On This Day 2026
Hello, … Welcome to day 29 of the year.

Thursday, January 29th

Today is National Puzzle Day, National Carnation Day and RNLI SOS Day. Your star sign is Aquarius and your birthstone is Garnet.
1964 – The 9th Winter Olympics, known as IX Olympic Winter Games and commonly called Innsbruck 1964, opened in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964.
The 9th Winter Olympics, known as IX Olympic Winter Games and commonly called Innsbruck 1964, opened in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964.
Famous deaths
2018 – Chas Hodges (b. 1943), English musician and singer. He was the lead vocalist, pianist and guitarist of the musical duo Chas & Dave.
Today’s birthdays
1939 – Germaine Greer (87), Australian writer (Sex and Destiny (1984), The Change (1991), The Whole Woman (1999), and The Boy (2003)), born in Melbourne, Australia.

1943 – Tony Blackburn (83), English radio presenter (Radio Caroline, Radio London in the 1960s) and was the first disc jockey to broadcast on BBC Radio 1, born in Guildford, Surrey.

1945 – Tom Selleck (81), American actor (Magnum P.I., Three Men and a Baby, Blue Bloods), born in Detroit, Michigan, United States.
1954 – Oprah Winfrey (72), American talk show host, television producer and media proprietor, born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, United States.
1964 – Anna Ryder Richardson (62), British interior designer and television presenter (Changing Rooms, House Invaders), born in Swansea, Wales.
1970 – Heather Graham (56), American actress (Boogie Nights, From Hell, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States.
1971 – Clare Balding (55), English broadcast journalist (BBC Sport and Channel 4) and author (Pastures New), born in Kingsclere, Hampshire.
1982 – Adam Lambert (44), American singer and theatrical actor (The Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015), born in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.
1985 – Rag’n’Bone Man (40), English singer-songwriter (“Human”, “Giant”), born in Uckfield, East Sussex.
Famous deaths
1888 – Edward Lear (b. 1812), English artist, illustrator, author and poet (The Book of Nonsense, “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat”).
The day today
1928 – The death of Field Marshal Douglas Haig, British senior officer during World War I. He was commander during the Battle of the Somme, the battle with one of the highest casualties in British military history. In the 1960s he became an object of criticism for his leadership during the First World War and has been dubbed “Butcher Haig”, for the two million British casualties under his command.

1930 – The opening of Barton Aerodrome, Manchester’s first airport and the first municipal airport in the United Kingdom. Construction began in 1928 on Fox Hill Farm, near Eccles.

1942 – The first broadcast of Desert Island Discs on BBC radio, devised and presented by Roy Plomley. It is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio.
1959 – Disney’s animated classic Sleeping Beauty was released in theaters (29 July 1959 in the UK), and premiered in Los Angeles becoming the first Disney film in the wide-format Technirama 70, though it initially underperformed at the box office before becoming a beloved classic through later re-releases.
1964 – The 9th Winter Olympics, known as IX Olympic Winter Games and commonly called Innsbruck 1964, opened in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964, featuring 1,091 athletes from 36 nations competing in 34 events, marking milestones like the first Olympic torch relay from Olympia and the debut of luge.
1985 – Oxford University snubbed Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher by refusing her an honorary degree. Academics led a campaign against honouring Mrs. Thatcher in protest against the government’s cuts in funding for education.
1996 – French President Jacques Chirac announced France’s nuclear test program had finished. The announcement came after six months of global protests against France’s nuclear tests. President Jacques Chirac claimed that the tests ended not because of the protests, but because the nation finally had “at its disposal a durable weapon which is reliable and modern.”
2014 – Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first non-Spanish player in 60 years to captain Real Madrid, making his 500th appearance for the club.
2015 – The Malaysian government officially declared the disappearance of Malaysian Airline flight MH370 an accident and says there were no survivors after the Boeing 777 with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board disappeared on 8 March 2014.

2015 – Lt. Danielle Welch was presented with her ‘wings’ by The Duke of York. She was the first and also the last woman to become a Royal Navy Lynx helicopter pilot, as the aircraft was due to be replaced in 2017.

