A birthday on the globe
29 May on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 29 May, the English Wikipedia lists 72 events and 228 births. 45 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; seven more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 29 May through the years
The Earth on 29 May
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in May 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 29 May the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 21.7° north. In London, the day lasts about 16 hours 15 minutes.
Beyond 68° north the Sun no longer sets; beyond 68° south it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Britain & Ireland · Canterbury Cathedral
1982
Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit Canterbury Cathedral.
On the map: Canterbury Cathedral.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Romanian.
Europe · Reims Cathedral
1825
The Coronation of Charles X of France takes place in Reims Cathedral, the last-ever coronation of a French monarch.
On the map: Reims Cathedral.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish.
Europe · Helsinki
1974
SETA, a Finnish LGBT rights organisation, is founded in Helsinki.
On the map: Helsinki.
Europe · Moscow
1988
U.S. President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union when he arrives in Moscow for a superpower summit with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
On the map: Moscow.
Africa · N'Djamena
1900
N'Djamena is founded as Fort-Lamy by the French commander Émile Gentil.
On the map: N'Djamena.
Africa · Príncipe
1919
Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity is tested (later confirmed) by Arthur Eddington and Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin.
On the map: Príncipe.
Asia · Mount Everest
1953
Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on Tenzing Norgay's (adopted) 39th birthday.
On the map: Mount Everest.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish, Romanian and Chinese.
Asia · East Jerusalem
1964
The Arab League meets in East Jerusalem to discuss the Palestinian question, leading to the formation of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
On the map: East Jerusalem.
Asia · Eurovision Song Contest 1999
1999
Charlotte Perrelli, representing Sweden, won the Eurovision Song Contest, the first edition not to feature an orchestra or live accompaniment.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “Eurovision Song Contest 1999”.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese.
North America · New York City
1852
Jenny Lind leaves New York after her two-year American tour.
On the map: New York City.
North America · Los Angeles
1973
Tom Bradley is elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles, California.
On the map: Los Angeles.
North America · Supreme Court of the United States
2001
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the disabled golfer Casey Martin can use a cart to ride in tournaments.
On the map: Supreme Court of the United States.
29 May
What the other Wikipedias remember#
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Spanish · Eurovision Song Contest 2010
2010
In Oslo (Norway), the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 is held.
On the map: Eurovision Song Contest 2010.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.
The article on Wikipedia in Spanish: Festival de la Canción de Eurovisión 2010
29 May
Born on 29 May#
The English Wikipedia lists 228 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 59 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 29 May
1874
G. K. Chesterton, English essayist, poet, and playwright (died 1936)
Place of birth: Kensington.
Born on 29 May
1929
Peter Higgs, English-Scottish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2024)
Place of birth: Newcastle upon Tyne.
Born on 29 May
1914
Tenzing Norgay, Nepalese-Indian mountaineer (died 1986)
Place of birth: Ü-Tsang.
Born on 29 May
1880
Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (died 1936)
Place of birth: Blankenburg.
Born on 29 May
1903
Bob Hope, English-American actor, singer, and producer (died 2003)
Place of birth: Well Hall.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1967
Noel Gallagher, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
Place of birth: Longsight.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1959
Rupert Everett, English actor and novelist
Place of birth: Burnham Deepdale.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1975
Mel B, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
Place of birth: Harehills.
29 May
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 29 May through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 29 May
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 20 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 363
The Roman emperor Julian defeats the Sasanian army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sasanian capital, but is unable to take the city.
Asia · Battle of CtesiphonWikipedia: Battle of Ctesiphon - 526
A catastrophic earthquake hits Antioch, killing several thousands including patriarch Euphrasius.
Asia · 526 Antioch earthquakeWikipedia: 526 Antioch earthquake - 757
Election of pope Paul I following the death of pope Stephen II in the previous month.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Pope Paul I - 1108
Battle of Uclés: Almoravid troops under the command of Tamim ibn Yusuf defeat a Castile and León alliance under the command of Prince Sancho Alfónsez.
Europe · Battle of UclésWikipedia: Battle of Uclés - 1138
Antipope Victor IV gives up his claim to the papacy due to the instigation of Bernard of Clairvaux.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Antipope Victor IV - 1167
Battle of Monte Porzio: A Roman army supporting Pope Alexander III is defeated by Christian of Buch and Rainald of Dassel.
