This Day in History
Today: January 29, 2026
904
Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.[1]
946
Caliph al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler of the Buyid Empire. He is succeeded by al-Muti as caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate.[2]
1814
War of the Sixth Coalition: France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne.[3]
1819
Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore.[4]
1845
"The Raven" is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe.[5]
1850
Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.[6]
1856
Queen Victoria issues a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual that establishes the Victoria Cross to recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the Crimean War.[7]
1861
Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state.[8]
1863
The Bear River Massacre: A detachment of California Volunteers led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor engage the Shoshone at Bear River, Washington Territory, killing hundreds of men, women and children.[9]
1886
Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.[10]
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