29 April 1762

A Thursday in history

Weekday

Thursday

Season

Spring (N. Hemisphere)

Century

18th century

Records

320

  1. 2015

    The ringleaders of the Bali Nine were executed in Indonesia for attempting to smuggle 8.3 kg (18 lb) of heroin to Australia in 2005.

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  2. 2011

    Watched by a worldwide television audience of tens of millions, Prince William and Catherine Middleton were married at Westminster Abbey in London.

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  3. 2006

    Cyclone Mala made landfall near Thandwe, Myanmar, causing 37 deaths.

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  4. 1997

    The Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force, outlawing the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons in the 87 countries that had ratified the convention.

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  5. 1995

    Before a crowd of about 165,000 at the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Ric Flair and Antonio Inoki competed in the main event of Collision in Korea, the highest attended professional wrestling event of all time.

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  6. 1992

    The acquittal of policemen who had beaten African-American motorist Rodney King sparked six days of civil unrest in Los Angeles (damage pictured), during which 63 people were killed.

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  7. 1991

    A powerful tropical cyclone struck Chittagong, Bangladesh, killing at least 138,000 people and leaving up to 10 million homeless across the region.

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  8. 1975

    Vietnam War: North Vietnam concluded its East Sea Campaign by capturing all of the Spratly Islands held by South Vietnam.

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  9. 1970

    Vietnam War: South Vietnamese forces began the Cambodian campaign, aiming to attack North Vietnamese jungle bases.

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  10. 1968

    The controversial Broadway musical Hair, a product of the counterculture of the 1960s, opened, with its songs becoming anthems of the anti-Vietnam War movement.

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  11. 1945

    World War II: The U.S. Army liberated Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp, and killed German prisoners of war.

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  12. 1944

    Second World War: British agent Nancy Wake parachuted into Auvergne, France, becoming a liaison between the Special Operations Executive and the local Maquis group.

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  13. 1943

    After suffering train derailments, defections, and outbreaks of dysentery and typhoid fever which killed two members, the Brazilian football club Santa Cruz returned from their Suicidal Tour (team pictured).

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  14. 1922

    Sixteen-year-old Lilian Salkeld became the first woman to walk from London to Brighton.

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  15. 1910

    Parliament passed the People's Budget, the first budget in British history with the express intent of redistributing wealth.

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  16. 1903

    A rockslide buried part of the Canadian mining town of Frank under 110 million tonnes of rock, killing around 70 people.

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  17. 1863

    Confederate forts at Grand Gulf survived a bombardment by Union gunboats, preventing Ulysses S. Grant's troops from crossing the Mississippi River at that point.

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  18. 1826

    In Parramatta, Australia, Scottish astronomer James Dunlop discovered Centaurus A (pictured), which was later recognised as one of the nearest radio galaxies to Earth.

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  19. 1770

    On his first voyage, British explorer James Cook and the crew of HMS Endeavour (pictured) landed at Botany Bay, making the first recorded European landfall on the eastern coast of Australia.

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  20. 1760

    Seven Years' War: France began an unsuccessful attempt to retake Quebec City, which had been captured by Britain.

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  21. 1386

    The Grand Duchy of Lithuania decisively won the Battle of the Vikhra River, forcibly making the Principality of Smolensk a vassal state.

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Photo archive

24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.

What was life like?

Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.

Sources & fact check

Every claim is traced to primary sources, archives, universities and the press — with an explicit confidence rating. Dossiers are generated once and cached permanently.