March 29
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Featured Event
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Inge Lehmann discovers Earth’s core
On this day in 1936, Inge Lehmann upended prevailing theories about the nature of Earth’s core. Seven years prior, an earthquake had struck New Zealand. Lehmann studied the waves produced by the quake, which consisted of P and S waves—the former of which pass through all states of matter, the latter of which pass only through solids. Lehmann observed that some P waves had been deflected, as though they had been bent by something solid. Thus she came to the conclusion that the Earth had a solid core—a conclusion that was eventually validated by technology and helped to bolster the study of plate tectonics. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
American entertainer Pearl Bailey, born this day in 1918, garnered attention for her sultry singing and mischievous humour during a diverse career that included films and musicals, perhaps most notably Hello, Dolly!.
Famous Birthdays
More on March 29
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2019
French filmmaker Agnès Varda, whose groundbreaking movies were hugely influential in the New Wave movement, died at age 90. [Take our film buff quiz.]
© Jerry Coli/Dreamstime.com
1999
Canadian ice-hockey player Wayne Gretzky, considered by many to be the greatest player in NHL history, scored the final goal of his career; he retired at the end of the season. [See where Gretzky ranks on our list of the 10 best hockey players of all time.]
© iemily/Fotolia
1974
Farmers drilling a well near Xi’an, China, found a subterranean chamber that led to the discovery of the terra-cotta army in the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, consisting of about 8,000 life-size terra-cotta soldiers and horses. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about China.]
© TalbotImages—iStock Editorial/Getty Images
1973
American troops evacuated Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) as the United States ended its involvement in the Vietnam War. [Test your knowledge of the Vietnam War.]
NARA
1961
The Twenty-third Amendment was certified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections. [How much do you know about amendments to the U.S. Constitution?]
NARA
1951
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death for turning over U.S. military secrets to the Soviet Union. [Read about 10 famous names in the espionage game.]
© 1956 Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation; all rights reserved
1951
The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I debuted on Broadway; a classic of the stage, it made Yul Brynner a star and was adapted into a popular film (1956). [Take our theatre quiz.]
© David Fowler—Newsfocus1/Dreamstime.com
1943
Conservative politician John Major, who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997, was born. [Test your knowledge of notable prime ministers.]
Robin Nelson—ZUMA Press/Alamy
1918
Retail magnate Sam Walton, one of the wealthiest individuals in American history and the founder of Walmart, was born. [Take our quiz of famous Americans.]
© New York Public Library Digital Collections
1917
Man O’ War, perhaps the most famous American Thoroughbred in 20th-century horse racing, was foaled. [Can you identify these well-known horses?]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1867
With the British North America Act, the British colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada were united as the Dominion of Canada, and the province of Canada was separated into Quebec and Ontario.
Source: Ben Zellner, Georgia Southern University; Peter Thomas, Cornell University; NASA © Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1807
German astronomer Wilhelm Olbers discovered the minor planet Vesta, the brightest asteroid in the sky. [Test your knowledge of moons and asteroids.]
© Everett Historical/Shutterstock
1790
John Tyler, the 10th president of the United States (1841–45), was born. [Test your knowledge of the birthplaces of U.S. presidents.]
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1461
Edward IV defeated Henry VI for the throne of England in the bloodiest battle of the York-Lancaster conflict known as the Wars of the Roses. [Take our kings of England quiz.]