Aug. 24 history: Mount Vesuvius

On Aug. 24 in history: 

In 79 A.D, long-dormant Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash; an estimated 20,000 people died. 

In 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces invaded Washington, D.C., setting fire to the Capitol (still under construction), White House and other public buildings.

In 1821, Spain accepts Mexico's independence.

In 1912, Congress passed a measure creating the Alaska Territory.

In 1932, Amelia Earhart embarked on a 19-hour flight from Los Angeles to Newark, NJ, making her the first woman to fly solo, non-stop, from coast to coast. 

In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty came into force.

In 1950, President Truman appointed Edith Sampson to the permanent U.S. delegation to the UN, the first Black woman to ever serve in that capacity.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party in the United States.

In 1981, Mark David Chapman was sentenced in New York to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon. 

In 1989, MLB Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti banned Pete Rose from the game for betting on his own team, the Cincinnati Reds.

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union declared that Pluto was no longer a full-fledged planet, demoting it to the status of a “dwarf planet.” 

In 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, NC. (The AP 08/24/23)