History of 29 September
1902 – David Belasco opened his first Broadway theater.
1930 – Lowell Thomas made his debut on CBS Radio. He was in the radio business for the next 46 years.
1930 – Bing Crosby and Dixie Lee were married.
1940 – The radio quiz show “Double or Nothing” debuted on the Mutual Radio Network.
1943 – U.S. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Italian Marchal Pietro Badoglio signed an armistice aboard the British ship Nelson.
1946 – “The Adventures of Sam Spade” debuted on CBS Radio.
1951 – The first network football game was televised by CBS-TV in color. The game was between the University of California and the University of Pennsylvania.
1953 – “Make Room for Daddy” premiered on ABC-TV.
1955 – “A View From the Bridge,” a play by Arthur Miller, opened in New York at the Coronet Theater.
1957 – The New York Giants played their last game at the Polo Grounds. The next year the Giants were in San Francisco, CA.
1960 – “My Three Sons” debuted on ABC-TV.
1962 – U.S. President John F. Kennedy nationalized the Mississippi National guard in response to city officials defying federal court orders. The orders had been to enroll James Meredith at the University of Mississippi.
1963 – “My Favorite Martian” premiered on CBS-TV.
1963 – “The Judy Garland Show” premiered on CBS-TV.
1967 – The International Monetary Fund reformed monetary systems around the world.
1977 – Eva Shain became the first woman to officiate a heavyweight title boxing match. About 70 million people watched Muhammad Ali defeat Ernie Shavers on NBC-TV.
1982 – In Chicago, IL, seven people died after taking capsules of Extra-Strength Tylenol that had been laced with cyanide. 264,000 bottles were recalled.
1983 – The War Powers Act was used for the first time by the U.S. Congress when they authorized President Reagan to keep U.S. Marines in Lebanon for 18 more months.
1983 – “A Chorus Line” with performance number 3,389 became the longest-running show on Broadway.
1984 – Irish officials announced that they had intercepted the Marita Anne carrying seven tons of U.S.-purchased weapons. The weapons were intended for the Irish Republican Army.
1984 – Elizabeth Taylor was voted to be the world’s most beautiful woman in a Louis Harris poll. Taylor was at the time in the Betty Ford Clinic overcoming a weight problem.
1986 – Mary Lou Retton announced that she was quitting gymnastics.
1988 – The space shuttle Discovery took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It was the first manned space flight since the Challenger disaster.
1990 – “Millie’s Book” by First Lady Barbara Bush was the best-selling non-fiction book in the U.S.
1992 – Magic Johnson announced that he was returning to professional basketball. The comeback ended the following November.
1992 – Brazilian lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to impeach President Fernando Collor de Mello.
1993 – Bosnia’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to reject an international peace plan unless Bosnian Serbs returned to the land that had been taken by force.
1994 – The U.S. House voted to end the practice of lobbyists buying meals and entertainment for members of Congress.
1998 – Hasbro announced plans to introduce an action figure of retired U.S. General Colin Powell.
2008 – The Dow Industrial Average lost 777 points. It was the largest one-day decline to date. The drop came after the U.S. House of Representatives had voted down a $700 billion bank bailout plan.
2010 – In China, Canton Tower became operational.
2011 – The special court in India convicted all 269 accused officials for the atrocity on Dalits and 17 for rape in the Vachathi case.
2013 – Over 42 people are killed by members of Boko Haram at the College of Agriculture in Nigeria.
2016 – Eleven days after the Uri attack, the Indian Army conducts “surgical strikes” against suspected militants in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
2019 – Violence and low turnout mar the 2019 Afghan presidential election.
2019 – At least 59 people are reported dead due to monsoon rains in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. 350 people have died this year due to rain in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1980 – Patrick Agyemang, English footballer
- 1980 – Dallas Green, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1980 – Zachary Levi, American actor and singer
- 1981 – Aris Galanopoulos, Greek footballer
- 1981 – Shane Smeltz, German-New Zealand footballer
- 1982 – Matt Giteau, Australian rugby player
- 1982 – Amy Williams, English skeleton racer
- 1983 – Lisette Oropesa, American soprano and actress
- 1984 – Per Mertesacker, German footballer
- 1985 – Calvin Johnson, American football player
- 1985 – Niklas Moisander, Finnish footballer
- 1985 – Dani Pedrosa, Spanish motorcycle racer
- 1985 – Magnus Gangstad Jørgensen, Norwegian music producer
- 1986 – Lisa Foiles, American actress, and journalist
- 1986 – Mark Fraser, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Matt Lashoff, American ice hockey player
- 1986 – Isaac Makwala, Botswanan sprinter
- 1986 – Benoît Pouliot, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – David Del Rio, American actor, and director
- 1988 – Kevin Durant, American basketball player
- 1988 – Justin Nozuka, American singer-songwriter, and guitarist
- 1989 – Theo Adams, English photographer, and director
- 1989 – Adore Delano, American drag queen, and singer
- 1989 – Yevhen Konoplyanka, Ukrainian footballer
- 1989 – Aaron Martin, English footballer
- 1989 – Andrea Poli, Italian footballer
- 1989 – Fatima Lodhi, Pakistani social activist
- 1990 – Doug Brochu, American voice actor
- 1990 – Gerphil Flores, Filipina classical crossover singer and Asia’s Got Talent finalist
- 1990 – Lena Wermelt, German footballer
- 1991 – Adem Ljajić, Serbian footballer
- 1991 – Martin Jensen, Danish musician
- 1993 – Lee Hong-bin, South Korean singer
- 1993 – Viktor Romanenkov, Estonian figure skater
- 1993 – Oleg Vernyayev, Ukrainian artistic gymnast
- 1994 – Britteny Cox, Australian skier
- 1994 – Halsey, American singer
- 1995 – Alice Matteucci, an Italian tennis player
- 1998 – Vera Lapko, a Belarusian tennis player