1929 in the United States

Incumbents

Federal Government">Federal government of the United States">Federal Government

• President: Calvin Coolidge , Herbert Hoover
• Vice President: Charles G. Dawes , Charles Curtis
• Chief Justice: William Howard Taft
• Speaker of the House of Representatives: Nicholas Longworth
• Senate Majority Leader: Charles Curtis , James Eli Watson
• Congress: 70th, 71st

  Governors

Lieutenant Governors

Events

January–March

• January 1 - In college football, California loses to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the 27th Rose Bowl by a score of 8–7.
• January 29 - The Seeing Eye is established with the mission to train guide dogs to assist the blind, by Dorothy Harrison Eustis and Morris Frank in Nashville, Tennessee.
• February 11 - Eugene O'Neill's Dynamo premieres in New York.
• February 14 - St. Valentine's Day Massacre: Seven gangsters, rivals of Al Capone, are murdered in Chicago.
• February 26 - The Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming is established by Congress.
• March 2 - The longest bridge in the world, the San Francisco Bay Toll-Bridge, opens.
• March 4 - Herbert Hoover is sworn in as the 31st President of the United States.
• March 16 - A part-talkie film version of Show Boat, based on Edna Ferber's novel rather than the musical, premieres in Palm Beach. It is critically panned and not successful at the box office.

  April–June

• May 13 - The National Crime Syndicate is founded in Atlantic City.
• May 15 - Cleveland Clinic Fire of 1929
• * A leak and explosion of methyl chloride refrigerant in a Cleveland hospital kills one hundred and twenty-eight and becomes regarded as the catalyst for the development of chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants.
• May 16 - The 1st Academy Awards are presented at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California, with Wings winning Academy Award for Best Picture. Joseph W. Farnham wins the only award ever given for Best Writing, Title Writing.
• May 17 - Al Capone and his bodyguard are arrested for concealing deadly weapons.
• May 20 - The Wickersham Commission begins its investigation of alcohol prohibition in the United States.
• May 27 - United States v. Schwimmer decided in the Supreme Court affirms that pacifism is sufficient ground to deny an applicant citizenship of the United States.
• June 12 - Lou Hoover has tea at the White House with Jessie De Priest, wife of Oscar De Priest, the first black congressman of the 20th century.
• June 16 - Otto E. Funk, 62, ends his marathon walk.
• June 21 - An agreement brokered by U.S. Ambassador Dwight Whitney Morrow ends the Cristero War in Mexico.
• June 27 - The first public demonstration of color television is held, by H. E. Ives and his colleagues at Bell Telephone Laboratories in New York City. The first images are a bouquet of roses and an American flag. A mechanical system is used to transmit 50-line color television images between New York and Washington, D.C.

  July–September

• August 11 - The first Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic, the oldest and largest US African-American parade, is held in Chicago.
• August 19 - The radio comedy show Amos and Andy makes its debut, starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll.
• August 31 - The Young Plan, which sets the total World War I reparations owed by Germany at US$26,350,000,000 to be paid over a period of 58½ years, is finalized.
• September 3 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average peaks at 381.17, a height it will not reach again until November 1954.

  October–December

• October 11 - J. C. Penney opens Store #1252 in Milford, Delaware, making it a nationwide company with department stores in all 48 states.
• October 14 - The Philadelphia Athletics defeat the Chicago Cubs, 4 games to 1, to win their 4th World Series Title.
• October 24-October 29 - Wall Street Crash of 1929: Three multi-digit percentage drops wipe out more than $30 billion from the New York Stock Exchange.
• October 24 - The Mount Hope Bridge, connecting Portsmouth to Bristol in Rhode Island, opens to traffic.
• October 25 - Former U.S. Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall is convicted of bribery for his role in the Teapot Dome scandal, becoming the first Presidential cabinet member to go to prison for actions in office.
• November 7 - The Museum of Modern Art in New York City opens to the public.
• November 15 - The Ambassador Bridge, connecting Detroit, Michigan, to Windsor, Ontario, opens to traffic.
• November 29 - Bernt Balchen, U.S. Admiral Richard Byrd, Captain Ashley McKinley, and Harold June, become the first to fly over the South Pole.
• December 3 - Great Depression: U.S. President Herbert Hoover announces to the U.S. Congress that the worst effects of the recent stock market crash are behind the nation, and that the American people have regained faith in the economy.

  Undated

• Sunglasses mass-produced from celluloid are first made by Foster Grant for sale in Austin Texas

  Sport

• March 29 - For the first time in Stanley Cup history two American teams face off for hockey's ultimate prize when the Boston Bruins defeat the New York Rangers 2 games to 0 for the Bruins first Stanley Cup victory. The deciding game is played in New York City's Madison Square Garden.

