
29 May 1984: Andreas Schäffer, German footballer Andreas Schäffer is a former professional German footballer who plays for TV 1906 Riedenburg. Read more
29 May 1984: Ina Wroldsen, Norwegian singer and songwriter Ina Christine Wroldsen, previously known simply as Ina, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. She was a part of the electropop duo Ask Embla with Icelandic producer and songwriter Arnthor Birgisson. Read more
29 May 1982: Nataliya Dobrynska, Ukrainian heptathlete Nataliya Dobrynska is a retired Ukrainian athlete who competed in the combined events. She is the 2008 Beijing Olympic champion and also holds the heptathlon best in the shot put. Dobrynska was the world indoor record holder for the pentathlon with a score of 5013 points until March 2023. Read more
29 May 1982: Matt Macri, American baseball player Matthew Michael Macri is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman who played for the Minnesota Twins in 2008. Read more
29 May 1982: Kim Tae-kyun, South Korean baseball player Kim Tae-kyun is a South Korean first baseman who played for the Hanwha Eagles in the KBO League. He bats and throws right-handed. He is one of the top career hitters in the KBO, with a lifetime batting average over .320, and more than 300 career home runs and 1300 runs batted in. Read more
29 May 1981: Andrey Arshavin, Russian footballer Andrey Sergeyevich Arshavin is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a winger or midfielder. Since 2019, Arshavin has held administrative posts at Zenit. In 2022, he became Deputy General Director for Sports Development, and became a member of the club's executive board in 2023. Read more
29 May 1980: Ernesto Farías, Argentinian footballer Ernesto Antonio Farías, better known as Tecla Farías, is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Read more
29 May 1979: Arne Friedrich, German footballer Arne Friedrich is a German football executive and former player who played as a defender. He formerly was the sporting director of Hertha BSC. Read more
29 May 1979: Brian Kendrick, American wrestler Brian David Kendrick is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE. He is also known for his time in Ring of Honor (ROH), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1). Read more
29 May 1979: John Rheinecker, American baseball player (died 2017) John Philip Rheinecker was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers. Read more
29 May 1978: Pelle Almqvist, Swedish singer-songwriter Per "Pelle" Almqvist, also known as Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, is a Swedish singer who is the frontman of the garage rock band The Hives. Read more
29 May 1978: Sébastien Grosjean, French tennis player Sébastien René Grosjean is a French tennis coach and a former professional player. Grosjean reached the semifinals at the 2001 Australian and French Opens, and at Wimbledon in 2003 and 2004. He finished eight consecutive seasons ranked in the top 30 (1999–2006), peaking at world No. 4 in October 2002. He is currently the director of the Open de Roanne. Read more
29 May 1978: Adam Rickitt, English singer Adam Peter Rickitt is an English actor and singer. He portrayed the part of Nick Tilsley on the British soap opera Coronation Street from 1997 to 1999, and again from 2002 to 2004. He later joined the New Zealand soap Shortland Street for a three-year stint between 2007 and 2010. From 2017 to 2020, he appeared as Kyle Kelly on Channel 4's Hollyoaks. His other credits include the BBC's Doctors. Read more
29 May 1977: Massimo Ambrosini, Italian footballer Massimo Ambrosini is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a defensive midfielder. At club level, he is mostly known for his successful time at Italian team AC Milan, where he spent eighteen years of his career, winning several titles, and captained the side from 2009 to 2013 following the retirement of Paolo Maldini. Ambrosini retired from professional football in 2014, after a season with Fiorentina. Read more
29 May 1977: Marco Cassetti, Italian footballer Marco Cassetti is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender. Read more
29 May 1977: António Lebo Lebo, Angolan footballer António Lebo Lebo is an Angolan former footballer. Lebo Lebo ended his career with Recreativo do Libolo in the Angolan league. Read more
29 May 1976: Caçapa, Brazilian footballer and manager Cláudio Roberto da Silva, commonly known as Cláudio Caçapa or simply Caçapa, is a Brazilian football coach and former player who played as a central defender. Read more
29 May 1976: Jerry Hairston Jr., American baseball player and sportscaster Jerry Wayne Hairston Jr. is an American former professional baseball infielder and outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He played every position except pitcher and catcher during his baseball career. He is the grandson of former major leaguer Sam Hairston, the son of former major leaguer Jerry Hairston Sr., and the brother of Scott Hairston. Read more
29 May 1976: Raef LaFrentz, American basketball player Raef Andrew LaFrentz is an American former professional basketball power forward and center who played for the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, and Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born and raised in Iowa, LaFrentz attended the University of Kansas and was drafted in 1998 by the Denver Nuggets. He was known for his perimeter shooting and his shot blocking abilities. In 2019–20 LaFrentz became an assistant basketball coach at Decorah High School in Decorah, Iowa. Read more
29 May 1976: Yegor Titov, Russian footballer Yegor Ilyich Titov is a Russian football coach and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He was known for his playmaking abilities, vision, ball control and accurate passing. Read more
29 May 1975: Jason Allison, Canadian ice hockey player Jason Paul Allison is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 552 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). Allison was born in North York, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto, Ontario. His most productive seasons were with the Boston Bruins, where he briefly served as team captain. He also played for the Washington Capitals, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs. A very successful junior hockey player with the London Knights, he won two gold medals as part of the men's junior national team in 1994 and 1995 and was the Ontario Hockey League's 1994 winner of the Red Tilson Trophy as the league's most outstanding player. In the NHL, he was top ten in points twice and played in the All-Star Game once. His career was derailed by injuries and a labour dispute. Allison's final game was played against the Montreal Canadiens in March 2006 which he was injured. He attempted a comeback in 2009, but ultimately failed. Read more
29 May 1975: Mel B, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress Melanie Janine Brown McPhee, commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English singer, songwriter, dancer, television personality, and actress. She rose to prominence in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, where she was nicknamed Scary Spice. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the Spice Girls are the best-selling female group of all time. The group went on an indefinite hiatus in 2000, before reuniting for a greatest hits album in 2007 and two concert tours: the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019). Read more
29 May 1975: Sven Kubis, German footballer Sven Kubis is a German former footballer. Read more
29 May 1975: Sarah Millican, English comedian Sarah Jane Millican is an English comedian. Millican won the comedy award for Best Newcomer at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In February 2013 she was listed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Radio 4's Woman's Hour; in the same year, she married fellow comedian Gary Delaney. Her first book, How to Be Champion, was published in 2017. Among her accolades are two Chortle Awards, a British Comedy Award and two BAFTA nominations. Read more
29 May 1975: Anthony Wall, English golfer Anthony David Wall is an English professional golfer. Read more
29 May 1975: Daniel Tosh, American comedian, television host, actor, writer, and executive producer Daniel Dwight Tosh is an American comedian, writer, and producer. After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a degree in marketing, Tosh moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. His career accelerated in 2001 after a performance on the Late Show with David Letterman. He went on to appear in other national shows, leading to his own 30-minute special on Comedy Central Presents two years later. From 2009 to 2020, Tosh was the host of Comedy Central series Tosh.0, a showcase of popular Internet video clips with the addition of Tosh's narrative comedic dialogue. Daniel Tosh also went on his own series of comedy tours from 2010 to 2015. Read more
29 May 1974: Steve Cardenas, American martial artist and retired actor Stephen Antonio Cardenas is an American martial artist and actor. He is best known for playing the character Rocky DeSantos, the second Red Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and eventually the Blue Zeo Ranger in Power Rangers Zeo. Read more
29 May 1974: Stephen Larkham, Australian rugby player and coach Stephen Larkham is a retired Australian rugby union professional player, currently in the role of head coach for Brumbies. He spent his career with the Brumbies in Super Rugby, for whom he played from the inception of the professional Super 12 in 1996 through 2007. He is best known for his long tenure with the Wallabies at international level, for whom he played 102 times. After initial selection at fullback from 1996 to 1997, Larkham was the first-choice Australian fly-half from 1997 to 2007, playing in the 1999, 2003, and 2007 Rugby World Cups. Read more
29 May 1974: Aaron McGruder, American author and cartoonist Aaron Vincent McGruder is an American writer, cartoonist, and producer best known for creating The Boondocks, a Universal Press Syndicate comic strip and its animated TV series adaptation. Read more
29 May 1974: Jenny Willott, English politician Jennifer Nancy Willott OBE is a British politician. She was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cardiff Central from 2005 to 2015. Willott became a junior minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Government Equalities Office in December 2013, temporarily standing in for Jo Swinson while Swinson was on maternity leave. She was the first woman and first Liberal Democrat to represent her seat. Willott was a councillor in the London Borough of Merton from 1998 to 2000. Read more
29 May 1973: Tomoko Kaneda, Japanese voice actress, singer, and radio personality Tomoko Kaneda is a Japanese voice actress and radio personality from Yokohama, Japan. She had worked at Aoni Production for eleven years and freelance since April 2011; in August 2011, it was announced that she transferred to Across Entertainment. She graduated from Department of Architecture, Kanto Gakuin University. She is a member of the voice acting unit Drops, which included fellow voice actresses Mariko Kouda, Akemi Kanda, Ai Nonaka and Ryoko Shiraishi, and of the voice acting unit SD-Children along with Miyu Matsuki. Read more
29 May 1973: Mark Lee, American guitarist and songwriter Mark David Lee is an American musician known as the guitarist and a founding member of the Christian rock band, Third Day. He and vocalist Mac Powell were the only original members present throughout the band's entire history. Read more
29 May 1973: Alpay Özalan, Turkish footballer Fehmi Alpay Özalan, known mononymously as Alpay, is a Turkish former professional footballer, football manager and politician. He last worked as the manager of Samsunspor. He played 90 international games for Turkey between 1995 and 2005, making him Turkey's seventh-most capped player of all time. This included performances at two European Championships and the 2002 World Cup, in which he was selected for the Team of the Tournament. Since 2018, he is a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) for İzmir. Read more
29 May 1973: Myf Warhurst, Australian radio and television host Myfanwy Warhurst is an Australian radio announcer and television personality, best known for her work at Triple J radio station and on ABC Television's long-running music-themed quiz show Spicks and Specks. From 2017 to 2024, she served as Australia's commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest alongside Joel Creasey, and as co-host of the weekly podcast Bang On. She also provides the voices of Aunt Trixie and Indy's Mum in the Australian animated show Bluey. Read more
29 May 1972: Laverne Cox, American actress and LGBT advocate Laverne Cox is an American actress and LGBTQ advocate. She rose to prominence with her role as Sophia Burset on the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, becoming in 2014 the first transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category, and the first to be nominated for any Emmy Award since composer Angela Morley in 1990. In 2015, she won a Daytime Emmy Award in Outstanding Special Class Special as executive producer for Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word, making her the first trans woman to win the award. In 2017, she became the first transgender person to play a transgender series regular on U.S. broadcast TV as Cameron Wirth on CBS's Doubt. Read more
29 May 1972: Bill Curley, American basketball player and coach William Michael Curley is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Emerson Lions men's basketball team. Read more
