What Happened Today in History on August 29

Jerusalem falls to Roman forces, marking the collapse of the Jewish state.

Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, defeats the Hungarian forces at the Battle of Mohács battle that resulted in the death of King Louis II and much of the Hungarian nobility. This catastrophic defeat led to the partition of Hungary and marked the end of the Hungarian Jagiellonian dynasty, ushering in a period of Ottoman control and influence in the region for over 150 years and sustained Ottoman–Habsburg wars. Sultan Suleiman I, inherited the throne of the Ottoman Empire at the age of 26. He was the only son of Selim I, who conquered Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem and Alexandria. More

In one of the worst maritime disasters, 900 men drowned on the British battleship Royal George. A gust of wind allowed water to flood into open gun ports as the ship was being repaired whilst anchored at Spithead off Portsmouth. The ship sank within minutes.

The Shays' Rebellion starts. It was an armed insurrection by Massachusetts farmers, including Continental Army veterans who hadn't been paid for their service and were struggling with debt, high taxes and economic hardship after the American Revolution. They were led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays and lasted from 1786–1787.  Expand +

Ishi, believed to be the last surviving member of the Native American Yahi Tribe is found outside a slaughterhouse near Oroville, California. The rest of the Yahi (as well as many members of their parent tribe, the Yana) were killed in the California genocide in the 19th century. Ishi was 50 years old when he emerged and lived most of his life isolated from modern North American culture. He was the last known Native manufacturer of stone arrowheads. More

The Soviet Union secretly and successfully conducts its first weapon test, at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan detonating its first atomic bomb code-named "First Lightning" (or RDS-1), and becoming the second nation to achieve nuclear warhead capability. The event marked the beginning of the nuclear arms race and heightened Cold War tensions between the two superpowers. The test was a surprise to the U.S., which had underestimated the speed of the Soviet atomic program.

Hurricane Katrina , a devastating Category 5 hurricane causes immense destruction along the U.S. Gulf Coast, particularly in New Orleans; causing catastrophic flooding after the city's levee system fails, submerging roughly 80% of the city. The storm, which made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, led to over 1,800 deaths and displacing hundreds of thousands. The damage was estimated at over $160 billion, making it the most costly U.S. hurricane at the time. More