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Today in History, June 29th

On June 29, 1972, the Supreme Court ruled in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty as applied was unconstitutional. Plus the first iPhone.

By Today in History Updated November 10, 2026 3 min read Sources checked

Published June 29, 2026 · Last updated November 10, 2026

June 29 is best known for 1972, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty, as it was then being applied, was unconstitutional. The date also saw London’s Globe Theatre burn down in 1613 and Apple release the first iPhone in 2007.

The big story: The Supreme Court halts the death penalty (1972)

For the first time, the nation’s highest court ruled against capital punishment. The vote in Furman v. Georgia was as close as it gets, 5 to 4. The majority held that executions, as states and the federal government were carrying them out, violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The problem was less the penalty itself than how it was handed out. The justices in the majority found it was imposed in arbitrary ways, and unevenly along racial lines. The ruling left a door open, though. The Court hinted that new laws with clearer rules for juries could pass muster, and states got to work. In 1976, with about two-thirds of Americans still backing capital punishment, the Court allowed executions to resume under guided sentencing rules. The first execution after the ban was lifted took place in Utah in 1977, when Gary Gilmore was put to death by firing squad.

More events on June 29

Year	What happened
1613	The Globe Theatre in London, built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s acting company, burned down (Old Style).
1917	Greece cut diplomatic ties with the Central Powers, ending its neutrality in World War I.
1950	A largely amateur U.S. soccer team stunned England at the World Cup in Brazil.
1956	Marilyn Monroe married playwright Arthur Miller in a brief civil ceremony in New York.
1958	Pelé helped Brazil win its first World Cup, beating host Sweden 5–2.
1969	The Harlem Cultural Festival opened in Mount Morris Park, a concert series featuring performers across many musical genres.
1974	Isabel Perón took over as acting president of Argentina while her husband, President Juan Perón, lay dying. She succeeded him on July 1, becoming the first woman to lead a government in the Western Hemisphere.
1974	Soviet ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov defected while on tour in Toronto.
1995	A U.S. space shuttle docked with Russia’s space station Mir.
2003	Katharine Hepburn, winner of four Best Actress Oscars, died in Connecticut at age 96.
2007	Apple released the first iPhone.

Born on June 29

1900: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French pilot and author of The Little Prince, born in Lyon.
1911: Bernard Herrmann, composer whose film scores include Psycho, born in New York City.
1941: Stokely Carmichael, civil rights activist who coined the phrase “Black power,” born in Port of Spain, Trinidad.