In 1814 on this day, British forces burnt down the White House. Unlike audience reaction to the 1996 movie Independence Day (pictured), there was no widespread cheering among Americans for the building’s destruction.
One year later, the modern Constitution of the Netherlands received its empowering signatures.
August 24 birthdays include that of British anti-slavery activist William Wilberforce (1759 – 1833), Argentine literary genius Jorge Luis Borges (1899 – 1986), and French historian and author of a magisterial study of the rise of capitalism in Europe, Fernand Braudel (1902 – 1985),
On August 24, 1682, William Penn received an area of territory to add it to his colony of Pennsylvania. The area comprises, today, the state of Delaware.