What are the important events that happened on August 24? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
August 24: Facts & Myths About This Day
August 24 is the 237th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 129 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 11, 2024 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 28,740,960 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectatriacontaheptagon’ day.
Virgo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 158 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,264 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
Do people and celebrities interest you? Discover all the August 24 famous birthdays who share your special day. Learn some fun facts about your birthday! (Sponsored link)
August 24 Historical Events
- 79 –Mount Vesuvius erupts. The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae are buried in volcanic ash (note: this traditional date has been challenged, and many scholars believe that the event occurred on October 24).
- 410 –The Visigoths under king Alaric I begin to pillage Rome.
- 1200 –King John of England, signee of the first Magna Carta, marries Isabella of Angouleme in Bordeaux Cathedral.
- 1814 –British troops invade Washington, D.C. and burn down the White House and several other buildings.
- 1815 –The modern Constitution of the Netherlands is signed.
- 1831 –Charles Darwin is asked to travel on HMS Beagle.
- 1898 –Count Muravyov, Foreign Minister of Russia presents a rescript that convoked the First Hague Peace Conference.
- 1963 –Buddhist crisis: As a result of the Xa Loi Pagoda raids, the US State Department cables the US Embassy in Saigon to encourage Army of the Republic of Vietnam generals to launch a coup against President Ngo Dinh Diem if he did not remove his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu.
- 1963 –Don Schollander swims the 200-metre freestyle in less than 2 minutes for the first time, in a world record time of 1:58.
- 1989 –Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose is banned from baseball for gambling by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti.
Who were born on August 24?
- 1927 –David Ireland, Australian author
- 1927 –Harry Markowitz, American economist, Nobel laureate
- 1929 –Betty Dodson, American feminist and sex educator
- 1929 –Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 2004)
- 1930 –Roger McCluskey, American racing driver (d. 1993)
- 1932 –Robert D. Hales, LDS apostle
- 1947 –Vladimir Masorin, Russian admiral
- 1958 –Steve Guttenberg, American actor
- 1960 –Cal Ripken, Jr., American baseball player
- 1977 –Per Gade, Danish footballer
Who died on August 24?
- 1217 –Eustace the Monk, French mercenary and pirate (b. c.1170)
- 1679 –Jean François Paul de Gondi, French cardinal and agitator (b. 1614)
- 1831 –August von Gneisenau, Prussian field marshal (b. 1760)
- 1940 –Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, German television pioneer (b. 1860)
- 1967 –Henry J. Kaiser, American industrialist (b. 1882)
- 1980 –Yootha Joyce, British actress (b. 1927)
- 1991 –Bernard Castro, Italian inventor (b. 1904)
- 2000 –Andy Hug, Swiss karateka and kickbox champion (b. 1964)
- 2005 –Harold “Hal” Kalin, American singer (The Kalin Twins) (b. 1934)
- 2005 –Kaleth Morales, Colombian Vallenato singer (b. 1984)
Holy Toledo! Did you know that coffee and word games are an excellent combination to sharpen your vocabulary? Let’s give it a quick spin. Within 30 seconds, how many words can you think of from these letters RXYETAYIB? Check your answers here: Word finder RXYETAYIB. (Sponsored by WordFinder.Cafe)