Important Events From This day in History July 29

 

1981 UK Charles and Diana Marriage

1981 : Prince Charles marries Lady Diana at a royal ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral, it is estimated 500 million television viewers in 74 countries tune in to witness the fairy tale marriage.

1932 U.S.A. Bonus Protesters

1932 : World War I Vets who are starving like many others due to the great depression march on Washington demanding that the bonus payment they are due to receive in 1945 is paid out early. Legislators refuse their requests so 20,000 vets set up camp in Washington trying to put further pressure on the government. President Herbert Hoover ordered the eviction and two veterans were killed, he then called on the army to disperse the remaining Bonus protesters and the Bonus Army headed home on July 29, 1932.

1945 USS Indianapolis Sinking

1945 : I-58 Japanese submarine sinks the American cruiser Indianapolis, killing 883 seamen in the worst loss in the history of the U.S. navy. More than 800 fell into the Pacific many died due to injuries during the sinking but the remaining seamen were left to flounder in the Pacific, fend off sharks, drink sea water it was 84 hours before help arrived and only 318 survived the rest were eaten by sharks or drowned. The USS Indianapolis had just delivered key components of the Hiroshima atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian prior to it's sinking by the submarine.

1953 Germany Hohenzollern Jewels

1953 : Thieves have stolen the Hohenzollern Jewels valued at over $7.5 million by climbing the walls of ancient Hohenzollern castle , these are better known as the Prussian Crown Jewels.

1958 U.S.A. NASA Created

1958 : NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is created by the National Aeronautics and Space Act to make sure America will win the space race and 11 years and billions of dollars later, Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lunar module Eagle and onto the moon's surface on July 20th, 1969.

1968 Vatican Pope Paul VI

1968 : Pope Paul VI banned the contraceptive pill as well as all other artificial means of birth control.

1976 U.S.A. Son of Sam

1976 : The so called "Son of Sam" pulls a gun from a paper bag and fires five shots at Donna Lauria and Jody Valenti of the Bronx while they are sitting in a car. Lauria died and Valenti was seriously wounded in the first in a series of shootings by the serial killer, who terrorized New York City over the course of the next year.

1976 Southend Pier Destroyed By Fire

1976 : The end of Southend Pier on Britain's south coast is destroyed by Fire, the pier was the longest pier in the world at close to 1 1/2 miles long. The original pier made of wood dates back to 1830 and in the 1880's the pier was rebuilt of iron.

1999 U.S.A. Woodstock 99

1999 : New York State Police have suspended an officer who posed with half naked women at Woodstock 99 while colleagues were quelling a riot at the festival, the officer is also facing criminal charges.

1999 U.S.A. Day Trader Goes On Killing Spree

1999 : Day Trader (Mark O. Barton) opens fire at the All-Tech Investment Group Inc Atlanta brokerage office, killing nine and wounding 13 others before shooting himself to death, he had earlier killed his wife and two children. It is thought he went on the killing spree after losing over $100,000 while day trading between June 9th and July 27th.

2006 Sudan Peace Agreement Broken

2006 : After signing a peace agreement on May 5 of 2006, the Sudanese government violated the agreement when they attacked the rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement, a group not involved in the peace deal, in the Jebel Moon mountains. The peace agreement between Sudanese government and the Minni Minnawi faction was used by both parties as a way to attack rebel groups who were not a part of the agreement.

2006 U.S.A. California Heat Wave

2006 : The Heat Wave in California which started on July 16th. and has reached temperatures of 115 degrees earlier in the week is now believed to have claimed the lives of over 140 people, and caused a massive toll to the state's agricultural industry with damage to peaches, plums, nectarines and walnuts and thousands of livestock lost. An additional burden to California residents has been the loss of power to over a million customers caused through equipment failures.

2007 Iraq Wins Asian Cup

2007 : Despite being a country torn apart by invasion and internal fighting, the Iraqi football team was able to win the Asian Cup against Saudi Arabia on this day. The game, played in Indonesia, ended with a 1-0 score. The victory was able to bring some temporary joy to the country which had been plagued with a surge of violence at the time.

2008 U.S.A. Ronald Gray

2008 : Former United States President and Commander in Chief, George W. Bush approved the first execution of an American soldier in over fifty years on this day. Ronald Gray a serial killer who was found guilty of the rape and murder of 4 victims, a member of the armed forces in the states of North Carolina was convicted of rape and murder in 1988 and sentenced to death. On November 26th, 2008, a federal judge granted Gray a stay of execution to allow time for further appeals which is still proceeding.

2009 India Gayatri Devi

2009 : Gayatri Devi, one of the last queens in India, died on this day. The ninety year old played an important role in politics and fashion in India and was once voted one of the most beautiful women in the world according to Vogue magazine.

2011 Car Makers Agree to Fuel Efficiency Standard

2011 : Major car makers agreed to a the new fuel efficiency standard proposed by the Obama administration. The new standard that was agreed upon would raise the average miles per gallon to 54.5 by 2025. The move was hoped to reduce reliance on foreign oil imports as well as reduce air pollution.

2012 Snoop Dogg Banned from Norway

2012 : US Rapper Snoop Dogg has been banned from Norway for two years after he was caught trying to bring a small amount of marijuana into the country in June. His lawyer stated that he would live with the ban and had no plans to appeal.

2013 China Orders Debt Audit

2013 : The Chinese government has ordered a nationwide audit of all government debt. The move comes after a concern that debt has slowed the economic growth in the country after government borrowing was used to sustain growth amid the global financial crisis.