29 May 1972: Simon Jones, English singer and bass player Simon Robin David Jones is an English bass guitarist. He played bass and provided occasional backing vocals for the rock band The Verve. Read more
29 May 1972: John Simon, Australian rugby league player John "Jack" Simon is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. His club career was spent with the Illawarra Steelers, Easts, Parramatta, Auckland and Wests Tigers. Of Indigenous Australian descent, Simon also represented Australia and New South Wales in Origin. Read more
29 May 1971: Éric Lucas, Canadian boxer Éric Lucas is a Canadian former professional boxer. Read more
29 May 1971: Bernd Mayländer, German race car driver Bernd Michael Mayländer is a German racing driver and current Formula One safety car driver. Read more
29 May 1971: Filipa Pinto, Portuguese politician Filipa Maria Gonçalves Pinto is a Portuguese teacher, politician and member of the Assembly of the Republic, the national legislature of Portugal. A member of the LIVRE party, she was elected to represent Porto at the 2025 legislative election. She was previously a member of the Assembly between October 2024 and January 2025. Read more
29 May 1971: Jo Beth Taylor, Australian television host and actress Joanne Rebecca Guilfoyle, known professionally as Jo Beth Taylor, is an Australian television presenter, actress and singer most well known for hosting three weekly programs at the same time in the 1990s on the Nine Network: Australia's Funniest Home Video Show (1993–1997), Hey Hey It's Saturday (1995–1997) and What's Up Doc? (1996–1997), before taking a hiatus from television for more than two years. Read more
29 May 1971: Rob Womack, English shot putter and discus thrower Robin "Rob" Womack is a Paralympian track and field athlete from England competing mainly in category F55 throwing events. In 2012 he qualified as a member of the Great Britain team for the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London and took the bronze medal in the shot put. Read more
29 May 1970: Natarsha Belling, Australian journalist Natarsha Belling is an Australian journalist, television and radio presenter. Read more
29 May 1970: Roberto Di Matteo, Italian footballer and manager Roberto Di Matteo is an Italian professional football manager and former player. Read more
29 May 1968: Torquhil Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll, Scottish politician Torquhil Ian Campbell, 13th and 6th Duke of Argyll, styled as Earl of Campbell before 1973 and as Marquess of Lorne between 1973 and 2001, is a Scottish peer. Read more
29 May 1968: Tate George, American basketball player Tate Claude George is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the 22nd overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft from the University of Connecticut. A 6-foot-5-inch (1.96 m) and 190-pound (86 kg) guard, he played a total of four years in the NBA for the Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, averaging 4.2 points per game in his career. Read more
29 May 1968: Jessica Morden, English politician Jessica Elizabeth Morden is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Newport East since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she was General Secretary of Welsh Labour from 1999 until her election to Parliament. Read more
29 May 1968: Hida Viloria, American activist Hida Viloria is an American writer, author, producer, and human rights activist of Latin American origin.
Viloria is intersex, nonbinary, and genderfluid, using they/them pronouns. They are known for their writing, their intersex and non-binary human rights activism, and as one of the first people to come out in national and media as a nonbinary intersex person. Viloria is Founding Director of the Intersex Campaign for Equality. Read more
29 May 1967: Noel Gallagher, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. Gallagher is one of the most successful songwriters in British music history, with nine UK number-one singles and twelve UK number-one albums. He became the first artist in UK chart history to reach number one with ten consecutive studio albums. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential songwriters in the history of British rock music, cited by numerous major subsequent artists as an influence. Read more
29 May 1967: Mike Keane, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Michael John Keane is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Undrafted, Keane played over 1,100 games in the National Hockey League from 1988 until 2004. He then played five seasons for his hometown Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League until he retired in 2010. Keane is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, having won with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, Colorado Avalanche in 1996, and the Dallas Stars in 1999. On September 3, 2013, the Winnipeg Jets announced the hiring of Keane as Assistant of Player Development. Read more
29 May 1967: Steven Levitt, American economist, author, and academic Steven David Levitt is an American economist and co-author of the best-selling book Freakonomics and its sequels. Levitt is a professor emeritus at the University of Chicago. Levitt was the winner of the 2003 John Bates Clark Medal for his work in the field of crime. He was co-editor of the Journal of Political Economy published by the University of Chicago Press until December 2007. In 2009, Levitt co-founded TGG Group, a business and philanthropy consulting company. He was chosen as one of Time magazine's "100 People Who Shape Our World" in 2006. A 2011 survey of economics professors named Levitt their fourth favorite living economist under the age of 60, after Paul Krugman, Greg Mankiw and Daron Acemoglu. Read more
29 May 1966: Natalie Nougayrède, French journalist Natalie Nougayrède is a French journalist. She is the first woman to be the executive and managing editor of Le Monde. She is a recipient of the Prix de la Presse Diplomatique and the Albert Londres Prize. Read more
29 May 1964: Howard Mills III, American academic and politician Howard D. Mills III is an American insurance consultant and former politician from Goshen, New York. He served as New York's Superintendent of Insurance from 2005 to 2006, and previously held elective office in both the New York State Assembly and the Town of Wallkill. Read more
29 May 1964: Oswaldo Negri Jr., Brazilian race car driver Oswaldo "Ozz" Negri Jr. is a Brazilian racing driver from São Paulo. Read more
29 May 1963: Blaze Bayley, English singer-songwriter Blaze Bayley is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994. He was also the lead singer of Iron Maiden from 1994 to 1999. Since then, he has pursued a solo career and has released eleven studio albums. Blaze was voted number 67 in Sweden Rock magazine's top 100 singers of all time. Read more
29 May 1963: Zhu Jianhua, Chinese high jumper Zhu Jianhua is a retired Chinese high jumper. His personal best of 2.39 metres is a former world record for the event, and is still the Chinese record. Read more
29 May 1963: Ukyo Katayama, Japanese race car driver Ukyo Katayama is a Japanese former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1992 to 1997. Read more
29 May 1963: Claude Loiselle, Canadian ice hockey player and manager Claude Loiselle is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1981 to 1994. Read more
29 May 1962: Fandi Ahmad, Singaporean footballer, coach, and manager Fandi bin Ahmad is a Singaporean professional football manager/head coach and former player. During his professional career, he played mainly as a striker, but also occasionally as a midfielder. Along with the Singapore FA, he also played for Malaysia Cup state sides Kuala Lumpur FA and Pahang FA, and won titles with all three, including two doubles in 1992 and 1994, as well as the Golden Boot in 1988. Fandi also played for Indonesia's Niac Mitra, Netherlands' Groningen as well as local Singaporean clubs Geylang United and SAFFC. Read more
29 May 1962: Eric Davis, American baseball player Eric Keith Davis is an American former baseball center fielder for several Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, most notably the Cincinnati Reds, to which he owes his nickname "Eric the Red." Davis was 21 years old when he made his major league debut with the Reds on May 19, 1984. Davis spent eight seasons with the Reds, on two of which he was named to the National League All-Star Team. He finished inside the top-15 finalists for NL MVP over five consecutive years (1986–90). Vastly diminished by serious injuries, he subsequently played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Francisco Giants. A right-handed batter and fielder, Davis had a rare combination of athletic ability, including foot and bat speed, power, and defensive acumen. Read more
29 May 1962: Carol Kirkwood, Scottish weather presenter Carol Anne Kirkwood is a retired Scottish weather presenter. She was trained by the Met Office and worked for the BBC between 1998 and 2026. She is best known for being the main weather presenter for BBC Breakfast for over 25 years. She is also a published author. Read more
29 May 1962: Chloé Sainte-Marie, Canadian actress and singer Marie-Aline Joyal, known professionally as Chloé Sainte-Marie, is a Canadian actress, singer, activist, and official spokesperson for a network of natural caregivers in Québec. Read more
29 May 1961: Melissa Etheridge, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200 and its lead single, "Bring Me Some Water", garnered Etheridge her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female in 1989. Her second album, Brave and Crazy, appeared that same year and earned Etheridge two more Grammy nominations. In 1992, Etheridge released her third album, Never Enough, and its lead single, "Ain't It Heavy", won Etheridge her first Grammy Award. Read more
29 May 1961: John Miceli, American drummer Meat Loaf's Neverland Express is an American rotating backing band that previously worked with American singer Meat Loaf. The Neverland Express have continued touring with American singer Caleb Johnson. Read more
29 May 1960: Thomas Baumer, Swiss economist and academic Thomas Baumer (born 1960 in Fribourg is a Swiss economist and expert for Intercultural competence and Personality assessment. He developed parts of the prognostic personality and abilities assessment and coined this term especially within the German speaking countries. Read more
29 May 1960: Mike Freer, English politician Michael Whitney Freer is a British Conservative Party politician and former banker who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Services from September 2022 to July 2024. He was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Finchley and Golders Green at the 2010 general election, and stood down in 2024. Read more
29 May 1959: Rupert Everett, English actor and novelist Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country (1984) as a gay pupil at an English public school in the 1930s; the role earned him his first BAFTA Award nomination. He received a second BAFTA nomination and his first Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), followed by a second Golden Globe nomination for An Ideal Husband (1999). He voiced Prince Charming in the animated films Shrek 2 (2004) and Shrek the Third (2007). He also played John Lamont/Mr. Barron in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016). Read more
29 May 1959: Mel Gaynor, English drummer Mel George Gaynor is a British drummer, singer and recording artist, best known as the longtime drummer for the rock band Simple Minds. Read more
29 May 1959: Steve Hanley, Irish-English bass player and songwriter Stephen Hanley is an Irish-born English musician best known as the bass guitarist in the Fall from 1979 to 1998 and with House Of All since 2022. His distinctive and muscular basslines were a signature part of their sound, often carrying the songs' instrumental melodies. Hanley is second only to Mark E. Smith in longevity in the band. With Peter Hook, Andy Rourke and Gary Mounfield, he is widely considered one of the pre-eminent Manchester bassists of his generation. He has always been very private and rarely interviewed; for this reason his 2014 autobiography The Big Midweek: Life Inside The Fall was highly anticipated. On publication it was met with widespread acclaim for its frank honesty and dry, no nonsense humour. Read more
29 May 1958: Annette Bening, American actress Annette Carol Bening is an American actress. With a career spanning over four decades, she is known for her versatile work across screen and stage. Bening has received numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, two Actor Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for five Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award, making her one of few artists nominated for the Triple Crown of Acting without winning. Read more
29 May 1958: Juliano Mer-Khamis, Israeli actor, director, and activist (died 2011) Juliano Mer-Khamis was an Israeli–Palestinian actor, director, filmmaker, and political activist of Jewish and Palestinian Eastern Orthodox Christian parentage. On 4 April 2011, he was assassinated by a masked gunman in the city of Jenin, where he had established The Freedom Theatre. Read more
29 May 1958: Uwe Rapolder, German footballer and coach Uwe Rapolder is a German retired football player and manager. Read more
