38 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 49 BCE to 2024.
Standout on August 24
Japan officially begins discharging treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean, sparking international concerns and condemnation.
August 24 is the 236th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Japan officially begins discharging treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean, sparking international concerns and condemnation.
Erin O'Toole is elected leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
The National Space Agency of Taiwan successfully launches the observation satellite Formosat-5 into space.
Proxima Centauri b, the closest exoplanet to Earth, is discovered by the European Southern Observatory.
An earthquake strikes Central Italy with a magnitude of 6.2, with aftershocks felt as far as Rome and Florence. Around 300 people are killed.
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes the San Francisco Bay Area; it is the largest in that area since 1989.
Anders Behring Breivik, perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, is sentenced to 21 years of preventive detention.
Agni Air Flight 101 crashes near Shikharpur, Makwanpur, Nepal, killing all 14 people on board.
Henan Airlines Flight 8387 crashes at Yichun Lindu Airport in Yichun, Heilongjiang, China, killing 44 out of the 96 people on board.
In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, 72 illegal immigrants are killed by Los Zetas and eventually found dead by Mexican authorities.
Sixty-five passengers are killed when Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895 crashes during an emergency landing at Manas International Airport in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
A Cessna 208 Caravan crashes in Cabañas, Zacapa, Guatemala, killing 11 people.
The International Astronomical Union passed a resolution redefining the term planet and classifying Pluto as a dwarf planet.
Ninety passengers die after two airliners explode after flying out of Domodedovo International Airport, near Moscow. The explosions are caused by suicide bombers from Chechnya.
Air Transat Flight 236 loses all engine power over the Atlantic Ocean, forcing the pilots to conduct an emergency landing in the Azores.
First radio-frequency identification (RFID) human implantation tested in the United Kingdom.
Microsoft releases Windows 95 to the public in North America.
Hurricane Andrew, the third-most intense Category 5 cyclone to impact the United States in the 20th century, made landfall in southern Florida.
Ukraine declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.
Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Cultural Revolution: Red Guards vandalised the Jokhang (depicted), the holiest Buddhist temple in Tibet.
Buddhist crisis: The U.S. State Department ordered Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (pictured) 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.
In the midst of a political crisis, Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas fatally shot himself in the Catete Palace in Rio de Janeiro.
World War II: At the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, bombers from the U.S. aircraft carrier Saratoga sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō near Santa Isabel Island, contributing to an Allied victory.
Adolf Hitler ordered the suspension of the T4 euthanasia program of the mentally ill and disabled, although killings continued in secret for the remainder of World War II.
The Royal Navy's R.38, the world's largest airship at the time, was destroyed by a structural failure over Hull, killing 44 of the 49 crew aboard.
The Battle of Cer ended with the first Allied victory of World War I.
The New Zealand Native football team, predominantly comprising Māori players, concluded their 107-game tour, the longest in rugby union history.
89 New Zealand Native football team
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.
War of 1812: British forces invaded Washington, D.C., setting fire to various U.S. government buildings, including the White House.
American Revolutionary War: Near present-day Aurora, Indiana, American Indians led by Joseph Brant killed or captured all members of a Pennsylvania militia.
War of the Spanish Succession: An Anglo-Dutch fleet engaged a French naval force at the Battle of Málaga in the Mediterranean Sea.
The 1662 Book of Common Prayer was legally enforced as the liturgy of the Church of England, precipitating the Great Ejection of Dissenter ministers from their benefices.
A Dutch expedition (depicted) arrived at the mouth of the Valdivia River, in present-day Chile, to establish a new colony in the ruins of the abandoned Spanish settlement of Valdivia.
The oldest known version of the Gutenberg Bible, the first major book produced on a printing press, was completed.
Rome was sacked for the first time in approximately 800 years by the Visigoths under Alaric I.
Caesar's Civil War: Forces loyal to Julius Caesar led by Gaius Scribonius Curio were defeated by Pompeian Republicans under Publius Attius Varus and King Juba I of Numidia.
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
A notable person who died on this day.
Joseph F. Traub, German-American computer scientist and academic (born 1932)
Richard Attenborough, English actor, director, producer, and politician (born 1923)
Félix Miélli Venerando, Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1937)
Pauli Ellefsen, Faroese surveyor and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (born 1936)
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Christian feast day: Massa Candida (Martyrs of Utica)
Christian feast day: Emily de Vialar
Christian feast day: Bartholomew the Apostle (Roman Catholic, Anglican)
Christian feast day: Jeanne-Antide Thouret
Christian feast day: Owen (Audoin)
Christian feast day: Edward Klinik
Christian feast day: Aurea of Ostia
Christian feast day: Maria Micaela Desmaisieres
Earliest: Caesar's civil war (49 BCE). Most recent: Christoph Daum (2024).
Dates before the year 1 are given on the proleptic Julian calendar. Day-level precision for ancient events is traditional rather than documented.
August 24 is the 236th day of the year, with 129 days left after it.
August 24 falls under Virgo (August 23 – September 22), a earth sign ruled by Mercury. The birthstone for the month is Peridot or Spinel or Sardonyx.
We record 86 entries for August 24: 38 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 49 BCE to 2024.
Mildred Maldonado (2001) is among the notable births on August 24. The births section lists the rest.
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
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