August 24
79 - The long-dormant volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash; an estimated 20,000 people were killed.
1572 - More than 70,000 French Protestants, or Huguenots, were killed in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.
1814 - The British set fire to the White House and the Capitol when they invaded Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812.
1821 - Mexico gained independence from Spain with the Treaty of Cordoba.
1912 - Congress passed a measure creating the Alaska Territory.
1932 - Amelia Earhart embarked on a 19-hour flight from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, making her the first woman to fly solo, non-stop from coast to coast.
1949 - The North Atlanta Treaty went into effect.
1954 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party in the United States.
1968 - France became the world's fifth nuclear power when it detonated a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific.
1981 - Mark David Chapman was sentenced in New York to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon. (Chapman remains imprisoned today.)
1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as the general secretary of the Communist Party after a failed coup attempt against him.
1992 - Hurricane Andrew hit Florida, causing more than $30 billion in damages and was blamed for 43 deaths.
2002 - #10 Nebraska opened the season with a 48-10 win over Arizona State.
2006 - The International Astronomical Union declared that Pluto was no longer a full-fledged planet, demoting it to the status of a “dwarf planet.”
2017 - Mavis Wanczyk, a hospital worker from the western Massachusetts town of Chicopee, was announced as the winner of the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in U.S. history, a $758.7 million Powerball prize; lottery officials said she chose to take a lump sum payment of $480 million, or $336 million after taxes.
2019 - Police in Aurora, Colorado, responding to a report of a suspicious person, used a chokehold to subdue Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man; he suffered cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital and was later declared brain dead and taken off life support. (Three officers were placed on leave but returned to the force after a prosecutor found insufficient evidence to support charging them; the officers and two paramedics were later indicted by a grand jury on manslaughter and other charges following an investigation by state Attorney General Phil Weiser ordered by Gov. Jared Polis.)
2020 - Republicans formally nominated President Donald Trump for a second term on the opening day of a scaled-down convention; during a visit to the convention city of Charlotte, North Carolina, Trump told delegates that “the only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election.”
2021 - President Joe Biden said he would stick to his Aug. 31 deadline for completing a risky airlift of Americans, endangered Afghans and others seeking to escape Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
2021 - Kathy Hochul became New York’s first female governor after the resignation of Andrew Cuomo took effect; on her first day in office, Hochul acknowledged that the state had nearly 12,000 more deaths from COVID-19 than Cuomo had told the public.
Birthdays
24 - Sofia Richie (model)
27 - Justine Skye (singer)
27 - Zara Holland (pageant contestant / TV host)
28 - Chyna Ellis (reality star)
34 - Rupert Grint (actor)
36 - Arian Foster (football player)
38 - Blake Berris (actor)
39 - Mika (singer)
41 - Chad Michael Murray (actor)
44 - Beth Riesgraf (actress)
46 - Alex O'Laughlin (actor)
49 - Carmine Viovinazzo (actress)
49 - James D'Arcy (actor)
49 - Dave Chappelle (actor/comedian)
52 - David Gregory (broadcast journalist)
57 - Reggie Miller (basketball player)
57 - Marlee Matlin (actress)
59 - John Bush (singer)
60 - Major Garrett (broadcast journalist)
60 - Craig Kilborn (TV host)
61 - Jared Harris (actor)
62 - Cal Ripken Jr. (baseball player)
64 - Steve Guttenberg (actor)
65 - Stephen Fry (actor)
67 - Kevin Dunn (actor)
73 - Joe Regalbuto (actor)
75 - Anne Archer (actress)
77 - Vince McMahon (professional wrestling executive)
================================
Today in Sports History - August 24
1963 - John Pennel pole-vaulted 17 feet and 3/4 inches becoming the first to break the 17-foot barrier.
1972 - Gordie Howe and Jean Beliveau are inducted into the Ice Hockey Hall of Fame.
1975 - Davey Lopes of the Los Angeles Dodgers set a major league baseball record when he stole his 38th consecutive base.
1989 - Pete Rose is banned from baseball for life for gambling on games he participated in.
2006 - Wide receiver Jerry Rice announces his retirement from the NFL.
2007 - The NFL suspended quarterback Michael Vick (Atlanta Falcons) for his involvement in dogfighting.
2008 - The United States men's basketball team defeats Spain 118-107 to win the gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
2012 - The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency wiped out 14 years of Lance Armstrong’s cycling career — including his record seven Tour de France titles — and barred him for life from the sport after concluding he’d used banned substances.