  Births

January

• January 1 – Joseph Lombardo, American mafioso
• January 2
• * Marilyn Lloyd, American politician and businesswoman
• * Gordon Moore, American computing entrepreneur and benefactor
• January 5 – Wilbert Harrison, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• January 9 – Tom Riley, American lawyer and politician
• January 14 – Billy Walker, American country music singer
• January 15 – Martin Luther King Jr., African-American civil rights leader, Nobel laureate
• January 17
• * Eilaine Roth, American professional baseball player
• * Elaine Roth, American professional baseball player
• January 20
• * Arte Johnson, American comedian and actor
• * Frank Kush, American football player and coach
• January 27 – Richard Ottinger, American politician

  February

• February 3 – Huntington Hardisty, American admiral
• February 4
• * Thomas H. Paterniti, American politician
• * Jerry Adler, American actor
• February 5 – Hal Blaine, American drummer and session musician
• February 6 – Chuck Nergard, American politician
• February 10
• * Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor
• * Jim Whittaker, mountaineer
• * Lou Whittaker, mountaineer
• February 14
• * Vic Morrow, American actor, director
• * James Nelligan, American politician
• February 15 – James Schlesinger, American politician
• February 22
• * James Hong, Chinese-American actor, director
• * Rebecca Schull, American actress
• February 28 – Hayden Fry, American football player and coach

  March

• March 7 – Marion Marlowe, American singer and actress
• March 8
• * Elaine Edwards, American politician
• * Nicodemo Scarfo, American mafioso
• March 13
• * Peter Breck, American actor
• * Joseph Mascolo, American musician, actor
• March 14 – Bob Goalby, American golfer
• March 16 – Betty Johnson, American singer
• March 17 – Howie Winter, American gang boss
• March 19 – Michael M. Ryan, American actor
• March 25
• * Harris W. Fawell, American politician
• * Cecil Taylor, African-American jazz pianist, composer, and poet
• March 26 – Edward Sorel, American illustrator and caricaturist
• March 27
• * Rita Briggs, American baseball player
• * Don Warden, American country musician and manager
• March 29 – Richard Lewontin, American biologist, geneticist and academic
• March 31 – Bert Fields, American lawyer and author

  April

• April 1
• * Jane Powell, actress, dancer
• * Bo Schembechler, American football player and coach
• April 2 – Ed Dorn, poet
• April 4 – William F. Clinger Jr., politician
• April 5 – Richard Jenrette, businessman
• April 8 – Morton B. Panish, physical chemist
• April 9 – Paule Marshall, born Valenza Pauline Burke, novelist
• April 12
• * Tony Douglas, country music singer
• * Dale Haupt, American football coach
• April 13 – Yvonne Clark, engineer
• April 16
• * Dorne Dibble, American football player
• * Roy Hamilton, African-American singer
• April 20 – John Andreason, politician
• April 29
• * Tom Cornsweet, psychologist
• * Billy Mize, steel guitarist, band leader, vocalist, songwriter, TV show host

  May

• May 2 – Link Wray, rock and roll musician
• May 3
• * Denise Lor, popular music singer, actress
• * Emily Anne Staples, politician
• May 4
• * Audrey Hepburn, Belgian-born actress and humanitarian
• * Sydney Lamb, American linguist
• May 5 – Ilene Woods, American singer, actress
• May 6 – Paul Lauterbur, American chemist, Nobel laureate
• May 7
• * Sally L. Smith, educator
• * Dick Williams, American baseball player
• May 8
• * Ethel D. Allen, African-American Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and physician
• * John C. Bogle, American investor
• * Jane Roberts, American writer
• May 10 – Betty Foss, American female professional baseball player
• May 11 – Margaret Kerry, American actress
• May 15 – Frank Heart, American computer engineer
• May 16
• * Betty Carter, African-American jazz singer
• * John Conyers, African-American politician
• * Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist
• May 18 – Walter Pitman, American educator, politician
• May 22 – Neave Brown, American-British architect
• May 25 – Beverly Sills, American operatic soprano, director of the New York City Opera
• May 27 – Thomas E. Brennan, American jurist
• May 30 – Marshall Loeb, American business journalist

