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 first minted in Japan.
- 1261 – Urban IV becomes Pope, the last man to do so without being a Cardinal first.
- 1315 – Battle of Montecatini: The army of the Republic of Pisa, commanded by Uguccione della Faggiuoli, wins a decisive victory against the joint forces of the Kingdom of Naples and Republic of Florence despite being outnumbered (meaning the opposing armies, combined, had more soldiers).
- 1350 – Battle of Winchelsea: An English naval fleet under King Edward III defeats a Castilian fleet of 40 ships.
- 1475 – Treaty of Picquigny ends a brief war between France and England.
- 1484 – Pope Innocent VIII, a staunch supporter of the Spanish Inquisition, is elected Pope.
- 1498 – Vasco da Gama decides to leave Calicut, present-day Kerala, southern India, 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.
- 1728 – Nuuk, Greenland, is founded as the fort of Godt-Haab by Danish royal governor Claus Paarss.
- 1741 – The volcanic eruption on Oshima-Oshima Island, Japan, causes tsunamis in the Sea of Japan, which kill around 1600 people.
- 1751 – The world's biggest wine barrel is completed in the cellar of Heidelberg Castle, present-day Germany. It can carry 221,726 liters.
- 1756 – Frederick the Great attacks Saxony, beginning the Seven Years' War.
- 1782 – The British ship HMS Royal George sinks while anchored in the Solent, south coast of England, killing between 800 and 950 people.
- 1786 – Shays' Rebellion, an armed uprising of Massachusetts farmers, begins in response to high debt and tax burdens.
- 1825 – Portugal recognizes Brazil as independent.
- 1831 – Michael Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction.
- 1833 – The United Kingdom legislates the abolition of Slavery in its then-Empire.
- 1842 – The Treaty of Nanking is signed, ending the First Opium War.
- 1861 – American Civil War: A United States Navy squadron captures forts at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina.
- 1862 – Battle of Aspromonte - Italian royal forces defeat rebels.
- 1871 – Emperor Meiji of Japan orders the establishment of prefectures as local centres of administration.
- 1885 – Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first motorcycle.
- 1893 – Whitcomb Judson gets a US patent for the zipper.
- 1895 – The formation of the Northern Rugby Union at the George Hotel, Huddersfield.
- 1896 – Chop suey is said to have been invented in New York City on this date.
- 1897 – The first Zionist World Congress is held in Basel, Switzerland.
- 1898 – Goodyear tire company is founded.
- 1907 – The Quebec Bridge collapses during construction, killing 75 workers.
- 1910 – The Japan-Korea Treaty of 1910 becomes effective, officially starting the period of Japanese rule on the Korean peninsula.
- 1911 – Ishi, considered the last Stone Age Native American, emerges from the wilderness of northeastern California.
- 1914 – World War I: The then-German colony of Samoa is occupied by New Zealand troops.
- 1915 – United States Navy salvage divers raise F-4, the first US submarine sunk in an accident.
- 1916 – The Mount Field and Freycinet National Parks are created in Tasmania.
- 1916 – The US passes the Philippine Autonomy.
- 1922 – The first radio advertisement is broadcast on WEAF-AM in New York City.
- 1930 – The last 36 remaining inhabitants of the remote Scottish island of Saint Kilda, leave forever.
- 1941 – World War II: Tallinn, Estonia, is occupied by Germany, following its occupation by the Soviet Union.
- 1943 – World War II: German-occupied Denmark scuttles most of its navy; Germany dissolves Danish government
- 1944 – Slovak National Uprising takes place as 60,000 Slovak troops turn against the Nazi rulers.
- 1949 – The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan.
- 1950 – Korean War: British troops arrive in Korea to support South Korea and the United States.
- 1952 – Premiere of John Cage's 4'33" in Woodstock, New York
- 1958 – United States Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
- 1965 – The Gemini V spacecraft returns to Earth.
- 1966 – Last Beatles concert, in San Francisco
- 1966 – Execution of Sayyid Qutb, an important theoretician of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
- 1968 – The future King Harald V of Norway marries Sonja Haraldsen in Oslo.
- 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 – An assassination attempt is made on President of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze.
- 1996 – 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.
- 1997 – Serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz bludgeons to death Christopher Maier of Lexington, Kentucky, the first of nine victims.
- 1999 – East Timor votes for independence from Indonesia.
- 2003 – Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, was assassinated in a terrorist bombing that killed him along with nearly 100 worshippers as they were leaving a mosque in Najaf.
- 2004 – End of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
- 2004 – Michael Schumacher wins his 7th Formula One world title and his 5th in a row, breaking the record held by Juan Manuel Fangio.