29 May 1958: Mike Stenhouse, American baseball player and sportscaster Michael Steven Stenhouse is an American former outfielder, first baseman, and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for the Montreal Expos from 1982-1984, the Minnesota Twins in 1985, and the Boston Red Sox in 1986. Stenhouse is the CEO of the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity, a public policy think tank. Listed at 6'1", 195 lb., Stenhouse batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He is the son of pitcher Dave Stenhouse. Read more
29 May 1957: Steven Croft, English bishop and theologian Steven John Lindsey Croft is a British bishop in the Church of England and a theologian specialising in mission. He has been Bishop of Oxford since the confirmation of his election on 6 July 2016. He was the Bishop of Sheffield from 2008 to 2016; previously he was Archbishops' Missioner and Team Leader of Fresh Expressions, a joint Church of England and Methodist initiative. He falls within the open evangelical tradition of Anglicanism. Read more
29 May 1957: Jeb Hensarling, American lawyer and politician Thomas Jeb Hensarling is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 5th congressional district from 2003 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the House Republican Conference from 2011 to 2013 and House Financial Services Committee from 2013 until 2019. The Los Angeles Times described Hensarling, "a fervent believer in free market ideology" and that he was "a pivotal player in the GOP effort to reduce financial regulation in the Trump Era". The Wall Street Journal called him "a driver of economic policy in the house". Hensarling has close ties to Wall Street, having received campaign donations from every major Wall Street bank as well as various payday lenders. Read more
29 May 1957: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf is an Iranian film director, writer, film editor, and producer. He has made more than 20 feature films, won 50 awards, and served as a juror in more than 15 major film festivals. His award-winning films include A Moment of Innocence (1996) and Kandahar. His latest documentary is The Gardener and latest feature The President. Read more
29 May 1956: Mark Lyall Grant, English diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations Sir Mark Justin Lyall Grant is a former senior British diplomat who was previously the United Kingdom's National Security Adviser and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations. Read more
29 May 1956: La Toya Jackson, American singer-songwriter and actress La Toya Yvonne Jackson is an American singer and television personality. She is the fifth child and middle daughter of the Jackson family. Jackson first gained recognition on the family's variety television series, The Jacksons, on CBS between 1976 and 1977. Thereafter, she saw success as a solo recording artist under multiple record labels in the 1980s and 1990s, including Polydor, Sony Music and RCA, where she released nine studio albums over the course of 15 years. Her most successful releases in the United States were her self-titled debut album (1980) and the 1984 single "Heart Don't Lie". Jackson's other songs include "Night Time Lover", "If You Feel the Funk", "Bet'cha Gonna Need My Lovin'", "Hot Potato", "You're Gonna Get Rocked!", and "Sexbox". Another one of Jackson's songs, "Just Say No" from her fifth album, was composed for US first lady Nancy Reagan and Reagan administration's anti-drug campaign. Read more
29 May 1955: Frank Baumgartl, German runner (died 2010) Frank Baumgartl was an East German track and field athlete, who specialised in the 3000 meters steeplechase. He was born in Bad Schlema. Read more
29 May 1955: John Hinckley Jr., American attempted assassin of Ronald Reagan John Warnock Hinckley Jr. is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. president Ronald Reagan as he left the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a revolver, Hinckley wounded Reagan, police officer Thomas Delahanty, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and White House Press Secretary James Brady. Brady was left disabled and died 33 years later from his injuries. Read more
29 May 1955: David Kirschner, American animator, producer, and author David Maxwell Kirschner is an American film and television producer and screenwriter. His producing credits include Don Bluth's An American Tail and Titan A.E. animated features as well as Cats Don't Dance, Curious George, the Child's Play horror franchise. Read more
29 May 1955: Gordon Rintoul, Scottish historian and curator Gordon Rintoul CBE FRSE is the former Director of National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland. Read more
29 May 1955: Ken Schrader, American race car driver and sportscaster Kenneth William Schrader is an American professional racing driver. He currently races on local dirt and asphalt tracks around the country. He also last competed part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 11 Ford for Fast Track Racing. He has also previously competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, as well as the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a first cousin once removed of fellow NASCAR driver Carl Edwards. Read more
29 May 1954: Robert Beaser, American composer and educator Robert Beaser is an American composer. Read more
29 May 1954: Jerry Moran, American lawyer and politician Gerald Wesley Moran is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Kansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 113th U.S. Congress, during which he led successful Republican efforts in the 2014 election, producing the first Republican Senate majority since 2006. Previously, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Kansas's 1st congressional district. Read more
29 May 1953: Danny Elfman, American film composer, singer-songwriter, producer, and actor Daniel Robert Elfman is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his first studio film in 1985, Elfman has garnered international recognition for composing over 100 feature film scores as well as compositions for television, stage productions, and the concert hall. Read more
29 May 1950: Rebbie Jackson, American singer and actress Maureen Reillette "Rebbie" Jackson-Brown is an American singer and the eldest child of the Jackson family of musicians. She first performed on stage with her siblings during shows in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in 1974, before appearing in the CBS television series The Jacksons. At age 34, Jackson released her debut album Centipede (1984). The album's title track was written by her younger brother Michael and has been her most successful single release. She released two more albums: Reaction (1986) and R U Tuff Enuff (1988). Read more
29 May 1949: Robert Axelrod, American actor and screenwriter (died 2019) Robert Axelrod, also credited as Axel Roberts and Myron Mensah, was an American actor. He was primarily known for his voice work, which included Digimon, having started voice acting for the English-language versions of anime in 1980; providing the voice of Lord Zedd, the main villain of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers; and Finster, the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers monster maker. He also portrayed a sympathetic doctor, Jennings, in The Blob. He also portrayed a Paul McCartney look-alike on the popular sitcom Family Matters, and later in his career appeared in several productions by comedy duo Tim & Eric. Read more
29 May 1949: Brian Kidd, English footballer and manager Brian Kidd is an English football coach and former player, who won the European Cup in 1968 with Manchester United. He was most recently assistant coach of Premier League club Manchester City. Read more
29 May 1949: Francis Rossi, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is the founder, leader, lead singer, lead guitarist, and sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo. Read more
29 May 1948: Michael Berkeley, English composer and radio host Michael Fitzhardinge Berkeley, Baron Berkeley of Knighton is an English composer, broadcaster on music and non-party political member of the House of Lords, speaking as an advocate for the arts, contemporary music and music education. Read more
29 May 1948: Keith Gull, English microbiologist and academic Keith Gull is a British microbiologist who is a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow and Professor of Molecular microbiology at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford. He was the principal of St Edmund Hall, Oxford from 1 October 2009 to 30 September 2018, succeeding Michael Mingos. Read more
29 May 1947: Anthony Geary, American actor (died 2025) Anthony Geary was an American actor. His career spanned more than four decades, and began in episodic television. He appeared as a guest on several primetime series and transitioned into a career predominantly in the soap opera genre. His first soap role was David Lockhart (1971–1972) on Bright Promise (1969–1972), and he later joined The Young and the Restless as George Curtis. His breakout role came in 1978 when he joined the cast of General Hospital as Luke Spencer. For his work as Luke, Geary went on to earn a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series prior to his retirement. Read more
29 May 1946: Fernando Buesa, Spanish politician (died 2000) Fernando Buesa Blanco was a Spanish politician in the Basque Christian Democracy and in the Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE-EE) branch of the social democratic Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was assassinated by ETA. Read more
29 May 1945: Gary Brooker, English singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2022) Gary Brooker was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum. Read more
29 May 1945: Peter Fraser, Baron Fraser of Carmyllie, Scottish lawyer and politician, Solicitor General for Scotland (died 2013) Peter Lovat Fraser, Baron Fraser of Carmyllie was a Scottish politician and advocate who served as the Solicitor General for Scotland (1982–1989) and the Lord Advocate (1989–1992). Read more
29 May 1945: Julian Le Grand, English economist and author Sir Julian Ernest Michael Le Grand, FBA FRSA is a British academic specialising in public policy. He is the Richard Titmuss Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics (LSE) and was a senior policy advisor to former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Read more
29 May 1945: Martin Pipe, English jockey and trainer Martin Charles Pipe, is an English former racehorse trainer credited with professionalising the British racehorse training industry, and as of 2021 the most successful trainer in British jump racing. Read more
29 May 1945: Joyce Tenneson, American photographer Joyce Tenneson is an American fine art photographer known for her distinctive style of photography, which often involves nude or semi-nude women. Read more
29 May 1945: Jean-Pierre Van Rossem, Belgian scholar and author (died 2018) Jean-Pierre Van Rossem was a Belgian economist, econometrician, activist, author, philosopher, stock-market guru, politician, and member of the Belgian and Flemish Parliaments. Read more
29 May 1944: Bob Benmosche, American businessman (died 2015) Robert Herman Benmosche was the president and chief executive officer of American International Group. He was appointed President & Chief Executive Officer by the US Department of Treasury and AIG Board of Directors to succeed Edward M. Liddy. Benmosche is known for his leadership at AIG, where he led a turnaround and paid down government aid pledged by the Bush and Obama Administrations. Read more
29 May 1944: Quentin Davies, English soldier and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (died 2025) John Quentin Davies, Baron Davies of Stamford was a British Labour politician and life peer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Grantham and Stamford from 1987 to 2010. He served as a junior defence minister in the Brown ministry from 2008 to 2010. Read more
29 May 1943: Robert W. Edgar, American educator and politician (died 2013) Robert William Edgar was an American politician, administrator, and religious leader. A native of the Philadelphia area, he began his career as a Methodist pastor and chaplain. He served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1987, representing the 7th district of Pennsylvania. He was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for United States Senate in Pennsylvania in 1986. Read more
29 May 1942: Pierre Bourque, Canadian businessman and politician, 40th Mayor of Montreal Pierre Bourque is a Canadian businessman and politician in Quebec. He founded the Vision Montreal political party and served as mayor of Montreal from 1994 to 2001. Read more
29 May 1942: Kevin Conway, American actor and director (died 2020) Kevin Brian Conway was an American actor and film director. Read more
29 May 1941: Doug Scott, English mountaineer and author (died 2020) Douglas Keith Scott was an English mountaineer and climbing author, noted for being on the team that made the first ascent of the south-west face of Mount Everest on 24 September 1975. In receiving one of mountaineering's highest honours, the Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award, his personal style and his climbs were described as "visionary". Read more
29 May 1941: Bob Simon, American journalist (died 2015) Robert David Simon was an American television correspondent for CBS News. He covered crises, war, and unrest in 67 countries during his career. Simon reported the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam, the Israeli–Lebanese Conflict in 1982, and the student protests in China's Tiananmen Square in 1989. During the Persian Gulf War in 1991, he and four of his TV crew were captured and imprisoned by Iraq for 40 days. He published a book about the experience titled Forty Days. Read more
