This Day in History: Aug. 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.)