August 24: Alaric I Sacks Rome, British Capture Washington, D.C and Vesuvius Erupts

On This Day in History August 24, 2020 Historical Events 79  Mt Vesuvius erupts, buries Roman Pompeii and Herculaneum, 15,000 die 410  Rome overrun by Visigoths under Alaric I for the first time in nearly 800 years, seen as the fall of the Western Roman Empire 1516  Battle of Marj Dabiq: Ottoman forces decisively beat the Mamluk Sultanate 1572  St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of Protestants by Roman Catholics begins in Paris and later spreads to the French provinces 1662  Act of Uniformity requires English to accept Book of Common Prayer 1814  British forces capture Washington, D.C. and destroy many landmarks (War of 1812) 1968  France becomes the world's fifth thermonuclear power with a detonation on Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific More Historical Events Famous Birthdays Carlo Gambino (1902 - 1976) Stephen Fry 63rd Birthday William Wilberforce (1759 - 1833) Yasser Arafat (1933 - 2004) More Famous Birthdays Famous Deaths Getulio Vargas (1883 - 1954) Richard Attenborough (1923 - 2014) More Famous Deaths August 24: The 17 Year-Old Witness to the Eruption of Vesuvius 17 year-old Pliny the Younger's account of the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii made the event famous long after Pompeii was buried and forgotten. Read the Article You Might Like Take Our Weekly Quiz You received this email because you opted in at our website, OnThisDay.com Update Your Preferences | Unsubscribe © 2020 OnThisDay.com 2 Acacia Place, Tauranga 3110, New Zealand