29 May 1940: Taihō Kōki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 48th Yokozuna (died 2013) Taihō Kōki was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He became the 48th yokozuna in 1961 at the age of 21, the youngest ever at the time. Read more
29 May 1940: Farooq Leghari, Pakistani politician, 8th President of Pakistan (died 2010) Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari was a Pakistani politician who served as the eighth president of Pakistan from 1993 until his resignation in 1997. He, prior to his presidency, also served as the minister of foreign affairs in 1993; the minister for water and power from 1988 to 1990; and a senator from 1975 to 1977. He was the first ethnic Baloch to be elected president. Read more
29 May 1939: Pete Smith, Australian radio and television announcer Peter Philip Smith OAM is an Australian retired radio announcer and television voice-over artist. He is primarily known for his work with GTV-9 in Melbourne as their chief staff announcer, including being the announcer on the nationally screened quiz show Sale of the Century for 21 years. Read more
29 May 1939: Al Unser, American race car driver (died 2021) Alfred Unser was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men to have won the Indianapolis 500 four times, the fourth of six to have won the race in consecutive years, and the winner of the National Championship in 1970, 1983, and 1985. The Unser family has won the Indy 500 a record nine times. He was the only person to have both a sibling (Bobby) and child as fellow Indy 500 winners. Al's nephews Johnny and Robby Unser have also competed in that race. In 1971, he became the only driver to date to win the race on his birthday. Read more
29 May 1938: Christopher Bland, English businessman and politician (died 2017) Sir Francis Christopher Buchan Bland was a British businessman and politician. He was deputy chairman of the Independent Television Authority (1972), which was renamed the Independent Broadcasting Authority in the same year, and chairman of London Weekend Television (1984) and of the Board of Governors of the BBC, when he took up a position as chairman of British Telecommunications plc (BT). He left his position with BT in September 2007. Before leaving BT, he became chairman of the Royal Shakespeare Company, in 2004. Read more
29 May 1938: Fay Vincent, American lawyer and businessman, 8th Commissioner of Baseball (died 2025) Francis Thomas "Fay" Vincent Jr. was an American entertainment lawyer, securities regulator, and sports executive who served as the eighth commissioner of baseball from September 13, 1989, to September 7, 1992. Read more
29 May 1937: Charles W. Pickering, American lawyer and judge Charles Willis Pickering Sr. is an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi and, briefly, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Read more
29 May 1937: Irmin Schmidt, German keyboard player and composer Irmin Schmidt is a German keyboardist and composer, best known as a founding member of the Krautrock band Can and composer of numerous film scores. Following the death of Can's second lead vocalist Damo Suzuki in February 2024, Schmidt is one of three surviving former members of the band, alongside original vocalist Malcolm Mooney and bassist Rosko Gee. Read more
29 May 1937: Alwin Schockemöhle, German show-jumper Alwin Schockemöhle is a former German show-jumper. He was a successful international show jumping equestrian in the 1960s and 1970s at individual and team events in Olympic Games and European Championships. He was one of four children, a girl and three boys. His younger brother Paul was also a successful show-jumper. Werner Schockemöhle, his youngest brother, was a well-known horse breeder in Oldenburg. Read more
29 May 1937: Harry Statham, American basketball player and coach Harry Statham is an American former basketball coach. He is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Basketball Hall of Fame. His 1,122 wins during his 52 seasons at McKendree University of Lebanon, Illinois, were the third-most by any men's or women's basketball head coach at a four-year college or university in the United States. This includes any and all levels or divisions of the NCAA and NAIA. The only other coaches at a four-year school with 1,000 or more wins are Pat Summitt, Danny Miles, Mike Krzyzewski, Herb Magee, Tara VanDerveer, Geno Auriemma, Jim Boeheim, and Sylvia Hatchell. Read more
29 May 1935: André Brink, South African author and playwright (died 2015) André Philippus Brink was a South African novelist, essayist and poet. He wrote in both Afrikaans and English and taught English at the University of Cape Town. Read more
29 May 1935: Sylvia Robinson, American singer and producer (died 2011) Sylvia Robinson, known mononymously as Sylvia, was an American singer and record producer. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylvia with the 1957 single "Love Is Strange", and her solo record "Pillow Talk" in 1973. She later became known for her work as founder and CEO of the pioneering hip hop label Sugar Hill Records. Read more
29 May 1934: Bill Vander Zalm, Dutch-Canadian businessman and politician, 28th Premier of British Columbia William Nicholas Vander Zalm is a Dutch-born Canadian businessman and politician who served as the 28th premier of British Columbia and leader of the British Columbia Social Credit Party from 1986 to 1991. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of British Columbia, representing the riding of Surrey from 1975 to 1983, and the riding of Richmond from 1986 to 1991. He is also the oldest lived premier in BC history and the first to reach the age of 92. Read more
29 May 1933: Helmuth Rilling, German conductor and educator (died 2026) Helmuth Rilling was a German choral conductor and an academic teacher who was internationally known as an authority on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. He was the founder of the Gächinger Kantorei in 1954 when still a student, the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart in 1965, the Oregon Bach Festival in 1970, the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart in 1981 and other Bach Academies worldwide, as well as the Festival Ensemble Stuttgart (FES) in 2001 and Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble in 2011. He taught choral conducting at the Frankfurt Musikhochschule from 1965 to 1989 and led the Frankfurter Kantorei from 1969 to 1982. He held talk concerts, introducing the music with the performers, internationally and notably in Eastern Europe. Read more
29 May 1933: Tarquinio Provini, Italian motorcycle racer (died 2005) Tarquinio Provini was an Italian professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was a two-time world champion in road racing. Provini was also a four-time Isle of Man TT winner and won 13 Italian national championships. Read more
29 May 1932: Paul R. Ehrlich, American biologist and author (died 2026) Paul Ralph Ehrlich was an American biologist, author, and environmentalist known for his predictions and warnings about the consequences of population growth, including famine and resource depletion. Ehrlich was the Bing Professor of Population Studies of the Department of Biology of Stanford University. He started working at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve in 1959. He along with many other biology professors, led the efforts for Stanford University to designate and protect Jasper Ridge in 1973 as a biological preserve and as a long-term research facility for faculty and students. Read more
29 May 1932: Richie Guerin, American basketball player and coach Richard Vincent Guerin is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played with the National Basketball Association's (NBA) New York Knicks from 1956 to 1963 and was a player-coach of the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks franchise where he spent nine years. On February 15, 2013, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that Guerin had been elected as one of its 2013 inductees. Read more
29 May 1929: Harry Frankfurt, American philosopher and academic (died 2023) Harry Gordon Frankfurt was an American philosopher. He was a professor emeritus of philosophy at Princeton University, where he taught from 1990 until 2002. Frankfurt also taught at Yale University, Rockefeller University, and Ohio State University. Read more
29 May 1929: Peter Higgs, English-Scottish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2024) Peter Ware Higgs was a British theoretical physicist, professor at the University of Edinburgh, and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the mass of subatomic particles. Read more
29 May 1929: Roberto Vargas, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 2014) Roberto Enrique Vargas Vélez was a Puerto Rican pitcher in Major League Baseball and Negro league baseball. Vargas played for the Chicago American Giants for one season in 1948, in which he was named a Negro League All-Star. He also played one season for the Milwaukee Braves of the National League during the 1955 season. He was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Read more
29 May 1928: Freddie Redd, American jazz pianist and composer (died 2021) Freddie Redd was an American hard-bop pianist and composer. He is best known for writing music to accompany The Connection (1959), a play by Jack Gelber. According to Peter Watrous, writing in The New York Times: "Mr. Redd hung out at jam sessions in the 1950s and played with many of the major figures, Sonny Rollins to Art Blakey, and worked regularly with Charles Mingus. When things got tough, he just moved on, living in Guadalajara, Mexico, and in Paris and London." Read more
29 May 1927: Jean Coutu, Canadian pharmacist and businessman, founded the Jean Coutu Group Jean Coutu, is a Canadian pharmacist and businessman. He is the founder and chairman of the Jean Coutu Group which he started in 1969. With an estimated net worth of $US 2.3 billion, Coutu was ranked by Forbes as the 22nd wealthiest Canadian and 938th wealthiest person in the world. Read more
29 May 1926: Katie Boyle, Italian-English actress and television host (died 2018) Caterina Irene Elena Maria Boyle, Lady Saunders, usually known as Katie Boyle, was an Italian-born British actress, writer, radio announcer and television personality. She became best known for presenting the Eurovision Song Contest on a record four occasions: in 1960, 1963, 1968 and 1974; the first three in London and the last in Brighton, England. She was also an agony aunt, answering problems that had been posted by readers of the TVTimes. Read more
29 May 1926: Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe, Queen Consort of Tonga (died 2017) Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe was Queen of Tonga from 1965 to 2006, as the wife of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. She was the mother of kings George Tupou V and Tupou VI. Read more
29 May 1926: Abdoulaye Wade, Senegalese academic and politician, 3rd President of Senegal Abdoulaye Wade is a Senegalese politician who served as the third president of Senegal from 2000 to 2012. He is also the Secretary-General of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), having led the party since it was founded in 1974. Assuming office at 73, Wade was the oldest person to occupy the post. Read more
29 May 1924: Lars Bo, Danish author and illustrator (died 1999) Lars Bo was a Danish artist and writer. He is known for his graphic works with surrealistically inspired fantastic motifs. He was nicknamed "Wizard". Read more
29 May 1924: Miloslav Kříž, Czech basketball player and coach (died 2013) Miloslav Kříž was a Czech professional basketball player, coach and executive. As a player, he played first for Uncas Praha, and later for Sparta Praha, but he was better known as a head coach and trainer, especially as the head coach of the senior Czechoslovak women's national team. He was awarded the FIBA Order of Merit, for his services to basketball, in 2002. Read more
29 May 1924: Pepper Paire, American baseball player (died 2013) Lavone A. "Pepper" Paire Davis was a baseball catcher and infielder who played from 1944 through 1953 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m), 138 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Read more
29 May 1923: Bernard Clavel, French author (died 2010) Bernard Charles Henri Clavel was a French writer. Read more
29 May 1923: John Parker, 6th Earl of Morley, English colonel and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Devon (died 2015) John St. Aubyn Parker, 6th Earl of Morley was a British peer, a professional soldier, and county dignitary. Morley was a staunch monarchist and royal servant. Read more
29 May 1923: Eugene Wright, American jazz bassist (died 2020) Eugene Joseph Wright was an American jazz bassist who was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Read more
29 May 1922: Edith Roger, Norwegian dancer and choreographer (died 2023) Edith Roger was a Norwegian dancer, choreographer, and stage director. Read more
29 May 1922: Joe Weatherly, American race car driver (died 1964) Joseph Herbert Weatherly was an American stock car racing driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Grand National Series championships in 1962 and 1963, three AMA Grand National Championships, and two NASCAR Modified championships. Read more
