Holidays
Feast Day of St. Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket fought with Henry II, King of England over the rights of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral.
What Happened On
The opening of the fight at Wounded Knee, by Frederic Remington (1891)
The opening of the fight at Wounded Knee, by Frederic Remington (1891)
Wounded Knee Massacre
December 29, 1890
Last major battle between U.S. troops and Indians. More than 200 Sioux Indian men, women, and children are killed in South Dakota when a fight breaks out while U.S. Cavalry soldiers were disarming them.
Todd Bridges
December 29, 1992
Todd Bridges, who played Willis in TV's Diff'rent Strokes, is arrested for possession of methamphetamine and a loaded gun. He was later sentenced to one year in a live-in drug treatment program and five years probation.
Home Alone
December 29, 1992
An Illinois couple is arrested as they arrived home after a nine-day vacation in Acapulco. They had left their two daughters - ages 9 and 4 - home alone during the trip. Police discovered the girls when they called 911 after setting off a smoke detector.
Life magazine - First and last issue covers
Life magazine - First and last issue covers
Life magazine
December 29, 1972
The 36-year-old pioneer in photojournalism Life magazine suspends its weekly publication. It would continue with occasional Life Special Reports, and then start back as a monthly magazine in 1978, then cease publication in 2000.
It had been started by Henry Luce in 1936.
1936 YMCA boxing class
1936 YMCA boxing class
First YMCA in the U.S.
December 29, 1851
The first YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) in the U.S. is established, by Thomas V. Sullivan in Boston, Massachusetts.
The YMCA was established by Sir George Williams in London, with the aim of putting Christian principles into practice by developing a healthy "body, mind, and spirit."
Texas
December 29, 1845
Texas becomes the 28th state.
Birthdays
Mary Tyler Moore
Born December 29, 1936 d. 2017
American actress. Her first TV job was as a dancing pixie in the Hotpoint commercials (Happy Hotpoint Elf). TV: The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66, Laura Petrie) and The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-77, Mary Richards).
Andrew Johnson
Born December 29, 1808 d. 1875
American politician. 17th U.S. President (1865-69) and the 16th U.S. Vice-President (1865). He was impeached by the House of Representatives (1868), but was acquitted by the Senate. They were one vote short of the required two-thirds majority. The impeachment charges centered around his attempts to remove Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who opposed Johnson's lenient treatment of the former Confederate States.
Patsy Ramsey
Born December 29, 1956 d. 2006
American beauty pageant winner, Miss West Virginia (1977), mother of child beauty pageant queen and murder victim JonBenét Ramsey.
Ted Danson as Sam Malone
Ted Danson as Sam Malone
Ted Danson
Born December 29, 1947
American Emmy-winning actor. Known for his role as the womanizing former baseball player and recovering alcoholic bartender Sam Malone on TV's Cheers.
In 1993, Danson was criticized for appearing in a Friar's Club comedy roast wearing blackface honoring his then girlfriend Whoopi Goldberg. He was also criticized for his use of racial stereotypes during the roast. Goldberg said she was in on the stunt and helped write much of his material.
TV: Cheers (1982-93, Sam Malone) and Becker (1998-2004, Dr. John Becker). Film: Three Men and a Baby (1987).
Marianne Faithful
Born December 29, 1946
British singer, actor. Music: As Tears Go By (1964) and Summer Nights (1965).
Jon Voight
Born December 29, 1938
American Oscar-winning actor. Film: Midnight Cowboy (1969), Deliverance (1972), and Coming Home (1978, Oscar).
Ed Flanders
Born December 29, 1934 d. 1995
American Emmy-winning actor. TV: St. Elsewhere (Dr. Westphall).
Inga Swenson
Born December 29, 1932 d. 2023
American actress. In high school, she won state and national titles in the National Forensic League's speech contest.
TV: Bonanza (1962-63, Hoss' mother Inga), Soap (1978-79, Ingrid Swenson), and Benson (1979-86, Gretchen Kraus).
Film: The Miracle Worker (1962, Helen Keller's mother).
Viveca Lindfors
Born December 29, 1920 d. 1995
Swedish Emmy-winning actress. Film: Four in a Jeep (1951) and The Sure Thing (1985). TV: Life Goes On (1990, Won an Emmy for a guest appearance as a dance instructor).
Jo Van Fleet
Born December 29, 1915 d. 1996
American Oscar-Tony-winning actress. Theater: The Trip to Bountiful (1954, Tony). Film: East of Eden (1955, Oscar). TV: Cinderella (1965, the wicked Stepmother).
William "Billy" Mitchell
Born December 29, 1879 d. 1936
American brigadier general. His persistent lobbying for a strong air force was ridiculed by military leaders and led to his being busted to private.
Charles Goodyear
Born December 29, 1800 d. 1860
American inventor. He patented the process of vulcanization (1844), which made the rubber industry possible.
Charles Macintosh
Born December 29, 1766 d. 1843
Scottish chemist, invented waterproof fabrics used for raincoats (1823).
Deaths
Pierre Cardin (Pietro Costante Cardino)
Died December 29, 2020 b. 1922
Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. Known for his avant-garde style and Space Age designs, he founded his fashion company in 1950.
Euell Gibbons
Died December 29, 1975 b. 1911
American naturalist. Proponent of natural diets and eating wild foods, such as lamb's quarters (a type of weed), rose hips, dandelion shoots, stinging nettle, and cattails. Writings: Stalking the Wild Asparagus (1962). He was the spokesman for Post Grape-Nuts.
Saint Thomas Becket
Died December 29, 1170 b. circa 1118
English ecclesiastic, murdered at the altar by four knights of King Henry II.