Europe · Battle of Monte PorzioWikipedia: Battle of Monte Porzio - 1176
Battle of Legnano: The Lombard League defeats Emperor Frederick I.
Europe · Battle of LegnanoWikipedia: Battle of Legnano - 1233
Mongol–Jin war: The Mongols enter Kaifeng after a successful siege and begin looting in the fallen capital of the Jin dynasty.
Asia · KaifengWikipedia: Siege of Kaifeng - 1328
Philip VI is crowned King of France.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Philip VI of France - 1416
Battle of Gallipoli: The Venetians under Pietro Loredan defeat a much larger Ottoman fleet off Gallipoli.
Asia · Battle of GallipoliWikipedia: Battle of Gallipoli - 1453
Fall of Constantinople: Ottoman armies under Sultan Mehmed II capture Constantinople after a 53-day siege, ending the Roman Empire after over 2,000 years.
Asia · Fall of ConstantinopleWikipedia: Fall of Constantinople - 1555
The Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire sign a peace treaty to end the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1532–1555.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Peace of Amasya - 1658
Battle of Samugarh: Decisive battle in the struggle for the throne during the Mughal war of succession (1658–1659).
no place on the mapWikipedia: Battle of Samugarh - 1660
English Restoration: Charles II is restored to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Stuart Restoration - 1733
The right of settlers in New France to enslave natives is upheld at Quebec City.
North America · Quebec CityWikipedia: New France - 1780
American Revolutionary War: At the Waxhaws Massacre, the British continue attacking after the Continentals lay down their arms, killing 113 and critically wounding all but 53 that remained.
North America · Battle of WaxhawsWikipedia: Battle of Waxhaws - 1790
Rhode Island becomes the last of North America's original Thirteen Colonies to ratify the Constitution and become one of the United States.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Rhode Island - 1792
The Great Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was disbanded following the Russian invasion of Poland.
Europe · Polish–Lithuanian CommonwealthWikipedia: Polish–Russian War of 1792 - 1798
United Irishmen Rebellion: Between 300 and 500 United Irishmen are executed as rebels by the British Army in County Kildare, Ireland.
Britain & Ireland · Gibbet Rath executionsWikipedia: Gibbet Rath executions - 1807
Mustafa IV becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Mustafa IV - 1825
The Coronation of Charles X of France takes place in Reims Cathedral, the last-ever coronation of a French monarch.
Europe · Reims CathedralWikipedia: Coronation of Charles X of France - 1851
Sojourner Truth delivers her famous Ain't I a Woman? speech at the Woman's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Sojourner Truth - 1852
Jenny Lind leaves New York after her two-year American tour.
North America · New York CityWikipedia: Jenny Lind - 1861
The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is founded, in Hong Kong.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce - 1864
Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico arrives in Mexico for the first time.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Emperor of Mexico - 1867
The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 ("the Compromise") is born through Act 12, which establishes the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Europe · Austria-HungaryWikipedia: Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 - 1886
The pharmacist John Pemberton places his first advertisement for Coca-Cola, which appeared in The Atlanta Journal.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Pharmacist - 1900
N'Djamena is founded as Fort-Lamy by the French commander Émile Gentil.
Africa · N'DjamenaWikipedia: N'Djamena - 1903
In the May Coup, Alexander I, King of Serbia, and Queen Draga, are assassinated in Belgrade by the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) organization.
Europe · May CoupWikipedia: May Coup - 1911
English dramatist W. S. Gilbert of the songwriting duo Gilbert and Sullivan died while saving a young woman from drowning in his lake.
no place on the mapWikipedia: W. S. Gilbert - 1913
Igor Stravinsky's ballet score The Rite of Spring receives its premiere performance in Paris, France, provoking a near-riot.
Europe · ParisWikipedia: Igor Stravinsky - 1914
The ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sinks in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with the loss of 1,012 lives.
North America · Gulf of St. LawrenceWikipedia: Ocean liner - 1918
Armenia defeats the Ottoman Army in the Battle of Sardarabad.
Asia · Battle of SardarabadWikipedia: Battle of Sardarabad - 1919
Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity is tested (later confirmed) by Arthur Eddington and Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin.
Africa · PríncipeWikipedia: Eddington experiment - 1920
The Louth flood of 1920, a severe flash flood in the Lincolnshire market town of Louth, results in 23 fatalities in 20 minutes. It has been described as one of the most significant flood disasters in the United Kingdom during the 20th century.