29 May 1922: Iannis Xenakis, Greek-French composer, engineer, and theorist (died 2001) Giannis Klearchou Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde composer, music theorist, architect, performance director and engineer. Read more
29 May 1921: Norman Hetherington, Australian cartoonist and puppeteer (died 2010) Norman Frederick Hetherington was an Australian artist, cartoonist, puppeteer, and puppet designer. Read more
29 May 1920: John Harsanyi, Hungarian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2000) John Charles Harsanyi was a Hungarian-American economist who spent most of his career at the University of California, Berkeley. He was the recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1994. Read more
29 May 1920: Clifton James, American actor (died 2017) George Clifton James was an American actor of film, theatre, and television. He was best known to screen audiences for his various character roles, including prison floorwalker Carr in Cool Hand Luke (1967), Sheriff J.W. Pepper alongside Roger Moore in the James Bond films Live and Let Die (1973) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), the sheriff in Silver Streak (1976), a Texas tycoon in The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977), and Charles Comiskey in Eight Men Out (1988). Read more
29 May 1919: Jacques Genest, Canadian physician and academic (died 2018) Jacques Genest was a Canadian physician and scientist. He founded the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) and was an emeritus professor at Université de Montréal and a professor at McGill University. Genest was best known for founding and leading several organizations related to clinical research in Québec and for his work on arterial hypertension. Read more
29 May 1917: John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States (died 1963) John Fitzgerald Kennedy, also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person elected president, at 43 years. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A member of the Democratic Party, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the United States Congress before his presidency. Read more
29 May 1917: Marcel Trudel, Canadian historian, author, and academic (died 2011) Marcel Trudel was a Canadian historian, university professor (1947–1982) and author who published more than 40 books on the history of New France. He brought academic rigour to an area that had been marked by nationalistic and religious biases. His work was part of the marked changes to Quebec society during the Quiet Revolution. Trudel's work has been honoured with major awards, including the Governor General's Literary Award for French Non-Fiction in 1966, and a second nomination for the award in 1987. Read more
29 May 1915: Karl Münchinger, German conductor and composer (died 1990) Karl Münchinger was a German conductor of European classical music. He helped to revive the now-ubiquitous Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel, through recording it with his Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra in 1960. Münchinger is also noted for restoring baroque traditions to the interpretation of Bach's oeuvre, his greatest musical love — moderate-sized forces, judicious ornamentation, and rhythmic sprightliness, though not on "period instruments". Read more
29 May 1914: Stacy Keach Sr., American actor (died 2003) Walter Stacy Keach Sr. was an American actor whose screen career spanned more than five decades. Read more
29 May 1914: Tenzing Norgay, Nepalese-Indian mountaineer (died 1986) Tenzing Norgay, born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. On 29 May 1953, he and Edmund Hillary were the first confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest, as part of the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition. Time named Norgay one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Read more
29 May 1913: Tony Zale, American boxer (died 1997) Anthony Florian Zaleski, known professionally as Tony Zale, was an American boxer. Zale was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, a steel town, which gave him his nickname, "Man of Steel", reinforced by his reputation of being able to take fearsome punishment and still rally to win. Zale, who held the world middleweight title multiple times, was known as a crafty boxer and punishing body puncher who wore his opponents down before knocking them out. In 1990, Zale was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President George. H. W. Bush. Read more
29 May 1910: Aleksandr Laktionov, Soviet painter (died 1972) Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov was a Socialist realism painter in the post-war Soviet Union. His meticulous and almost photo-real style was popular, but courted controversy among art critics and other artists. Read more
29 May 1910: Ralph Metcalfe, American sprinter and politician (died 1978) Ralph Harold Metcalfe Sr. was an American track and field sprinter and politician. He jointly held the world record in the 100-meter dash and placed second in that event in two Olympics, first to Eddie Tolan in 1932 at Los Angeles and then to Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Metcalfe won four Olympic medals and was regarded as the world's fastest human in 1934 and 1935. Read more
29 May 1908: Diana Morgan, Welsh-English playwright and screenwriter (died 1996) Mary Diana Morgan was a Welsh playwright, screenwriter and novelist, mostly associated with her work for Ealing Studios as Diana Morgan. She was married to fellow screenwriter Robert MacDermot. Read more
29 May 1907: Hartland Molson, Canadian captain and politician (died 2002) Hartland de Montarville Molson was an Anglo-Quebecer statesman, Canadian senator, military aviator, and a member of the Molson family of brewers. Read more
29 May 1906: T. H. White, Indian-English author (died 1964) Terence Hanbury "Tim" White was an English writer. He is best known for his Arthurian novels, which were published together in 1958 as The Once and Future King. One of his best known is the first of the series, The Sword in the Stone, which was published as a stand-alone book in 1938. Read more
29 May 1905: Sebastian Shaw, English actor, director, and playwright (died 1994) Sebastian Lewis Shaw was an English actor, theatre director, novelist, playwright and poet. During his seven-decade career, he appeared in dozens of stage performances and more than 40 film and television productions. Read more
29 May 1904: Hubert Opperman, Australian cyclist and politician (died 1996) Sir Hubert Ferdinand Opperman, OBE, referred to as Oppy by Australian and French crowds, was an Australian cyclist and politician, whose endurance cycling feats in the 1920s and 1930s earned him international acclaim. Read more
29 May 1903: Bob Hope, English-American actor, singer, and producer (died 2003) Lester Townes "Bob" Hope was a British-born American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, starring in 54, including a series of seven Road to … musical comedy films with Bing Crosby as his partner. He reached his 100th birthday 59 days before he died in 2003. Read more
29 May 1902: Harry Kadwell, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 1999) Henry James Kadwell was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative fullback who later moved to the-halves, he played his club football for South Sydney with whom he won the 1927 and 1928 NSWRFL premierships, and later St. George whom he captain-coached to the 1933 grand final. Read more
29 May 1899: Douglas Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Defence (died 1987) Douglas Charles Abbott was a Canadian Member of Parliament, federal Cabinet Minister, and justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Abbott's appointment directly from the Cabinet of Canada as Finance Minister to the Supreme Court was one of the most controversial in the Supreme Court's history. Read more
29 May 1897: Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Czech-American pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1957) Erich Wolfgang Korngold was an Austrian composer and conductor, who left Europe in the mid-1930s and later adopted US nationality. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. He was a noted pianist and composer of classical music, along with music for Hollywood films, and the first composer of international stature to write Hollywood scores. Read more
29 May 1894: Beatrice Lillie, Canadian-English actress, singer and writer (died 1989) Beatrice Gladys Lillie, Lady Peel was a Canadian-born British actress, singer and comedy performer. Read more
29 May 1894: Josef von Sternberg, Austrian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1969) Josef von Sternberg was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major Hollywood studios. He is best known for his film collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich in the 1930s, including the highly regarded Paramount/UFA production The Blue Angel (1930). He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, for Morocco (1930) and Shanghai Express (1932). Read more
29 May 1893: Max Brand, American journalist and author (died 1944) Frederick Schiller Faust was an American writer known primarily for his Western stories using the pseudonym Max Brand. As Max Brand, he also created the popular fictional character of young medical intern Dr. James Kildare for a series of pulp fiction stories. His Kildare character was subsequently featured over several decades in other media, including a series of American theatrical movies by Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a radio series, two television series, and comics. Faust's other pseudonyms include George Owen Baxter, Evan Evans, Peter Dawson, David Manning, John Frederick, Peter Henry Morland, George Challis, and Frederick Frost. He also wrote under his real name. As George Challis, Faust wrote the "Tizzo the Firebrand" series for Argosy magazine. The Tizzo saga was a series of historical swashbuckler stories, featuring the titular warrior, set in Renaissance Italy. Read more
29 May 1892: Alfonsina Storni, Swiss-Argentinian poet and author (died 1938) Alfonsina Carolina Storni was a Swiss-Argentine poet and playwright of the modernist period. Read more
29 May 1880: Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (died 1936) Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler was a German polymath whose areas of interest included history, philosophy, mathematics, science, and art, as well as their relation to his organic theory of history. He is best known for his two-volume work The Decline of the West, published in 1918 and 1922, covering human history. Spengler's model of history postulates that human cultures and civilizations are akin to biological entities, each with a limited, predictable, and deterministic lifespan. He predicted that Western civilization would enter the period of pre‑death emergency around the year 2000, which would lead to 200 years of Caesarism before Western civilization's final collapse. Read more
29 May 1874: G. K. Chesterton, English essayist, poet, and playwright (died 1936) Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an English Christian apologist writer. Chesterton's wit, paradoxical style, and defence of tradition made him a dominant figure in early 20th-century literature. Read more
29 May 1873: Rudolf Tobias, Estonian organist and composer (died 1918) Rudolf Tobias was the first Estonian professional composer, as well as a professional organist. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. His compositions include among others piano works, string quartets and an oratorio, Des Jona Sendung. Read more
29 May 1871: Clark Voorhees, American painter (died 1933) Clark Greenwood Voorhees was an American Impressionist and Tonalist landscape painter and one of the founders of the Old Lyme Art Colony. Read more
29 May 1860: Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (died 1909) Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual was a Spanish virtuoso composer, conductor, and pianist. He is one of the foremost composers of the post-romantic era who also exerted a significant influence on his contemporaries and younger composers. He is best known for his piano works that incorporate Spanish folk music idioms and elements. His compositions, particularly his suite Iberia (1905–1908), are considered masterpieces and have influenced both European classical music and Spanish nationalism. Isaac Albéniz was close to the Generation of '98. Read more
29 May 1823: John H. Balsley, American carpenter and inventor (died 1895) John H. Balsley was a master carpenter and inventor, inventing a practical folding wooden stepladder and receiving the first U.S. patent issued for a safety stepladder in the year. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 29 May in World History

29 May 2025: Bernie Kerik, American police officer, 40th Police Commissioner of New York City and interior minister of the Iraqi Coalition Provisional Authority (born 1955) Bernard Bailey Kerik was an American consultant, police officer and convicted felon who was the 40th Commissioner of the New York Police Department from 2000 to 2001. Read more
29 May 2024: Bob Rogers, Australian radio and television host (born 1926) Robert Barton Rogers OAM was an Australian disc jockey and radio broadcaster. He was noted for introducing Top 40 radio programming to Australia in 1958, on 2UE. Read more
29 May 2022: Ronnie Hawkins, American rockabilly singer-songwriter and guitarist. (born 1935) Ronald Cornett Hawkins was an American rock and roll singer, long based in Canada, whose career spanned 66 years. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He found success in Ontario, Canada, and lived there for most of his life. Hawkins was an institution of the Ontario music scene for over 40 years. He was influential in the evolution of rock music in Canada. Read more
