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August 29
in history

The Beatles play final ticketed concert at Candlestick Park (1966), and Vasco da Gama decides to leave Calicut for Portugal (1498). Born on this day: Michael Jackson, John Locke and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Died: Ingrid Bergman, Gene Wilder and Pius VI.

30 events, 68 births and 64 deaths on this date.

1966

The Beatles play final ticketed concert at Candlestick Park

This was the band's last show for paying audiences, staged at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Their gigs had become overwhelmed by screaming crowds, and the group was already turning its energy towards the recording studio.

Bo Trenter · Public domain

Events

  1. 1498

    Vasco da Gama decides to leave Calicut for Portugal

    After months in Calicut, da Gama resolved to sail home to Portugal, carrying spices and news of the sea route he had opened to India. His return voyage was among the longest ocean crossings yet attempted, and it marked the start of a Portuguese trading empire in Asia.

    Sailko · CC BY 3.0
  2. 1831

    Michael Faraday first demonstrates electromagnetic induction

    Michael Faraday showed that moving a magnet near a coil of wire could produce an electric current. The finding led to the law of induction that bears his name, and it underpins how generators work today.

    Thomas Phillips · Public domain
  3. 1632

    Birth of philosopher John Locke

    Locke argued that rulers hold power only by the agreement of those they govern, and that people may resist when it is broken. His Two Treatises of Government is believed to have influenced Thomas Jefferson's wording in the Declaration of Independence.

    Godfrey Kneller · Public domain
  4. 1393

    Timur takes Baghdad from the Jalayirid sultan

    Timur seized the city of Baghdad from Sultan Ahmad Jalayir, the first of several times he would take it. The conquest was part of his campaigns across Persia and Mesopotamia that built the Timurid Empire.

    1405-1409 artist · Public domain
  5. 1728

    Fort of Godt-Haab founded, later becoming Nuuk

    Royal governor Claus Paarss founded the fort of Godt-Haab, a Danish outpost on the Labrador Sea shore. It later became Nuuk, Greenland's capital and the world's northernmost capital city.

  6. 1916

    Congress passes the Philippine Autonomy Act

    In the app
  7. 1484

    Innocent VIII succeeds Sixtus IV as pope

    In the app
  8. 1588

    Hideyoshi orders a nationwide sword hunt, disarming the peasantry

    In the app

24 more events on August 29

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Born on August 29

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  • Michael Jackson
    1958 – 2009 · Songwriter

    Michael Jackson

    Michael Jackson was an American singer and songwriter who became known as the King of Pop. His album Thriller, released in 1982, is among the biggest-selling records ever made, and his videos changed how music was shown on screen.

    Matthew Rolston; Distributed by Epic Records · Public domain
  • John Locke
    1632 – 1704 · Philosopher

    John Locke

    John Locke was an English philosopher and physician whose writing on toleration and government shaped liberal thought. His Two Treatises of Government argued that political authority rests on the agreement of those ruled, and Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence is thought to echo its language.

    Godfrey Kneller · Public domain
  • Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
    1780 – 1867 · Painter

    Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

    A French Neoclassical painter who wanted to be the guardian of academic tradition against Romanticism, yet is remembered mostly for his portraits. His bold distortions of form and space later influenced Matisse and Picasso.

    Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres · Public domain

Died on August 29

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  • Ingrid Bergman
    1915 – 1982 · Autobiographer

    Ingrid Bergman

    Swedish actress who won three Academy Awards and starred in Casablanca as Ilsa Lund. She was also a stage actor and wrote an autobiography, and was remembered for her luminous screen presence.

    Arthur Cantor · Public domain
  • Gene Wilder
    1933 – 2016 · Actor

    Gene Wilder

    Gene Wilder was an American actor and comedian best known for Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and his comic partnership with Mel Brooks in The Producers and Young Frankenstein. After his wife Gilda Radner's death from ovarian cancer, he became a leading campaigner for cancer awareness.

    Warner Brothers/Tandem Production · Public domain
  • Pius VI
    1717 – 1799 · Catholic priest

    Pius VI

    Pope Pius VI condemned the French Revolution and its attacks on the Church. After French troops occupied the Papal States and he refused to give up his temporal power, he was taken prisoner and died in exile in Valence.

    Pompeo Batoni · Public domain

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