Friday, August 24, 2012

August 24th in History


79 - Mount Vesuvius erupts. The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae are buried in volcanic ash

1200 - King John of England, marries Isabella of Angouleme in Bordeaux Cathedral.


1215 - Pope Innocent III declares Magna Carta invalid.

1349 - Six thousand Jews are killed in Mainz after being blamed for the bubonic plague.

1662 - The Act of Uniformity requires England to accept the Book of Common Prayer.


1814 - British troops invade Washington, D.C. and during the Burning of Washington the White House is set ablaze, though not burned to the ground; as well as several other buildings.

1815 - The modern Constitution of the Netherlands is signed.


1912 - Alaska becomes a United States territory.

1932 - Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop

1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

1991 - Ukraine declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.

2006 - The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is now considered a Dwarf Planet.

Famous Birthdays:


1198 - King Alexander II of Scotland

1358 - King John I of Castile

1787 - James Weddell, explorer

1899 - Albert Claude, biologist, Nobel laureate

1924 - Jimmy Gardner, actor

1944 - Gregory Jarvis, astronaut

1954 - Philippe Cataldo, singer

1974 - Jennifer Lien, actress










No comments:

Post a Comment