Day Trivia

Posted Fri, 08/29/08

I love little "fun" facts about certain days. On this day (August 29th) in history et al:

  • 1533: Atahuallpa, 13th and last emperor of the Incas, died by strangulation at the hands of Francisco Pizarro's Spanish conquistadors. His death marked the end of 300 years of Inca civilization.

  • 1831: Michael Faraday successfully demonstrated the first electrical transformer.

  • 1835: The city of Melbourne, Australia was founded.

  • 1842: Under the Treaty of Nanking, which ends the First Opium War, China cedes Hong Kong to Britain and opens five of its ports to British trade.

  • 1896: The Chinese-American dish chop suey was invented in New York City by the chef to visiting Chinese Ambassador Li Hung-chang.

  • 1922: The first radio commercial was broadcast on WEAF in New York.

  • 1949: The U.S.S.R. tested their first atomic bomb.

  • 1965: Gemini V returns to Earth.

  • 1966: At Candlestick Park, San Francisco, the Beatles played their last live concert.

  • 1991: The Supreme Soviet voted to suspend formally all activities of the Communist Party.

  • 2003: Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, is assassinated in a terrorist bombing, along with nearly 100 worshippers as they leave a mosque in Najaf.

  • 2005: Hurricane Katrina devastates much of the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, killing more than 1,836 and causing over $115 billion in damage.

  • Holidays: Feast Day of St. Sabina of Rome, St. Edwold of Cerne, and St. Medericus (Merry), and National Day in Slovakia.

  • August 29, 2008: 242nd day of the year, with 124 days remaining in 2008.

BIRTHDAYS:

  • 1632: John Locke, English philosopher.

  • 1780: Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, French painter.

  • 1809: Oliver Wendell Holmes, American physician, author, poet.

  • 1898: Preston Sturges, American film director and writer.

  • 1915: Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress.

  • 1920: Charlie "Bird" Parker, American jazz saxophonist.

  • 1923: Richard Attenborough, English film director.

  • 1936: John McCain, American politician.

  • 1938: Elliott Gould (born Elliott Goldstein), American actor.

  • 1941: Robin Leach, English television host.

  • 1958: Michael Jackson, American pop singer.

DEATHS:

  • 1769: Edmund Hoyle, English writer best known for his works on the rules and play of card games.

  • 1877: Brigham Young, American religious leader and second president of the Mormon church.

  • 1891: Pierre Lallement, inventor of the bicycle.

  • 1931: David T. Abercrombie, founder of Abercrombie and Fitch.

  • 1982: Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress.

  • 1987: Lee Marvin, American tough guy actor.

  • 1990: Manly Palmer Hall, Canadian writer.

Thanks to Reference.Com, MSN Encarta and the BBC for the information.

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