TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON: SEPT 29
522 BC Darius I of Persia kills Magian usurper Gaumâta, securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire
1349 People of Krems Austria accuse Jews of poisoning the wells
1399 Richard II of England is deposed. His cousin, Henry of Lancaster, declares himself king under the name Henry IV.
1567 War of Religion breaks out in France – Huguenots try to kidnap King Charles IX
1789 A regular army was established by the U.S. War Department with several hundred men.
1829 The first public appearance by London’s re-organized police force was met with jeers from political opponents. The force became known as Scotland Yard.
1833 A civil war breaks out in Spain between Carlists, who believe Don Carlos deserves the throne, and supporters of Queen Isabella.
1879 Dissatisfied Ute Indians kill Agent Nathan Meeker and nine others in the “Meeker Massacre.”
1907 Construction begins on Washington National Cathedral
1932 A five-day work week is established for General Motors workers.
1941 30,000 Jews are gunned down in Kiev when Heinrich Himmler sends four strike squads to exterminate Soviet Jewish civilians and other “undesirables.”
1943 Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf is published in the United States.
1950 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev repeatedly disrupts a UN General Assembly meeting with his violent outbursts over intervention in the Belgian Congo, US U2 spy planes, and arms control.
1962 Canada launches its first satellite, Alouette 1.
1966 Chevrolet introduces the Camaro, which will become an iconic car.
1978 John Paul I died one month after becoming pope.
1979 John Paul II becomes the first pope ever to visit Ireland.
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.
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.
1988 The space shuttle Discovery was launched, the first American staffed space flight since the Challenger disaster.
1990 The YF-22, later named F-22 Raptor, flies for the first time.
1990 Washington National Cathedral construction is completed after 83 years
1992 Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello impeached for corruptions; he was the youngest president in the nation’s history, taking office at age 40 in 1990.
1994 Sinking of MS Estonia, a passenger and car ferry, sank in the Baltic Sea killing more than 800 passengers
1994 The U.S. House voted to end the practice of lobbyist buying meals and entertainment for members of Congress.
2008 Dow Jones Industrial Average plummets 777.68 points in the wake of Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual bankruptcies, the largest single-day point loss in Wall Street history.
REFERENCE: HISTORY.NET, ONTHISDAY.COM, TIMEANDDATE.COM, INFOPLEASE.COM, FACTMONSTER.COM, SCOPESYS.COM, ON-THIS-DAY.COM, THEPEOPLEHISTORY.COM