Britain & Ireland · Louth, LincolnshireWikipedia: 1920 Louth flood - 1931
Michele Schirru, a citizen of the United States, is executed by a Royal Italian Army firing squad for intent to kill Benito Mussolini.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Assassination attempts on Benito Mussolini - 1932
World War I veterans begin to assemble in Washington, D.C., in the Bonus Army to request cash bonuses promised to them to be paid in 1945.
North America · Bonus ArmyWikipedia: World War I - 1935
A strike by copper miners in Northern Rhodesia ended after six workers were shot and killed by police.
Africa · MufuliraWikipedia: 1935 Copperbelt strike - 1935
First flight of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aeroplane.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Messerschmitt Bf 109 - 1942
Bing Crosby recorded his version of the song "White Christmas", which went on to become the best-selling single worldwide, with more than 50 million copies sold.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Bing Crosby - 1945
First combat mission of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator heavy bomber.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Combat - 1947
United Airlines Flight 521 crashes at LaGuardia Airport, killing 43.
North America · United Air Lines Flight 521Wikipedia: United Air Lines Flight 521 - 1948
United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is founded.
no place on the mapWikipedia: United Nations Truce Supervision Organization - 1950
The St. Roch, the first ship to circumnavigate North America, arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
North America · Halifax, Nova ScotiaWikipedia: St. Roch - 1953
Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on Tenzing Norgay's (adopted) 39th birthday.
Asia · Mount EverestWikipedia: 1953 British Mount Everest expedition - 1954
Diane Leather became the first woman to run a mile in less than five minutes.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Diane Leather - 1962
Chinese police open fire on protesters in Yining, Xinjiang, killing at least five people and wounding a dozen others.
Asia · YiningWikipedia: Yi–Ta incident - 1964
Having deposed them in a January coup South Vietnamese leader Nguyễn Khánh has rival Generals Trần Văn Đôn and Lê Văn Kim convicted of "lax morality".
Asia · Ho Chi Minh CityWikipedia: January 1964 South Vietnamese coup - 1964
The Arab League meets in East Jerusalem to discuss the Palestinian question, leading to the formation of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Asia · East JerusalemWikipedia: Arab League - 1973
Tom Bradley is elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles, California.
North America · Los AngelesWikipedia: Tom Bradley - 1974
SETA, a Finnish LGBT rights organisation, is founded in Helsinki.
Europe · HelsinkiWikipedia: Seta - 1982
Falklands War: The British Army defeats the Argentine Army at the Battle of Goose Green.
Latin America · Falklands WarWikipedia: Falklands War - 1982
Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit Canterbury Cathedral.
Britain & Ireland · Canterbury CathedralWikipedia: Pope John Paul II - 1985
Amputee Steve Fonyo completes cross-Canada marathon at Victoria, British Columbia, after 14 months.
North America · Victoria, British ColumbiaWikipedia: Amputation - 1985
Heysel Stadium disaster: Thirty-nine association football fans die and hundreds are injured when a dilapidated retaining wall collapses.
Europe · Heysel Stadium disasterWikipedia: Heysel Stadium disaster - 1988
U.S. President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union when he arrives in Moscow for a superpower summit with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Europe · MoscowWikipedia: Moscow Summit - 1989
Signing of an agreement between Egypt and the United States that allows for the manufacture of F-16 Falcon parts in Egypt.
Africa · EgyptWikipedia: Egypt - 1990
The Congress of People's Deputies of Russia elects Boris Yeltsin as President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
Asia · Russian Soviet Federative Socialist RepublicWikipedia: Congress of People's Deputies of Russia - 1993
The Miss Sarajevo beauty pageant is held in war-torn Sarajevo drawing global attention to the plight of its citizens.
Europe · SarajevoWikipedia: Sarajevo - 1999
Charlotte Perrelli, representing Sweden, won the Eurovision Song Contest, the first edition not to feature an orchestra or live accompaniment.
Asia · Eurovision Song Contest 1999Wikipedia: Eurovision Song Contest 1999 - 1999
Olusegun Obasanjo takes office as President of Nigeria, the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule.
