Today in history

Today is Thursday, Aug. 24, the 236th day of 2006. There are 129 days left in the year. On this date in 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashes into Florida, causing record damage; 55 deaths in Florida, Louisiana and the Bahamas are blamed on the storm.
In A.D. 79, long-dormant Mount Vesuvius erupts, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash. An estimated 20,000 people die. In A.D. 410, Rome is overrun by the Visigoths, an event that symbolizes the fall of the Western Roman Empire. In 1572, the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of French Protestants at the hands of Catholics begins in Paris. In 1814, British forces invade Washington, setting fire to the Capitol and the White House. In 1932, Amelia Earhart embarks on a 19-hour flight from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., making her the first woman to fly solo nonstop from coast to coast. In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty goes into effect. In 1954, the Communist Control Act goes into effect, virtually outlawing the Communist Party in the United States. In 1968, France becomes the world's fifth thermonuclear power as it explodes a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific. In 1970, a bomb planted by anti-war extremists explodes at the University of Wisconsin's Army Math Research Center in Madison, killing 33-year-old researcher Robert Fassnacht. In 1981, Mark David Chapman is sentenced in New York to 20 years to life in prison for slaying rock star John Lennon.
August 24, 1981: Dr. Louis Zona, chairman of Youngstown State University's fine arts department since 1978, is named director of the Butler Institute of American Art, succeeding Joseph G. Butler III, who died in June.
After a shaky preseason start, it remains to be seen whether Terry Bradshaw will start the Pittsburgh Steelers opening season game in two weeks. In the wings is backup quarterback Cliff Stoudt of Youngstown State University. Meanwhile, another Youngstown product, Ron Jaworski, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, has a shaky start in a 36-7 rout by the New Orleans Saints.
The Canfield Fair names its urban and rural families of the year: the family of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Green of Youngstown and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Phillis of Goshen Township.
August 24, 1966: Struthers rackets figure Ronald Carabbia is sentenced to jail for six months by Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Sidney Rigelhaupt on a numbers charge dating to a 1962-63 rackets investigation by a Mahoning County grand jury.
Francis X. Bushman, "King of the Movies" during the silent era of motion pictures, dies in Los Angeles at 83.
Frank Percic, prominent in sports in Youngstown for many years, is the new faculty director of athletics at North High, taking over for Si Ludt who resigned after many years of directing operations for the Bulldogs.
August 24, 1956: Iron and steel production in the Youngstown district soars to an estimated 105 percent of capacity, one of the highest of all time. Orders are piling up.
The Youngstown Community Chest passes the $1 million mark, setting a goal for the 1956 campaign of $1,027,326.
The cost of living jumps seven-tenths of a percent in July for the second successive month, meaning the consumer's dollar has lost more than a penny of purchasing power in the last two months.
August 24, 1931: Three people are killed and 21 injured in traffic accidents in Youngstown and vicinity over one of the most disastrous weekends the city has seen in several months.
A campaign to raise $18,000 to buy milk for the city's little folks who aren't eating right during the current business depression is launched with the sale of tickets for the milk fund boxing show that will be held Sept. 10.
Jack Bruce and his orchestra will furnish the dance music at the Cascade Park dance hall in New Castle for the remainder of the season, Manager Carl L. Shaner announces.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.