On This Day in History – October 29

Major Events

• 1618 – Sir Walter Raleigh was executed in London.
• 1787 – Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni premiered in Prague.
• 1863 – The International Red Cross was founded in Geneva.
• 1923 – Turkey became a republic with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as its first president.
• 1929 – “Black Tuesday” marked the Wall Street Crash.
• 1969 – The first computer-to-computer link was established on ARPANET.
• 1998 – John Glenn returned to space at age 77 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.

Famous Birthdays

• James Boswell (1740–1795) – Scottish lawyer and diarist.
• Joseph Pulitzer (1847–1911) – Hungarian-American publisher.
• A. J. Ayer (1910–1989) – British philosopher.
• Fanny Brice (1891–1951) – American actress and singer.
• Richard Dreyfuss (born 1947) – American actor.
• Winona Ryder (born 1971) – American actress.

Notable Deaths

• Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618) – English explorer.
• Joseph Pulitzer (1847–1911) – Newspaper publisher.
• Arne Naess (1912–2009) – Norwegian philosopher.

Holidays

• Republic Day (Turkey)
• World Stroke Day

Fun Facts

• ARPANET’s first message crashed after two letters (“LO”).
• John Glenn became the oldest astronaut in space.
• The Wall Street Crash continued across October 29 after Black Thursday and Monday.