July 29: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

65,000 fans gathered in London to celebrate the Lionesses’ winning the Euro 2025 soccer championship.

With a 2-1 victory over Spain, the Lionesses captured the cup and their second consecutive European title.

The first Monkeypox deaths outside of Africa were recorded in Brazil and Spain.

Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” single reached a new record for the longest time on the Billboard charts after spending 17 weeks at number one.

Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France for the third time in a row.

It seemed like Lance Armstrong had won the 88th Tour de France fair and square, but this all changed in 2012. There had long been suspicion surrounding Armstrong's incredible performances, and in August 2012, he was stripped of all his titles dating back to 1998 as it was discovered he was doping.

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer got married at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

The wedding was televised and watched by over 750 million people across the globe.

David Berkowitz, otherwise known as the Son of Sam serial killer, shot his first victims.

Berkowitz walked up to two young women in the Bronx, New York, at 1am and shot at them without provocation. Donna Lauria died instantly, while her friend Jody Valenti was wounded and lived to tell the tale.

Pope Paul VI declared the prohibition of birth control.

On this day, the pope issued the encyclical called Humanae vitae meaning "Of Human Life."

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which became NASA.

This act was signed to provide for research into flight problems within and outside the Earth's atmosphere. NASA began work on October 1, 1958.

J. R. R. Tolkien published the original “The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring” novel.

King George VI officially opened the 11th modern-day Olympic Games at the Wembley Arena in London, UK.

A screening test of Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie” occurred featuring Mickey Mouse.

Sir Robert Baden-Powell established the Boys Scouts in England.

Arc de Triomphe in Paris became the world’s largest triumphal arch at 164 ft tall.

The English navy defeated the Spanish Armada at the Battle of Gravelines.

Renegades of the Abbasid Caliphate captured Thessalonica, which is modern-day Thessaloniki, Greece.

The event in history is known as The Sack of Thessalonica, and the Abbasid Caliphate was led by Leo of Tripoli, a Muslim convert and privateer.