1985 41 years ago Historical Events April 29 2 sources

Space Shuttle Challenger is launched on STS-51-B.

On April 29, in the year 1985, Space Shuttle Challenger is launched on STS-51-B. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of April 29, one of 350 recorded events on this date across all of history.

Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the commanding ship of a nineteenth-century scientific expedition that traveled the world, Challenger was the second Space Shuttle orbiter to fly into space after Columbia, and launched on its maiden flight in April 1983. It was destroyed in January 1986 soon after launch in a disaster that killed all seven crewmembers aboard.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on April 29, 1985 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 7 April 2026.

On This Date in History 350

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2023 Apr 29 Padma Desai, Indian-American development economist (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2022 Apr 29 Joanna Barnes, American actress and writer (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2021 Apr 29 Cate Haste, English author (born 1945)
Notable Deaths 2020 Apr 29 Irrfan Khan, Indian actor (born 1967)
Notable Deaths 2020 Apr 29 Guido Münch, Mexican astronomer and astrophysicist (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2019 Apr 29 Josef Šural, Czech footballer (born 1990)
Notable Deaths 2018 Apr 29 Luis García Meza, Bolivian general, 57th President of Bolivia (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2018 Apr 29 Michael Martin, British politician (born 1945)
Notable Deaths 2017 Apr 29 R
Notable Deaths 2016 Apr 29 Dmytro Hnatyuk, Ukrainian singer (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2016 Apr 29 Renato Corona, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (born 1948)
Historical Events 2015 Apr 29 A baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox sets the all-time low attendance mark for Major
Notable Deaths 2015 Apr 29 François Michelin, French businessman (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2015 Apr 29 Jean Nidetch, American businesswoman, co-founded Weight Watchers (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2015 Apr 29 Calvin Peete, American golfer (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2015 Apr 29 Dan Walker, American lawyer and politician, 36th Governor of Illinois (born 1922)
Selected Events 2015 Apr 29 The ringleaders of the Bali Nine were executed in Indonesia for attempting to smuggle 8
Notable Deaths 2014 Apr 29 Iveta Bartošová, Czech singer and actress (born 1966)
Notable Deaths 2014 Apr 29 Al Feldstein, American author and illustrator (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2014 Apr 29 Bob Hoskins, English actor (born 1942)
Historical Events 2013 Apr 29 A powerful explosion occurs in an office building in Prague, believed to have been caused by natural gas, and injures 43
Historical Events 2013 Apr 29 National Airlines Flight 102, a Boeing 747-400 freighter aircraft, crashes during takeoff from Bagram Airfield in Parwan
Notable Deaths 2013 Apr 29 Alex Elisala, New Zealand-Australian rugby player (born 1992)
Notable Deaths 2013 Apr 29 Pesah Grupper, Israeli politician, 13th Israel Minister of Agriculture (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2013 Apr 29 John La Montaine, American pianist and composer (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2013 Apr 29 Kevin Moore, English footballer (born 1958)
Notable Deaths 2013 Apr 29 Marianna Zachariadi, Greek pole vaulter (born 1990)
Notable Deaths 2012 Apr 29 Shukri Ghanem, Libyan politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Libya (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2012 Apr 29 Joel Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (born 1957)
Notable Deaths 2012 Apr 29 Roland Moreno
Notable Deaths 2012 Apr 29 Kenny Roberts, American singer-songwriter (born 1926)
Historical Events 2011 Apr 29 The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton takes place at Westminster Abbey in London
Notable Deaths 2011 Apr 29 Siamak Pourzand, Iranian journalist and critic (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2011 Apr 29 Joanna Russ, American writer, academic and radical feminist (born 1937)
Selected Events 2011 Apr 29 Watched by a worldwide television audience of tens of millions, Prince William and Catherine Middleton were married at W
Notable Deaths 2010 Apr 29 Avigdor Arikha, French-Israeli artist, printmaker and art historian (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2008 Apr 29 Gordon Bradley, English-American footballer (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2008 Apr 29 Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist and academic (born 1906)
Notable Births 2007 Apr 29 Mirra Andreeva, Russian tennis player
Notable Births 2007 Apr 29 Infanta Sofía of Spain, Spanish princess
Notable Deaths 2007 Apr 29 Josh Hancock, American baseball player (born 1978)
Notable Deaths 2007 Apr 29 Dick Motz, New Zealand cricketer and rugby player (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2007 Apr 29 Ivica Račan, Croatian politician, 7th Prime Minister of Croatia (born 1944)
Notable Births 2006 Apr 29 Xochitl Gomez, American actress
Notable Deaths 2006 Apr 29 John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to India (born 1908)
Selected Events 2006 Apr 29 Cyclone Mala made landfall near Thandwe, Myanmar, causing 37 deaths
Notable Births 2005 Apr 29 Aarón Anselmino, Argentine footballer
Notable Deaths 2005 Apr 29 William J
Notable Deaths 2005 Apr 29 Louis Leithold, American mathematician and academic (born 1924)
Historical Events 2004 Apr 29 The final Oldsmobile is built in Lansing, Michigan, ending 107 years of vehicle production

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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