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What happened in history on this day: August 24?
Since 1995, I have been collecting information on a variety of topics,
creating several timelines of history.
Here you will find specific events from those databases
for this day, on the topics of personal computers, video games, the Walt Disney Company,
Chevrolet Corvettes, A&W Root Beer, Sweden, and Canadian coins.
On August 24 in ...
- 1981 - Apple Computer runs a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal with a headline that reads "Welcome IBM. Seriously.".
- 1981 - National Semiconductor announces it is withdrawing from the magnetic bubble memory business.
- 1993 - Apple Computer loses its appeal of the ruling in favor of Microsoft in June, ending its legal battle against Microsoft Windows.
- 1994 - Folk singer Bob Dylan files suit in US Central District Court of California in Los Angeles for trademark infringement of Apple Computer's Dylan programming language. pple quickly settles out of court, licensing use of the trademark name.
- 1995 - At the stroke of midnight in Auckland, New Zealand, the first retail copy of Windows 95 is sold.
- 1995 - Microsoft signs a licensing agreement allowing IBM to install Windows 95 on its personal computers. IBM is the last company allowed to license the operating system prior to the product launch, and also pays the most, US$45.90 per copy.
- 1995 - Microsoft releases the Windows 95 operating system, with a product launch in a circus tent on Microsoft's campus in Redmond. Over 12,500 people were invited to attend the launch, plus live satellite broadcasts are made available in 42 US cities and world capitals. This is the first consumer Windows version that does not require MS-DOS pre-installed. New features include integrated TCP/IP stack, dial-up networking, and long filenames. More than 20,000 retail stores offer copies for sale. Microsoft prepares for support calls, with 1600 people staffing tech support lines. The software comprises over 11 million lines of code. The US$250 million publicity campaign includes US$12 million for the rights to the "Start Me Up" song by the Rolling Stones. This is the biggest marketing extravaganza for a consumer product ever. First day sales total about 300,000 copies.
- 1995 - Microsoft releases Microsoft Office 95.
- 1995 - Microsoft releases Windows 95 PLUS pack, including Internet Explorer 1.0 web browser. Price is US$50.
- 1995 - Maldive Islands issues a 30-l postage stamp depicting a woman at a personal computer.
- 1996 - Microsoft releases Windows NT 4.0, with graphical user interface similar to that of Windows 95. The software comprises 16.5 million lines of code. Code-name during development was Cairo.
- 1998 - Intel releases the 300 MHz and 333 MHz Celeron processors with 128 kB Level 2 cache. Code-name during development was Mendocino. The 153.9 mm2 die incorporates 19 million transistors in a 0.25-micron process. Prices are US$149 and US$192 in 1000-unit quantities.
- 1998 - Adobe Systems announces Adobe Illustrator 8.0. Price is US$375; upgrade price is US$129; competitive upgrade price is US$199.
- 2006 - Apple Computer announces the second-largest personal computer battery recall in history, affecting 1.7 million older iBook and PowerBook systems.
- 2011 - Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple.
- 1925 - Production begins on the Alice Comedy film Alice in Love.
- 1942 - The animated feature film Saludos Amigos world premieres in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- 1945 - The Pluto film The Legend of Coyote Rock is released to theaters.
- 1989 - The Ewok Village opens at the entrance to the Star Tours attraction in the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park at Walt Disney World.
- 1992 - Tokyo Disneyland welcomes its 120-millionth guest.
- 1994 - Jeffrey Katzenberg resigns from the Walt Disney Company. Joe Roth is named chairman of Walt Disney Motion Picture Group. Richard Frank is appointed head of Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications. Peter Schneider is appointed head of the animation department.
- 1994 - Walt Disney Home Video releases the film D2: The Mighty Ducks on videocassette for US$19.99, and laserdisc for US$29.99.
- 1994 - Disney releases the film The Island at the Top of the World on laserdisc for US$35.
- 1999 - Disney makes a controlling investment of US$40-50 million in Toysmart.com.
- 2001 - Disney releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Bubble Boy to theaters in the USA.
- 1963 - At the Watkins Glen raceway in Watkins Glen, New York, an SCCA race is held for modified classes. Finishing 1st in C Modified class and 1st overall is the Corvette Grand Sport #004 driven by Richard Thompson. This is the first overall win for a Corvette Grand Sport.
- 1987 - Production begins on 1988 model Corvettes.
- 2001 - The Corvettes at Carlisle 2001 show is held, over three days. About 60,000 people attend, and 5,000 Corvettes.
