This day in history

[August 24, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Aug. 24, the 236th day of 2009. There are 129 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Aug. 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces invaded Washington, D.C., setting fire to the Capitol (which was still under construction) and the White House, as well as other public buildings.

On this date:

In A.D. 79, long-dormant Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash; an estimated 20,000 people died.

In 1572, the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of French Protestants at the hands of Catholics began in Paris.

In 1932, Amelia Earhart embarked on a 19-hour flight from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., making her the first woman to fly solo, nonstop, from coast to coast.

In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty came into force.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party in the United States.

In 1959, three days after Hawaiian statehood, Hiram L. Fong was sworn in as the first Chinese-American U.S. Senator while Daniel K. Inouye was sworn in as the first Japanese-American U.S. Representative.

In 1968, France became the world's fifth thermonuclear power as it exploded a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific.

In 1970, a bomb planted by anti-war extremists exploded at the University of Wisconsin's Sterling Hall in Madison, killing 33-year-old researcher Robert Fassnacht.

In 1989, Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti banned Pete Rose from the game for betting on his own team, the Cincinnati Reds. The Voyager 2 space probe flew by Neptune, sending back striking photographs.

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed into Florida, causing $30 billion in damage; 43 U.S. deaths were blamed on the storm.

Ten years ago: The Federal Reserve raised borrowing costs for millions of Americans, increasing its target for the federal funds rate by a quarter point to 5.25 percent, and hiking the discount rate a quarter point to 4.75 percent.

Five years ago: An independent commission said the blame for abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison lay mainly with the American soldiers who ran the jail, but said senior commanders and top-level Pentagon officials could also be faulted for failed leadership and oversight. Chechen separatists set off bombs aboard two Russian airliners that crashed after taking off from the same Moscow airport, killing 90 people. Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, who famously theorized that terminally ill patients go through five stages of grief, died in Scottsdale, Ariz., at age 78.

One year ago: A suicide bomber struck a welcome-home celebration on Baghdad's outskirts for an Iraqi detainee released from U.S. custody, killing at least 25 people. An Iran-bound passenger jet carrying 90 people crashed in Kyrgyzstan, killing some 70 people. On the final day of the Beijing Games, Kobe Bryant hit two 3-pointers in a big fourth quarter to help the United States defeat Spain 118-107 and win the men's basketball gold medal for the first time since 2000. Waipahu, Hawaii, defeated Matamoros, Mexico, in the Little League World Series, 12-3.

Today's birthdays: Former education secretary Shirley Hufstedler is 84. Actor Kenny Baker ("Star Wars") is 75. Composer-musician Mason Williams is 71. R&B singer Marshall Thompson (The Chi-Lites) is 67. Rock musician Ken Hensley is 64. Actress Anne Archer is 62. Actor Joe Regalbuto is 60. Actor Kevin Dunn (TV: "Samantha Who?") is 54. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is 54. Actor-writer Stephen Fry is 52. Actor Steve Guttenberg is 51. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken Jr. is 49. Talk show host Craig Kilborn is 47. Rock singer John Bush is 46. Actress Marlee Matlin is 44. Retired NBA player Reggie Miller is 44. Broadcast journalist David Gregory ("Meet the Press") is 39. Country singer Kristyn Osborn (SheDaisy) is 39. Actor-comedian Dave Chappelle is 36. Actor Carmine Giovinazzo is 36. Actress Beth Riesgraf is 31. NBA player Michael Redd is 30. Actor Chad Michael Murray is 28. Christian rock musician Jeffrey Gilbert (Kutless) is 26. Singer Mika is 26. Actor Rupert Grint ("Harry Potter" films) is 21.

Thought for today: "No one knows his true character until he has run out of gas, purchased something on the installment plan and raised an adolescent." -- Marcelene Cox, American writer

[Associated Press]

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