  June

• June 1
• * James H. Billington, American academic and author
• * Chuck Ortmann, American football player
• June 3 – Chuck Barris, American television game show host, producer
• June 6 – Mary Hatcher, American soprano, actress
• June 9 – Johnny Ace, African-American rhythm and blues singer
• June 10
• * James McDivitt, American astronaut
• * E. O. Wilson, American biologist
• June 16 – Paul Cain, American Pentecostal Christian evangelist
• June 20
• * Bonnie Bartlett, American actress
• * Larry Collins, American novelist
• June 21
• * Bob Gain, American football player
• * Stephen B. Wiley, American politician
• June 22 – Alex P. Garcia, American politician
• June 23
• * June Carter Cash, American singer
• * Gail Peters, American competition swimmer
• * Gerald Eustis Thomas, American naval officer, diplomat and academic
• June 24
• * Vic Carrabotta, American comic-book artist, advertising art director
• * Connie Hall, American country music singer
• * Carolyn S. Shoemaker, American astronomer
• June 25 – Eric Carle, American designer, illustrator and writer
• June 26 – Milton Glaser, American graphic designer, illustrator and teacher
• June 27 – J. C. Duncan, American politician
• June 28 – Glenn D. Paige, American political scientist

  July

• July 1 – Gerald Edelman, American biologist, Nobel laureate
• July 3
• * Joanne Herring, American socialite, businesswoman, political activist, philanthropist, diplomat, and former television talk show host
• * Lavelle White, American Texas blues and soul blues singer, songwriter
• July 4
• * Peter Angelos, American trial lawyer
• * Bill Tremel, American professional baseball player
• July 5 – Katherine Helmond, American actress
• July 6 – Angelo LiPetri, American former professional baseball player
• July 8 – Shirley Ann Grau, American writer
• July 9 – Jesse McReynolds, American bluegrass musician
• July 11 – Sandy Frank, American television producer, distributor, and marketer of TV shows
• July 14 – Pat Scott, American pitcher
• July 17 – Arthur Frommer, American writer, publisher and consumer advocate
• July 18 – Dick Button, American figure skater
• July 19 – Alice Pollitt, American female professional baseball player
• July 20 – Hosbet Suresh, American judge
• July 21
• * Antonia Handler Chayes, American lawyer, educator
• * Paul V. Gadola, American judge
• July 26 – Patrick Flores, American Roman Catholic prelate
• July 28 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American socialite, conservationist, 35th First Lady of the United States
• July 31 – Don Murray, American actor

  August

• August 1 – Samuel Charters, American writer, music historian and record producer
• August 7
• * Jo Baer, American artist
• * Don Larsen, American baseball player
• * Richard T. Schulze, American politician
• August 9 – Fred Fredericks, American cartoonist
• August 10 – Vincent McEveety, American director, producer
• August 12 – Buck Owens, American, singer, bandleader, and TV host
• August 13 – Pat Harrington Jr., American voice actor
• August 14
• * Thomas Meehan, American playwright
• * Louise Slaughter, American politician
• August 15
• * Louise Shivers, American author, writer
• * Marcia Hafif, American painter
• August 17 – Francis Gary Powers, American U-2 spy plane pilot
• August 21 – Marie Severin, American comics artist, colorist
• August 26 – Chuck Renslow, American businessman, LGBT activist
• August 27 – Ralph T. Coe, American art historian of Native American art
• August 28 – Roxie Roker, African-American actress
• August 31 – C. C. Torbert Jr., American jurist

  September

• September 1 – Murray Fromson, American journalist
• September 2 – Hal Ashby, American film director and editor
• September 3 – Whitey Bulger, Irish-American gangster and multiple murderer
• September 4 – Thomas Eagleton, American politician
• September 5 – Bob Newhart, American comedian, actor
• September 6 – Dow Finsterwald, American professional golfer
• September 9 – Stanford Parris, American lawyer and politician
• September 10 – Arnold Palmer, American professional golfer
• September 11
• * Eve Brent, American actress
• * David S. Broder, American journalist
• September 12 – Harvey Schmidt, American composer
• September 14
• * Larry Collins, American writer
• * John Gutfreund, American banker, businessman and investor
• * Mel Hancock, American politician
• September 15 – Murray Gell-Mann, American physicist, Nobel laureate
• September 16
• * Dale Kildee, American politician
• * Maxine Kline, American female professional baseball player
• September 19
• * Marge Roukema, American politician
• * Mel Stewart, African-American actor
• September 20 – Anne Meara, American actress, comedian
• September 22 – William E. Dannemeyer, American politician
• September 25
• * Barbara Walters, American journalist
• * Kevin White, American politician
• September 26 – Meredith Gourdine, American athlete
• September 28 – Skip Bafalis, American politician
• September 30 – Helen M. Marshall, American politician

  October

• October 2 – Moses Gunn, African-American actor
• October 4
• * Scotty Beckett, American actor
• * Leroy Van Dyke, American country music singer and guitarist
• October 5 – Richard F. Gordon Jr., American astronaut
• October 8 – Arthur Bisguier, American chess Grandmaster, chess promoter, and writer
• October 15 – Hubert Dreyfus, American philosopher
• October 21 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American science fiction and fantasy author
• October 22 – Patsy Elsener, American diver
• October 24
• * Jim Brosnan, American baseball player and sportscaster
• * George Crumb, American composer and educator
• * Gustav Ranis, American economist and academic
• October 25 – David McReynolds, American political activist
• October 28 – Mitchell Torok, American country music singer

