This Day In History : July 29

1958 United States

The National Aeronautics and Space Admistration (NASA) created

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created on July 29, 1958, when U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law.

Also on This Day in History July 29

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

Births on This Day, July 29
  • 1891 Bernhard Zondek

    German gynecologist who invented the first reliable pregnancy test in 1928

  • 1910 Heinz L. Fraenkel-Conrat

    German-American biochemist who helped to reveal the complementary roles of the structural components of viruses

  • 1904 Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (J.R.D. Tata)

    Indian industrialist and aviator

  • 1898 Isidor Isaac Rabi

    American nuclear physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1944 for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance

  • 1796 Walter Hunt

    American inventor (safety pin, sewing machine)

Deaths on This Day, July 29
  • 1994 Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin

    British biochemist who developed protein crystallography to study molecular structure, including that of vitamin B12 (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1964)

  • 1982 Vladimir Kosma Zworykin

    Russian-American inventor who developed the cathode ray tube for television

  • 1953 Richard Pearse

    New Zealand inventor and aviation pioneer

  • 1833 William Wilberforce

    English philanthropist and politician

  • 2000 René Favaloro

    Argentinian surgeon, educator and author who pioneered a form of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)

2015

Microsft releases Windows 10

Microsoft released Windows 10 on July 29, 2015, as the successor to Windows 8.1. Windows 10 aimed to address many of the criticisms aimed at Windows 8, particularly the removal of the Start Menu, which had been a staple of the operating system since Windows 95.
1957

The International Atomic Energy Agency is established

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established on July 29, 1957. The formation of the IAEA marked a significant step in the global efforts to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
1655

Biggest townhall in the world opens in Amsterdam

The biggest town hall in the world, known as the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, officially opened on July 29, 1655. Originally built as the Town Hall of Amsterdam, it is located on Dam Square in the center of the city. The building was designed by the architect Jacob van Campen and served as the town hall until it was converted into a royal palace by Louis Bonaparte in the early 19th century.
1851

Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia

Annibale de Gasparis, an Italian astronomer, discovered the asteroid 15 Eunomia on July 29, 1851. This asteroid is one of the largest in the asteroid belt and is named after Eunomia, one of the Horae in Greek mythology.
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