August 29 is the 241st day of the year (242nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 124 days remaining until the end of the year.
- 708 - Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708).
- 1350 - Battle of Winchelsea (or Les Espagnols sur Mer): The English naval fleet under King Edward III defeats a Castilian fleet of 40 ships.
- 1475 - The Treaty of Picquigny ends a brief war between France and England.
- 1498 - Vasco da Gama decides to depart Calicut and return to Portugal.
- 1521 - The Ottoman Turks capture Nándorfehérvár, now known as Belgrade.
- 1526 - Battle of Mohács: The Ottoman Turks led by Suleiman the Magnificent defeat and kill the last Jagiellonian king of Hungary and Bohemia.
- 1541 - The Ottoman Turks capture Buda, the capital of the Hungarian Kingdom.
- 1655 - Warsaw falls without resistance to a small force under the command of Charles X Gustav of Sweden during The Deluge.
- 1756 - Frederick the Great attacks Saxony, beginning the Seven Years' War.
- 1786 - Shays' Rebellion, an armed uprising of Massachusetts farmers, begins in response to high debt and tax burdens.
- 1825 - Portugal recognizes the Independence of Brazil.
- 1831 - Michael Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction.
- 1833 - The United Kingdom legislates the abolition of slavery in its empire.
- 1842 - Treaty of Nanking signing ends the First Opium War.
- 1861 - American Civil War: US Navy squadron captures forts at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina.
- 1862 - Second Battle of Bull Run
- 1869 - The Mount Washington Cog Railway opens, making it the world's first rack railway.
- 1871 - Emperor Meiji orders the Abolition of the han system and the establishment of prefectures as local centers of administration. (Traditional Japanese date: July 14, 1871).
- 1882 - The date attributed to the death of English Cricket and the origin of the legend of The Ashes. This is the date according to the mock obituary in The Sporting Times.
- 1885 - Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first motorcycle.
- 1895 - The formation of the Northern Rugby Union at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, England.
- 1898 - The Goodyear tire company is founded.
- 1907 - The Quebec Bridge collapses during construction, killing 75 workers.
- 1910 - Japan changes Korea's name to Chōsen and appoints a governor-general to rule its new colony.
- 1911 - Ishi, considered the last Native American to make contact with European Americans, emerges from the wilderness of northeastern California.
- 1915 - US Navy salvage divers raise F-4, the first U.S. submarine sunk in accident.
- 1916 - The United States passes the Philippine Autonomy Act.
- 1918 - Bapaume taken by Australian Corps and Canadian Corps in the Hundred Days Offensive
- 1922 - Turkish forces set fire to Smyrna in Asia Minor.
- 1930 - The last 36 remaining inhabitants of St Kilda are voluntarily evacuated to other parts of Scotland.
- 1943 - German-occupied Denmark scuttles most of its navy;Germany dissolves the Danish government.
- 1944 - Slovak National Uprising takes place as 60,000 Slovak troops turn against the Nazis.
- 1949 - Soviet atomic bomb project: The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, known as First Lightning or Joe 1, at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan.
- 1958 - United States Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
- 1966 - The Beatles perform their last concert before paying fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
- 1970 - Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War, East Los Angeles, California. Police riot kills three people, including journalist Ruben Salazar.
- 1982 - The synthetic chemical element Meitnerium, atomic number 109, is first synthesized at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany.
- 1991 - Supreme Soviet suspends all activities of the Soviet Communist Party.
- 1995 - NATO launches Operation Deliberate Force against Bosnian Serb forces.
- 1996 - Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801, a Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev Tu-154, crashes into a mountain on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, killing all 141 aboard.
- 1997 - At least 98 villagers are killed by the GIA in the Rais massacre, Algeria.
- 2003 - Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, is assassinated in a terrorist bombing, along with nearly 100 worshippers as they leave a mosque in Najaf.
- 2005 - Hurricane Katrina devastates much of the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, killing more than 1,836 and causing over $80 billion in damage.
