Today in History

August 29

1533

Atahualpa, the last ruler of the Incas, was murdered as Francisco Pizarro completed his conquest of Peru.

1786

Shays's rebellion, an insurrection of Massachusetts farmers against the state government, began.

1842

The Treaty of Nanking was signed, ending the Opium Wars and ceding the island of Hong Kong to Britain.

1877

Brigham Young died in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1949

The U.S.S.R. tested their first atomic bomb.

1957

Strom Thurmond ended the longest filibuster in U.S. Senate history. He spoke for more than 24 hours against a civil rights bill; the bill passed.

1966

The Beatles played their last major live concert at Candlestick Park, California.

1981

Stacy Nason was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

1991

The Supreme Soviet, the parliament of the U.S.S.R., suspended all activities of the Communist Party, bringing an end to the institution.

2005

Hurricane Katrina slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast, destroying beachfront towns in Mississippi and Louisiana, displacing a million people, and killing more than 1,000.