Historical Events on December 29

Here are some historical events that happened on December 29:

1. 1170: Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, was assassinated in Canterbury Cathedral.

2. 1845: Texas was admitted as the 28th U.S. state.

3. 1851: The first American Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was organized in Boston.

4. 1890: Wounded Knee Massacre took place in South Dakota, marking the end of the Indian Wars on the American frontier.

5. 1913: The first true cross-country automobile road race, the New York to California race, ended in Pasadena, California.

6. 1934: Japan renounced the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930.

7. 1940: During World War II, Germany began dropping incendiary bombs on London.

8. 1972: Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crashed in the Florida Everglades, resulting in 101 fatalities.

9. 1989: Czech writer and dissident Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia.

10. 2003: The last known speaker of the Akkala Sami language, Viktoria Eira, died, making the language extinct.

11. 2006: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was executed.

12. 2012: A mass shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, resulting in the deaths of 20 children and six adult staff members.

13. 2016: Actress and author Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars, passed away.

These are just a few examples, and many more events, both significant and lesser-known, have occurred on December 29 throughout history.