Today in History.....August 29

On this day in …

1533, Atahuallpa, the 13th and last emperor of the Incas, dies by strangulation at the hands of Francisco Pizarro's Spanish conquistadors. The execution of Atahuallpa, the last free reigning emperor, marked the end of 300 years of Inca civilization

1862, the Bureau of Engraving is founded

1885, the world's first motorcycle, made by Gottlieb Daimler, was patented on this day. The two-wheeled vehicle gained immense popularity after 1910, when it was used heavily by all branches of the armed forces during World War I. The motorcycle's popularity lagged during the Great Depression, but came back with a vengeance after World War II and remains popular today. Often associated with a rebellious image, the vehicle is often used for high-speed touring and sport competitions

1943, responding to a clampdown by Nazi, ym"sh, occupiers, Denmark managed to scuttle most of its naval ships

1944, 15,000 American troops marched down the Champs Elysees in Paris as the French capital continued to celebrate its liberation from the Nazis, ym"sh
1949, at a remote test site at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan, the USSR successfully detonates its first atomic bomb, code name "First Lightning." In order to measure the effects of the blast, the Soviet scientists constructed buildings, bridges, and other civilian structures in the vicinity of the bomb. They also placed animals in cages nearby so that they could test the effects of nuclear radiation on human-like mammals. The atomic explosion, which at 20 kilotons was roughly equal to "Trinity," the first U.S. atomic explosion, destroyed those structures and incinerated the animals

1965, Gemini 5, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles ("Pete") Conrad, splashed down in the Atlantic after eight days in space

2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast near Buras, La.; the resulting floods devastated the city of New Orleans. More than 1,300 people died in Louisiana while an estimated 300 Louisiana residents died out of state; some 230 people perished in Mississippi. Property damage estimates were in the hundreds of billions of dollars