August 24
Subject to Britannica's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
79 ce: The eruption of Mount Vesuvius
Italy’s Mount Vesuvius is traditionally believed to have erupted on this day in 79 ce, destroying the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The excavations of these sites in the mid-18th century precipitated the modern science of archaeology, and the buried cities continue to yield discoveries. In 2026, for example, researchers used micro-CT technology to read a carbonized scroll without unrolling it, revealing an ancient philosophical treatise.
READ MORE
© marabelo/adobe.stock.com; Photo Illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Featured Event
New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZC4-2758)
On this day American aviator Amelia Earhart took off from Los Angeles, and, when she landed in Newark, New Jersey, the following day, she became the first woman to complete a solo nonstop flight across the United States. [Read about Earhart’s mysterious disappearance.]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Adel Hana/AP Images
I emphasize to you that we will discover ourselves through peace more than we did through confrontation and conflict.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, believed to have been born this day in Cairo in 1929, was president of the Palestinian Authority (1996–2004), chairman of the PLO (1969–2004), and cowinner of the 1994 Nobel Prize for Peace.
Famous Birthdays
More on August 24
© Terry O'Neill—REX/Shutterstock.com
2021
English drummer Charlie Watts, an integral member of the iconic rock band the Rolling Stones, died at age 80. [Test your knowledge of rock and roll.]
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
2011
Amid health issues, Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple, and he died less than two months later. [Take our computers and technology quiz.]
Eliot Young, Southwest Research Institute; NASA's Planetary Astronomy Program
2006
Pluto was demoted from planet to dwarf planet after the International Astronomical Union approved a reclassification of the solar system. [How much do you know about Pluto?]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1991
Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union following the failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachev. Ukraine’s departure was a crucial step toward the collapse of the USSR later that year. [Learn more about Ukraine’s history.]
AP Images
1989
Former baseball player and manager Pete Rose was banned from the sport after an investigation determined that he had bet on games, and he thereby became ineligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame; he later admitted to gambling on baseball. [Test your knowledge of baseball.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1949
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) entered into force, following the signing of its treaty four months earlier. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about world organizations.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1821
The Treaty of Córdoba was signed, giving Mexico its independence from Spain. [Take our quiz about Latin American history.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZ62-1939)
1814
During the War of 1812, British forces captured Washington, D.C., and burned various government buildings, notably the Capitol and the Executive Mansion (now known as the White House). [Test your knowledge of U.S. history.]
Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum; photograph, J.R. Freeman & Co. Ltd.
1803
Irish revolutionary James Napper Tandy, a popular hero memorialized in the Irish ballad The Wearing of the Green, died in France. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about famous Europeans.]
Courtesy of the Musee Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne; photograph, Andre Held
1572
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day, plotted by Catherine de’ Medici against the French Huguenots, was carried out by Roman Catholic nobles and other citizens. [How much do you know about French history?]
© Photos.com/GettyImages
410
Alaric, chief of the Visigoths, and his army sacked Rome, an event that symbolizes the decline of the Western Roman Empire. [Take our quiz about the Roman Empire.]