Africa · NigeriaWikipedia: Olusegun Obasanjo - 1999
Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Space Shuttle Discovery - 2001
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the disabled golfer Casey Martin can use a cart to ride in tournaments.
North America · Supreme Court of the United StatesWikipedia: Supreme Court of the United States - 2004
The National World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
North America · World War II MemorialWikipedia: World War II Memorial - 2005
France rejects the Constitution of the European Union in a national referendum.
Europe · FranceWikipedia: Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe - 2008
A doublet earthquake, of combined magnitude 6.1, strikes Iceland near the town of Selfoss, injuring 30 people.
Europe · 2008 Iceland earthquakeWikipedia: 2008 Iceland earthquake - 2011
Residents of Portland, Oregon, held a rally called Hands Across Hawthorne in response to an attack against a gay couple holding hands while crossing the Hawthorne Bridge.
North America · Hands Across HawthorneWikipedia: Hands Across Hawthorne - 2012
A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hits northern Italy near Bologna, killing at least 24 people.
Europe · 2012 Northern Italy earthquakesWikipedia: 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes - 2015
One World Observatory at One World Trade Center opens.
North America · One World Trade CenterWikipedia: One World Trade Center - 2020
An oil spill in Norilsk releases 17,500 tons of diesel oil into nearby rivers.
Asia · Norilsk oil spillWikipedia: Norilsk oil spill - 2021
A Cessna Citation I/SP crashes into Percy Priest Lake in Tennessee, killing all six people on board, including actor Joe Lara and his wife Gwen Shamblin Lara.
North America · 2021 Tennessee Cessna Citation crashWikipedia: 2021 Tennessee Cessna Citation crash - 2022
Tara Air Flight 197 crashes in Nepal's Mustang District, killing 22.
Asia · Tara Air Flight 197Wikipedia: Tara Air Flight 197
What the other Wikipedias remember
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and were translated for this page.
- 2010
In Oslo (Norway), the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 is held.
Europe · Eurovision Song Contest 2010Translated from the list on Wikipedia in SpanishWikipedia: Festival de la Canción de Eurovisión 2010
Who was born on 29 May
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 228 are shown.
- 1917
John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States (died 1963)
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic SiteWikipedia: John F. Kennedy - 1874
G. K. Chesterton, English essayist, poet, and playwright (died 1936)
KensingtonWikipedia: G. K. Chesterton - 1630
Charles II of England (died 1685)
St James's PalaceWikipedia: Charles II of England - 1929
Peter Higgs, English-Scottish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2024)
Newcastle upon TyneWikipedia: Peter Higgs - 1914
Tenzing Norgay, Nepalese-Indian mountaineer (died 1986)
Ü-TsangWikipedia: Tenzing Norgay - 1880
Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (died 1936)
BlankenburgWikipedia: Oswald Spengler - 1903
Bob Hope, English-American actor, singer, and producer (died 2003)
Well HallWikipedia: Bob Hope - 1958
Annette Bening, American actress
- 1981
Andrey Arshavin, Russian footballer
Saint PetersburgWikipedia: Andrey Arshavin - 2006
Gukesh Dommaraju, Indian chess player
ChennaiWikipedia: Gukesh Dommaraju - 1967
Noel Gallagher, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
LongsightWikipedia: Noel Gallagher - 1953
Danny Elfman, American film composer, singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
Los AngelesWikipedia: Danny Elfman - 1860
Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (died 1909)
CamprodonWikipedia: Isaac Albéniz - 1926
Abdoulaye Wade, Senegalese academic and politician, 3rd President of Senegal
KébémerWikipedia: Abdoulaye Wade - 1959
Rupert Everett, English actor and novelist
Burnham DeepdaleWikipedia: Rupert Everett - 1892
Alfonsina Storni, Swiss-Argentinian poet and author (died 1938)
CapriascaWikipedia: Alfonsina Storni - 1736
Patrick Henry, American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Virginia (died 1799)
Hanover CountyWikipedia: Patrick Henry - 1979
Arne Friedrich, German footballer
Bad OeynhausenWikipedia: Arne Friedrich - 1973
Alpay Özalan, Turkish footballer
- 1984
Carmelo Anthony, American basketball player
BrooklynWikipedia: Carmelo Anthony - 1920
