Today is May 29. On this date:
1765
Patrick Henry denounced the Stamp Act before Virginia’s House of Burgesses.
1790
Rhode Island became the 13th original colony to ratify the United States Constitution.
1914
The Canadian ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sank in the St. Lawrence River in eastern Quebec after colliding with the Norwegian cargo ship SS Storstad; of the 1,477 people on board the Empress of Ireland, 1,012 died. (The Storstad suffered only minor damage.)
1917
The 35th president of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was born in Brookline, Massachusetts.
1932
World War I veterans began arriving in Washington to demand cash bonuses they weren’t scheduled to receive until 1945.
1953
Mount Everest was conquered as Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tensing Norgay of Nepal became the first climbers to reach the summit.
1954
English runner Diane Leather became the first woman to run a sub-five-minute mile, finishing in 4:59.6 during the Midland Championships in Birmingham.
1977
Janet Guthrie became the first woman to race in the Indianapolis 500, finishing in 29th place (the winner was A.J. Foyt).
1985
39 people were killed at the European Cup Final in Brussels, Belgium, when rioting broke out and a wall separating British and Italian soccer fans collapsed.
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