What Happened on Aug 24

Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. They were never... Read more

Rome Falls to Alaric the Goth

The Sack of Rome occurred on August 24, 410. The city was attacked by the Visigoths, led by Alaric I. At that time, Rome was no longer the capital... Read more

The Duke Of York Awards William Penn A Deed To The "Three Lower Counties"

On August 24, 1682, the Duke of York awarded Englishman William Penn a deed to the "Three Lower Counties" that make up the present state of... Read more

Lochry's Defeat

On the night of August 18, 1781, Clark and his men floated past the mouth of the Great Miami River, near the present-day border between Ohio and... Read more

Treaty of Córdoba is Signed, Establishing Mexico's Independence from Spain

In early 1821, Agustín de Iturbide, the leader of the Royalist forces, negotiated the Plan of Iguala with Vicente Guerrero. Under the plan, Mexico... Read more

The New York Branch Of The Ohio Life Insurance And Trust Company Fails

The major financial catalyst for the panic of 1857 was the August 24, 1857, failure of the New York branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust... Read more

The Panic of 1857

The major financial catalyst for the panic of 1857 was the August 24, 1857, failure of the New York branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust... Read more

Captain Matthew Webb Becomes the First Person to Swim the English Channel

Immortality doesn't come often and once is enough for most swimmers, but not for Captain Matthew Webb, who was first to swim the English Channel in... Read more

Battle of Liaoyang

While the Japanese Army settled down in front of Port Arthur for a siege, a large force under Field Marshal Oyama moved north to secure the... Read more

Battle of Nancy Trouve de Charmes

Sunday, August 23, 1914 found the armies of Castelnau and Dubail standing in battle formation in front of the Trouvée de Charmes, the 20-mile gap... Read more

Siege of Maubeuge

Skilful Retreat Conducted by Foch De Castelnau's Lorraine army was still in peril, however, and a further withdrawal across the Seille and... Read more

Yasser Arafat is Born

Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini (Arabic: محمد عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني‎, 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004),... Read more

Amelia Earhart Becomes the First Woman to Fly Solo from Coast-to-Coast

On August 24-25, 1932, she flew from Los Angeles, California, to Newark, New Jersey, in a record 19 hours, 5 minutes, flying a Lockheed Vega, also... Read more

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (Treaty of Non-Aggression between the Third German Reich and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)

The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, colloquially named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von... Read more

Edward R. Murrow and Paul White Create 'London After Dark'

The show began on August 24, 1940 when CBS News Chief Paul White and CBS European Events Director Edward R. Murrow began to arrange the show by... Read more

German Luftwaffe Begins Air Raids on the English City of Portsmouth

The city [of Portsmouth] was bombed extensively during WW2. Nazi German Luftwaffe night-time air raids began on August 24 1940 when 1,320 of high... Read more

The Luftwaffe Begins Attacks on British Airfields

Göring ordered attacks on aircraft factories on 19 August 1940; on 23 August 1940 he ordered that RAF airfields be attacked. That evening an attack... Read more

Lower Dnieper Offensive Begins

The Lower Dnieper Offensive (also known as the "Battle of the Lower Dnieper") of took place in 1943 during the Second World War. It was one of the... Read more

Mina Miller Dies

Mina (pronounced MI-na) was perhaps better prepared to be the wife of a famous man. By the time she met Thomas Edison, his name was already a... Read more

United Airlines Flight 615 Crashes, Killing 50

At 04:25 Flight 615 was cleared for a straight-in approach on the southeast course of the Oakland radio range from Newark. At 04:27 the flight... Read more

The American Communist Party is Outlawed

I HAVE just signed a bill which is designed to place into the hands of our law enforcement agencies, particularly the Attorney General and the FBI,... Read more

"Bob Le Flambeur" Is Released

Bob le flambeur ("Bob the Gambler" or "Bob the High Roller") is a 1956 French gangster film directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. The film stars Roger... Read more

Cable 243 is Sent to Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., the US Ambassador to South Vietnam

DEPTEL 243, also known as Telegram 243, the August 24 cable or most commonly Cable 243, was a high profile message sent on August 24, 1963 by the... Read more

Fannie Lou Hamer Speaks at 1964 Democratic National Convention

All of this is on account we want to register [sic], to become first-class citizens, and if the Freedom Democratic Party is not seated now, I... Read more

Aretha Franklin Releases "Spirit in the Dark"

Spirit in the Dark is an album by American soul artist Aretha Franklin, released in 1970. Read more