This Day in History: September 29 Sees Start of the Italo-Turkish War and CERN's Founding
From the Munich conference to CERN’s founding, September 29 marks events that shaped diplomacy, science and culture.
The Munich conference of September 29, 1938, brought Britain, France, Germany, and Italy together to decide the future of part of Czechoslovakia—without giving the Czechoslovak government a place at the negotiations. The resulting agreement allowed Nazi Germany to take the Sudetenland, a border region with a large German-speaking population. British and French leaders hoped the concession would prevent a European war. Instead, it weakened Czechoslovakia and failed to stop further German expansion.
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Although the agreement was signed in the early hours of September 30, it is closely associated with the September 29 conference. Its lasting importance lies in the questions it raises about diplomacy, national sovereignty, and whether concessions can restrain an expansionist government. It remains one of the most consequential events connected with this date.
Major Historical Events
1829: London’s Metropolitan Police begin duty
Uniformed officers of London’s new Metropolitan Police took to the streets on September 29. Created through legislation championed by Home Secretary Robert Peel, the force replaced a patchwork of local arrangements with a more coordinated system for policing much of the growing capital.
Its emphasis on regular patrols and preventing crime helped shape civilian policing in Britain and elsewhere. The institution also developed amid public concern that a centralized police force might threaten individual liberty. Its history reflects the continuing challenge of maintaining public order while earning public trust.
1911: Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire
Seeking a larger colonial presence in the Mediterranean, Italy declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Its principal targets were the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, in present-day Libya.
The conflict ended in 1912 with an agreement that enabled Italian control, although resistance within Libya continued for years. Italy also occupied the Dodecanese islands. The war exposed Ottoman weaknesses shortly before the Balkan Wars and became an early testing ground for military aviation, including aerial reconnaissance and bombing.
1938: The Munich settlement reshapes Central Europe
Against that background of shifting European borders and competing territorial claims, the Munich conference became a defining diplomatic crisis. Adolf Hitler demanded the Sudetenland, while British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Premier Édouard Daladier sought to avoid another conflict on the scale of World War I. Italian leader Benito Mussolini participated in the negotiations.
Czechoslovakia lost important border defenses, industrial resources, and territory. In March 1939, Germany occupied the Czech lands, while Slovakia became a formally independent state closely aligned with Germany. The Munich settlement therefore did not produce the durable peace its supporters had promised.
1954: CERN formally comes into existence
The convention establishing the European Organization for Nuclear Research, widely known as CERN, entered into force on September 29. Twelve founding member states backed an institution designed to share the expense, equipment, and expertise needed for advanced physics.
Based near Geneva, CERN helped rebuild European scientific cooperation after World War II. Its laboratories later supported major discoveries in particle physics, including the Higgs boson in 2012. The World Wide Web was also developed there, showing how research infrastructure can generate innovations far beyond its original purpose.
1962: Canada’s Alouette 1 reaches orbit
Canada entered the satellite age with the launch of Alouette 1 aboard an American rocket from California. Canada became the third country, after the Soviet Union and the United States, to have a domestically designed and built satellite placed in orbit.
Alouette studied the ionosphere, an electrically charged region of the upper atmosphere that affects radio communications. It operated for roughly a decade, far longer than its initial design goal. The mission established Canada’s capabilities in space engineering and contributed to international understanding of the environment above Earth.
1972: Japan and China normalize diplomatic relations
Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai issued a joint communiqué establishing diplomatic relations between Japan and the People’s Republic of China.
The agreement followed decades of estrangement shaped by Japan’s invasion of China, World War II, and Cold War divisions. Japan recognized the government in Beijing as China’s sole legal government, ending official diplomatic relations with the authorities in Taiwan. Normalization opened the way for expanded trade and exchanges, although disputes over history and territory remained.
1988: Discovery returns the space shuttle to flight
NASA launched the shuttle Discovery on mission STS-26, the first shuttle flight since the Challenger disaster in January 1986, which killed seven astronauts.
The return followed changes to the solid rocket boosters and reviews of NASA’s safety and decision-making practices. Discovery deployed a communications satellite and restored an important part of American space operations. The mission also demonstrated how a technological setback could lead to changes in both engineering and institutional oversight.
Notable Births
Horatio Nelson, born in 1758
British naval commander Horatio Nelson became known for aggressive tactics and leadership during the wars against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France. His victory at Trafalgar in 1805, where he was killed, helped secure British naval dominance. His career remains central to the history of maritime warfare.
Enrico Fermi, born in 1901
Born in Rome, physicist Enrico Fermi made major contributions to both theoretical and experimental physics. He received the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics and later led the team that achieved the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in Chicago in 1942. His work helped establish the foundations of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons.
Lech Walesa, born in 1943
Polish electrician and labor organizer Lech Walesa became a leading figure in Solidarity, the independent trade union movement that challenged communist rule through strikes, organizing, and negotiations. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, he later served as Poland’s president during its transition to multiparty democracy.
Sebastian Coe, born in 1956
British middle-distance runner Sebastian Coe won Olympic gold in the 1,500 meters in 1980 and 1984 and set multiple world records. After his competitive career, he became a prominent sports administrator and led the organizing committee for the 2012 London Olympics.
Notable Deaths
Émile Zola, died in 1902
French novelist Émile Zola examined working conditions, poverty, and family life in books including Germinal. He also intervened in the Dreyfus affair through his open letter “J’Accuse…!”, challenging the wrongful conviction of a Jewish army officer. His legacy joins literary achievement with the history of public advocacy.
W. H. Auden, died in 1973
Poet W. H. Auden wrote about love, responsibility, belief, and political upheaval with technical skill and an often conversational voice. Born in Britain and later an American citizen, he became one of the most influential English-language poets of the twentieth century.
Roy Lichtenstein, died in 1997
American artist Roy Lichtenstein transformed comic-strip imagery and commercial printing techniques into large-scale paintings. His work helped define Pop Art and encouraged audiences to reconsider the boundaries between fine art, advertising, and mass entertainment.
September 29 connects diplomatic decisions, scientific cooperation, artistic experimentation, and individual achievement.
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