- 2005 – Hurricane Katrina reaches the US' Gulf coast with winds at a speed of 225 kph. The city of New Orleans is among the places that are severely flooded, as over 1,000 people are killed.
- 2008 – US Republican Party Presidential candidate John McCain nominates Sarah Palin as his running mate.
- 2011 – Hurricane Irene dissolves over Eastern Canada, having left a path of destruction over the Caribbean and eastern United States.
- 2012 – The 2012 Summer Paralympics in London begin.
- 2013 – The House of Commons of the United Kingdom votes, by a majority, against military action in Syria.
- 2015 – Three Al-Jazeera journalists are sentenced to three years in prison in Egypt, accused of false reporting and sympathizing with the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
- 2015 – Protests in Kuala Lumpur occurred against Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak, sparked by the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.
- 2017 – North Korea fires a ballistic missile over the southern part of the Northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
- 1434 – Janus Pannonius, Hungarian bishop, poet and diplomat (d. 1472)
- 1619 – Jean-Baptiste Colbert, French statesman (d. 1683)
- 1628 – John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath, English statesman (d. 1701)
- 1632 – John Locke, English philosopher (d. 1704)
- 1664 – Giuseppe Toretti, Italian sculptor (d. 1743)
- 1724 – Giovanni Battista Casti, Italian poet and writer (d. 1803)
- 1725 – Charles Townshend, English politician (d. 1767)
- 1728 – Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony (d. 1797)
- 1756 – Heinrich Graf von Bellegarde, Austrian field marshal and statesman (d. 1845)
- 1756 – Jan Sniadecki, Polish mathematician, philosopher and astronomer (d. 1830)
- 1769 – Rose Philippine Duchesne, French nun and saint (d. 1852)
- 1780 – Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, French painter (d. 1867)
- 1793 – Josef Naus, Austrian officer and surveyor, first to climb the Zugspitze (d. 1871)
- 1809 – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., American physician and writer (d. 1894)
- 1810 – Juan Bautista Alberdi, Argentine politician and writer (d. 1884)
- 1842 – Alfred Shaw, English cricketer, rugby player and umpire (d. 1907)
- 1843 – David B. Hill, 29th Governor of New York (d. 1910)
- 1844 – Edward Carpenter, English poet (d. 1929)
- 1862 – Andrew Fisher, 5th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1928)
- 1862 – Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian writer (d. 1949)
- 1871 – Albert Lebrun, President of France (d. 1950)
- 1875 – Leonardo De Lorenzo, Italian flautist and educator (d. 1962)
- 1876 – Charles Franklin Kettering, American inventor (d. 1958)
- 1876 – Kim Gu, Korean politician (d. 1949)
- 1880 – Marie-Louise Meilleur, Canadian supercentenarian (d. 1998)
- 1881 – Albert Henderson, Canadian footballer (d. 1947)
- 1883 – Muriel George, English singer and movie actress (d. 1965)
- 1887 – Jivraj Narayan Mehta, Indian politician, 1st Chief Minister of Gujarat (d. 1978)
- 1888 – Gunichi Mikawa, Japanese admiral (d. 1981)
- 1898 – Preston Sturges, American movie director, screenwriter and playwright (d. 1959)
- 1904 – Werner Forssmann, German physician (d. 1979)
- 1905 – Al Taliaferro, American comic artist (d. 1969)
- 1907 – Takeo Wakabayashi, Japanese footballer (d. 1937)
- 1910 – Vivien Thomas, American surgical technician (d. 1985)
- 1912 – Sohn Kee-chung, South Korean runner (d. 2002)
- 1912 – Barry Sullivan, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1912 – Wolfgang Suschitzky, Austrian-Polish cinematographer (d. 2016)
- 1913 – K. Jeyakody, Sri Lankan Tamil politician
- 1913 – Jan Ekier, Polish pianist and composer (d. 2014)
- 1915 – Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress (d. 1982)
- 1916 – Consuelo Velazquez, Mexican musician and composer (d. 2005)
- 1916 – George Montgomery, American actor (d. 2000)
- 1917 – Isabel Sanford, American actress (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Charlie Parker, American musician (d. 1955)
- 1921 – Paddy Roy Bates, English founder of the Sealand micronation (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Arthur Anderson, American actor (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Richard Attenborough, English actor and movie director (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Maria Dolores Pradera, Spanish singer and actress
