Aug. 29 history: Hurricane Katrina

 Aug. 29 in history

In 2005 and 2023 respectively, the anniversaries of hurricanes Katrina and Ida were two of the 10 costliest hurricanes in United States history Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast near Buras, LA., bringing floods that devastated New Orleans when levee breached in the Ninth Ward downtown. More than 1,800 people in the region died. 

In 1632, English philosopher John Locke was born in Somerset.

In 1814, during the War of 1812, Alexandria, Va., formally surrendered to British military forces, which occupied the city until Sept. 3.

In 1942, Charity Adams Earley became the U.S. Army’s first Black female officer after joining the Women’s Army Corps. She became the first Black female commanding officer deployed to a theater of war. 

In 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.

In 1957, the Senate gave final congressional approval to a Civil Rights Act after South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond (D-SC) ended a filibuster that had lasted 24 hours.

In 1966, the Beatles concluded their fourth American tour with their last public concert, held at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

In 2008, Republican presidential nominee John McCain picked Sarah Palin, a maverick conservative who had been governor of Alaska for less than two years, to be his running mate.

In 2009, funeral services were held in Boston for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who was eulogized by President Barack Obama; hours later, Kennedy’s remains were buried at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington.

In 2013, in a sweeping new policy statement, the Justice Department said it would not stand in the way of states that wanted to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana as long as there were effective controls to keep marijuana away from kids, the black market and federal property.

In 2018, Sen. John McCain was remembered as a “true American hero” at a crowded service at the North Phoenix Baptist Church after a motorcade carried McCain’s body from the state Capitol. 

In 2019, President Donald Trump said the United States planned to withdraw more than 5,000 troops from Afghanistan and would then determine future drawdowns.