1533
Last ruler of the Inca
Atahualpa, the last ruler of the Incas, was murdered as Francisco Pizarro completed his conquest of Peru.
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1786
Shays's rebellion, an insurrection of Massachusetts farmers against the state government, began.
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1842
The Treaty of Nanking was signed, ending the Opium Wars and ceding the island of Hong Kong to Britain.
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1877
Brigham Young died in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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1949
The U.S.S.R. tested their first atomic bomb.
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1957
Strom Thurmond ended the longest filibuster in U.S. Senate history. He spoke for more than 24 hours against a civil rights bill; the bill passed.
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1966
The Beatles played their last major live concert at Candlestick Park, California.
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1991
The Supreme Soviet, the parliament of the U.S.S.R., suspended all activities of the Communist Party, bringing an end to the institution.
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2005
Hurricane Katrina slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast, destroying beachfront towns in Mississippi and Louisiana, displacing a million people, and killing more than 1,000.
