The Fugitive

August 29, 1967

***Spoiler Alert*** The "one-armed man" is killed by Lt. Gerard on the final episode of the TV series The Fugitive (1963-67). This was the most-watched television series episode up to that time, watched by 78 million people. That record was broken by the "Who Shot J.R.?" episode of Dallas.

Russia Becomes a Nuclear Power

August 29, 1949

The USSR makes their first atomic bomb test. The development was aided by blue prints of the original American Trinity bomb design given to the Russians by the spy Klaus Fuchs, a Los Alamos physicist. The discovery of Fuchs' espionage led to the arrest of a spy ring that included husband and wife Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed for their part in the crime.

The Human Fish

August 29, 1937

The legless swimmer, known as "The Human Fish," completes a six-day 150-mile (241 km) swim. He swam from a pier in Albany, NY to the 125th Street Ferry dock in New York City. Forty-six-year-old Charles Zimmy lost his legs at age nine in an accident and his legless body provided enough buoyancy to float while sleeping.

Last Wild Indian

August 29, 1911

50-year-old Ishi, the last survivor of the Yahi Indian tribe, wanders into Oroville, California. He became widely known as the "Last Wild Indian." The name Ishi was given to him because, according to Yahi tradition, he was not allowed to say his name until formally introduced by another Yahi tribe member. When asked his name, he responded "I have none, because there were no people to name me," meaning that there was no other Yahi to speak his name on his behalf. Ishi means "man" in the Yana language.
In 1865, Ishi and his tribe were attacked in the Three Knolls Massacre, in which 40 of their tribesmen were killed. Cattlemen then killed about half of the 33 who escaped the massacre. The last survivors, including Ishi and his family, went into hiding for the next 44 years, and their tribe was believed to be extinct.
In late 1908, a group of surveyors came across the camp inhabited by Ishi, his uncle, his younger sister, and his mother. The former three fled while his mother, who was too sick to flee, hid herself in blankets. The surveyors ransacked their camp and Ishi's mother died soon after his return. His uncle and sister never returned. Ishi wandered in the wilderness for three years until he was captured while foraging for food.
Ishi was able teach researchers much about the culture and language of the Yahi people.

Chop Suey

August 29, 1896

According to food lore, chop suey is invented by the chef of Chinese Ambassador Li Hung-Chang. While visiting New York City, he wanted to serve a meal that would appeal to both American and Chinese tastes. Although, this is one of the more common tales of how the dish came to be, some culinary historians dispute this story.

Abraham Lincoln Uses Moon to Defend Client

August 29, 1857

In what is considered his most famous case, lawyer and future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln used the Moon to defend Duff Armstrong who was accused of murdering James Preston Metzker on August 29, 1857. Lincoln had been friends with Armstrong's recently deceased father and offered to defend him free of charge.
Charles Allen testified at the trial the following year that at just before midnight he saw Armstrong strike Metzker with a slungshot (a weight tied to a leather thong). Allen claimed he was about 150 feet away at the time. When Lincoln asked Allen how he could identify Armstrong in the middle of the night from that distance, Allen claimed he could see by the light of the full Moon. Lincoln then took out an almanac and showed that at the time of the murder the Moon was in its first quarter and riding low on the horizon and just about to set. Lincoln claimed that not only was the witness lying about the full Moon, it would have been impossible to have enough moonlight to see clearly that night, thus proving he was lying. The jury agreed and acquitted Armstrong.
This case became known as "The Almanac Trial".

Electromagnetic Induction

August 29, 1831

The principle of magnetic induction is proved by English scientist Michael Faraday.

Michael Jackson

Born August 29, 1958 d. 2009

American Grammy-winning singer, "King of Pop." One of the Jackson Five. His Thriller album sold 38,000,000 copies in 1984 and is the best-selling solo album of all time. Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication at his home in Los Angeles. The drugs had been administered by his personal physician to help him sleep.

Eleanor Rigby - from the Beatle's Song

Eleanor Rigby

Born August 29, 1895 d. 1939

English namesake.
"Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
All the lonely people"
A tombstone with the name Eleanor Rigby is in the graveyard of St Peter's Parish Church in Woolton, Liverpool, where Paul McCartney and John Lennon spent time during their teenage years sunbathing. Just a few yards away from Rigby's tombstone is another with the name McKenzie on it. The names Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie were used in the Beatles' 1966 hit song, Eleanor Rigby, written primarily by McCartney. While McCartney claims he just made up the names for the song, he says the coincidence could be a product of his subconscious.
The graveyard, coincidentally, is also close to where McCartney and Lennon first met.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Born August 29, 1809 d. 1894

American poet, physician, first dean of Harvard Medical School (1847-53). He discovered that the deadly childbed (puerperal) fever was contagious. He believed it was passed between patients by their doctors, for which he was ridiculed - until it was proved true. He coined the term "anesthesia" (1846, from the Greek "no feeling"). He is also the father of the U.S. Supreme Court judge of the same name. Quote: "Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."

Jean Lafitte

Born August 29, 1780 d. 1823

French pirate, leader of a band of adventurers off the coast of Louisiana. He served with the U.S. in the War of 1812 in which he helped Andrew Jackson defend New Orleans against the British.