24 August It Happened Today

79       Mount Vesuvius erupts, destroying Pompeii.

1572  Beginning of the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre in France.

1759  Birth of the English anti slavery campaigner William Wilberforce.

1814  British forces set fire to the White House in Washington.

1872  Birth of English writer Sir Max Beerbohm.

1981  Mark Chapman is sentenced to twenty years to life for killing John Lennon.