March 29 Birthday
On Palm Sunday, March 29, 1461, the Battle of Towton was fought near Tadcaster, Yorkshire, during the Wars of the Roses. It is believed to be the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil — an estimated 28,000 men died, roughly 1% of England's population. The battle was between the houses of York and Lancaster. The Yorkists, led by Edward IV, were outnumbered but prevailed. The fighting lasted ten hours. The River Cock ran red with blood for days. Recent archaeological excavations at a mass grave near the battlefield revealed that the soldiers died from horrific head wounds — many had been killed after being captured. The Wars of the Roses would continue for twenty-four more years, ending when Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at Bosworth Field in 1485. The last US combat troops withdrew from Vietnam on March 29, 1973, under the terms of the Paris Peace Accords signed in January. The withdrawal had been promised by Nixon as "Vietnamization" — transferring the fighting to the South Vietnamese army while withdrawing American forces. Over 58,000 Americans had died in the war, along with an estimated 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters and 2 million civilians. The war had cost $168 billion. The last US soldier to die in Vietnam was Corporal Charles McMahon, killed in a rocket attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base on April 29, 1975 — during the evacuation of Saigon. South Vietnam fell to the North on April 30, 1975, two years after the American withdrawal. The peace accords had achieved nothing except a delay. On March 29, 2004, Ireland implemented the Workplace Smoking Ban, making it the first country in the world to prohibit smoking in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants. The ban was proposed by Minister for Health Micheál Martin and was initially met with outrage from the hospitality industry, which predicted economic ruin. Instead, bar revenues increased. The ban was based on the research of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which had classified secondhand smoke as a carcinogen in 2002. The Irish ban inspired similar legislation across Europe and the world. New York City had banned smoking in bars and restaurants in 2003, but Ireland was the first entire country to do so. John Tyler, born this day in 1790, was the first vice president to succeed to the presidency after a president's death. When William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia thirty-one days after his inauguration in 1841, Tyler claimed the full powers of the presidency. His own party, the Whigs, expelled him. He was so unpopular that he received death threats daily and was dubbed "His Accidency." He fathered fifteen children — more than any president. He died in 1862, having joined the Confederacy. People born on March 29 fall under the zodiac sign of Aries. The birthstone is Aquamarine and the birth flower is Daffodil. Historical events on March 29 include 1461: Battle of Towton — bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil (28,000 dead), 1973: Last US combat troops withdraw from Vietnam, 2004: Ireland becomes first country to ban smoking in all workplaces. Famous people born on March 29 include John Tyler (1790), Walt Frazier (1945), Elle Macpherson (1964).