January 29
Updated November 6, 2026 · Edited by the JanuaryCalendar.com team
January 29 is Kansas Day, marking the state's admission to the Union in 1861, and the unofficial National Puzzle Day. Karl Benz filed his patent for the motor car on this date in 1886, and Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven was published in 1845.
January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. 336 days remain in the year (337 in leap years). In 2027, January 29 falls on a Friday.
- Day of year
- 29
- Days left
- 336 (337 in leap years)
- Zodiac sign
- Aquarius ♒︎
- Birthstone
- Garnet
- ISO week (2027)
- Week 4
- Weekday (2027)
- Friday
Holidays and observances on January 29
- Official Kansas Day (Kansas, US) — Kansas became the 34th state on January 29, 1861.
- Unofficial National Puzzle Day (US) — A popular day for crosswords, jigsaws and brainteasers.
- Cultural Lunar New Year falls on January 29 in 2025 (Snake)
- Astronomy Full moon (Wolf Moon) on January 29 in 2040 (Eastern Time)
Events on January 29 in history
- 1820 – George IV became king of the United Kingdom on the death of his father, George III.
- 1845 – Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven was published in the New York Evening Mirror.
- 1856 – Queen Victoria instituted the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy.
- 1861 – Kansas was admitted to the Union as the 34th US state, entering as a free state.
- 1886 – Karl Benz filed a German patent for his gasoline-powered Motorwagen, often called the first modern automobile.
- 1936 – The Baseball Hall of Fame announced its first five inductees, including Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb.
- 1959 – Walt Disney's animated film Sleeping Beauty was released in US theaters.
- 1964 – The Winter Olympics opened in Innsbruck, Austria.
- 2002 – President George W. Bush called Iran, Iraq and North Korea an "axis of evil" in his State of the Union address.
Famous birthdays on January 29
- 1843 – William McKinley, 25th president of the United States
- 1862 – Frederick Delius, English composer
- 1866 – Romain Rolland, French writer, Nobel Prize in Literature
- 1874 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American financier and philanthropist
- 1926 – Abdus Salam, Pakistani Nobel Prize-winning physicist
- 1939 – Germaine Greer, Australian feminist writer
- 1945 – Tom Selleck, American actor
- 1954 – Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host and media executive
- 1960 – Greg Louganis, American Olympic diving champion
What day is January 29?
Frequently asked questions
What is Kansas Day?
Kansas Day celebrates the anniversary of Kansas statehood on January 29, 1861, when it joined the Union as the 34th state. Schools across Kansas mark it with lessons on state history.
What is National Puzzle Day?
National Puzzle Day is an unofficial US observance on January 29 that encourages people to solve crosswords, jigsaws, sudoku and other brainteasers.
What happened on January 29, 1886?
Karl Benz filed a patent in Germany for his three-wheeled, gasoline-powered Motorwagen. The patent is often described as the birth certificate of the automobile.
What day of the week is January 29, 2027?
January 29, 2027 is a Friday. In 2028 it falls on a Saturday.
What zodiac sign is January 29?
People born on January 29 are Aquarians (January 20 – February 18) in Western astrology.