John Harsanyi, Hungarian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2000)
BudapestWikipedia: John Harsanyi - 1977
Massimo Ambrosini, Italian footballer
- 1922
Iannis Xenakis, Greek-French composer, engineer, and theorist (died 2001)
- 1972
Laverne Cox, American actress and LGBT advocate
MobileWikipedia: Laverne Cox - 1970
Roberto Di Matteo, Italian footballer and manager
SchaffhausenWikipedia: Roberto Di Matteo - 1975
Mel B, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
HarehillsWikipedia: Mel B - 1894
Josef von Sternberg, Austrian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1969)
- 1935
André Brink, South African author and playwright (died 2015)
- 1940
Farooq Leghari, Pakistani politician, 8th President of Pakistan (died 2010)
Dera Ghazi Khan DistrictWikipedia: Farooq Leghari - 1956
La Toya Jackson, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1989
Riley Keough, American model and actress
Santa MonicaWikipedia: Riley Keough - 1897
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Czech-American pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1957)
- 1957
Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian film director
- 1906
T. H. White, Indian-English author (died 1964)
MumbaiWikipedia: T. H. White - 1961
Melissa Etheridge, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist
LeavenworthWikipedia: Melissa Etheridge - 1993
Maika Monroe, American actress and kiteboarder
Santa BarbaraWikipedia: Maika Monroe - 1950
Rebbie Jackson, American singer and actress
- 1991
Tan Zhongyi, Women's World Chess Champion, 2017–2018
ChongqingWikipedia: Tan Zhongyi - 1932
Paul R. Ehrlich, American biologist and author (died 2026)
PhiladelphiaWikipedia: Paul R. Ehrlich - 1975
Daniel Tosh, American comedian, television host, actor, writer, and executive producer
BoppardWikipedia: Daniel Tosh - 1982
Nataliya Dobrynska, Ukrainian heptathlete
IakushintsiWikipedia: Nataliya Dobrynska - 1627
Anne, Duchess of Montpensier, French princess (died 1693)
- 1988
Tobin Heath, American soccer player
Basking RidgeWikipedia: Tobin Heath - 1991
Yaime Perez, Cuban discus thrower
Santiago de CubaWikipedia: Yaime Pérez - 1963
Ukyo Katayama, Japanese race car driver
- 1940
Taihō Kōki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 48th Yokozuna (died 2013)
- 1949
Francis Rossi, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
Forest HillWikipedia: Francis Rossi - 1954
Jerry Moran, American lawyer and politician
Great BendWikipedia: Jerry Moran - 1421
Charles, Prince of Viana (died 1461)
- 1905
Sebastian Shaw, English actor, director, and playwright (died 1994)
NorfolkWikipedia: Sebastian Shaw - 1910
Ralph Metcalfe, American sprinter and politician (died 1978)
AtlantaWikipedia: Ralph Metcalfe - 1949
Brian Kidd, English footballer and manager
ManchesterWikipedia: Brian Kidd - 1955
John Hinckley Jr., American attempted assassin of Ronald Reagan
ArdmoreWikipedia: John Hinckley Jr. - 1963
Blaze Bayley, English singer-songwriter
BirminghamWikipedia: Blaze Bayley - 1978
Sébastien Grosjean, French tennis player
MarseilleWikipedia: Sébastien Grosjean - 1992
Gregg Sulkin, English actor
LondonWikipedia: Gregg Sulkin - 1976
Yegor Titov, Russian footballer
MoscowWikipedia: Yegor Titov - 1594
Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, Bavarian field marshal (died 1632)
- 1794
Johann Heinrich von Mädler, German astronomer and selenographer (died 1874)
- 1926
Katie Boyle, Italian-English actress and television host (died 2018)
FlorenceWikipedia: Katie Boyle
What is celebrated on 29 May
- Army Day (Argentina)
- Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh (Baháʼí Faith) (Only if Baháʼí Naw-Rúz falls on March 21 of the Gregorian calendar)
- Christian feast day: Bona of Pisa
- Christian feast day: Hypomone (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Christian feast day: Joseph Gérard
- Christian feast day: Maximin of Trier
- Christian feast day: Pope Alexander of Alexandria (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Christian feast day: Pope Paul VI
- Christian feast day: Richard Thirkeld
- Christian feast day: Theodosia of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Christian feast day: Ursula Ledóchowska
- Christian feast day: May 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers (International)
- Oak Apple Day (England), and its related observance: Castleton Garland Day (Castleton)
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.