This Day In History: August 29
Take a look at all of the important historic events that took place on August 29.
On this day, Aug. 29 ...
2005: Hurricane Katrina slams into the U.S. Gulf Coast, destroying beachfront towns in Mississippi and Louisiana, displacing a million people, and killing more than 1,800.
Also on this day:
- 1842: The Treaty of Nanking is signed, ending the Opium Wars and ceding the island of Hong Kong to Britain.
- 1862: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing begins operations at the United States Treasury.
- 1944: Approximately 15,000 American troops of the 28th Infantry Division march down the Champs Elysees in Paris as the French capital celebrates its liberation from the Nazis.
- 1949: The USSR tests its first atomic bomb.
- 1957: The Senate gives final congressional approval to a Civil Rights Act after Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina (then a Democrat) ends a filibuster that had lasted 24 hours.
- 1966: The Beatles play their last major live concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
- 1972: Swimmer Mark Spitz of the United States wins the third of his seven gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Munich, finishing first in the 200-meter freestyle.
- 1991: The Supreme Soviet, the parliament of the USSR, suspends all activities of the Communist Party, bringing an end to the institution.
- 1996: The Democratic National Convention in Chicago nominates Al Gore for a second term as vice president. Earlier in the day, President Bill Clinton’s chief political strategist, Dick Morris, resigns amid a scandal over his relationship with a prostitute.
- 2008: Republican presidential nominee John McCain picks Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate.
- 2009: Eight people are found beaten to death at a mobile home in Glynn County, Georgia; family member Guy Heinze Jr., who reported finding the bodies, would be convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.
- 2014: A federal judge throws out new Texas abortion restrictions that would have effectively closed more than a dozen clinics statewide. (It was a victory for opponents of tough new anti-abortion laws sweeping across the U.S. at the time. The Supreme Court would strike down parts of the Texas anti-abortion measure as an “undue burden” on access to abortion.)
