This day in history

[August 24, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Aug. 24, the 236th day of 2010. There are 129 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Aug. 24, A.D. 410, Rome was overrun by the Visigoths, a major event in the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

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 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces invaded Washington D.C., setting fire to the Capitol and the White House, as well as other buildings.

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

In 1970, an explosives-laden van left by anti-war extremists blew up outside the University of Wisconsin's Sterling Hall in Madison, killing 33-year-old researcher Robert Fassnacht.

In 1989, Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti (juh-MAH'-tee) 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: Mexican President-elect Vicente (vih-SEN'-tay) Fox met with Vice President Al Gore, then President Bill Clinton, in Washington, a day before he met with Texas Gov. George W. Bush in Dallas.

Five years ago: Tropical Depression 12 strengthened into Tropical Storm Katrina over the central Bahamas. A federal commission voted against closing the New London submarine base in Groton, Conn. and the Portsmouth shipyard in Kittery, Maine. Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson apologized for calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (OO'-goh CHAH'-vez).

One year ago: All sales under the government's Cash for Clunkers program came to an end, although car dealers were given more time to submit pending claims for reimbursement. Scotland's justice minister, Kenny MacAskill, defended his much-criticized decision to free Abdel Baset al-Megrahi (AHB'-dehl BAH'-seht AH'-lee ahl-meh-GRAH'-hee), the Lockerbie bomber, on compassionate grounds.

Today's birthdays: Former education secretary Shirley Hufstedler is 85. Actor Kenny Baker ("Star Wars") is 76. Composer-musician Mason Williams is 72. Rhythm-and-blues singer Marshall Thompson (The Chi-Lites) is 68. Rock musician Ken Hensley is 65. Actress Anne Archer is 63. Actor Joe Regalbuto is 61. Actor Kevin Dunn (TV: "Samantha Who?") is 55. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is 55. Actor-writer Stephen Fry is 53. Actor Steve Guttenberg is 52. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken Jr. is 50. Talk show host Craig Kilborn is 48. Rock singer John Bush is 47. Actress Marlee Matlin is 45. Retired NBA player Reggie Miller is 45. Broadcast journalist David Gregory ("Meet the Press") is 40. Country singer Kristyn Osborn (SheDaisy) is 40. Actor-comedian Dave Chappelle is 37. Actor Carmine Giovinazzo is 37. Actress Beth Riesgraf is 32. Actor Chad Michael Murray is 29. Christian rock musician Jeffrey Gilbert (Kutless) is 27. Singer Mika is 27. Actor Rupert Grint ("Harry Potter" films) is 22.

Thought for today: "Of the twenty or so civilizations known to modern Western historians, all except our own appear to be dead or moribund, and, when we diagnose each case ... we invariably find that the cause of death has been either War or Class or some combination of the two." -- Arnold J. Toynbee, English historian (1889-1975)

[Associated Press]

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