This Day In History : January 29

1998 Russian Federation

Soyuz TM-27 Launches to Mir Space Station

On January 29, 1998, the Soyuz TM-27 spacecraft launched to the Mir space station, carrying a crew of cosmonauts. This mission contributed to ongoing research and operations aboard Mir, furthering human presence and scientific exploration in space.

Also on This Day in History January 29

Discover what happened on January 29 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries,
famous births and notable deaths.

Births on This Day, January 29
  • 1930 Norio Ohga

    Japanese business executive who as a former president and chairman of Sony is credited with developing the compact disc.

  • 1927 Lewis Urry

    Lewis Frederick Urry was a Canadian-American chemical engineer who invented the ubiquitous alkaline batteries and, later, lithium batteries.

  • 1850 Lawrence Hargrave

    Australian aeronaut and inventor best known for his invention of the box kite.

  • 1773 Friedrich Mohs

    German mineralogist who devised the Mohs scale to compare mineral harness, illustrated by ten common or readily-available minerals.

  • 1810 Ernst Eduard Kummer

    German mathematician whose introduction of ideal numbers, which are defined as a special subgroup of a ring, extended the fundamental theorem of arithmetic to complex number fields.

Deaths on This Day, January 29
  • 1933 Fritz Haber

    German physical chemist, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1918) for his development of a method of synthesizing ammonia (1909) directly from nitrogen and hydrogen.

  • 1859 Seth Thomas

    American clock manufacturer who was one of the pioneers in the mass production of clocks.

  • 1934 Dukinfield Henry Scott

    English paleobotanist and leading authority of his time on the structure of fossil plants, one of those who laid the foundations of paleobotany.

  • 1929 Thomas Burr Osborne

    American biochemist who made major contributions to understanding the chemistry of vegetable proteins.

  • 1883 Charles Sédillot

    He was a French surgeon who coined the word microbe for a microorganism in 1871, which Émile Littré included in the 1886 edition of his Dictionary of Medicine.

1998

Cigarettes admitted dangerous

In 1998, for the first time, a top tobacco company executive acknowledged the health risk of tobacco products under oath to Congress.
1978

Ozone and aerosol sprays

In 1978, Sweden became the first nation to curb aerosol sprays to halt the destruction of the ozone layer.
1989

USSR's Phobos II Enters Martian Orbit

On January 29, 1989, the Soviet spacecraft Phobos II successfully entered Martian orbit, beginning its mission to study the Martian moon Phobos. This achievement marked a significant milestone in space exploration and planetary science.
1896

Emile Grubbe First Uses Radiation Treatment for Breast Cancer

On January 29, 1896, Dr. Emile Grubbe became the first doctor to utilize radiation treatment for breast cancer, pioneering a significant advancement in cancer therapy. His innovative approach laid the groundwork for modern radiation oncology, impacting the treatment of cancer worldwide.
Holiday
Special day
Discover invention