Today in History: March 29, ‘Terra-cotta Army’ discovered in China
Today is Saturday, March 29, the 88th day of 2025. There are 277 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On March 29, 1974, a group of Chinese farmers digging a well struck fragments of terra-cotta buried underground; archaeologists would ultimately discover terra-cotta sculptures of more than 8,000 soldiers and other figures. The “Terra-cotta Army” would become one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.
Also on this date:
In 1943, World War II rationing of meat, fats and cheese began, limiting American consumers to store purchases of an average of about two pounds a week for beef, pork, lamb and mutton using a coupon system.
In 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted in New York of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. (They were executed in June 1953.)
In 1961, the 23rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.
In 1971, Army Lt. William L. Calley Jr. was convicted of murdering 22 Vietnamese civilians in the 1968 My Lai massacre. (Initially sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor, Calley’s sentence would ultimately be commuted by President Richard Nixon to three years of house arrest.)
In 1971, a jury in Los Angeles recommended the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers for the 1969 Tate-La Bianca murders. (The sentences were commuted when the California state Supreme Court struck down the death penalty in 1972.)
In 1973, the last United States combat troops left South Vietnam, ending America’s direct military involvement in the Vietnam War.
In 1984, under the cover of early morning darkness, the Baltimore Colts football team left its home city of three decades, sending the team’s equipment to Indianapolis in moving trucks without informing Baltimore city or Maryland state officials.
In 2004, President George W. Bush welcomed seven former Soviet-bloc nations (Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Slovenia) into NATO during a White House ceremony.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Comedian Eric Idle is 82.
- Former British Prime Minister John Major is 82.
- Basketball Hall of Famer Walt Frazier is 80.
- Football Hall of Famer Earl Campbell is 70.
- Actor Brendan Gleeson is 70.
- Actor Christopher Lambert is 68.
- Actor Annabella Sciorra is 65.
- Comedian-actor Amy Sedaris is 64.
- Model Elle Macpherson is 61.
- Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat from Nevada, is 61.
- Actor Lucy Lawless is 57.
- Tennis Hall of Famer Jennifer Capriati is 49.
- Musician-author Michelle Zauner is 36.