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This day in history - August 24

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:52 pm
by seamusTX
AD 79 - Mount Vesuvius in Italy erupted, burying the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum in ash. This disaster resulted in a treasure-trove unearthed in the 18th century and later, giving many details of Roman daily life.

1814 - British forces invaded Washington and set fire to the Capitol and White House.

1932 - Amelia Earhart flew nonstop across the United States in just over 19 hours, becoming the first woman to do so.

1949 - The North Atlantic Treaty went into effect, establishing NATO.

1970 - A bomb planted by anti-war extremists exploded at the University of Wisconsin's Army Math Research Center in Madison, killing a physicist who was not involved in military research and severely injuring several other people.

Three of the four accused bombers were eventually arrested and served short sentences. One has never resurfaced.

- Jim

Re: This day in history - August 24

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:38 pm
by boomerang
seamusTX wrote:1814 - British forces invaded Washington and set fire to the Capitol and White House.
There's even a catchy little song about it.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=tRwiH18QwpU[/youtube]