TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 24, the 237th day of 2016. There are 129 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History
On Aug. 24, A.D. 79, long-dormant Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash; an estimated 20,000 people died.
On this date
1572 — The St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre of French Protestants at the hands of Catholics began in Paris. 1814 — During the War of 1812, British forces invaded Washington, D.C., setting fire to the Capitol (which was still under construction) and the White House, as well as other public buildings. 1821 — The Treaty of Cordoba was signed, granting independence to Mexico from Spanish rule. 1912 — Congress passed a measure creating the Alaska Territory. Congress approved legislation establishing Parcel Post delivery by the U.S. Post Office Department, slated to begin on January 1, 1913. 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 Atlantic Treaty came into force. 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 thermonuclear power as it exploded a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific. 1970 — An explosives-laden van left by antiwar extremists blew up outside the University of Wisconsin’s Sterling Hall in Madison, killing 33-year-old researcher Robert Fassnacht. 1981 — Mark David Chapman was sentenced in New York to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon. (Chapman remains imprisoned.) 1989 — Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti banned Pete Rose from the game for betting on his own team, the Cincinnati Reds. 1992 — Hurricane Andrew smashed into Florida, causing $30 billion in damage; 43 U.S. deaths were blamed on the storm.
Thought for today ‘Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I’ll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things.’ Lawrence D. Bell American aircraft manufacturer (1894-1956)