On this day: 29 March

Selected events and births on 29 March, from Wikipedia’s “On this day”.

Events

• 1800 – William Matthews was ordained as the first Catholic priest born in British America. Read more: William Matthews (priest) Catholic Church British America
• 1807 – German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers discovered Vesta, the brightest asteroid and second-most massive body in the asteroid belt. Read more: Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers 4 Vesta Asteroid belt
• 1882 – The Knights of Columbus, the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization, was founded by Michael J. McGivney in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. Read more: Knights of Columbus Service club Michael J. McGivney
• 1941 – The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement to define technical standards for AM band radio stations came into effect. Read more: North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement Medium wave
• 1951 – The King and I, a musical about Mongkut of Siam by Rodgers and Hammerstein, premiered on Broadway. Read more: The King and I Mongkut Rodgers and Hammerstein
• 1968 – The funeral of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, began in Moscow with tens of thousands of people in attendance. Read more: Funeral of Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Seryogin Moscow
• 1974 – NASA's Mariner 10 became the first space probe to make a flyby of Mercury. Read more: NASA Mariner 10 Uncrewed spacecraft
• 1975 – Jeff Beck released Blow by Blow, his most successful album in the U.S., reaching the top five and selling over one million copies. Read more: Jeff Beck Blow by Blow Billboard 200
• 1981 – Dick Beardsley and Inge Simonsen jointly won the Men's Elite Race and Joyce Smith won the Women's Elite Race in the inaugural London Marathon. Read more: Dick Beardsley Inge Simonsen Joyce Smith
• 1982 – Queen Elizabeth II granted royal assent to the Canada Act 1982, which ended any remaining constitutional dependence of Canada on the United Kingdom by a process known as patriation. Read more: Elizabeth II Royal assent Canada Act 1982
• 2017 – British prime minister Theresa May invoked Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, formally beginning the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. Read more: Theresa May United Kingdom invocation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union Brexit

Born on this day

• 1943 – John Major, English banker and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Read more: John Major Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1949 – Pauline Marois, Canadian social worker and politician, 30th Premier of Quebec Read more: Pauline Marois Premier of Quebec
• 1952 – Bola Tinubu, Nigerian politician, President-elect of Nigeria Read more: Bola Tinubu President of Nigeria
• 1969 – Ted Lieu, American politician and AFRC colonel Read more: Ted Lieu United States Air Force Reserve
• 1971 – Robert Gibbs, American political adviser, 28th White House Press Secretary Read more: Robert Gibbs White House Press Secretary
• 1972 – Priti Patel, British Indian politician, Secretary of State for the Home Department Read more: Priti Patel Home Secretary
• 1991 – Irene, South Korean idol, actress and television host Read more: Irene (singer) Korean idol
• 1994 – Jung Jae-won, South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, and actor Read more: One (rapper)
• 1994 – Matt Olson, American baseball player Read more: Matt Olson
• 1994 – Tom Wilson, Canadian ice hockey player Read more: Tom Wilson (ice hockey)
• 1996 – Wade Baldwin IV, American basketball player Read more: Wade Baldwin IV
• 2004 – Kim Ju-chan, South Korean footballer Read more: Kim Ju-chan

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / March 29 and the linked articles, via the Wikimedia “On this day” feed, under CC BY-SA 4.0. We leave out entries about wars, violence and disasters to keep this page family-friendly.