August 24

1814:

British troops invade Washington, D.C. and burn down the White House and several other buildings.

1914:

German troops capture Namur.

1917:

VC won by A/Cpl Filip Konowal, 47th Battalion, CEF (formerly 77th Battalion, CEF), Hill 70, France

1929:

Turkey and Persia sign a friendship treaty.

1931:

France and the Soviet Union sign a neutrality treaty.

1939:

All leave cancelled for war

1942:

The Battle of the East Solomon Islands. Japanese aircraft carrier RYUHO is sunk

1944:

French and Allied troops commence the liberation of Paris.

1949:

Formation of NATO

1949:

The North Atlantic Treaty goes into effect. NATO is created.

1968:

France explodes its first hydrogen bomb, thus becoming the world's fifth nuclear power.

1991:

Ukraine declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.

410:

The Visigoths under Alaric sack Rome for three days.