Once Upon A Time – August 24 – 1814 – British Forces Capture Washington, D.C. And Destroy Many Landmarks (War Of 1812)

79 Believed until 2018 to be the date of the massive eruption of Mt. Vesuvius which buried the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis and Stabiae, killing untold thousands. Latest evidence suggests the eruption occurred after 17 October.

410 Rome overrun by Visigoths under Alaric I for the first time in nearly 800 years, seen as the fall of the Western Roman Empire

1516 Battle of Marj Dabiq: Ottoman forces decisively beat the Mamluk Sultanate

1572 St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of Protestants by Roman Catholics begins in Paris and later spreads to the French provinces

1662 Act of Uniformity requires English to accept Book of Common Prayer

1814 British forces capture Washington, D.C. and destroy many landmarks (War of 1812)

1968 France becomes the world’s fifth thermonuclear power with a detonation on Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific

HISTORICAL EVENTS TODAY

TODAY IN FILM & TV

1963 24th Venice Film Festival: “Hands Over the City” directed by Francesco Rosi wins Golden Lion

TODAY IN MUSIC

1787 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completes his violin and piano sonata in A, K526

TODAY IN SPORT

2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing becomes the most watched event on TV ever – nearly 5 billion, 70% of world’s population

MORE FACTS…

1456 The printing of the Gutenberg Bible is completed

1853 1st potato chips prepared by chef George Crum at Moon’s Lake House, near Saratoga Springs, New York (popular legend says he invented though earlier recipes exist)

FAMOUS WEDDINGS

1200 King John of England (32) marries Isabella of Angoulême (12) in Bordeaux, despite her engagement to Hugh de Lusignan, Count of La Marche, prompting a rebellion

1561 Willem of Orange marries duchess Anna of Saxon

1899 Businessman James Cash Penney (24) weds Bertha Alva Hess