29 May 2022: Sidhu Moosewala, Indian singer, rapper, actor and politician. (born 1993) Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known professionally as Sidhu Moose Wala, was an Indian singer and rapper. He worked predominantly in Punjabi-language music and cinema. Moose Wala is considered to be one of the most influential and successful Punjabi rappers of all time and to many, among the greatest Indian musicians of his generation. Read more
29 May 2021: Gavin MacLeod, American actor, Christian activist, and author (born 1931) Gavin MacLeod was an American actor best known for his roles as news writer Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and ship's captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's The Love Boat. After growing up Catholic, MacLeod became an evangelical Christian in 1984. His career, which spanned six decades, included work as a Christian television host, author, and guest on several talk, variety, and religious programs. Read more
29 May 2021: Mark Eaton, American basketball player and sportscaster (born 1957) Mark Edward Eaton was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career (1982–1993) with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Named an NBA All-Star in 1989, he was twice voted the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and was a five-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team. The 7-foot-4-inch (2.24 m) Eaton became one of the best defensive centers in NBA history. He led the league in blocks four times and holds the NBA single-season records for blocks (456) and blocked shots per game average (5.6), as well as career blocked shots per game (3.5). His No. 53 was retired by the Jazz. Read more
29 May 2021: B. J. Thomas, American singer (born 1942) Billy Joe Thomas was an American singer widely known for his country, contemporary Christian, and pop hits of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Read more
29 May 2021: Cornelius Sim, Bruneian cardinal (born 1951) Cornelius Sim DD was a Bruneian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Vicar Apostolic of Brunei from 2004 until his death. He had previously served as the apostolic prefect of Brunei from 1997 to 2004. Read more
29 May 2020: Maikanti Baru, Nigerian engineer, former chief of state oil firm. (born 1959) Maikanti Kachalla Baru was a Nigerian engineer, crude oil marketer and the 18th Group Managing Director of the Nigeria's state oil firm, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He served in the position from July 2016 to July 2019 and had previously served as the Group General Manager (GGM) of National Petroleum Investment Management Services. Baru was a fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers and Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Read more
29 May 2017: Manuel Noriega, Panamanian general and politician, Military Leader of Panama (born 1934) Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno was a Panamanian military officer and politician who was the de facto ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He never officially served as president of Panama, instead ruling as an unelected military dictator through puppet presidents. Amassing a personal fortune through drug trafficking operations by the Panamanian military, Noriega had longstanding ties with American intelligence agencies before the United States invasion of Panama removed him from power. Read more
29 May 2017: Mordechai Tzipori, Israeli Lieutenant General and minister (born 1924) Mordechai Tzipori was an Israeli politician who served as Minister of Communications from 1981 until 1984. Read more
29 May 2017: Konstantinos Mitsotakis, Greek politician and prime minister (born 1918) Konstantinos Mitsotakis was a Greek liberal politician and statesman. He served as prime minister of Greece from 1990 to 1993. Read more
29 May 2015: Henry Carr, American football player and sprinter (born 1942) Henry Carr was an American track and field athlete who won two gold medals at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Read more
29 May 2015: Doris Hart, American tennis player (born 1925) Doris Hart was an American tennis player who was active in the 1940s and first half of the 1950s. She was ranked world No. 1 in 1951. She was the fourth player, and second woman, to win a Career Grand Slam in singles. She was the first of only three players to complete the career "Boxed Set" of Grand Slam titles, which is winning at least one title in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles at all four Grand Slam events. Only she and Margaret Court achieved this during the amateur era of the sport. Read more
29 May 2015: Betsy Palmer, American actress (born 1926) Betsy Palmer was an American actress known for her many film and Broadway roles, television guest-starring appearances, as a panelist on the game show I've Got a Secret, and later for playing Pamela Voorhees, the antagonist and mother of Jason Voorhees, in the first Friday the 13th film (1980). Read more
29 May 2014: Christine Charbonneau, Canadian singer-songwriter (born 1943) Christine Charbonneau was a French Canadian singer and songwriter. Read more
29 May 2014: Walter Jakob Gehring, Swiss biologist and academic (born 1939) Walter Jakob Gehring was a Swiss developmental biologist who was a professor at the Biozentrum Basel of the University of Basel, Switzerland. He obtained his PhD at the University of Zurich in 1965 and after two years as a research assistant of Ernst Hadorn he joined Alan Garen's group at Yale University in New Haven as a postdoctoral fellow. Read more
29 May 2014: Peter Glaser, Czech-American scientist and engineer (born 1923) Peter Edward Glaser was a Czechoslovak-born American scientist and aerospace engineer. He served as Vice President, Advanced Technology (1985–94), was employed at Arthur D. Little, Inc., Cambridge, MA (1955–94); subsequently he served as a consultant to the company (1994–2005). He was president of Power from Space Consultants (1994–2005). Glaser retired in 2005. Read more
29 May 2014: Miljenko Prohaska, Croatian composer and conductor (born 1925) Miljenko Prohaska was a Croatian composer, music arranger and orchestra conductor. Read more
29 May 2014: William M. Roth, American businessman (born 1916) William Matson Roth was an American shipping executive, special ambassador for trade, member of the ACLU executive committee, and Regent for the University of California. He is credited with the preservation of Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. Read more
29 May 2013: Richard Ballantine, American-English journalist and author (born 1940) Richard Ballantine was a cycling writer, journalist and cycling advocate. Born in America, the son of Ian and Betty Ballantine of Ballantine Books, and educated at the Browning School in New York and Columbia University, he principally resided in London, England. He wrote the popular Richard's Bicycle Book (1972) and its subsequent editions. He was an editor at Rufus Publications and founded several magazines including Bicycle magazine. Read more
29 May 2013: Françoise Blanchard, French actress (born 1954) Françoise Denise Aline Blanchard was a French actress. Her most notable work is that of her role in the 1982 French film La morte vivante, directed by Jean Rollin. Blanchard had collaborated with Rollin on several occasions in films Les trottoirs de Bangkok (1984), À la poursuite de Barbara (1991) and La nuit des horloges (2007). She had worked frequently with directors Richard Balducci and Jesús Franco. She was also known for her work as a voice artist, having dubbed films, such as, Robert Altman's Popeye (1980), The NeverEnding Story III (1994) and Hackers (1995), and animated television series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Totally Spies! Read more
29 May 2013: Andrew Greeley, American priest, sociologist, and author (born 1928) Andrew Moran Greeley was an American Catholic priest, sociologist, journalist and novelist. He was a professor of sociology at the University of Arizona and the University of Chicago, and a research associate with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC). For many years, Greeley wrote a weekly column for the Chicago Sun-Times and contributed regularly to The New York Times, the National Catholic Reporter, America and Commonweal. Read more
29 May 2013: Mulgrew Miller, American pianist and composer (born 1955) Mulgrew Miller was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. As a child he played in churches and was influenced on piano by Ramsey Lewis and then Oscar Peterson. Aspects of their styles remained in his playing, but he added the greater harmonic freedom of McCoy Tyner and others in developing as a hard bop player and then in creating his own style, which influenced others from the 1980s on. Read more
29 May 2013: Henry Morgentaler, Polish-Canadian physician and activist (born 1923) Henekh "Henry" Morgentaler was a Polish-born Canadian physician and abortion rights advocate who fought numerous legal battles aimed at expanding abortion rights in Canada. As a Jewish youth during World War II, Morgentaler was imprisoned at the Łódź Ghetto and later at the Dachau concentration camp. Read more
29 May 2013: Franca Rame, Italian actress and playwright (born 1928) Franca Rame was an Italian theatre actress, playwright and political activist. She was married to Nobel laureate playwright Dario Fo and is the mother of writer Jacopo Fo. Fo dedicated his Nobel Prize to her. Read more
29 May 2013: Ludwig G. Strauss, German physician and academic (born 1949) Ludwig Georg Strauss was a German nuclear medicine physician and professor of radiology at the University of Heidelberg. Read more
29 May 2013: Wali-ur-Rehman, Pakistani commander (born 1970) Wali-ur-Rehman was a senior Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander based in South Waziristan. Wali-ur-Rehman was formerly a spokesman for Baitullah Mehsud, the late leader of the TTP. Read more
29 May 2012: Mark Minkov, Russian composer (born 1944) Mark Anatolievich Minkov was a Soviet and Russian music composer. His music is featured in a number of operas, ballets, stage performances, and films. Read more
29 May 2012: Kaneto Shindo, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1912) Kaneto Shindō was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film producer, and writer, who directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. His best known films as a director include Children of Hiroshima, The Naked Island, Onibaba, Kuroneko and A Last Note. His screenplays were filmed by directors such as Kenji Mizoguchi, Kōzaburō Yoshimura, Kon Ichikawa, Keisuke Kinoshita, Seijun Suzuki, and Tadashi Imai. Read more
29 May 2012: Doc Watson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1923) Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. He won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His fingerpicking and flatpicking skills, as well as his knowledge of traditional American music, were highly regarded. Blind from a young age, he performed publicly both in a dance band and solo, as well as for over 15 years with his son, guitarist Merle Watson, until Merle's death in 1985 in an accident on the family farm. Read more
29 May 2011: Sergei Bagapsh, Abkhazian politician, 2nd President of Abkhazia (born 1949) Sergei Uasyl-ipa Bagapsh was an Abkhaz politician who served as the second president of Abkhazia from 12 February 2005 until his death on 29 May 2011. He previously served as Prime Minister of Abkhazia from 1997 to 1999. He was re-elected in the 2009 presidential election. Bagapsh's term as prime minister included the 1998 war with Georgia, while he oversaw both the recognition of Abkhazia by Russia and the Russo-Georgian War during his presidency. Read more
29 May 2011: Bill Clements, American soldier and politician, 42nd Governor of Texas (born 1917) William Perry Clements Jr. was an American businessman and Republican Party politician who served two nonconsecutive terms as the governor of Texas between 1979 and 1991. His terms bookended the sole term served by Mark Wells White, a Democrat who defeated Clements in the 1982 election only to lose his campaign for reelection in 1986. Read more
29 May 2011: Ferenc Mádl, Hungarian academic and politician, 14th President of Hungary (born 1931) Ferenc Mádl was a Hungarian legal scholar, professor, and politician who served as President of Hungary from 2000 until 2005. Prior to that he had been minister without portfolio from 1990 to 1993 then Minister of Education from 1993 to 1994 in the conservative cabinets of József Antall and Péter Boross. Read more
29 May 2010: Dennis Hopper, American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1936) Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He is considered one of the key figures of the New Hollywood era. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice International Film Festival as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Read more
29 May 2008: Paula Gunn Allen, American writer (born 1939) Paula Gunn Allen was an American poet, literary critic, activist, professor, and novelist. Of mixed-race European-American, Arab-American, and Native American descent, she identified with her mother's people, the Laguna Pueblo. Gunn Allen wrote numerous essays, stories and poetry with Native American and feminist themes, and two biographies of Native American women. She edited four collections of Native American traditional stories and contemporary writing. Read more