- 2002 - At the Corvettes at Carlisle, the Carisle Auction of Corvettes is held. Some highlights:
- Chip Miller's Restoration Celebration 1953 Corvette is sold for US$170,000 to Terry Michaelis of Pro Team Corvettes.
- 1959 Roman Red convertible: US$50,000,
- 1961 Jewel Blue fuel-injected convertible with white coves: US$50,000,
- 1965 396-ci 425-hp convertible: US$71,500,
- 1965 Goldwood Yellow fuel-injected convertible: US$59,000,
- 1967 427-ci 435-hp coupe: US$55,000.
- 2003 - At the Road America raceway in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, the Road America 500 Presented by The Chicago Tribune race is held, round six of the American Le Mans Series.
- Finishing 2nd in GTS class and 5th overall is the Corvette Racing #3 Corvette C5-R, driven by Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell.
- Finishing 5th in GTS class and 9th overall is the Corvette Racing #4 Corvette C5-R, driven by Kelly Collins, Oliver Gavin.
- 2003 - At the Road America raceway in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, round eight of the Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Tires Cup is held.
- Finishing 4th is the Derhaag Motorsports #59 Corvette, driven by Justin Bell.
- Finishing 5th is the Trenton Forging #2 Corvette, driven by Stuart Hayner.
- Finishing 8th is the Preformed Line Products #49 Corvette, driven by Randy Ruhlman.
- Finishing 9th is the ROH Wheels #06 Corvette, driven by Joey Scarallo.
- Finishing 13th is the Auto Concepts #22 Corvette, driven by Brian Kubinski.
- Placing 14th, but not finishing the race, is the McNichols/Cenweld #23 Corvette, driven by Bob Ruman.
- Placing 15th, but not finishing the race, is the Lamers Motor Racing #68 Corvette, driven by Cliff Ebben.
- Placing 16th, but not finishing the race, is the Revolution Motorsports #10 Corvette, driven by Bobby Sak.
- Placing 21st, but not finishing the race, is the Power Technolodgy #17 Corvette, driven by Dan Furey.
- 1940 - The German battleship Bismarck is commissioned.
- 1940 - The Luftwaffe resumes bombing British fighter bases near London.
- 1940 - (evening) Ten German aircraft inadvertantly bomb London, in contravention of Adolf Hitler's order forbidding attacks on the city.
- 1942 - (1830 hours) 16th Panzer Division of the German 6th Army reaches the Volga river near Rynok, ten miles north of Stalingrad.
- 1944 - The first few tanks of Allied forces arrive in Paris.
- 1944 - American aircraft drop almost 300 tons of bombs on a factory near Weimar, believed to be making rocket parts.
- 1944 - Adolf Hitler orders a new West Wall built to defend the German homeland.
- 1945 - Quote by captured Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer, commander of 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitler Jugend": "As I sit here now, Germany in five years or less will be Communist. Russia will always have both time and the necessary resources to do what she likes when she likes.".
- 1954 - Poland issues two postage stamps marking the 10th anniversary of the Battle of Studzianki.
- 1992 - Marshall Islands issues a postage stamp marking the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Eastern Solomons.
- 2001 - Marshall Islands issues nine postage stamps depicting naval heroes in World War II Pacific Theater.
- 1994 - 3DO announces it will use the IBM/Motorola PowerPC processor for an expansion module for its 3DO Interactive Multiplayer game system.
- 2000 - In Japan, Nintendo unveils the Gamecube video game system. It features 405 MHz 0.18-micron IBM PowerPC "Gekko" processor with 32-bit integer and 64-bit floating-point processing, 202.5 MHz System LSI "Flipper" graphics processor, 24-bit color, 101.25 MHz 16-bit sound processor, 24 MB main memory.
- 2000 - In Japan, Nintendo unveils the Game Boy Advance handheld video game system. It features reflective 240x160 pixel 1.6- by 2.4-inch 32,000-color TFT LCD screen, 32-bit RISC and 8-bit CISC processors, 32 kB WRAM, 96 kB VRAM. Size is 3.2 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches. Two AA batteries power the unit for about fifteen hours. Code name during development was Project Atlantis.
- 2004 - At the Hot Chips conference in California, Sony reveals some details of the processor used in the PlayStation Portable. It features 333MHz speed, integrated graphics, 4MB integrated memory, power consumption of 0.8-1.2 volts, based on MIPS R4000 chip design.
- 2004 - Atari releases the Test Drive: Eve of Destruction video game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in the US.
- 2004 - Atari releases the Terminator 3: Redemption video game for the Xbox, GameCube, and PlayStation 2 in the US.
