What Day Is August 24? Vesuvius Erupts and Pompeii Is Buried (79 AD)
August 24 is the 236th day of the year. In 79 AD, the eruption of Vesuvius buried Pompeii and Herculaneum. In 1572, the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre began in Paris. In 1814, British forces burned Washington D.C.
About August 24
August 24 is the 236th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (237th in a leap year). There are 129 days remaining until the end of the year.
The significance of August 24
Around 1 PM on August 24, 79 AD, Vesuvius began erupting. A column of ash and gas rose 30 kilometers into the sky. Over the next 18 hours, Pompeii was buried under approximately four meters of pumice and ash. Herculaneum was obliterated faster by pyroclastic flows. Pliny the Younger, watching from Misenum across the bay, recorded in two letters how his uncle sailed toward the disaster and died there. When archaeologists rediscovered Pompeii in the 18th century, the ash had preserved everything: food still in ovens, election campaign graffiti on walls, bodies in the positions they died. In 1572, Charles IX ordered the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre precisely because the date, the feast of the apostle Bartholomew, when Huguenot nobles had gathered in Paris for a royal wedding, gave cover for the killings. In 1814, the British burned the Capitol and White House.
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On This Day in History
- 79Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum under volcanic ash and pyroclastic flows. The eruption was recorded in two letters written by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus.
- 1572The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre began in Paris, ordered by King Charles IX of France under pressure from his mother Catherine de' Medici. Between 5,000 and 30,000 Huguenot Protestants were killed in Paris and across France.
Baby Names for This Day
August 24 is the feast of St. Bartholomew and the anniversary of Vesuvius. Names connected to this date:
- BartholomewBoy
One of the twelve apostles; August 24 is his feast day. The 1572 massacre took place on his feast day, giving it its name.
- BartBoy
Shortened form of Bartholomew; common in English-speaking countries.
- PlinyBoy
Pliny the Younger, who witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius from across the bay and wrote the only eyewitness account of it in two letters to Tacitus.
- PompeiiGirl
The city buried in 79 AD; discovered in 1748, it became the world's most intact window into ancient Roman life.
- CindersGirl
The ash that buried Pompeii preserved everything: bread in ovens, graffiti on walls, casts of the dead.
- DolleyGirl
Dolley Madison famously saved Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Washington before the British burned the White House on August 24, 1814.
Frequently Asked Questions
What day is August 24?add
August 24 is the day Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii (79 AD), the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre began (1572), and the British burned Washington D.C. (1814). The feast of St. Bartholomew. The 236th day of the year.
What number day of the year is August 24?add
August 24 is the 236th day of the year, or the 237th in a leap year, with 129 days remaining.
What zodiac sign is August 24?add
August 24 is Virgo, which runs from August 23 to September 22.