Events

• 539 BC – Cyrus the Great entered the city of Babylon and detained Nabonidus.

• 437 – Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II, Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople unifying the two branches of the House of Theodosius

• 969 – Byzantine troops occupy Antioch Syria

• 1268 – Conradin, the last legitimate male heir of the Hohenstaufen dynasty of Kings of Germany and Holy Roman Emperors, is executed along with his companion Frederick I, Margrave of Baden by Charles I of Sicily, a political rival and ally to the hostile Roman Catholic church.

• 1390 – First trial for witchcraft in Paris leading to the death of three people.

• 1422 – Charles VII of France becomes king in succession to his father Charles VI of France

• 1467 – Battle of Brustem: Charles the Bold defeats Liege

• 1618 – English adventurer, writer, and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh is beheaded for allegedly conspiring against James I of England.

• 1658 – Action of 29 October 1658 (Naval battle)

• 1665 – Battle of Ambuila, where Portuguese forces defeated the forces of the Kingdom of Kongo and decapitated king Antonio I of Kongo, also called Nvita a Nkanga.

• 1675 – Leibniz makes the first use of the long s (∫) as a symbol of the integral in calculus.

• 1787 – Mozart's opera Don Giovanni receives its first performance in Prague.

• 1792 – Mount Hood (Oregon) is named after the British naval officer Alexander Arthur Hood by Lt. William E. Broughton who spotted the mountain near the mouth of the Willamette River.

• 1859 – Spain declares war on Morocco.

• 1863 – Eighteen countries meeting in Geneva agree to form the International Red Cross.

• 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Wauhatchie – forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant ward off a Confederate attack led by General James Longstreet. Union forces thus open a supply line into Chattanooga, Tennessee.

• 1886 – The first ticker-tape parade takes place in New York City when office workers spontaneously throw ticker tape into the streets as the Statue of Liberty is dedicated.

• 1901 – In Amherst, Massachusetts nurse Jane Toppan is arrested for murdering the Davis family of Boston with an overdose of morphine.

• 1901 – Capital punishment: Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of US President William McKinley, is executed by electrocution.

• 1918 – The German High Seas Fleet is incapacitated when sailors mutiny on the night of the 29th-30th, an action which would trigger the German revolution.

• 1921 – The Link River Dam, a part of the Klamath Reclamation Project, is completed.

• 1921 – Second trial of Sacco and Vanzetti in USA.

• 1921 – The Harvard University football team loses to Centre College, ending a 25 game winning streak. This is considered one of the biggest upsets in college football.

• 1922 – The King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, appoints Benito Mussolini as Prime Minister.

• 1923 – Turkey becomes a republic following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.

• 1929 – The New York Stock Exchange crashes in what will be called the Crash of '29 or "Black Tuesday", ending the Great Bull Market of the 1920s and beginning the Great Depression.

• 1941 – Holocaust: In the Kaunas Ghetto over 10,000 Jews are shot by German occupiers at the Ninth Fort, a massacre known as the "Great Action".

• 1942 – Holocaust: In the United Kingdom, leading clergymen and political figures hold a public meeting to register outrage over Nazi Germany's persecution of Jews.

• 1944 – The city of Breda in the Netherlands is liberated by 1st Polish Armoured Division.

• 1945 – Getulio Vargas, president of Brazil, resigns.

• 1948 – Safsaf massacre

• 1953 – BCPA Flight 304 DC-6 crashes near San Francisco, California. Pianist William Kapell is among the 19 killed.

• 1955 – The Soviet battleship Novorossiisk strikes a World War II mine in the harbor at Sevastopol.

• 1956 – Suez Crisis begins: Israeli forces invade the Sinai Peninsula and push Egyptian forces back toward the Suez Canal.

• 1956 – Tangier Protocol is signed: The international city Tangier is reintegrated into Morocco.

• 1957 – Israel's prime minister David Ben Gurion and five of his ministers are injured when a hand grenade is tossed into Israel's parliament, the Knesset.

• 1960 – In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (who later takes the name Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight.

• 1961 – Syria exits from the United Arab Republic.

• 1964 – Tanganyika and Zanzibar unite to form the Republic of Tanzania.

• 1964 – A collection of irreplaceable gems, including the 565 carat (113 g) Star of India, is stolen by a group of thieves (among them is "Murph the surf") from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

• 1966 – National Organization For Women is founded.

• 1967 – London criminal Jack McVitie is murdered by the Kray twins, leading to their eventual imprisonment and downfall.

• 1967 – Montreal's World Fair, Expo 67, closes with over 50 million visitors.

