Updated September 28, 2012, 2:28 pm
On Sept. 29, 1957, the New York Giants played their last game at the Polo Grounds, losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-1. The Giants moved to San Francisco for the next season.
On Sept. 29, 1901, Enrico Fermi, the Italian-born physicist who helped develop America’s first atomic weapons, was born. Following his death on Nov. 28, 1954, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1789 The U.S. War Department established a regular army with a strength of several hundred men. 1918 Allied forces scored a decisive breakthrough on the Hindenburg Line during World War I. 1954 New York Giants centerfielder Willie Mays made a running catch with his back to home plate on a 450-foot blast by Cleveland Indians batter Vic Wertz in Game 1 of the World Series. 1957 Baseball’s New York Giants played their last game at the Polo Grounds before moving to San Francisco for the next season. 1978 Pope John Paul I was found dead in his Vatican apartment a little more than one month after becoming head of the Roman Catholic Church. 2000 Israeli riot police stormed a major Jerusalem shrine and opened fire on stone-throwing Muslim worshippers, killing four Palestinians and wounding 175. 2005 John Roberts was sworn in as the nation’s 17th chief justice. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actor Zachary Levi (“Chuck”) turns years old.
AP Photo/Dan Steinberg
Actor Ian McShane (“Deadwood”) turns 70 years old today.
AP Photo/Joel Ryan
1931 Anita Ekberg, Actress, turns 81 1935 Jerry Lee Lewis, Rock singer, musician, turns 77 1942 Bill Nelson, U.S. senator, D-Fla., turns 70 1942 Jean-Luc Ponty, Jazz violinist, turns 70 1948 Bryant Gumbel, TV personality, turns 64 1955 Gwen Ifill, Broadcast journalist, turns 57 1957 Andrew “Dice” Clay, Comedian, turns 55 1962 Roger Bart, Actor, turns 50 1966 Jill Whelan, Actress (“The Love Boat”), turns 46 1969 Erika Eleniak, Actress, turns 43 1970 Brad Cotter, Country singer (“Nashville Star”), turns 42 1988 Kevin Durant, Basketball player, turns 24
Historic Birthdays
Enrico Fermi 9/29/1901 – 11/28/1954 Italian-born American Nobel Prize-winning physicist (1938). Go to obituary »
57 Pompey The Great 9/29/106 BC – 9/28/48 BC
Roman statesman and general of the Roman Republic68 John Leslie 9/29/1527 – 5/31/1596
Scottish bishop; advisor to Queen Mary66 Francois Boucher 9/29/1703 – 5/30/1770
French painter, engraver and designer47 Horatio Nelson 9/29/1758 – 10/21/1805
English naval commander84 Caroline Yale 9/29/1848 – 7/2/1933
American educator of the deaf54 Walther Rathenau 9/29/1867 – 6/24/1922
German statesman, industrialist and philosopher80 Miguel Aleman 9/29/1902 – 5/14/1983
Mexican president (1946-52)91 Greer Garson 9/29/1904 – 4/6/1996
English-born motion-picture actress71 Trevor Howard 9/29/1913 – 1/7/1988
English stage and screen actor
