What Happened Today in History on October 29

King Cyrus "the Great" of Persia conquers Babylon. A year later, in 538 BCE he issued a decree, ending the Babylonian Captivity of the Jewish people, permitting their return to their homeland, Judah to rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem and re-establish their community with the return beginning to take place in 537 BCE. 

The Hundred Years' War comes to an end with the recapture of Bordeaux by the French, reclaiming their last possession in the conflict.

Sir Walter Raleigh is executed outside the Palace of Westminster. He was one of the most famous explorers of Elizabeth I's reign and a favorite of the Queen's. Raleigh was also a scholar and a poet, but he is usually remembered for introducing the essential potato, and the addictive tobacco. More

The Royal Charter for The British South Africa Company (BSAC) is granted by Queen Victoria, marking the start of British colonization activities in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe and Zambia). 

Anarchist Leon Czolgosz was executed for the assassination of U.S. President William McKinley, forty five days after McKinley's death. More

Proclamation of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the official dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The celebration also takes place on the half day in the afternoon of the previous day.

"Black Tuesday" marks the start of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, leading to the Great Depression. It was preceded by the crash of the London Stock Exchange. It is considered the most disastrous market crash in the history of the United States characterized by panic sell-offs on the New York Stock Exchange and dramatic declines in major market indices. More

An air pollution environmental disaster hits Donora, Pennsylvania. The town was home to many industries, such as steel mills and zinc melting plants. Of the town’s population of 14,000, approximately 20 people passed away and between 5000-7000 were estimated to become very ill due to the smog event. Investigations into the disaster eventually led to legislations to establish better control over air pollution. More

Israeli forces attacked across Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, advancing to within 10 miles of the Suez Canal under the pretext of protecting the Canal from the two belligerents (Egypt and Britain and France). Three month before, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser had announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, the joint British-French enterprise which had owned and operated the Suez Canal since its construction in 1869. Britain and France landed troops of their own a few days later. More

John Glenn returns to space aboard the Discovery’s 25th flight. Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth on Mercury-Atlas 6 on February 20, 1962. With one flight in 1962 and another in 1998, at 77 years of age, John Glenn uniquely bridged two eras in space history and became the oldest human ever to travel in space. He died at age 95 in December 2016. More

Hurricane Sandy makes landfall in the northeastern United States, causing widespread damage and power outages.

Lion Air Flight 610 crashes into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board.

A powerful earthquake strikes the Aegean Sea, causing significant damage and loss of life in Turkey and Greece.