- 2007 - A United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident takes place at Minot Air Force Base and Barksdale Air Force Base.
- 1619 - Jean-Baptiste Colbert, French minister of finance (d. 1683)
- 1628 - John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath, English royalist statesman (d. 1701)
- 1632 - John Locke, English philosopher (d. 1704)
- 1694 - Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1715)
- 1725 - Charles Townshend, English politician (d. 1767)
- 1728 - Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony, Electress of Bavaria (d. 1797)
- 1756 - Heinrich Graf von Bellegarde, Austrian field marshal and statesman (d. 1845)
- 1756 - Jan Śniadecki, Polish mathematician (d. 1830)
- 1777 - Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin, founder of Sinology (d. 1853)
- 1780 - Jean Ingres, French painter (d. 1867)
- 1805 - Frederick Maurice, English theologian (d. 1872)
- 1809 - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., American physician and writer (d. 1894)
- 1810 - Juan Bautista Alberdi, founding father of the Argentine Republic (d. 1884)
- 1811 - Henry Bergh, founder of American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (d. 1888)
- 1842 - Alfred Shaw, English cricketer (d. 1907)
- 1843 - David B. Hill, Governor of New York (d. 1910)
- 1844 - Edward Carpenter, English poet (d. 1929)
- 1857 - Sandford Schultz, English cricketer (d. 1937)
- 1862 - Andrew Fisher, 5th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1928)
- 1862 - Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian poet Nobel laureate (d. 1949)
- 1871 - Albert Lebrun, French politician (d. 1950)
- 1876 - Charles F. Kettering, American inventor (d. 1958)
- 1876 - Kim Gu, President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (d. 1949)
- 1898 - Preston Sturges, American filmmaker (d. 1959)
- 1901 - Aurel Joliat, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1986)
- 1904 - Werner Forssmann, German physician Nobel laureate (d. 1979)
- 1905 - Dhyan Chand, Indian hockey player (d. 1979)
- 1912 - Wolfgang Suschitzky, Austrian/Polish cinematographer
- 1912 - Barry Sullivan, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1912 - Sohn Kee-chung, Korean runner (d. 2002)
- 1913 - Len Butterfield, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1999)
- 1915 - Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress (d. 1982)
- 1915 - Nathan Pritikin, American nutritionist (d. 1985)
- 1916 - Luther Davis, American playwright (d. 2008)
- 1916 - George Montgomery, American actor (d. 2000)
- 1917 - Isabel Sanford, American actress (d. 2004)
- 1920 - Charlie Parker, American musician (d. 1955)
- 1922 - Mr. Blackwell, American fashion critic (d. 2008)
- 1923 - Richard Attenborough, English film director
- 1923 - Marmaduke Hussey, BBC Chairman (d. 2006)
- 1923 - Hiralal Gaekwad, Indian cricketer
- 1924 - Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican songwriter (d. 2005)
- 1924 - Dinah Washington, American singer (d. 1963)
- 1926 - Betty Lynn, American actress
- 1926 - María Dolores Pradera, Spanish melodic singer
- 1928 - Charles Gray, English actor (d. 2000)
- 1929 - Thom Gunn, British poet (d. 2004)
- 1930 - Jacques Bouchard, Canadian advertising executive (d. 2006)
- 1931 - Stelios Kazantzidis, Greek singer (d. 2001)
- 1931 - Lise Payette, Quebec politician, writer and columnist
- 1933 - Arnold Koller, Swiss Federal Councilor
- 1934 - John Guy, New Zealand cricketer
- 1935 - William Friedkin, American film director
- 1936 - John McCain, American politician
- 1937 - James Florio, American politician
- 1938 - Elliott Gould, American actor
- 1938 - Robert Rubin, United States Secretary of the Treasury