29 May 2008: Luc Bourdon, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1987) Luc Bourdon was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who was a defenceman for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2006 until 2008. After overcoming childhood arthritis, he was selected third overall in the 2003 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) draft and played for the Val-d'Or Foreurs, Moncton Wildcats, and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, spending four seasons in the QMJHL. The Canucks drafted Bourdon with their first selection, 10th overall, in the 2005 NHL entry draft, and he split his professional career with the Canucks and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Noted as a strong defenceman who could contribute on offence, Bourdon represented Canada in three international tournaments, winning two gold medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship and a silver medal at the IIHF World U18 Championship. Read more
29 May 2008: Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian (born 1927) Harvey Herschel Korman was an American actor and comedian who performed in television and film productions. He is best remembered as a main cast member alongside Carol Burnett, Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence on the CBS sketch comedy series The Carol Burnett Show (1967–1977) for which he won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Read more
29 May 2007: Dave Balon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1938) David Alexander Balon was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Balon played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1959 and 1973 along with nine games in the World Hockey Association (WHA) before multiple sclerosis led to his retirement. Read more
29 May 2007: Lois Browne-Evans, Bermudian lawyer and politician (born 1927) Dame Lois Marie Browne-Evans DBE JP was a lawyer and political figure in Bermuda. She led the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) in opposition before being appointed Bermuda's first female Attorney-General. She first gained recognition in 1953 as Bermuda's first female barrister. Browne-Evans died of a suspected stroke on 29 May 2007, at age 79. Read more
29 May 2006: Jacques Bouchard, Canadian businessman (born 1930) Jacques Bouchard, was a Canadian advertising executive and author. He was one of the founders of Quebec's first French creative advertising agency, BCP, and a pioneer in French-language advertising. Read more
29 May 2006: Katarína Kolníková, Slovak actress (born 1921) Katarína Kolníková was a Slovak stage actress. Read more
29 May 2005: John D'Amico, Canadian ice hockey player and referee (born 1937) John David D'Amico was a Canadian National Hockey League (NHL) linesman and later supervisor of officials. Read more
29 May 2005: Hamilton Naki, South African surgeon (born 1926) Hamilton Naki was a South African laboratory assistant known for his contributions to surgical research and medical training despite having no formal medical training. He worked with cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard at the University of Cape Town, where he was involved with organ transplant research on animals and trained medical students in surgical techniques. His contributions to medical science, particularly in an era of racial segregation and apartheid, have been recognized as remarkable. Read more
29 May 2005: George Rochberg, American soldier and composer (born 1918) George Rochberg was an American composer of contemporary classical music. Long a serial composer, Rochberg abandoned the technique after his teenage son died in 1964, saying it had proved inadequate to express his grief and was empty of expressive power. By the 1970s, Rochberg's use of tonal passages in his music had provoked controversy among critics and fellow composers. A professor at the University of Pennsylvania until 1983, Rochberg chaired its music department until 1968. He became the first Annenberg Professor of the Humanities in 1978. Read more
29 May 2004: Archibald Cox, American lawyer and politician, 31st United States Solicitor General (born 1912) Archibald Cox Jr. was an American legal scholar who served as U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy and as a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. During his career, he was a pioneering expert on labor law and was also an authority on constitutional law. The Journal of Legal Studies has identified Cox as one of the most cited legal scholars of the 20th century. Read more
29 May 2004: Samuel Dash, American academic and politician (born 1925) Samuel Joseph Dash was an American lawyer. He was chief counsel for the Senate Watergate Committee during the Watergate scandal. Dash became famous for his televised interrogations during the hearings held by the United States Congress on the Watergate incident. Read more
29 May 2003: David Jefferies, English motorcycle racer (born 1972) Allan David Jefferies was an English professional motorcycle racer. He died after crashing during practice for the 2003 Isle of Man TT races. Read more
29 May 1998: Barry Goldwater, American general, activist, and politician (born 1909) Barry Morris Goldwater was an American politician and major general in the Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Republican Party's nominee for president in 1964. Read more
29 May 1997: Jeff Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1966) Jeffrey Scott Buckley was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a following in the early 1990s performing at venues in the East Village, Manhattan. He signed with Columbia and released his only studio album, Grace, in 1994. Buckley toured extensively to promote Grace, with concerts in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia. Read more
29 May 1996: Tamara Toumanova, American ballerina and actress (born 1919) Tamara Toumanova was a Russian-born Georgian-American prima ballerina and actress. A child of exiles in Paris after the Russian Revolution of 1917, she made her debut at the age of 10 at the children's ballet of the Paris Opera. Read more
29 May 1994: Erich Honecker, German lawyer and politician (born 1912) Erich Ernst Paul Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts of General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and Chairman of the National Defence Council; in 1976, he replaced Willi Stoph as Chairman of the State Council, the official head of state. As the leader of East Germany, Honecker was viewed as a dictator. During his leadership, the country had close ties to the Soviet Union, which maintained a large army in the country. Read more
29 May 1994: Lady May Abel Smith, member of the British Royal Family (born 1906) Lady May Helen Emma Abel Smith was a member of the British royal family. On her mother's side, she was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and on her father's side, a great-great-granddaughter of King George III and the niece of Queen Mary. She led a private life in Britain. From 1958 until 1966, she lived in Brisbane, while her husband, Sir Henry Abel Smith, served as the governor of Queensland. Read more
29 May 1993: Billy Conn, American boxer (born 1917) William David Conn was an American professional boxer and Light Heavyweight Champion famed for his fights with Joe Louis. He had a professional boxing record of 63 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw, with 14 wins by knockout. His nickname, throughout most of his career, was "The Pittsburgh Kid." He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990. Read more
29 May 1992: Rogério Lemgruber, Brazilian criminal, founder of Comando Vermelho (born 1952) Rogério Lemgruber also known as Bagulhão, was a Brazilian bank robber, murderer, kidnapper, and drug trafficker. He founded the criminal organization Falange Vermelha, the predecessor of the group now known as Comando Vermelho, whose full name pays tribute to him. His brother, Sebastião Lemgruber, alias Tiguel, and his nephew, Rondinelli, were also members of the organization. Read more
29 May 1991: Margaret Barr (choreographer), Australian choreographer and teacher of dance-drama (born 1904) Margaret Barr was an Australian choreographer and teacher of dance-drama who worked in the United States, England, New Zealand and Australia. During a career of more than sixty years, she created over eighty works. Read more
29 May 1989: George C. Homans, American sociologist and academic (born 1910) George Caspar Homans was an American sociologist, founder of behavioral sociology, the 54th president of the American Sociological Association, and one of the architects of social exchange theory. Homans is best known in science for his research in social behavior and his works The Human Group, Social Behavior: Its Elementary Forms, his contributions to exchange theory, and the different propositions he developed to explain social behavior. He is also the third great-grandson of the second President of the United States, John Adams. Read more
29 May 1988: Salem bin Laden, Saudi Arabian businessman (born 1946) Salem bin Laden was a Saudi Arabian investor and billionaire businessman. Read more
29 May 1987: Charan Singh, Indian politician, 5th Prime Minister of India (born 1902) Chaudhary Charan Singh was an Indian politician, peasant leader, author and an independence activist who briefly served as the prime minister of India from July 1979 to January 1980. Singh was principally known for his land and agricultural reform initiatives, and was Member of Parliament (MP) for Baghpat. During his premiership, he was a member of the Janata Party (Secular). He served as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh as a member of Bharatiya Kranti Dal. He also briefly served as the deputy prime minister of India from January 1979 to July 1979 as a member of the Janata Party. Singh is widely regarded as the "Champion of Farmers", dedicated to advocating for the well being and rights of farmers. Read more
29 May 1983: Arvīds Pelše, Latvian-Russian historian and politician (born 1899) Arvīds Pelše was a Latvian Soviet politician, functionary, and historian. Read more
29 May 1982: Romy Schneider, German-French actress (born 1938) Rosemarie Magdalena Albach, known professionally as Romy Schneider, was a German and French actress. She is regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time and became a cult figure due to her role as Empress Elisabeth of Austria in the Sissi trilogy in the mid-1950s. She later reprised the role in a more mature version in Luchino Visconti's Ludwig (1973). She began her career in the German Heimatfilm genre in the early 1950s when she was 15. Schneider moved to France, where she made successful and critically acclaimed films with some of the most notable film directors of that era. Coco Chanel called Romy "the ultimate incarnation of the ideal woman". Bertrand Tavernier remarked: "Sautet is talking about Mozart with regard to Romy. Me, I want to talk of Verdi, Mahler…" Read more
29 May 1981: Nina Negri, Argentine-French painter and engraver (born 1901) Nina Negri was an Argentine-French surrealist painter and engraver who was a part of the art studio Atelier 17. Read more
29 May 1979: Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter, co-founder of United Artists (born 1892) Gladys Louise Smith, baptised as Gladys Marie Smith, known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian American film actress and producer. A pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood career spanning five decades, Pickford was one of the most popular actresses of the silent film era. Beginning her film career in 1909, Pickford became Hollywood's first millionaire by 1916, and, at the height of her career, had complete creative control of her films and was one of the most recognizable women in the world. Due to her popularity, unprecedented international fame, and success as an actress and businesswoman, she was known as the "Queen of the Movies". She was a significant figure in the development of film acting and is credited with having defined the ingénue type in cinema, a persona that also earned her the nickname "America's Sweetheart". Read more
29 May 1977: Ba Maw, Burmese politician, Prime Minister of Burma (born 1893) Ba Maw, known honorifically as Dr. Ba Maw, was a Burmese lawyer and politician, active during the interwar period and Second World War. He was the first Burma Premier (1937–1939) and head of State of Burma from 1943 to 1945. Read more
29 May 1973: George Harriman, English businessman (born 1908) Sir George William Harriman CBE was a leading figure in the British motor industry in the 1960s. Read more
29 May 1972: Stephen Timoshenko, Ukrainian-American engineer and academic (born 1878) Stepan Prokopovich Timoshenko, later known as Stephen Timoshenko, was a Ukrainian and later an American engineer and academician. Read more
29 May 1970: John Gunther, American journalist and author (born 1901) John Gunther was an American journalist and writer. Read more
29 May 1970: Eva Hesse, American artist (born 1936) Eva Hesse was a German-born American sculptor known for her pioneering work in materials such as latex, fiberglass, and plastics. She is one of the artists who ushered in the postminimal art movement in the 1960s. Read more
29 May 1968: Arnold Susi, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Education (born 1896) Arnold Susi was a lawyer and the Minister of Education in the Estonian government of Otto Tief established on 18 September 1944 during WWII.

