This Day in History, August 24

79 A.D. - Mount Vesuvius erupts. The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneaum and Stabiae are buried in volcanic acid.

1215 - Pope Innocent III declares the Magna Carta invalid.

1682 - William Penn receives area that is now state of Delaware, and adds it to his colony in Pennsylvania.

1814 - British troops invade Washington, DC and burn down the White House and several other buildings.

1853 - Potato chips are first prepared.

1932 - Amelia Earhart is first woman to fly across United States non-stop (from LA to Newark). Who would want to fly to that dumphole (Newark).

1981 - Mark David Chapman sentenced to 20 years for murdering John Lennon.

1989 - Pete Rose banned from baseball for gambling by Commissioner Bart Giamatti.

1990 - Sinead O'Conner refuses to perform at Garden State Arts Plaza in Holmdel, NJ if "Star-Spangled Banner" is played before her show, as is customary.

1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of Communist Party of Soviet Union.

1992 - Hurricane Andrew hits South Florida as a category 5 hurricane.