- 1924 – Dinah Washington, American singer (d. 1963)
- 1925 – Demetrio B. Lakas, 35th President of Panama (d. 1999)
- 1926 – Helene Ahrweiler, Greek historian and academic
- 1927 – Jimmy C. Newman, American singer (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Atef Sedki, Egyptian politician (d. 2005)
- 1931 – Stelios Kazantzidis, Greek singer (d. 2001)
- 1932 – Shen Chun-shan, Taiwanese physicist and academic (d. 2018)
- 1933 – Sorel Etrog, Romanian-Canadian artist, writer and philosopher (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Arnold Koller, Swiss politician
- 1934 – Horst Szymaniak, German footballer (d. 2009)
- 1935 – William Friedkin, American movie director
- 1935 – Hugo Brandt Corstius, Dutch writer (d. 2014)
- 1936 – John McCain, American pilot and politician, 2008 Presidential candidate (d. 2018)
- 1937 – James Florio, former Governor of New Jersey
- 1938 – Elliott Gould, American actor
- 1938 – Robert Rubin, American politician, former United States Secretary of the Treasury
- 1938 – Carlos Moreno, Argentine actor (d. 2014)
- 1939 – Joel Schumacher, American director
- 1940 – James Brady, American activist and 15th White House Press Secretary (d. 2014)
- 1940 – Wim Ruska, Dutch judoka (d. 2015)
- 1941 – Robin Leach, English writer and television host (d. 2018)
- 1942 – Gottfried John, German actor (d. 2014)
- 1943 – Peter von Bagh, Finnish movie historian (d. 2014)
- 1943 – Arthur B. McDonald, Canadian astrophysicist
- 1945 – Wyonia Tyus, American athlete
- 1946 – Demetris Christofias, Cypriot politician, former President of Cyprus
- 1946 – Bob Beamon, American long jumper
- 1946 – Giorgio Orsoni, Italian lawyer and politician, 17th Mayor of Venice
- 1947 – Temple Grandin, American animal welfare and autism expert
- 1947 – James Hunt, English racing driver (d. 1993)
- 1952 – Deborah Van Valkenburgh, American actress
- 1952 – Dave Malone, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1955 – Jacob Lew, American politician
- 1956 – GG Allin, American musician (d. 1993)
- 1958 – Michael Jackson, American singer and entertainer (d. 2009)
- 1958 – Lenny Henry, English comedian, actor and writer
- 1959 – Stephen Wolfram, English mathematician
- 1959 – Rebecca De Mornay, American actress
- 1959 – Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut
- 1959 – Eddi Reader, Scottish singer
- 1959 – Ramon Diaz, Argentine footballer
- 1960 – Tony McAlpine, American guitarist, composer and producer
- 1961 – Carsten Fischer, German field hockey player
- 1962 – Jutta Kleinschmidt, German rally driver
- 1962 – Simon Thurley, English architectural historian
- 1963 – Elizabeth Fraser, Scottish singer
- 1963 – Steve Clarke, Scottish footballer and football manager
- 1964 – Zisis Tsekos, Greek footballer
- 1965 – Frances Ruffelle, English actress and singer
- 1967 – Neil Gorsuch, American judge, US Supreme Court Justice
- 1969 – Joe Swail, Northern Irish snooker player
- 1969 – Lucero, Mexican singer and actress
- 1971 – Carla Gugino, American actress
- 1972 – Kentaro Hayashi, Japanese footballer
- 1972 – Bae Yong-jeon, South Korean actor
- 1973 – Daniel Burman, Argentine movie director
- 1974 – Denis Caniza, Paraguayan footballer
- 1974 – Nicola Amoruso, Italian footballer
- 1975 – Kyle Cook, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1976 – Pablo Mastroeni, American footballer
- 1976 – Jon Dahl Tomasson, Danish footballer
- 1976 – Stephen Carr, Irish footballer
- 1977 – Jo Weil, German actor
- 1977 – Roy Oswalt, American baseball player
- 1977 – John Hensley, American actor
- 1979 – Justine Pasek, Panamanian model
- 1980 – David Desrosiers, Canadian musician (Simple Plan)
- 1980 – David West, American basketball player
- 1981 – Emilie Duquenne, Belgian actress
- 1982 – Vincent Enyeama, Nigerian footballer
- 1982 – A+, American rapper
- 1982 – Carlos Delfino, Argentine basketball player
- 1985 – Marc Rzepczynski, American baseball player
- 1986 – Lauren Collins, Canadian actress
- 1986 – Lea Michele, American actress and singer
- 1987 – Tony Kane, Irish footballer
- 1988 – Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, British athlete
