TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Monday, Aug. 29, the 242nd day of 2016. There are 124 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History
On Aug. 29, 1966, the Beatles concluded their fourth American tour with their last public concert, held at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
On this date
1533 — The last Incan King of Peru, Atahualpa, was executed on orders of Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro.
1877 — The second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Brigham Young, died in Salt Lake City, Utah, at age 76.
1910 — Korean Emperor Sunjong abdicated as the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty went into effect. 1935 — The film “Top Hat,” starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
1944 — 15,000 American troops of the 28th Infantry Division marched down the Champs Elysees in Paris as the French capital continued to celebrate its liberation from the Nazis.
1952 — The composition 4’33” (“Four Minutes, Thirty-three Seconds”) by avant-garde composer John Cage premiered in Woodstock, New York, as David Tudor sat down at a piano, shut the keyboard lid, and, for four minutes and 33 seconds, played ... nothing.
1958 —Pop superstar Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana.
1965 — Gemini 5, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles “Pete” Conrad, splashed down in the Atlantic after 8 days in space.
1972 — Swimmer Mark Spitz of the United States won the third of his seven gold medals at the Munich Olympics, finishing first in the 200-meter freestyle.
1981 — Broadcaster and world traveler Lowell Thomas died in Pawling, New York, at age 89.
1996 — The Democratic National Convention in Chicago nominated Al Gore for a second term as vice president. Earlier in the day, President Bill Clinton’s chief political strategist, Dick Morris, resigned amid a scandal over his relationship with a prostitute.
2005 — Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast near Buras, Louisiana, bringing floods that devastated New Orleans. More than 1,800 people in the region died.
One year ago
Church bells rang marking the decade since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast; local and congressional leaders laid wreaths at a memorial in New Orleans holding the unclaimed and unidentified bodies from the deadly storm.
Today’s Birthdays
Actress Betty Lynn (TV: “The Andy Griffith Show”) is 90. Movie director William Friedkin is 81. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is 80. Actor Elliott Gould is 78. Movie director Joel Schumacher is 77. TV personality Robin Leach is 75. Retired licensed nurse Emma Mosely Brown of Rome, is 68. Actress Deborah Van Valkenburgh is 64. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew is 61. Dancer-choreographer Mark Morris is 60. Country musician Dan Truman (Diamond Rio) is 60. Actress Rebecca DeMornay is 57. Singer Me’Shell NdegeOcello is 48. Rhythm-and-blues singer Carl Martin (Shai) is 46. Actress Carla Gugino is 45. Rock musician Kyle Cook (Matchbox Twenty) is 41. Actor John Hensley is 39. Actress Kate Simses (TV: “Dr. Ken”) is 37. Rock musician David Desrosiers (Simple Plan) is 36. Rapper A+ is 34. Actress Jennifer Landon is 33. Actor Jeffrey Licon is 31. Actress-singer Lea Michele is 30. Actress Charlotte Ritchie (TV: “Call the Midwife”) is 27. Actress Nicole Gale Anderson is 26. Rock singer Liam Payne (One Direction) is 23.