- 1939 - Joel Schumacher, American film director
- 1940 - James Brady, American White House Press Secretary and gun control activist
- 1940 - Gary Gabelich, American race car driver (d. 1984)
- 1941 - Robin Leach, English television host
- 1942 - James Glennon, American cinematographer (d. 2006)
- 1942 - John Heuser, Electron microscopist
- 1943 - Mohamed Amin, Kenyan photojournalist (d. 1996)
- 1945 - Wyomia Tyus, American athlete
- 1946 - Bob Beamon, American long jumper
- 1947 - Temple Grandin, American animal welfare and autism expert
- 1947 - James Hunt, English race car driver (d. 1993)
- 1950 - Doug DeCinces, American baseball player
- 1950 - Dave Reichert, American politician and sheriff
- 1952 - Karen Hesse, American children's writer
- 1952 - Dave Malone, American rock guitarist
- 1952 - Deborah Van Valkenburgh, American actress
- 1953 - James Quesada, Nicaraguan/American anthropologist
- 1954 - Michael P. Kube-McDowell, American science fiction novelist
- 1955 - Frank Hoste, Belgian cyclist
- 1956 - GG Allin, American rock singer (d. 1993)
- 1957 - Jerry D. Bailey, American racing jockey
- 1958 - Lenny Henry, British writer, comedian and actor
- 1958 - Michael Jackson, American singer, dancer and composer
- 1959 - Ernesto Rodrigues, Portuguese composer
- 1959 - Akkineni Nagarjuna, Indian Telugu actor
- 1959 - Timothy Perry Shriver, member of the Kennedy Family
- 1959 - Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut
- 1959 - Rebecca De Mornay, American actress
- 1960 - Tony MacAlpine, American guitarist
- 1961 - Rodney McCray, American basketball player
- 1961 - Carsten Fischer, German field-hockey player
- 1962 - Hiroki Kikuta, Japanese composer
- 1962 - Carl Banks, American football player
- 1963 - Elizabeth Fraser, Scottish singer
- 1965 - Dina Spybey, American actress
- 1965 - Will Perdue, American basketball player
- 1967 - Anton Newcombe, American musician (The Brian Jonestown Massacre)
- 1969 - Me'Shell NdegéOcello, American singer
- 1969 - Joe Swail, Northern Irish snooker player
- 1970 - Chris Daugherty, Winner of Survivor: Vanuatu
- 1971 - Henry Blanco, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1971 - Carla Gugino, American actress
- 1972 - Bae Yong Joon, South Korean actor
- 1973 - Adam Sessler, American TV show host
- 1973 - Olivier Jacque, motorcyclist
- 1974 - Kumi Tanioka, Japanese composer
- 1975 - Dante Basco, Filipino/American actor
- 1976 - Stephen Carr, Irish footballer
- 1976 - Kevin Kaesviharn, American football player
- 1976 - Pablo Mastroeni, American soccer player
- 1976 - Jon Dahl Tomasson, Danish footballer
- 1977 - John Patrick O'Brien, American footballer
- 1977 - Aaron Rowand, American baseball player
- 1977 - Devean George, American basketball player
- 1977 - Roy Oswalt, American baseball player
- 1977 - Charlie Pickering, Australian comedian
- 1977 - Jo Weil, German actor
- 1978 - Celestine Babayaro, Nigerian footballer
- 1979 - Chieu Luu, Canadian journalist
- 1979 - Ryan Shealy, American baseball player
- 1980 - David Desrosiers, Canadian musician (Simple Plan)
- 1980 - Chris Simms, American football player
- 1980 - David West, American basketball player
- 1980 - Nicholas Tse, Hong Kong singer and actor
- 1980 - Tom Allason, UK based entrepreneur
- 1980 - Mohammad Sheikh, Kenyan cricketer
- 1981 - Lanny Barbie, Canadian pornographic actress
- 1981 - Geneviève Jeanson, French Canadian cyclist
- 1981 - Jay Ryan (Jay Bunyan), Australian actor
- 1982 - A+, American rapper
- 1982 - Carlos Delfino, Argentine basketball player
- 1982 - Leon Washington, American football player
- 1985 - Jeffrey Licon, American actor
- 1986 - Lauren Collins, Canadian actress