79 - The long-dormant volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash; an estimated 20,000 people were killed.
1572 - More than 70,000 French Protestants, or Huguenots, were killed in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.
1814 - The British set fire to the White House and the Capitol when they invaded Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812.
1821 - Mexico gained independence from Spain with the Treaty of Cordoba.
1912 - Congress passed a measure creating the Alaska Territory.
1932 - Amelia Earhart embarked on a 19-hour flight from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, making her the first woman to fly solo, non-stop from coast to coast.
1949 - The North Atlanta Treaty went into effect.
1954 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party in the United States.
1968 - France became the world's fifth nuclear power when it detonated a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific.
1981 - Mark David Chapman was sentenced in New York to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon. (Chapman remains imprisoned today.)
1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as the general secretary of the Communist Party after a failed coup attempt against him.
1992 - Hurricane Andrew hit Florida, causing more than $30 billion in damages and was blamed for 43 deaths.
2002 - #10 Nebraska opened the season with a 48-10 win over Arizona State.
2006 - The International Astronomical Union declared that Pluto was no longer a full-fledged planet, demoting it to the status of a “dwarf planet.”
2017 - Mavis Wanczyk, a hospital worker from the western Massachusetts town of Chicopee, was announced as the winner of the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in U.S. history, a $758.7 million Powerball prize; lottery officials said she chose to take a lump sum payment of $480 million, or $336 million after taxes.
2019 - Police in Aurora, Colorado, responding to a report of a suspicious person, used a chokehold to subdue Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man; he suffered cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital and was later declared brain dead and taken off life support. (Three officers were placed on leave but returned to the force after a prosecutor found insufficient evidence to support charging them; the officers and two paramedics were later indicted by a grand jury on manslaughter and other charges following an investigation by state Attorney General Phil Weiser ordered by Gov. Jared Polis.)
2020 - Republicans formally nominated President Donald Trump for a second term on the opening day of a scaled-down convention; during a visit to the convention city of Charlotte, North Carolina, Trump told delegates that “the only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election.”
2021 - President Joe Biden said he would stick to his Aug. 31 deadline for completing a risky airlift of Americans, endangered Afghans and others seeking to escape Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
2021 - Kathy Hochul became New York’s first female governor after the resignation of Andrew Cuomo took effect; on her first day in office, Hochul acknowledged that the state had nearly 12,000 more deaths from COVID-19 than Cuomo had told the public.
Birthdays
24 - Sofia Richie (model)
27 - Justine Skye (singer)
27 - Zara Holland (pageant contestant / TV host)
28 - Chyna Ellis (reality star)
34 - Rupert Grint (actor)
36 - Arian Foster (football player)
38 - Blake Berris (actor)
39 - Mika (singer)
41 - Chad Michael Murray (actor)
44 - Beth Riesgraf (actress)
46 - Alex O'Laughlin (actor)
49 - Carmine Viovinazzo (actress)
49 - James D'Arcy (actor)
49 - Dave Chappelle (actor/comedian)
52 - David Gregory (broadcast journalist)
57 - Reggie Miller (basketball player)
57 - Marlee Matlin (actress)
59 - John Bush (singer)
60 - Major Garrett (broadcast journalist)
60 - Craig Kilborn (TV host)
61 - Jared Harris (actor)
62 - Cal Ripken Jr. (baseball player)
64 - Steve Guttenberg (actor)
65 - Stephen Fry (actor)
67 - Kevin Dunn (actor)
73 - Joe Regalbuto (actor)
75 - Anne Archer (actress)
77 - Vince McMahon (professional wrestling executive)
================================
Today in Sports History - August 24
1963 - John Pennel pole-vaulted 17 feet and 3/4 inches becoming the first to break the 17-foot barrier.
1972 - Gordie Howe and Jean Beliveau are inducted into the Ice Hockey Hall of Fame.
1975 - Davey Lopes of the Los Angeles Dodgers set a major league baseball record when he stole his 38th consecutive base.
1989 - Pete Rose is banned from baseball for life for gambling on games he participated in.
2006 - Wide receiver Jerry Rice announces his retirement from the NFL.
2007 - The NFL suspended quarterback Michael Vick (Atlanta Falcons) for his involvement in dogfighting.
2008 - The United States men's basketball team defeats Spain 118-107 to win the gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
2012 - The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency wiped out 14 years of Lance Armstrong’s cycling career — including his record seven Tour de France titles — and barred him for life from the sport after concluding he’d used banned substances.
Last edited:
