December 29: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

The Ebola epidemic in Guinea was declared by The World Health Organization.

Two thousand five hundred people died over the course of two years.

The San Miguel volcano (also known as Volcán Chaparrastique) erupted in El Salvador.

San Miguel erupted at 10:30 local time and spewed ash and smoke into the sky. Thousands of people living in a 1.9 mile (3 km) radius were evacuated; there were no casualties.

China’s Shenzhou spacecraft launched on its fourth and final uncrewed flight.

This final uncrewed launch, specified as mission Shenzhou 4, was used to test the last few pieces of technology required for a crewed flight, with the most critical piece of tech being the life support systems. The flight test was a complete success, with no significant changes happening to the spacecraft before its crewed launch.

The Guatemalan Civil War came to an end after 36 years of bloody conflict.

The civil war was fought between the Guatemalan government and armed leftist groups, who were supported by the nation's indigenous Maya population. Up to 200,000 people lost their lives during the war, with countless human rights atrocities conducted by the Guatemalan government.

The Supremes released “My World Is Empty Without You.”

The worst German air raid of the Blitz occurred.

Over 10,000 bombs were dropped on London, including the first combustible bombs of the Blitz.

Lou Thesz beat Everett Marshall in St Louis, making him the youngest to win the National Wrestling Association World heavyweight title.

Peter Pan made his first on-screen appearance.

The silent film of the same name was produced by Paramount Pictures and grossed $630,229 at the box office.

Sun Yat-sen was elected the first President of the Republic of China.

The Wounded Knee Massacre took place.

The US 7th Cavalry killed over 200 captive Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Many of the Indians had been disarmed when a rifle unintentionally went off, and the US army started shooting.

Emma Snodgrass was arrested.

Although not her first time, Emma Snodgrass was arrested in Boston for wearing pants. This was something she made a habit of doing, only to be arrested and sent home each time.

Texas became the 28th state to join the United States of America.

The Treaty of New Echota was signed.

A treaty between the US government and representatives of a minority Cherokee political faction relinquished all of Cherokee last east of the Mississippi River to the United States. This treaty eventually became the legal basis for the Trail of Tears.

King Henry II’s knights assassinated Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Archbishop had displeased the King by excommunicating a number of his allied bishops, so much so that King Henry uttered wishes for the Archbishop's demise. Four knights interpreted this as a Royal order and rushed to assassinate the Archbishop in Canterbury.

Charles the Bald, King of the Franks, was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor.

It's suggested that Charles' nickname was used ironically as he was not, in fact, bald. He was actually extremely hairy.