August 24 is:
Vesuvius Day
Hug Your Boss Day
National Peach Pie Day Peaches were once known as Persian apples.
August 24 in the year 79: long-dormant Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash. An estimated 20,000 people died.
In 1682 William Penn received the area that is now the state of Delaware, and added it to his colony of Pennsylvania. William Penn was granted the province of Pennsylvania by King Charles II in 1681, he asked for and later received the lands of Delaware from the Duke of York. Penn had a very hard time governing Delaware because the economy and geology resembled those of the Chesapeake Bay colonies more than that of Pennsylvania. The lowland areas were developed for tobacco plantations and dependent on enslaved Africans and African Americans for labor. Penn attempted to merge the governments of Pennsylvania and the lower counties of Delaware. Representatives from each area clashed strongly and, in 1701 Penn agreed to allowing two assemblies to be elected and conduct their separate affairs. Delawareans would meet in New Castle, and Pennsylvanians would gather in Philadelphia.
1814 – British troops invaded Washington, D.C. and during the burning of the city, the White House, the Capitol and many other buildings were set ablaze.
From Wikipedia
The Capitol was noted by many contemporary travelers to be the only building in Washington “worthy to be noticed.” Thus, it was a prime target for the invaders, both for its aesthetic and symbolic value. After looting the building, the British found it difficult to set the structure ablaze, owing to its sturdy stone construction. Soldiers ended up gathering furniture into a heap and igniting it with rocket powder, which did the trick. Among the casualties of the destruction of the Capitol was the Library of Congress, the entire 3,000 volume collection was destroyed. Several surrounding buildings in Capitol Heights also caught fire. After the war, Thomas Jefferson would sell his own personal library to the government (in order to pay personal debts) to re-establish Congress’ library.
In 1869, the first U.S. patent for a waffle iron was issued to Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, N.Y. (No. 94,093).
Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose was banned from baseball for gambling by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti in 1989.
On August 24th, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined the term “planet” such that Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet.