On This Day: August 24

Updated August 24, 2012, 2:29 pm

On Aug. 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed into Florida, causing record damage; 55 deaths in Florida, Louisiana and the Bahamas were blamed on the storm.

Go to article »

On Aug. 24, 1899, Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentinian writer of poems, essays and short stories, was born. Following his death on June 14, 1986, his obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date

By The Associated Press

79 Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash. An estimated 20,000 people died.

1572 The slaughter of French Protestants at the hands of Catholics began in Paris.

1814 British forces invaded Washington, D.C., and set fire to the Capitol and the White House.

1857 The New York branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Co. failed, sparking the Panic of 1857.

1932 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly nonstop across the United States, traveling from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., in just over 19 hours.

1949 The North Atlantic Treaty went into effect.

1954 The Communist Control Act went into effect, virtually 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 A bomb planted by anti-war extremists exploded at the University of Wisconsin’s Army Math Research Center in Madison, killing a researcher.

1981 Mark David Chapman was sentenced in New York to 20 years to life in prison for the murder of rock musician John Lennon.

1989 Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti banned Pete Rose from the game for gambling.

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

2007 A judge in Inverness, Fla., sentenced John Evander Couey to death for kidnapping 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, raping her and burying her alive.

2007 James Ford Seale, a reputed Ku Klux Klansman, was sentenced to three life terms for his role in the 1964 abduction and murder of two black teenagers in Mississippi.

2007 The NFL suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for his involvement in dogfighting.

2011 Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple Inc.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Actor Rupert Grint (“Harry Potter” movies) turns 24 years old today.

AP Photo/Joel Ryan

Actress Marlee Matlin turns 47 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

1934 Kenny Baker, Actor (R2D2 in “Star Wars”), turns 78

1942 Max Cleland, Former U.S. senator, D-Ga., turns 70

1947 Anne Archer, Actress, turns 65

1947 Joe Manchin, U.S. senator, D-W.Va., turns 65

1949 Joe Regalbuto, Actor (“Murphy Brown”), turns 63

1952 Bob Corker, U.S. senator, R-Tenn., turns 60

1952 Mike Shanahan, Football coach, turns 60

1955 Mike Huckabee, Former governor of Arkansas, turns 57

1956 Gerry Cooney, Boxer, turns 56

1957 Stephen Fry, Actor, turns 55

1958 Steve Guttenberg, Actor, turns 54

1960 Cal Ripken Jr., Baseball Hall of Famer, turns 52

1961 Jared Harris, Actor (“Mad Men”), turns 51

1962 Craig Kilborn, Talk show host, turns 50

1965 Reggie Miller, Basketball player, turns 47

1970 David Gregory, Broadcast journalist (“Meet the Press”), turns 42

1973 Dave Chappelle, Actor, comedian (“Chappelle’s Show”), turns 39

1981 Chad Michael Murray, Actor (“One Tree Hill”), turns 31

Historic Birthdays

Jorge Luis Borges 8/24/1899 – 6/14/1986 Argentine poet, essayist and short story writer.Go to obituary »

82 George Stubbs 8/24/1724 – 9/10/1806
English painter and draftsman

73 William Wilberforce 8/24/1759 – 7/29/1833
English politician and philanthropist

73 Sir Daniel Gooch 8/24/1816 – 10/15/1889
English railway pioneer and mechanical engineer

62 Charles Follen McKim 8/24/1847 – 9/14/1909
American architect

83 Sir Max Beerbohm 8/24/1872 – 5/20/1956
English caricaturist and writer

80 William Gibbs 8/24/1886 – 9/6/1967
American naval architect; designed the World War ll Liberty ships

90 Malcolm Cowley 8/24/1898 – 3/27/1989
American literary editor of The New Republic (1929-44)

76 Graham Sutherland 8/24/1903 – 2/17/1980
English Surrealistic painter

65 Rene Levesque 8/24/1922 – 11/1/1987
Canadian pro-independence premier of Quebec (1976-85)

79	Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash. An estimated 20,000 people died.
1572	The slaughter of French Protestants at the hands of Catholics began in Paris.
1814	British forces invaded Washington, D.C., and set fire to the Capitol and the White House.
1857	The New York branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Co. failed, sparking the Panic of 1857.
1932	Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly nonstop across the United States, traveling from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., in just over 19 hours.
1949	The North Atlantic Treaty went into effect.
1954	The Communist Control Act went into effect, virtually 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	A bomb planted by anti-war extremists exploded at the University of Wisconsin’s Army Math Research Center in Madison, killing a researcher.
1981	Mark David Chapman was sentenced in New York to 20 years to life in prison for the murder of rock musician John Lennon.
1989	Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti banned Pete Rose from the game for gambling.
2006	The International Astronomical Union declared that Pluto was no longer a planet, demoting it to the status of a “dwarf planet.”
2007	A judge in Inverness, Fla., sentenced John Evander Couey to death for kidnapping 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, raping her and burying her alive.
2007	James Ford Seale, a reputed Ku Klux Klansman, was sentenced to three life terms for his role in the 1964 abduction and murder of two black teenagers in Mississippi.
2007	The NFL suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for his involvement in dogfighting.
2011	Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple Inc.

1934	Kenny Baker, Actor (R2D2 in “Star Wars”), turns 78
1942	Max Cleland, Former U.S. senator, D-Ga., turns 70
1947	Anne Archer, Actress, turns 65
1947	Joe Manchin, U.S. senator, D-W.Va., turns 65
1949	Joe Regalbuto, Actor (“Murphy Brown”), turns 63
1952	Bob Corker, U.S. senator, R-Tenn., turns 60
1952	Mike Shanahan, Football coach, turns 60
1955	Mike Huckabee, Former governor of Arkansas, turns 57
1956	Gerry Cooney, Boxer, turns 56
1957	Stephen Fry, Actor, turns 55
1958	Steve Guttenberg, Actor, turns 54
1960	Cal Ripken Jr., Baseball Hall of Famer, turns 52
1961	Jared Harris, Actor (“Mad Men”), turns 51
1962	Craig Kilborn, Talk show host, turns 50
1965	Reggie Miller, Basketball player, turns 47
1970	David Gregory, Broadcast journalist (“Meet the Press”), turns 42
1973	Dave Chappelle, Actor, comedian (“Chappelle’s Show”), turns 39
1981	Chad Michael Murray, Actor (“One Tree Hill”), turns 31

82	George Stubbs 8/24/1724 – 9/10/1806 English painter and draftsman
73	William Wilberforce 8/24/1759 – 7/29/1833 English politician and philanthropist
73	Sir Daniel Gooch 8/24/1816 – 10/15/1889 English railway pioneer and mechanical engineer
62	Charles Follen McKim 8/24/1847 – 9/14/1909 American architect
83	Sir Max Beerbohm 8/24/1872 – 5/20/1956 English caricaturist and writer
80	William Gibbs 8/24/1886 – 9/6/1967 American naval architect; designed the World War ll Liberty ships
90	Malcolm Cowley 8/24/1898 – 3/27/1989 American literary editor of The New Republic (1929-44)
76	Graham Sutherland 8/24/1903 – 2/17/1980 English Surrealistic painter
65	Rene Levesque 8/24/1922 – 11/1/1987 Canadian pro-independence premier of Quebec (1976-85)