29 March in history
9 events that happened on 29 March, from 845 to 1973.
845 CE 1,181 years ago
Viking raiders plunder Paris and hold it for ransom
A Viking fleet of 120 ships under the Norse chieftain Reginherus, or Ragnar, sailed up the Seine and plundered and occupied Paris, holding it for a large ransom. Reginherus has been tentatively identified with the legendary Ragnar Lodbrok.
1139 CE 887 years ago
Pope Innocent II endorses the Knights Templar in Omne datum optimum
In the papal bull Omne datum optimum, Pope Innocent II endorsed the Knights Templar, officially approving the Templar Rule and placing the order under papal protection. The order had been founded in Jerusalem to protect pilgrims.
1430 CE 596 years ago
The Ottoman Empire takes Thessaloniki from Venice after a long siege
After a siege begun in 1422, the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murad II captured Thessaloniki from the Republic of Venice. The city remained in Ottoman hands until it became part of the Kingdom of Greece in 1912.
1638 CE 388 years ago
Swedish settlers found New Sweden on the Delaware
Colonists from the Kalmar Nyckel and Fogel Grip landed at the site of Wilmington and built Fort Christina. The Dutch took New Sweden in 1655, but its log cabins became an American tradition.
1848 CE 178 years ago
Ice jam stops Niagara Falls
Ice blocking the Niagara River at Lake Erie reduced the falls to a trickle for over a day. Sightseers walked on the riverbed; it is the only time the falls are known to have stopped naturally.
1867 CE 159 years ago
Queen Victoria signs the British North America Act
The act united the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as the Dominion of Canada. Confederation took effect on 1 July, now Canada Day.
✦ Anniversary of the day
1951 CE 75 years ago
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg convicted of espionage
A New York jury found the couple guilty of conspiring to pass atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. Their execution in 1953 remained controversial, especially over Ethel's role.
1973 CE 53 years ago
Last US combat troops leave South Vietnam
The final American combat units departed under the Paris Peace Accords, and the last prisoners of war were released. Some 58,000 Americans and millions of Vietnamese had died in the war.
Born on 29 March 5
Died on 29 March 3
Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.