August 24

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 began.

1858 | Civil Rights: Richmond’s ”Daily Dispatch” reports 90 African Americans arrested for learning to read.

1891 | Thomas Edison patented 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 domestically.

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 Ripken, Jr. 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.