- 1987 - Tony Kane, Irish footballer
- 1990 - Sam Stern, British chef and author
- 1992 - Mallu Magalhães, Brazilian singer-songwriter
- 886 - Basil I, Byzantine Emperor (b. 811)
- 1093 - Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1057)
- 1123 - King Eystein I of Norway (b. c. 1088)
- 1395 - Duke Albert III of Austria (b. 1349)
- 1442 - John VI, Duke of Brittany (b. 1389)
- 1526 - King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia (killed in battle) (b. 1506)
- 1542 - Cristovão da Gama, Portuguese soldier (b. c. 1516)
- 1657 - John Lilburne, English dissenter
- 1712 - Gregory King, English statistician (b. 1648)
- 1769 - Edmund Hoyle, English author and teacher (b. 1672)
- 1780 - Jacques-Germain Soufflot, French architect (b. 1713)
- 1799 - Pope Pius VI (b. 1717)
- 1844 - Edmund Ignatius Rice, Irish founder of the Christian Brothers and Presentation Brothers (b. 1762)
- 1856 - Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, British Christian writer (b. 1778)
- 1877 - Brigham Young, American religious leader and western settler (b. 1801)
- 1889 - Stefan Dunjov, Banat Bulgarian military figure (b. 1815)
- 1891 - Pierre Lallement, inventor of the bicycle
- 1904 - Murad V, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1840)
- 1930 - William Archibald Spooner, English writer (b. 1844)
- 1931 - David Abercrombie, Abercrombie & Fitch founder
- 1935 - Queen Astrid of Belgium (b. 1905)
- 1966 - Sayyid Qutb, Egyptian theoretician (b. 1906)
- 1968 - Ulysses S. Grant III, American soldier and planner (b. 1881)
- 1971 - Nathan Leopold, American convicted murderer (Leopold and Loeb) (b. 1904)
- 1972 - Lale Andersen, German singer (b. 1905)
- 1975 - Eamon de Valera, first Taoiseach and third President of Ireland (b. 1882)
- 1976 - Jimmy Reed, American blues singer (b. 1925)
- 1976 - Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet, musician, revolutionary and philosopher (b. 1899)
- 1977 - Jean Hagen, American actress (b. 1923)
- 1977 - Brian McGuire, Australian racing driver (b. 1945)
- 1981 - Lowell Thomas, American writer and broadcaster (b. 1892)
- 1982 - Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress (b. 1915)
- 1983 - Simon Oakland, American actor (b. 1915)
- 1984 - Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian statesman (b. 1901)
- 1985 - Evelyn Ankers, English actress (b. 1918)
- 1987 - Archie Campbell, American country music comedian (b. 1914)
- 1987 - Lee Marvin, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1989 - Peter Scott, English explorer, naturalist, and painter (b. 1909)
- 1992 - Felix Guattari, French philosopher and social theorist (b. 1930)
- 1992 - Teddy Turner, comedian (b. 1917)
- 1995 - Frank Perry, American film director (b. 1930)
- 2000 - Willie Maddren, English footballer (b. 1951)
- 2001 - Graeme "Shirley" Strachan, Australian singer (Skyhooks), TV and radio star (b. 1952)
- 2001 - Francisco Rabal, Spanish actor (b. 1926)
- 2002 - Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish actor (b. 1920)
- 2003 - Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, Iraqi political leader (b. 1939)
- 2003 - Patrick Procktor, English artist (b. 1936)
- 2003 - Michel Constantin, French film actor (b. 1924)
- 2004 - Hans Vonk, Dutch conductor (b. 1942)
- 2007 - Richard Jewell, central figure in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing (b. 1962)
- 2007 - Pierre Messmer, French politician and Prime Minister (b. 1916)
- 2007 - Alfred Peet, Dutch-American entrepreneur and the founder of Peet's Coffee & Tea (b. 1920)
- 2007 - James Muir Cameron Fletcher, New Zealand industrialist (b. 1914)
- 2008 - Geoffrey Perkins, British comedy producer (b. 1953)
