In History, Today on January 29

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck near the island of Kyushu, Japan causing damage and minor injuries but no fatalities.

A shooting at a mosque in Quebec City, Canada, results in the deaths of six people and injuries to nineteen others. The attack is widely condemned as an act of terrorism.

The U.S. Senate passes a bill to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling, allowing the government to continue borrowing money to meet its obligations.

Iceland appoints Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir as Prime Minister, making her the world's first openly gay head of government.

The first direct commercial flights between China and Taiwan since 1949 take place, marking a significant step in cross-strait relations.

In his State of the Union address, U.S. President George W. Bush describes Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as an 'axis of evil,' accusing them of sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction.

President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear testing.

The Battle of Khafji begins during the Gulf War, marking the first major ground engagement of the conflict between Iraqi troops and coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia.

Brenda Ann Spencer opened fire at a school in San Diego, California, killing two people and injuring nine others, which inspired the song 'I Don't Like Mondays' by The Boomtown Rats.

The Mantra-Rock Dance takes place at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco, a historic counterculture music concert featuring Swami Bhaktivedanta, Allen Ginsberg, The Grateful Dead, and Big Brother and the Holding Company.

The first inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame were announced, including Sammy Baugh, Red Grange, and George Halas.

The first Melodifestivalen, the Swedish music competition that selects Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, was held.

The Battle of Rennell Island, the last major naval battle of the Guadalcanal Campaign, begins.

The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame were announced, including Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson.

The American League is organized in Philadelphia with eight founding teams.

Liliuokalani is proclaimed the last monarch and only queen regnant of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Karl Benz patented the first successful gasoline-driven automobile, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen.

Kansas was admitted to the Union as the 34th U.S. state.

Henry Clay introduced the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress, a series of measures intended to ease tensions between slave and free states.

Edgar Allan Poe's poem 'The Raven' was published for the first time in the New York Evening Mirror.

Stanford University founder Leland Stanford was born.

Feodor III became Tsar of Russia after the death of his father, Tsar Alexis.

Gustav Vasa becomes the King of Sweden, marking the end of the Kalmar Union's dominion in Sweden. His ascendancy is pivotal in the consolidation of Sweden as an independent nation-state and initiates the Swedish Reformation.

The Mongol Empire, led by Hulagu Khan, begins the siege of Baghdad, which would lead to the fall of the city and the end of the Islamic Golden Age.

Henry II of England was ordered by Pope Alexander III to build a monastery in Ireland as penance for the murder of Thomas Becket.

Sergius III becomes Pope after the death of Pope Leo V and the subsequent deposition of Antipope Christopher. His papacy marks the beginning of the period known as the Saeculum Obscurum or the 'dark age' of the papacy, characterized by corruption and the influence of powerful Roman families.