October 29th in History

312 - Constantine the Great enters Rome after his victory at the Milvian Bridge, stages a grand adventus in the city, and is met with popular jubilation. Maxentius' body is fished out of the Tiber and beheaded.

969 - Byzantine troops occupy Antioch Syria.

1390 - First trial for witchcraft in Paris leading to the death of three people.

1422 - Charles VII of France becomes king in succession to his father Charles VI of France.

1863 - Eighteen countries meet in Geneva and agree to form the International Red Cross.

1922 - The King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, appoints Benito Mussolini as Prime Minister.

1923 - Turkey becomes a republic following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.

1941 - The Holocaust: In the Kaunas Ghetto over 10,000 Jews are shot by German occupiers at the Ninth Fort, a massacre known as the "Great Action".

1961 - Syria exits from the United Arab Republic.

1964 - The United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar is renamed the United Republic of Tanzania.

2004 - The Arabic news network Al Jazeera broadcasts an excerpt from a video of Osama bin Laden in which the terrorist leader first admits direct responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks and references the 2004 U.S. presidential election.

Famous Birthdays:

1017 - Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor

1832 - St. Narcisa de Jesús Martillo,

1875 - Queen Marie of Romania

1879 - Franz von Papen, Chancellor of Germany

1938 - President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia

1957 - Dan Castellaneta, voice actor

1971 - Winona Ryder, actress

1983 - Johnny Lewis, actor