2016 – The Land Rover Defender ceased production at 9:30am GMT (and at 8:30pm on the same day for the East Coast of Australia). Over 2 million Land Rover Series and Defender vehicles were produced since 1948. To mark the Defender’s passing, the Sunshine Coast Land Rover Owners’ Club held a gathering at the exact time that production ceased, to hold a wake and to remember the Defender.
2019 – Iranian authorities banned walking dogs in public and transporting them in vehicles in Tehran and other cities, citing public order, health, and safety concerns, viewing it as un-Islamic and a Western cultural influence.
2020 – David Beckham launched Inter Miami CF (Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami), fulfilling a long-held dream to build a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise in Miami, a venture that involved years of perseverance through stadium site challenges that ultimately led to the team’s debut and subsequent success, including winning the Leagues Cup and MLS Cup.
2025 – A US Army helicopter crashed into a commercial jet during night training. Sixty-four people were on the plane and three Army soldiers were aboard the helicopter when it crashed over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.
Today in music
1964 – The Beatles spent the day at Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris, France, The Beatles only studio recording session for EMI held outside the UK. They recorded new vocals for ‘She Loves You’, I Want to Hold Your Hand and ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, after EMI’s West German branch persuaded Brian Epstein that they would be unable to sell large quantities of records in Germany unless they were recorded in the German language. A translator coached John, Paul, and George, although their familiarity with the German language from their Hamburg days made things much easier.
1965 – The Who made their first appearance on UK TV show Ready Steady Go! performing their debut single, “I Can’t Explain”, to a specially arranged audience consisted only of teens dressed in the current Mod fashion to solidify their image as a Mod band.
1969 – Fleetwood Mac had their only UK No.1 single with the instrumental ‘Albatross’ which was composed by guitarist Peter Green.
1989 – Marc Almond started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart’ with guest vocals from Gene Pitney, (who also had a hit with the song in 1967).

1996 – George Michael had the UK No.1 single with ‘Jesus To A Child’, the singers sixth UK No.1 as a solo artist and the first single from his come-back album ‘Older’, (after lengthy litigation with his record company).

2006 – Arctic Monkeys went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their debut album ‘Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not’. The Sheffield-based bands album became the fastest-selling debut in chart history after shifting more than 360,000 copies in its first week of release. The album’s title was taken from a line from the novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning written by Alan Sillitoe.
2009 – Former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson made the largest ever leap to number one in US chart history, rising 96 places. Her single, My Life Would Suck Without You, rose from 97 to the top of the Billboard chart after selling 280,000 downloads in its first week of release.
2015 – Taylor Swift was seeking to trademark phrases including “this sick beat” and “we never go out of style”, in the United States. If granted, the trademark would stop others from using her lyrics on items such as t-shirts, stickers and bags.
2016 – Three weeks after his death, David Bowie lodged 12 albums in the UK top 40, equalling a record set by Elvis Presley in 1977. His last album Blackstar, spent a third week at No.1 with Best of Bowie, Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust all in the Top 10.
2021 – Ed Sheeran had paid £28.2 million in tax in the past year according to The Sunday Times Tax List 2021, which features the UK’s 50 biggest taxpayers. The singer had earned a total of £70 million through his various companies in 2020.
Today in history
1595 – One of William Shakespeare’s most acclaimed plays, “Romeo & Juliet” was performed for the first time.
1801 – The birth of the illegitimate daughter of Lord Nelson and Emma Hamilton. She was christened Horatia Nelson Thompson. One of Nelson’s last wishes was that Horatia should take the name Nelson. He left her £200 a year in his will, adding : “I desire she will use in future the name of Nelson only.”
1820 – King George III died, aged 81. At the time he was the longest reigning monarch and served for more than 59 years.
1856 – Queen Victoria instituted Britain’s highest military decoration, the Victoria Cross (VC). The medal is awarded to British and Commonwealth armed forces for outstanding bravery ‘on the field of battle’. The medal was originally made from the metal of cannon captured from the Russians at Sevastopol, until the supply came to an end in 1942.
1888 – The death of Edward Lear, English artist, illustrator, author and poet, renowned today primarily for his limericks and his literary nonsense poems such as The Owl and the Pussycat.
1892 – The Coca-Cola Company was incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia by Asa Griggs Candler, who had acquired the formula for the popular soda from its inventor, Dr. John Pemberton, a few years earlier.