- 2005 - Sony releases a PlayStation Portable firmware 2.0 upgrade in the USA, available via wireless Internet connection, or through a USB connection to a PC. The upgrade features Wi-Fi security, tools for photo sharing, enhanced video and audio playback with support for MP4 and WAV (LPCM) formats, and allows Internet browsing from hotspots using the device's built-in Wi-Fi functions.
- 2006 - Nintendo and Square Enix release a limited edition Nintendo DS Lite bundle in Japan, with crystal white case featuring Final Fantasy character artwork, and the Final Fantasy III video game.
- 2007 - The movie The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is released in theaters in the USA.
- 2007 - Microsoft reduces the price of the Xbox 360 in Europe by 50 euros to 349.99 euros (US$470), and 20 euros on the Xbox 360 Core to 279.99 euros.
- 2009 - Nintendo releases the Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box video game for the Nintendo DS in the USA.
- 2010 - 2K Games releases the Mafia II video game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the US.
- 1632 - King Gustav Adolf's army begins a general assault on Alte Veste, the northern side of the Imperial camp. The twelve-hour battle is not successful, with the loss of over 4000 troops dead, general Torstenson taken prisoner, and Banèr wounded.
- 1905 - Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 in 20 innings.
- 1906 - Cincinnati Reds' pitcher John Weimer no-hits Brooklyn Dodgers, 1-0 in 7-inning game.
- 1912 - New York City hold ticker tape parade for Jim Thorpe and victorious US Olympic athletes.
- 1922 - First Philadelphia Phillies' player to hit for the cycle (Cy Williams).
- 1954 - International Amateur Athletic Federation recognizes Red China.
- 1963 - First 200-metre freestyle swim under two minutes (Don Schollander 1:58).
- 1963 - John Pennel is first to pole-vault 17 feet.
- 1964 - Second Mayor's Trophy Game, New York Yankees beat New York Mets 6-4.
- 1972 - 8th Mayor's Trophy Game, New York Yankees beat New York Mets 2-1.
- 1972 - Gordie Howe and Jean Beliveau inducted in Hockey Hall of Fame.
- 1975 - San Francisco Giants' player Ed Halick no-hits New York Giants, 6-0.
- 1975 - Tampa Bay Rowdies beat Portland 2-0 for NASL cup.
- 1979 - NFL fans (60,916) choose old New England Patriots' logo over new.
- 1984 - Pat Bradley set the LPGA record for 9 holes with a 28 at Denver, Colorado.
- 1989 - Record-setting baseball player Pete Rose agrees to a lifetime ban from the sport following allegations of illegal gambling, thereby preventing his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 2007 - (to September 2) The 2007 World Championships in Athletics was held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan.
- 2008 - In Beijing, China, the Games of the XXIX Olympiad close, with the Olympic flag being handed to London mayor Boris Johnson, for the 2012 Games in England. Official cost of the games: US$2.2 billion, plus US$40 billion on preparation of infrastructure and cleaning the environment. China won 51 gold, more than any other country for the first time.
- 2021 - (to September 5) The 2020 Summer Paralympics are held in Tokyo, Japan. They were originally scheduled for 25 August-6 September 2020, but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2022 - At Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Los Angeles Dodgers beats Milwaukee Brewers by score 12-6.
- 2022 - At Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Houston Astros beats Minnesota Twins by score 5-3.
- 2022 - At Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Kansas City Royals beats Arizona Diamondbacks by score 5-3.
- 2022 - At Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Chicago Cubs beats Saint Louis Cardinals by score 7-1.
- 2022 - At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Toronto Blue Jays beats Boston Red Sox by score 3-2.
- 2022 - At Tropicana Field in Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Tampa Bay Rays beats Los Angeles Angels by score 4-3.
- 2022 - At Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Philadelphia Phillies beats Cincinnati Reds by score 7-5.
- 2022 - At Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Chicago White Sox beats Baltimore Orioles by score 5-3.
- 2022 - At T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Washington Nationals beats Seattle Mariners by score 3-1.
- 2022 - At Petco Park in San Diego, California, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Cleveland Guardians beats San Diego Padres by score 7-0.
- 2022 - At RingCentral Coliseum, Oakland, California, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Oakland Athletics beats Miami Marlins by score 3-2.
- 2022 - At Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Texas Rangers beats Colorado Rockies by score 16-4.
- 2022 - At Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Detroit Tigers beats San Francisco Giants by score 6-1.
- 2022 - At PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, Major League Baseball regular season game: Atlanta Braves beats Pittsburgh Pirates by score 14-2.
- 1966 - USSR launches Luna 11 for orbit around Moon.
