This is a list of selected August 24 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before making your edit. However, if your addition might be controversial or on a day that is or will soon be on the Main Page, please post your suggestion on the talk page instead.
Please note that the events listed on the Main Page are chosen based more on relative article quality and to maintain a mix of topics, not based solely on how important or significant their subjects are. Only four to five events are posted at a time and thus not everything that is "most important and significant" can be listed. In addition, an event is generally not posted this year if it is also the subject of the scheduled featured article or picture of the day.
To report an error when this appears on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
Images
Use only ONE image at a time
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Re-created view of Vesuvius from Pompeii
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Vesuvius from Pompeii
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Hurricane Andrew reached South Florida
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Getúlio Vargas
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Goodison Park
Ineligible
| Blurb | Reason |
|---|---|
| 79 – According to estimates based on the Codex Laurentianus Mediceus, Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae in Italy. | Aug 24 date is discredited, now believed to be Oct 24 |
| 410 – Rome was sacked for the first time in 800 years, by the Visigoths under Alaric I. | refimprove |
| 1814 – War of 1812: British forces invaded Washington, D.C., setting fire to various U.S. government buildings, including what is now the White House. | refimprove |
| 1821 – The Treaty of Córdoba was signed in Córdoba, Veracruz, ratifying the Plan of Iguala and concluding Mexico's War of Independence from Spain. | tagged refimprove , cordoba and iguala stubby |
| 1954 – President Getúlio Vargas of Brazil shot himself to death in the Catete Palace in Rio de Janeiro. | multiple issues: refimprove, original research, weasel words |
| 2004 – About 90 total people died after suicide bombers attacked two airliners flying out of Moscow's Domodedovo International Airport. | tagged with {{refimprove}} |
Eligible
- 1892 – Goodison Park (pictured) in Liverpool, England, one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds, opened.
- 1942 – World War II: Bombers from the United States aircraft carrier Saratoga sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō near Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands, helping to lead to an Allied powers victory.
- 1992 – Hurricane Andrew made landfall in South Florida, the third most powerful Category 5 system to hit the United States during the 20th century.
- 2006 – The International Astronomical Union redefined the term "planet", reclassifying Pluto as a dwarf planet since it has not "cleared the neighbourhood" around its orbit.
August 24: Independence Day in Ukraine (1991)
- 1690 – East India Company official Job Charnock established his headquarters in a location he called Calcutta.
- 1812 – Peninsular War: Seeing that his army was in danger of being cut off, French commander Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult retreated from Cádiz, ending a 30-month siege.
- 1857 – The New York City branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Co. collapsed following widespread embezzlement, leading to a severe recession that caused about 5,000 businesses to fail.
- 1941 – Adolf Hitler ordered the official termination of the T4 euthanasia program (propaganda poster pictured) of the mentally ill and disabled, although killings continued in secret for the remainder of the war.
- 1963 – Buddhist crisis: The U.S. State Department ordered Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. to encourage South Vietnamese Army officers to oust Ngo Dinh Diem if he did not willingly remove Ngo Dinh Nhu from his unofficial position of power.