• 1969 – The first-ever computer-to-computer link is established on ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet.

• 1980 – Demonstration flight of a secretly modified C-130 for an Iran hostage crisis rescue attempt ends in crash landing at Eglin Air Force Base's Duke Field, Florida leading to cancellation of Operation Credible Sport.

• 1983 – Over 500,000 people demonstrate against cruise missiles in The Hague, The Netherlands.

• 1985 – Major General Samuel K. Doe is announced the winner of the first multi-party election in Liberia.

• 1986 – British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opens the last stretch of the M25 motorway.

• 1991 – The American Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid.

• 1994 – Francisco Martin Duran fires over two dozen shots at the White House (Duran is later convicted of trying to kill US President Bill Clinton).

• 1998 – Apartheid: In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission presents its report, which condemns both sides for committing atrocities.

• 1998 – Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off on STS-95 with 77-year old John Glenn on board, making him the oldest person to go into space.

• 1998 – ATSC HDTV broadcasting in the United States is inaugurated with the launch of STS-95 space shuttle mission.

• 1998 – While en route from Adana to Ankara, a Turkish Airlines flight with a crew of 6 and 33 passengers is hijacked by a Kurdish militant who orders the pilot to fly to Switzerland. The plane instead lands in Ankara after the pilot tricked the hijacker into thinking that he is landing in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia to refuel.

• 1998 – Hurricane Mitch, the second deadliest Atlantic hurricane in history, makes landfall in Honduras.

• 1998 – The Gothenburg nightclub fire in Sweden claims 63 lives and injures 200.

• 1999 – A large cyclone devastates Orissa, India.

• 2002 – Ho Chi Minh City ITC Inferno, a fire destroys a luxurious department store where 1500 people shopping. Over 60 people died and over 100 are missing. It is the deadliest disaster in Vietnam during peacetime.

• 2004 – The Arabic news network Al Jazeera broadcasts an excerpt from a video of Osama bin Laden in which the terrorist leader first admits direct responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks and references the 2004 U.S. presidential election.

• 2004 – In Rome, European heads of state sign the Treaty and Final Act establishing the first European Constitution.

• 2005 – 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings kill more than 60.

• 2008 – Delta Air Lines merges with Northwest Airlines, creating the world's largest airline and reducing the number of US legacy carriers to 5.

Births

• 1017 – Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1056)

• 1682 – Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French historian (d. 1761)

• 1690 – Martin Folkes, English antiquarian (d. 1754)

• 1704 – John Byng, British admiral (d. 1757)

• 1740 – James Boswell, Scottish biographer of Samuel Johnson (d. 1795)

• 1815 – Daniel Emmett, American composer (d. 1904)

• 1815 – Ľudovít Štúr, Slovak politician, author of Slovak language (d. 1856)

• 1822 – Mieczysław Halka Ledóchowski, Polish Catholic Cardinal (d. 1902)

• 1827 – Marcellin Berthelot, French chemist (d. 1907)

• 1832 – Narcisa de Jesús Martillo, an Ecuadorian saint (d. 1869)

• 1855 – Paul Bruchési, archbishop of Montreal (d. 1939)

• 1861 – Andrei Ryabushkin, Russian painter (d. 1904)

• 1866 – Antonio Luna, Filipino revolutionary general (d. 1899)

• 1875 – Marie of Edinburgh, queen of Romania (d. 1938)

• 1877 – Wilfred Rhodes, English cricketer (d. 1973)

• 1877 – Narcisa de Leon, Filipino film mogul (d. 1966)

• 1879 – Alva B. Adams, American politician (d. 1941)

• 1879 – Franz von Papen, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1969)

• 1880 – Abram Ioffe, Soviet physicist (d. 1960)

• 1882 – Jean Giraudoux, French writer (d. 1944)

• 1891 – Fanny Brice, American singer (d. 1951)

• 1897 – Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda (d. 1945)

• 1899 – Akim Tamiroff, Russian actor (d. 1972)

• 1906 – Fredric Brown, American science fiction and mystery writer (d. 1972)

• 1907 – Edwige Feuillère, French film actress (d. 1998)

• 1910 – Alfred Ayer, British philosopher (d. 1989)

• 1915 – William Berenberg, American physician (d. 2005)

• 1917 – Eddie Constantine, American actor/singer (d. 1993)

• 1918 – Bernard Gordon, American writer and producer (d. 2007)

• 1920 – Baruj Benacerraf, Venezuelan-born immunologist, Nobel laureate

• 1920 – Catholicos Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I Catholicos, Indian Orthodox Church

• 1921 – Bill Mauldin, American cartoonist (d. 2003)