- 1990 – Patrick van Aanholt, Dutch footballer
- 1990 – Nicole Anderson, American actress
- 1990 – Julia Vlassov, American figure skater
- 1991 – Deshaun Thomas, American basketball player
- 1993 – Liam Payne, English singer (One Direction)
- 1993 – Lucas Cruikshank, American actor
- 1994 – Courtney Stodden, American television personality
- 886 – Basil I, Byzantine Emperor (b. 811)
- 1093 – Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy
- 1123 – Eystein I of Norway (b. 1088)
- 1315 – Charles of Taranto (b. 1296)
- 1395 – Duke Albert III of Austria (b. 1349)
- 1435 – Isabeau de Bavière, queen of Charles VI of France (b. 1371)
- 1442 – John VI, Duke of Brittany (b. 1389)
- 1526 – King Louis II of Hungary (b. 1506)
- 1533 – Atahualpa, last Inca ruler of Peru (b. 1502)
- 1712 – Gregory King, English genealogist, engraver and statistician (b. 1648)
- 1749 – Matthias Bel, Hungarian pastor and polymath (b. 1684)
- 1769 – Edmund Hoyle, English writer and teacher (b. 1672)
- 1780 – Jacques-Germain Soufflot, French architect (b. 1713)
- 1799 – Pope Pius VI (b. 1717)
- 1816 – Johann Hieronymus Schroeter, German jurist and astronomer (b. 1745)
- 1853 – Charles James Napier, British general (b. 1782)
- 1856 – Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, English author (b. 1778)
- 1866 – Tokugawa Iemochi, Japanese shogun (b. 1846)
- 1877 – Brigham Young, Mormon leader (b. 1801)
- 1889 – Stefan Dunjov, Bulgarian military officer (b. 1815)
- 1891 – Pierre Lallement, French inventor (b. 1843)
- 1904 – Murad V, Ottoman sultan (b. 1840)
- 1918 – Max Dauthendey, German writer (b. 1867)
- 1930 – William Archibald Spooner, writer (b. 1844)
- 1931 – David T. Abercrombie, a founder of American clothing retailer Abercrombie and Fitch (b. 1867)
- 1935 – Queen Astrid of Belgium, mother of King Albert II of Belgium (b. 1905)
- 1946 – Grigory Semyonov, Russian general (b. 1890)
- 1947 – Manolete, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1917)
- 1966 – Sayyid Qutb, Egyptian theoretician (b. 1906).
- 1972 – Lale Andersen, German singer (b. 1905)
- 1973 – Stringer Davis, English actor (b. 1899)
- 1975 – Éamon de Valera, Irish statesman and President of Ireland (b. 1882)
- 1976 – Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet, musician and philosopher (b. 1899)
- 1981 – Lowell Thomas, travel writer (b. 1892)
- 1982 – Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress (b. 1915)
- 1982 – Nahum Goldmann, founder of the Jewish World Congress (b. 1895)
- 1984 – Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian politician and President of Egypt (b. 1901)
- 1984 – Pierre Gemayel, Lebanese politician (b. 1905)
- 1987 – Archie Campbell, American comedian, writer and actor (b. 1914)
- 1987 – Lee Marvin, actor (b. 1924)
- 1989 – Peter Scott, English explorer, naturalist and painter (b. 1909)
- 1992 – Teddy Turner, English actor (b. 1917)
- 1995 – Frank Perry, American director (b. 1930)
- 2001 – Francisco Rabal, Spanish actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2003 – Michel Constantin, French actor (b. 1924)
- 2003 – Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, Iraqi political leader (b.1939)
- 2004 – Hans Vonk, Dutch conductor (b. 1942)
- 2007 – Pierre Messmer, Prime Minister of France (b. 1916)
- 2011 – David Honeyboy Edwards, American blues musician (b. 1915)
- 2013 – Cliff Morgan, Welsh rugby player (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Bruce C. Murray, American scientist (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Bjorn Waldegard, Swedish rally driver (b. 1943)
- 2014 – David Bala, Singaporean comedian and actor (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Kyle Jean-Baptiste, American actor (b. 1993)
- 2015 – Wayne Dyer, American self-help author and motivational speaker (b. 1940)
- 2016 – Gene Wilder, American actor (b. 1933)
- 2017 – Janine Charrat, French ballet dancer and choreographer (b. 1924)
- 2017 – Dmitri Kogan, Russian violinist (b. 1978)
- 2017 – David Tang, Hong Kong businessman (b. 1954)
- 2018 – Stan Brock, English philanthropist (b. 1936)
- 2018 – James Mirrlees, Scottish economist (b. 1936)
- 2018 – Carilda Oliver Labra, Cuban poet (b. 1922)
- 2018 – Marie Severin, American comic book artist (b. 1929)
- 2018 – Paul Taylor, American choreographer (b. 1930)