  November

• November 1 – Nicholas Mavroules, American politician
• November 2
• * Rachel Ames, American actress
• * Harold Farberman, American conductor, composer and percussionist
• November 6 – June Squibb, American actress
• November 8
• * Bert Berns, American songwriter, record producer
• * Bobby Bowden, American football player and coach
• November 9 – Severn Darden, American comedian, actor
• November 11 – LaVern Baker, American singer
• November 12 – Grace Kelly, American actress
• November 13 – Fred Phelps, American pastor, activist
• November 14 – Jimmy Piersall, American baseball player and sportscaster
• November 15
• * Ed Asner, American actor
• * Joe Hinton, African-American soul music singer
• November 18 – John McMartin, American actor
• November 23
• * Hal Lindsey, Christian evangelist
• * Gloria Lynne, American jazz singer
• * Shirley Palesh, baseball player
• November 24 – George Moscone, American attorney, politician
• November 28
• * Berry Gordy, African-American record producer, songwriter
• * Frederick D. Reese, African-American civil rights activist
• November 30
• * Dick Clark, American television entertainer
• * Joan Ganz Cooney, television producer

  December

• December 1 – David Doyle, American actor
• December 2
• * Dan Jenkins, American journalist and author
• * Leon Litwack, American historian and author
• December 9 – John Cassavetes, American actor
• December 17 – William Safire, American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter
• December 20 – David H. Gambrell, American politician
• December 21 – Newton Morton, American geneticist
• December 23 – Chet Baker, American jazz musician
• December 26 – Kathleen Crowley, American actress
• December 29
• * Theodore V. Buttrey Jr., American educator, classicist and numismatist
• * Susie Garrett, African-American actress
• * Matt "Guitar" Murphy, American blues musician
• December 31 – Robert B. Silvers, American literary editor

  Deaths

• January 5 – Marc McDermott, actor
• January 13
• * Wyatt Earp, gunfighter
• * Emil Fuchs, sculptor and painter
• January 15
• * Leonard Cline, novelist, poet and journalist
• * George Cope, painter
• January 30 – Franklin J. Drake, admiral
• February 4 – William Rankin Ballard, businessman
• February 14 – Thomas Burke, sprinter
• February 18 – William Russell, silent film actor
• February 22 – Louise Upton Brumback, landscape painter
• February 24 – Frank Keenan, actor
• February 27 – Briton Hadden, co-founder of Time magazine
• March 1 – Royal H. Weller, politician
• March 5 – David Dunbar Buick, inventor
• March 6 – Moses E. Clapp, politician
• March 12 – Asa Griggs Candler, businessman and politician
• March 15 – Pinetop Smith, blues pianist
• March 18 – William P. Cronan, Naval Governor of Guam
• March 28 – Katharine Lee Bates, librettist, author of "America the Beautiful"
• April 4 – William Michael Crose, United States Navy Commander and 7th Governor of American Samoa
• April 28 – May Jordan McConnel, Australian trade unionist and suffragist
• June 2 – Don Murray, jazz clarinettist
• June 4 – Harry Frazee, Broadway producer and baseball owner
• June 5 – Adolph Coors, brewer, suicide
• June 9 – murder–suicide
• * Louis Bennison, silent Western film actor
• * Margaret Lawrence, actress
• June 11 – William D. Boyce, entrepreneur and founder of the Boy Scouts of America
• July 2 – Gladys Brockwell, film actress
• July 3 – Dustin Farnum, silent Western film actor
• July 12 – Robert Henri, painter
• July 20 - Noble Drew Ali, Prophet born in North Carolina, born 1886 passes form
• August 3
• * Emile Berliner, inventor
• * Thorstein Veblen, economist
• August 19 – Chris Kelly, jazz trumpeter
• August 27 – James Knox Taylor, official architect
• September 2 – Paul Leni, filmmaker
• September 4 – Frederick Freeman Proctor, vaudeville impresario
• September 25 – Miller Huggins, baseball manager
• October 3 – Jeanne Eagels, actress
• November 14 – Joe McGinnity, baseball player
• November 17 – Herman Hollerith, businessman and inventor
• November 24 – Raymond Hitchcock, actor and producer
• December 10 – Harry Crosby, publisher and poet
• December 19 – Blind Lemon Jefferson, blues musician
• December 21 – I. L. Patterson, politician, 18th Governor of Oregon
• Adelaïde Alsop Robineau, ceramicist
• Dallas Lore Sharp, nature writer