- 1976 - Soyuz 21 returns to Earth.
- 1987 - Announcement of possible Martian tornadoes.
- 2006 - The International Astronomical Union defines 'planet' at its 26th General Assembly, demoting Pluto to the status of 'dwarf planet' more than 70 years after its discovery.
- 1960 - A world-record low temperature (-88 degrees Celsuis, -127 degrees Fahrenheit) is measured in Vostok, Antarctica.
- 1992 - (to August 28) Hurricane Andrew hits South Florida and dissipates over the Tennessee valley when it merges with a storm system; 23 are killed.
- 1814 - Battle of Bladensburg; British beat Americans, march on Washington, DC, burn presidential residence and main Treasury building in retaliation for Americans burning of the Governor's residence at Fort York. President James Madison orders the building be white-washed to hide the black fire damage.
- 1848 - The U.S. barque Ocean Monarch is burnt out off the Great Orme, North Wales, with the loss of 178, chiefly emigrants.
- 1853 - First potato chips prepared by Chef George Crum (Saratoga Springs, New York, USA).
- 1854 - National emigration convention meets in Cleveland, Ohio.
- 1861 - The US Treasury Department issues the first US demand note, a $10 note payable in Philadelphia.
- 1912 - New York City hold ticker tape parade for Jim Thorpe and victorious US Olympic athletes.
- 1912 - Territory of Alaska is organized.
- 1912 - US passes Anti-gag law, gives federal employees right to petition the government.
- 1949 - North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established.
- 1954 - In the USA, the Communist Control Act is passed, at height of McCarthyism.
- 1956 - First non-stop transcontinental helicopter flight arrives in Washington DC.
- 1959 - Hiram L Fong sworn in as first Chinese-American senator while Daniel K Inouye sworn in as first Japanese-American Republican (both from Hawaii).
- 1967 - Abbie Hoffman and others toss dollar bills from the visitors' gallery of the New York Stock Exchange to create mayhem on the trading floor.
- 1970 - Bomb kills one at University of Wisconsin's Army Math Research Center in Madison.
- 1981 - Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life for John Lennon's murder.
- 1983 - The Old Philadelphia Arena is destroyed by arson.
- 1990 - Iraqi troops surround American and other embassies in Kuwait City.
- 1992 - (to August 28) Hurricane Andrew hits South Florida and dissipates over the Tennessee valley when it merges with a storm system; 23 are killed.
- 1994 - Jeffrey Katzenberg resigns from the Walt Disney Company.
- 1995 - Microsoft releases the Windows 95 operating system. This is the first consumer Windows version that does not require MS-DOS pre-installed. New features include integrated TCP/IP stack, dial-up networking, and long filenames. The software comprises over 11 million lines of code. The US$250 million publicity campaign includes US$12 million for the rights to the "Start Me Up" song by the Rolling Stones. This is the biggest marketing extravaganza for a consumer product ever. First day sales total about 300,000 copies.
- 1996 - Microsoft releases Windows NT 4.0, with graphical user interface similar to that of Windows 95. The software comprises 16.5 million lines of code. Code-name during development was Cairo.
- 2008 - An aircraft crashes in Guatemala, killing 10, including four Americans on a humanitarian mission.
- 2009 - The publisher of Reader's Digest in the US files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, carrying out its plan to cut debt and transfer ownership to a group of lenders.
- 2009 - The month-long "cash for clunkers" program in the US ends, with $2.9 billion spent by the US government in rebates on 690,000 low-efficiency vehicles. The top trade-in was the four-wheel-drive Ford Explorer; top new purchase was Toyota Corolla.
- 2010 - US military in Iraq cuts its strength to 50,000 troops.
- 2016 - Magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes northeast of Rome, Italy, killing over 247 people.
- 2018 - In Massachusetts, USA, the state's first true casino opens, MGM Springfield, with 23 poker tables, 2550 slot machines, and 120 gaming tables. The casino has 125,000 square feet of gaming space, and cost nearly $1 billion to build. Location is 80 miles west of Boston.
Other history:
- 79 - Mount Vesuvius erupts, buries Pompeii and Herculaneum.
- 410 - Rome overrun by Visigoths, symbolizes fall of Western Roman Empire.
- 1814 - British sack Washington, DC; White House burned.
- 1891 - Thomas Edison patents motion picture camera.
- 1949 - North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established.
- 1989 - Pete Rose is suspended from baseball for life for gambling.
- 1991 - Gorbachev resigns as head of USSR Communist Party.
- 1991 - Ukraine declares independence from the USSR.
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