Today in History: September 29th

Highlights of this day in history: Germany annexes Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland region; America returns to manned spaceflight for the first time since the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster; Pope John Paul I found dead in his apartment; Willie Mays makes “The Catch”; Jerry Lee Lewis born.

Other notable September 29th events include:

1789 – The U.S. War Department first establishes a regular army with a strength of several hundred men, and the first U.S. Congress adjourns.

1885 – The first practical public electric tramway in the world is opened in Blackpool, England.

1911 – Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire.

1916 – John D. Rockefeller becomes the first billionaire.

1979 – Pope John Paul II became the first pope to set foot on Irish soil with his pastoral visit to the Republic of Ireland.

2005 – US Senate confirms John Roberts to be the next Chief Justice of the United States.

2008 – Following the bankruptcies of Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual, The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points, the largest single-day point loss in its history.