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Explore the historical events that shaped our world on March 29th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The founding of the Qin Dynasty in China, c. 221 BCE, by Qin Shi Huang, after conquering the Warring States, marks the beginning of Imperial China. The new centralized, unified empire, only lasted less than 20 years but introduced lasting measures which influenced China's future for centuries.
Edward, Earl of March, defeats Henry VI during the Wars of the Roses at the battle of Towton on March 29, 1461. His victory on top of his previous victory at the battle of Mortimer's Cross strengthen Edward's position to claim the throne.
He went on to become King of England as Edward the IV, after the death of his father on March 4, 1461. He was formally crowned on June 28, 1461, at Westminster Abbey. Historical Time Line
The Battle of Cheriton, was fought on March 29, 1644, during the First English Civil War; resulting in a Parliamentarian victory as Sir William Waller’s army defeated the Royalist force commanded by the Earl of Forth and Lord Hopton. The loss forced King Charles I to abandon plans to dominate southern England.
Ludwig van Beethoven made his official public debut as a pianist on March 29, 1795, in Vienna at age 24, at the Burgtheater. He showcased his own compositions, establishing his reputation as a virtuoso pianist and talented composer in Vienna.
The British East India Company officially annexes the Kingdom of Punjab on March 29, 1849, following a decisive victory against the Sikh Empire at the Battle of Gujrat in February 1849. This conquest, concluding the Second Anglo-Sikh War, ended the last major independent kingdom in India and integrated the region into the British Raj.
Danish seismologist, Inge Lehmann sends a letter on March 29, 1936, to Harold Jeffreys, a leading authority in geophysics, describing her hypothesis that that Earth’s center consisted of two parts: a solid inner core surrounded by a liquid outer core, separated by what has come to be called the Lehmann Discontinuity.
At the time, geophysicists believed Earth to be made up of a liquid core surrounded by a solid mantle, itself surrounded by a crust, all separated by abrupt density changes in the Earth called “discontinuities.” She had arrived at het hypothesis by analyzing multiple records of earthquake shock wave data results which consisted of P and S waves, one of them the large, June,1929, New Zealand earthquake. She went on to publish a paper in September 1936. succinctly called “P′,” arguing for what now is taken for granted: That buried inside the Earth’s molten layer is a solid core. Lehmann’s hypothesis was confirmed in 1970 when more advanced seismographs detected waves deflecting off this solid core. More
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (née Greenglass) are convicted on March 29, 1951, of spying and passing secret information about the atomic bomb and other military information to the Soviet Union during and after World War II.
The husband and wife were sentenced to death and were executed in 1953 at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York.President Eisenhower had declined to grant executive clemency to the Rosenbergs, stating: "The nature of the crime for which they have been found guilty and sentenced far exceeds that of the taking of the life of another citizen; it involves the deliberate betrayal of the entire nation and could very well result in the death of many, many thousands of innocent citizens…" More
Lt. William Calley is convicted of murder on March 29, 1971, in the My Lai Massacre, during the Vietnam War on March 16, 1968 He was sentenced to be dismissed from the Army and to be confined at hard labor for life. On August 1971, Lieutenant General Albert O. Connor, commanding general of Third U.S. Army, reduced Calley’s sentence to twenty years confinement.
In April 1974, the Secretary of the Army, Howard H. Callaway, further reduced Calley’s sentence to ten years confinement, making Calley eligible for parole in 6 months. He was pardoned by President Richard Nixon in 1974 after serving about a third of his 10-year sentence and was released in November 1974 having served three years of house arrest for the murders. Calley More
The last U.S. combat troops departed South Vietnam on March 29, 1973, bringing the direct American military involvement in the Vietnam War to an end.
The Paris Peace accords had been signed on January 27, 1973 by the North and South Vietnamese Governments and by the U.S Nixon Administration. On the same day, Hanoi released the remaining 591 American prisoners of war (POWs). Over 58,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War.
On April 29, 1975, the North Vietnamese troops began to shell Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, as they get ready to capture the city, and the U.S. ordered the evacuation of all personnel, but the only way out was by helicopter. When the massive evacuation ended a day later, about 6,500 people had been airlifted including nearly 900 Americans. Hours later, on April 30, Saigon fell, and with it, came the end of the Vietnam War. More
The mausoleum of China's first Quin Emperor, Qin Shi Huang is accidentally discovered on March 29, 1974,when local farmers unearthed pottery fragments while digging a water well, approximately 1.5 kilometers east of the burial mound which had been visible for over 2000 years.
The finding, became known as Pit 1. The discovery, led to more findings including the famous Terracotta Army, which were unlike any tomb figures seen before. Discoveries continued over the years, including two large painted bronze chariots and horses approximately 20 meters west of the tomb mound. The central burial chamber of Emperor Qin Shi Huang remains unopened to this day due to preservation concerns and historical accounts of lethal traps and mercury rivers. More