• 1922 – Neal Hefti, American jazz musician (d. 2008)

• 1923 – Carl Djerassi, Austrian chemist

• 1923 – Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs, Dutch athlete

• 1925 – Dominick Dunne, American author (d. 2009)

• 1925 – Robert Hardy, English actor

• 1926 – Jon Vickers, Canadian tenor

• 1930 – Puck Brouwer, Dutch athlete (d. 2006)

• 1930 – Niki de Saint Phalle, French sculptor (d. 2002)

• 1930 – Natalie Sleeth, American composer (d. 1992)

• 1930 – Omara Portuondo, Cuban singer

• 1931 – Franco Interlenghi, Italian actor

• 1935 – Takahata Isao, Japanese animated film director

• 1936 – Akiko Kojima, Japanese model

• 1938 – Ralph Bakshi, Israeli cartoonist

• 1938 – Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia

• 1940 – Frida Boccara, French singer (d. 1996)

• 1940 – Connie Mack, U.S. Senator from Florida

• 1940 – José Ulises Macías Salcedo, Catholic bishop

• 1942 – Bob Ross, American artist and television host (d. 1995)

• 1943 – Don Simpson, American film producer (d. 1996)

• 1944 – Denny Laine, English musician (Moody Blues, Ginger Baker's Air Force, Wings)

• 1944 – Otto Wiesheu, German minister

• 1944 – Claude Brochu, Major League Baseball executive (Montreal Expos)

• 1946 – Peter Green, English guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)

• 1946 – Lynn Carey, American actress and singer (Mama Lion)

• 1947 – Richard Dreyfuss, American actor

• 1947 – Helen Coonan, Australian politician

• 1948 – Kate Jackson, American actress

• 1949 – James Williamson, American guitarist

• 1949 – Paul Orndorff, American professional wrestler

• 1949 – Kieron Baker, English footballer

• 1950 – Abdullah Gul, Turkish President

• 1951 – Dirk Kempthorne, American politician

• 1953 – Denis Potvin, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1955 – Kevin DuBrow, American singer (Quiet Riot) (d. 2007)

• 1955 – Roger O'Donnell, English musician (The Cure)

• 1955 – Boy Abunda, Filipino journalist and television personality

• 1956 – Wilfredo Gómez, Puerto Rican boxer

• 1957 – Dan Castellaneta, American voice actor, Best known as the voice of Homer Simpson

• 1958 – David Remnick, American writer and editor of The New Yorker

• 1958 – Blažej Baláž, Slovak painter

• 1959 – Mike Gartner, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1960 – Finola Hughes, British actress

• 1961 – Randy Jackson, American musician

• 1961 – Joel Otto, National Hockey League player

• 1962 – Einar Örn Benediktsson, Icelandic musician (The Sugarcubes)

• 1964 – Yasmin Le Bon, British model

• 1964 – Eddie McGuire, Australian television presenter

• 1967 – Joely Fisher, American actress

• 1967 – Rufus Sewell, English actor

• 1968 – Johann Olav Koss, Norwegian speed skater

• 1968 – Tsunku, Japanese music producer

• 1969 – Giorgos Donis, Greek footballer

• 1969 – Eleni Menegaki, Greek TV presenter

• 1969 – Lambros Papakostas, Greek high jumper

• 1970 – Edwin van der Sar, Dutch footballer

• 1970 – Phillip Cocu, Dutch footballer

• 1971 – Winona Ryder, American actress

• 1971 – Daniel J. Bernstein, American professor

• 1971 – Matthew Hayden, Australian cricketer

• 1972 – Takafumi Horie, Japanese entrepreneur

• 1972 – Gabrielle Union, American actress

• 1972 – Tracee Ellis Ross, American actress

• 1973 – Robert Pirès, French footballer

• 1973 – Éric Messier, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1974 – Michael Vaughan, English cricketer

• 1975 – Kelly Lin, Chinese actress

• 1976 – Stephen Craigan, Northern Irish footballer

• 1976 – Mohsen Emadi, Iranian poet

• 1976 – Milena Govich, American actress

• 1976 – Giorgos Kalaitzis, Greek basketball player

• 1977 – Brendan Fehr, Canadian actor

• 1978 – Travis Henry, American football player

• 1979 – Ignasi Giménez Renom, Catalan politician

• 1979 – Anshuman Singh, MHRIL Venue Manager

• 1980 – Ben Foster, American actor

• 1980 – B.J. Sams, American football player

• 1981 – Amanda Beard, American swimmer

• 1981 – Jonathan Brown, Australian Australian rules footballer

• 1981 – Reema Sen, Indian actress

• 1982 – Ariel Lin, Taiwanese actress and singer

• 1982 – Chelan Simmons, Canadian actress

• 1983 – Richard Brancatisano, Australian actor

• 1983 – Maurice Clarett, American football player

• 1983 – Dana Eveland, American baseball player

• 1983 – Jason Tahincioglu, Turkish racing driver

• 1984 – Eric Staal, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1985 – Severino Jefferson, Brazilian footballer