In 1945, Susi befriended Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in a Soviet prison. In the 1960s, when writing The Gulag Archipelago Solzhenitsyn hid at Susi's country house in Estonia. Solzhenitsyn also briefly describes his meeting with Arnold Susi in that book.
Susi also wrote his memoirs of World War I in Doom of the Russian Empire, which he wrote while in Abakan. He died in Tallinn, aged 72. Read more
29 May 1958: Juan Ramón Jiménez, Spanish poet and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1881) Juan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón was a Spanish poet, a prolific writer who received the 1956 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which in the Spanish language constitutes an example of high spirit and artistic purity". One of Jiménez's most important contributions to modern poetry was his advocacy of the concept of "pure poetry". Read more
29 May 1957: James Whale, English director (born 1889) James Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: Frankenstein (1931), The Old Dark House (1932), The Invisible Man (1933) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), all considered classics. Whale also directed films in other genres, including the 1936 film version of the musical Show Boat. Read more
29 May 1951: Fanny Brice, American singer and comedian (born 1891) Fania Borach, known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedian, illustrated song model, singer, and actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. She is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series The Baby Snooks Show. Signature Read more
29 May 1951: Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French soldier and composer (born 1885) Dimitrios Levidis was a Greek composer, later naturalized French (1929). Read more
29 May 1948: May Whitty, English actress (born 1865) Dame Mary Louise Webster, known professionally as May Whitty and later, for her charity work, Dame May Whitty, was an English stage and film actress. She was one of the first two women entertainers to become a Dame. The British actors' union Equity was established in her home in 1930. Read more
29 May 1946: Martin Gottfried Weiss, German SS officer (born 1905) Martin Gottfried Weiss, alternatively spelled Weiß, but best known as The Demon of Dachau was the commandant of the Dachau concentration camp in 1945 at the time of his arrest. He also served from April 1940 until September 1942 as the commandant of Neuengamme concentration camp, and later, from November 1943 until May 1944, as the fourth commandant of Majdanek concentration camp. He was executed for war crimes. Read more
29 May 1942: John Barrymore, American actor (born 1882) John Barrymore was an American actor on stage, screen, and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage and briefly attempted a career as a visual artist, but appeared on stage together with his father, Maurice, in 1900, and then his sister Ethel the following year. He began his career in 1903 and first gained attention as a stage actor in light comedy, then high drama, culminating in productions of Justice (1916), Richard III (1920), and Hamlet (1922); his portrayal of Hamlet led to him being called the "greatest living American tragedian". Read more
29 May 1941: Léo-Pol Morin, Canadian pianist, composer, and educator (born 1892) Léo-Pol Morin was a Canadian pianist, music critic, composer, and music educator. He composed under the name James Callihou, with his most well known works being Suite canadienne (1945) and Three Eskimos for piano. He also composed works based on Canadian and Inuit folklore/folk music and harmonized a number of French-Canadian folksongs. Victor Brault notably transcribed his Inuit folklore inspired Chants de sacrifice for choir and 2 pianos. Read more
29 May 1939: Ursula Ledóchowska, Austrian-Polish nun and saint, founded the Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (born 1865) Julia Ledóchowska, USAHJ, in religion Maria Ursula of Jesus, was a Polish Catholic religious sister who founded the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus. Read more
29 May 1935: Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer (born 1874) Josef Suk was a Czech composer, violinist, and Olympic silver medalist. He studied under Antonín Dvořák, whose daughter he married. Read more
29 May 1921: Abbott Handerson Thayer, American painter and educator (born 1849) Abbott Handerson Thayer was an American painter, naturalist, and teacher. As a painter of portraits, figures, animals, and landscapes, he enjoyed a certain prominence during his lifetime, and his paintings are represented in major American art collections. He is perhaps best known for his 'angel' paintings, some of which use his children as models. Read more
29 May 1919: Robert Bacon, American colonel and politician, 39th United States Secretary of State (born 1860) Robert Bacon was an American athlete, banker, businessman, statesman, diplomat and Republican Party politician who served as the 39th United States Secretary of State in the Theodore Roosevelt administration from January to March 1909. He also served as Assistant Secretary of State from 1905 to 1909 and Ambassador to France from 1909 to 1912. Read more
29 May 1911: W. S. Gilbert, English playwright and poet (born 1836) Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with the composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most famous of these include H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and one of the most frequently performed works in the history of musical theatre, The Mikado. The popularity of these works was supported for over a century by year-round performances of them, in Britain and abroad, by the repertory company that Gilbert, Sullivan and their producer Richard D'Oyly Carte founded, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. These Savoy operas are still frequently performed in the English-speaking world and beyond. Read more
29 May 1910: Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1837) Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor known today primarily for his work promoting musical nationalism and his encouragement of more famous Russian composers, notably Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He began his career as a pivotal figure, extending the fusion of traditional folk music and experimental classical music practices begun by composer Mikhail Glinka. In the process, Balakirev developed musical patterns that could express overt nationalistic feeling. After a nervous breakdown and consequent sabbatical, he returned to classical music but did not wield the same level of influence as before. Read more
29 May 1903: Bruce Price, American architect, designed the Château Frontenac and American Surety Building (born 1845) Bruce Price was an American architect and an innovator in the Shingle Style. The stark geometry and compact massing of his cottages in Tuxedo Park, New York, influenced Modernist architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright and Robert Venturi. Read more
29 May 1896: Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist and academic (born 1814) Gabriel Auguste Daubrée MIF FRS FRSE was a French geologist, best known for applying experimental methods to structural geology. He served as the director of the École des Mines as well as the president of the French Academy of Sciences. Read more
29 May 1892: Bahá'u'lláh, Persian religious leader, founded the Baháʼí Faith (born 1817) Baháʼu'lláh was an Iranian religious leader who founded the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Iran and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábism. In 1863, in Ottoman Iraq, he first announced his claim to a revelation from God and spent the rest of his life in further imprisonment in the Ottoman Empire. His teachings revolved around the principles of unity and religious renewal, ranging from moral and spiritual progress to world governance. Read more
29 May 1873: Prince Friedrich of Hesse and by Rhine (born 1870) Prince Friedrich of Hesse and by Rhine was a son of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse, and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, and was the grandson of Queen Victoria. He was the maternal great-uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, through his eldest sister, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Read more
29 May 1866: Winfield Scott, American general, lawyer, and politician (born 1786) Winfield Scott was an American military commander and a presidential candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexican–American War, and the early stages of the American Civil War. Scott was the Whig Party's presidential nominee in the 1852 election but was defeated by Democrat Franklin Pierce. He was known as Old Fuss and Feathers for his insistence on proper military etiquette and the Grand Old Man of the Army for his many years of service. Read more
29 May 1862: Franz Mirecki, Polish composer, music conductor, and music teacher (born 1791) Franciszek (also spelled Franz) Wincenty Mirecki (1791–1862) was a Polish composer, music conductor, and music teacher. Read more
29 May 1847: Emmanuel de Grouchy, Marquis de Grouchy, French general (born 1766) Emmanuel de Grouchy, marquis de Grouchy was a French military leader who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was the last Marshal of the Empire to be created by Napoleon, and is best known for his actions during the Waterloo campaign. Read more
29 May 1829: Humphry Davy, English-Swiss chemist and academic (born 1778) Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and a very early form of arc lamp. He is also remembered for isolating, by using electricity, several elements for the first time: potassium and sodium in 1807 and calcium, strontium, barium, magnesium and boron the following year, as well as for discovering the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine. Davy also studied the forces involved in these separations, inventing the new field of electrochemistry. He is credited with discovering clathrate hydrates. Read more
29 May 1814: Joséphine de Beauharnais, French empress, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte (born 1763) Joséphine Bonaparte was the first wife of Emperor Napoleon I and as such Empress of the French from 18 May 1804 until their marriage was annulled on 10 January 1810. As Napoleon's consort, she was also Queen of Italy from 26 May 1805 until the 1810 annulment. She is widely known as Joséphine de Beauharnais or Empress Joséphine. Read more

Why is 29 May Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 29 May, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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What happened on 29 May in World history?

On 29 May, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

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