The Saratogian (Saratoga, NY)

On this date

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In 1533, the last Incan King of Peru, Atahualpa (ahtuh-WAHL’-puh), was executed on orders of Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro.

In 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.

In 1910, Korean Emperor Sunjong abdicated as the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty went into effect.

In 1935, the film “Top Hat,” starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

In 1944, 15,000 American troops of the 28th Infantry Division marched down the Champs Elysees (shahms ay-lee-ZAY’) in Paris as the French capital continued to celebrate its liberation from the Nazis.

In 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.

In 1958, pop superstar Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana.

In 1965, Gemini 5, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles “Pete” Conrad, splashed down in the Atlantic after 8 days in space.

In 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.

In 1981, broadcaste­r and world traveler Lowell Thomas died in Pawling, New York, at age 89.

In 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.

In 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.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush visited New Orleans one year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region to offer comfort and hope to residents. Tropical Storm Ernesto’s leading edge drenched Miami and the rest of southern Florida.

Five years ago: In a sign Moammar Gadhafi had lost grip on his country, his wife and three of his children fled Libya to neighborin­g Algeria. Grammy-winning blues musician David “Honey Boy” Edwards, believed to be the oldest surviving Delta bluesman, died in his Chicago home at age 96.

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. An Egyptian court sentenced three journalist­s for Al-Jazeera English to three years in prison for broadcasti­ng “false news,” sparking an internatio­nal outcry. Triple Crown winner American Pharoah lost to Keen Ice in the $1.6 million Travers Stakes before a stunned crowd at Saratoga Race Course. Author and motivation­al speaker Wayne W. Dyer, 75, died in Hawaii.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Betty Lynn (TV: “The Andy Griffith Show”) is 90.

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