August 24th
Today in America's Present Past
1682 | William Penn acquires what is now Delaware.
1781 | War of Independence: Lochry’s Defeat (massacre).
1814 | War of 1812: British burn Washington, D.C.
1816 | Indian Wars: The Treaty of St. Louis is signed by the United tribes of Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi in St. Louis, Missouri.
1847 | Architect Charles Follen McKim was born.
1853 | The first potato chips were prepared by a chef at the Moon's Lake House near Saratoga Springs, New York.
1857 | The Financial Panic of 1857 begins.
1858 | Civil Rights: Richmond’s ”Daily Dispatch" reports 90 African Americans arrested for learning to read.
1891 | Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera.
1901 | Nurse and activist Clara Maass died.
1916 | Actor Hal Smith was born in Petoskey, Michigan.
1918 | Scientist Ray McIntire was born.
1922 | Historian Howard Zinn was born.
1924 | SCOTUS: Justice George Shiras Jr. died.
1932 | The first transcontinental non-stop flight by a woman, Amelia Earhart, begins in Los Angeles, California.
1936 | POTUS: Democrat President Roosevelt authorizes the FBI to gather intelligence on fascist and communist groups.
1944 | Astronaut Gregory Jarvis was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1945 | Activist Marsha P. Johnson was born.
1946 | SCOTUS: Justice James McReynolds died.
1949 | The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) goes into effect.
1954 | POTUS: Republican President Eisenhower signs the Communist Control Act.
1958 | Actor Steve Guttenberg was born.
1959 | Civil Rights: Republican Hiram L Fong was sworn in as the first Chinese-American U.S. Senator.
1960 | Baseball Pro Cal Ripkin was born.
1967 | Entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser died.
1970 | Civil Rights: Memorial Park riot starts in Royal Oak, Michigan.
1970 | War on Terror: Sterling Hall bombing at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
1970 | UFC Pro Dan Henderson was born.
1973 | Comedian Dave Chappelle was born.
1987 | Activist Bayard Rustin died.
1988 | Actor Max Shulman died.
2023 | Pro wrestler Bray Wyatt died.