On this day, Aug. 29 ...

2005: Hurricane Katrina slams into the U.S. Gulf Coast, destroying beachfront towns in Mississippi and Louisiana, displacing a million people, and killing more than 1,800.

Also on this day:

1842: The Treaty of Nanking is signed, ending the Opium Wars and ceding the island of Hong Kong to Britain.

The Treaty of Nanking is signed, ending the Opium Wars and ceding the island of Hong Kong to Britain. 1862: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing begins operations at the United States Treasury.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing begins operations at the United States Treasury. 1944: Approximately 15,000 American troops of the 28th Infantry Division march down the Champs Elysees in Paris as the French capital celebrates its liberation from the Nazis.

Approximately 15,000 American troops of the 28th Infantry Division march down the Champs Elysees in Paris as the French capital celebrates its liberation from the Nazis. 1949: The USSR tests its first atomic bomb.

The USSR tests its first atomic bomb. 1957: The Senate gives final congressional approval to a Civil Rights Act after Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina (then a Democrat) ends a filibuster that had lasted 24 hours.