• 1986 – Sarita Pérez de Tagle, Filipina actress and model

• 1987 – Makoto Ogawa, Japanese singer

Deaths

• 1038 – Aethelnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury

• 1138 – Bolesław III Krzywousty, Duke of Poland (b. 1086)

• 1268 – Conradin, Duke of Swabia (executed) (b. 1252)

• 1268 – Frederick I, Margrave of Baden (beheaded) (b. 1249)

• 1590 – Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert, Dutch politician (b. 1522)

• 1618 – Sir Walter Raleigh, English explorer (executed) (b. 1554)

• 1650 – David Calderwood, Scottish historian (b. 1575)

• 1666 – Edmund Calamy the Elder, English Presbyterian leader (b. 1600)

• 1666 – James Shirley, English dramatist (b. 1596)

• 1783 – Jean le Rond d'Alembert, French mathematician (b. 1717)

• 1829 – Maria Anna Mozart, Austrian musician (b. 1751)

• 1877 – Nathan Bedford Forrest, American Confederate general (b. 1821)

• 1901 – Leon Czolgosz, American assassin of U.S. President William McKinley (b. 1873)

• 1905 – Etienne Desmarteau, Canadian athlete (b. 1873)

• 1911 – Joseph Pulitzer, Hungarian-born newspaper publisher (b. 1847)

• 1916 – John Sebastian Little, American politician and congressman (b. 1851)

• 1919 – A. B. Simpson, Canadian preacher (b. 1843)

• 1932 – Joseph Babiński, Polish-French neurologist (b. 1857)

• 1933 – Albert Calmette, French physician (b. 1863)

• 1933 – Paul Painlevé, French mathematician and politician (b. 1853)

• 1936 – Ramiro de Maeztu, Spanish writer and political theorist (b. 1874)

• 1939 – Dwight B. Waldo, American educator and historian (b. 1864)

• 1941 – Harvey Hendrick, American baseball player (b. 1897)

• 1949 – G. I. Gurdjieff, Armenian mystic (b. 1872)

• 1950 – King Gustaf V of Sweden (b. 1858)

• 1953 – William Kapell, American pianist (b. 1922)

• 1957 – Louis B. Mayer, American film producer (b. 1885)

• 1957 – Rosemarie Nitribitt, German call girl (b. 1933)

• 1958 – Zoe Akins, American playwright (b. 1886)

• 1963 – Adolphe Menjou, American actor (b. 1890)

• 1971 – Duane Allman, American musician (b. 1946)

• 1971 – Arne Tiselius, Swedish chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)

• 1981 – Georges Brassens, French singer (b. 1921)

• 1986 – Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1913)

• 1987 – Woody Herman, American musician (b. 1913)

• 1995 – Terry Southern, American screenwriter (b. 1924)

• 1997 – Anton LaVey, American founder of the Church of Satan (b. 1930)

• 1997 – Andreas Gerasimos Michalitsianos, Greek-American astronomer and NASA astrophysicist (b. 1947)

• 1998 – Paul Misraki, French songwriter (b. 1908)

• 1999 – Michel Regnier (Greg), Belgian comic-book writer and artist (Achille Talon) (b. 1931)

• 2002 – Glenn McQueen, American animator (b. 1960)

• 2003 – Hal Clement, American writer (b. 1922)

• 2003 – Franco Corelli, tenor (b. 1921)

• 2004 – Edward Oliver LeBlanc, Dominican politician (b. 1923)

• 2004 – Vaughn Meader, American comedian (b. 1936)

• 2004 – Peter Twinn, English mathematician (b. 1916)

• 2006 – Mohammadu Maccido, 18th Sultan of Sokoto (b. 1928)

• 2008 – Mike Baker, American singer Shadow Gallery (b. 1963)

Holidays and observances

• R.C. Saints – October 29th is the feast day of the following Roman Catholic Saints:

• *Saint Narcissus of Jerusalem

• *St. Abraham of Rostov

• *Douai Martyrs

• *St. Maximillian

• *St. Gaetano Errico

• Anglican Church – James Hannington

• Turkey – Republic Day (1923)

• Coronation Day of Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia