Calendar date · January

What happened on January 29

On January 29, 904: Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.

Events

38

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Aquarius

Featured moment · 904

Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.

Pope Sergius III was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 29 January 904 to his death. He was pope during a period of violence and disorder in central Italy, when warring aristocratic factions sought to use the material and military resources of the papacy. At the behest of Theophylact I of Tusculum, Sergius seized the papal throne from Antipope Christopher, who in turn had deposed Pope Leo V.

People

Born on January 29

Jarell Quansah 2003– English footballer (born 2003)
Lee Dae-hwi 2001– South Korean singer (born 2001)
Joel Eriksson Ek 1997– Swedish ice hockey player (born 1997)
Jack Roslovic 1997– American ice hockey player (born 1997)
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu 1993– Japanese singer and model
Markel Brown 1992– American basketball player (born 1992)
Maxi Kleber 1992– German basketball player (born 1992)
Mohamed Abou Gabal 1989– Egyptian footballer (born 1989)
Kevin Shattenkirk 1989– American ice hockey player (born 1989)
Show 9 more — notable births on January 29
Ayobami Adebayo 1988– Nigerian writer (born 1988)
Jake Auchincloss 1988– American politician (born 1988)
Hank Conger 1988– American baseball player (born 1988)
Shay Logan 1988– English footballer
José Abreu 1987– Cuban-born baseball player (born 1987)
Alex Avila 1987– American baseball player (born 1987)
Jessica Burkhart 1987– American writer
Vladimír Mihálik 1987– Slovak ice hockey player (born 1987)
Chris Bourque 1986– American ice hockey player (born 1986)

People

Died on January 29

Salwan Momika Iraqi refugee and anti-Muslim demonstrator (1986–2025)
Richard Williamson British excommunicated Catholic bishop (1940–2025)
Victims in the 2025 Potomac River mid-air collision: Russian pair skater (1969–2025)
Victims in the 2025 Potomac River mid-air collision: Russian pair skater and coach (1972–2025)
Victims in the 2025 Potomac River mid-air collision: Russian pair skater (1965–2025)
Victims in the 2025 Potomac River mid-air collision: Russian-American ice dancer (1978–2025)
Hazel McCallion Canadian politician (1921–2023) Will Steffen Climate scientist (1947–2023)
Gero Storjohann German politician (1958–2023)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on January 29
Howard Hesseman American actor (1940–2022)
Walker Boone Canadian actor (1944–2021)
George Fernandes Indian trade unionist and politician (1930–2019)
James Ingram American singer, songwriter, and record producer (1952–2019)
Jean-Marie Doré 20th and 21st-century Guinean Prime Minister
Jacques Rivette French film director, screenwriter and film critic
Colleen McCullough Australian author (1937–2015)
Rod McKuen American poet, songwriter, composer, and singer (1933–2015)
Alexander Vraciu US Navy fighter pilot

Timeline

Every January 29 on record

  1. 904 Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.

    Head of the Catholic Church from 904 to 911

    Pope Sergius III was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 29 January 904 to his death. He was pope during a period of violence and disorder in central Italy, when warring aristocratic factions sought to use the material and military resources of the papacy. At the behest of Theophylact I of Tusculum, Sergius seized the papal throne from Antipope Christopher, who in turn had deposed Pope Leo V.

  2. 946 Caliph al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler of the Buyid Empire. He is succeeded by al-Muti as caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate.

    Abbasid caliph from 944 to 946

    Abu al-Qasim Abd Allah ibn Ali, commonly known by his regnal name al-Mustakfi, was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 944 to 946.

  3. 1814 War of the Sixth Coalition: France engages Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne.

    1813–1814 conflict during the Napoleonic Wars

    In the War of the Sixth Coalition, sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Sardinia, and a number of German States defeated France and drove Napoleon into exile on Elba. After the disastrous French invasion of Russia of 1812 in which they had been forced to support France, Prussia and Austria joined Russia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Portugal, and the rebels in Spain who were already at war with France. The invasion of Russia cost the French many seasoned soldiers, so Napoleon took action to engage "Marie-Louises", young conscripts who were barely familiar with military affairs; they were called up from October 1813 to 1815.

  4. 1819 Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore.

    British colonial official (1781–1826)

    Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles was a British colonial official who served as the governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieutenant-governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. Raffles was involved in the capture of the Indonesian island of Java from the Dutch during the Napoleonic Wars. It was returned under the Anglo–Dutch Treaty of 1824.

  5. 1845 "The Raven" is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe.

    1845 narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe

    "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a visit by a mysterious raven that repeatedly speaks a single word.

  6. 1850 Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.
  7. 1856 Queen Victoria issues a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual that establishes the Victoria Cross to recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the Crimean War.
  8. 1861 Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state.
  9. 1863 The Bear River Massacre: A detachment of California Volunteers led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor engage the Shoshone at Bear River, Washington Territory, killing hundreds of men, women and children.
  10. 1886 Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.
  11. 1891 Liliʻuokalani is proclaimed the last monarch and only queen regnant of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
  12. 1907 Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American U.S. Senator.
  13. 1911 Mexican Revolution: Mexicali is captured by the Mexican Liberal Party, igniting the Magonista rebellion of 1911.
  14. 1918 Ukrainian–Soviet War: The Bolshevik Red Army, on its way to besiege Kyiv, is met by a small group of military students at the Battle of Kruty.
  15. 1918 Ukrainian–Soviet War: An armed uprising organized by the Bolsheviks in anticipation of the encroaching Red Army begins at the Kiev Arsenal, which will be put down six days later.
Show 15 earlier entries from January 29
  1. 1936 The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced.
  2. 1940 Three trains on the Nishinari Line; present Sakurajima Line, in Osaka, Japan, collide and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi Station. One hundred and eighty-one people are killed.
  3. 1943 World War II: The first day of the Battle of Rennell Island, USS Chicago (CA-29) is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers.
  4. 1944 World War II: Approximately 38 people are killed and about a dozen injured when the Polish village of Koniuchy (present-day Kaniūkai, Lithuania) is attacked by Soviet partisan units.
  5. 1944 World War II: In Bologna, Italy, the Anatomical theatre of the Archiginnasio is completely destroyed in an air-raid.
  6. 1959 The first Melodifestivalen is held at Cirkus in Stockholm, Sweden.
  7. 1971 The last of its many UFO sightings is made at Pudasjärvi, Finland.
  8. 1973 EgyptAir Flight 741 crashes into the Kyrenia Mountains in Cyprus, killing 37 people.
  9. 1983 Singapore cable car crash: Panamanian-registered oil rig, Eniwetok, strikes the cables of the Singapore Cable Car system linking the mainland and Sentosa Island, causing two cabins to fall into the water and killing seven people and leaving thirteen others trapped for hours.
  10. 1989 Cold War: Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so.
  11. 1991 Gulf War: The Battle of Khafji, the first major ground engagement of the war, as well as its deadliest, begins between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
  12. 1996 President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear weapons testing.
  13. 2001 Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals.
  14. 2002 In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
  15. 2005 The first direct commercial flights from mainland China (from Guangzhou) to Taiwan since 1949 arrived in Taipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines flight lands in Beijing.

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