August 24 in history — What Happened Today in History

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet.

Ninety passengers die after two airliners explode after flying out of Domodedovo International Airport, near Moscow. The explosions are caused by suicide bombers from Chechnya.

Air Transat Flight 236 loses all engine power over the Atlantic Ocean, forcing the pilots to conduct an emergency landing in the Azores.

First radio-frequency identification (RFID) human implantation tested in the United Kingdom.

Microsoft releases Windows 95 to the public in North America.

Hurricane Andrew makes landfall in Homestead, Florida as a Category 5 hurricane, causing up to $25 billion (1992 USD) in damages.

Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Ukraine declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.

Colombian drug barons declare "total war" on the Colombian government.

Tadeusz Mazowiecki is chosen as the first non-communist prime minister in Central and Eastern Europe.

Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon.

Vietnam War protesters bomb Sterling Hall at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, leading to an international manhunt for the perpetrators.

Led by Abbie Hoffman, the Youth International Party temporarily disrupts trading at the New York Stock Exchange by throwing dollar bills from the viewing gallery, causing trading to cease as brokers scramble to grab them.

Buddhist crisis: As a result of the Xá Lợi Pagoda raids, the US State Department cables the United States Embassy, Saigon to encourage Army of the Republic of Vietnam generals to launch a coup against President Ngô Đình Diệm if he did not remove his brother Ngô Đình Nhu.

The Communist Control Act goes into effect, outlawing the Communist Party in the United States.

Vice president João Café Filho takes office as president of Brazil, following the suicide of Getúlio Vargas.

United Air Lines Flight 615 crashes near Decoto, California, killing 50 people.

Edith Sampson becomes the first black U.S. delegate to the United Nations.

The treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization goes into effect.

World War II: Allied troops begin the attack on Paris.

World War II: The Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō is sunk, with the loss of seven officers and 113 crewmen. The US carrier USS Enterprise is heavily damaged.

The Holocaust: Adolf Hitler orders the cessation of Nazi Germany's systematic T4 euthanasia program of the mentally ill and the handicapped due to protests, although killings continue for the remainder of the war.

Kweilin incident: A Japanese warplane shoots down the Kweilin, a Chinese civilian airliner, killing 14. It is the first recorded instance of a civilian airliner being shot down.

Spanish Civil War: the Basque Army surrenders to the Italian Corpo Truppe Volontarie following the Santoña Agreement.

Spanish Civil War: Sovereign Council of Asturias and León is proclaimed in Gijón.

The Australian Antarctic Territory is created.

The Crescent Limited train derails in Washington, D.C., after the bridge it is crossing is washed out by the 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane.

Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop (from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey).

Juan Pedro Lanzani, Argentinian actor and singer

Luke Lawrence, American sailor

Reynaldo, Brazilian footballer

Rocío Igarzábal, Argentinian actress and singer

Rupert Grint, English actor

Brad Hunt, Canadian ice hockey player

Manu Ma'u, New Zealand rugby league player

Maya Yoshida, Japanese footballer

Anže Kopitar, Slovenian ice hockey player

Joseph Akpala, Nigerian footballer

Arian Foster, American football player, rapper, and actor

Erin Molan, Australian journalist and sportscaster

Charlie Villanueva, Dominican-American basketball player

Richard Attenborough, English actor, director, producer, and politician (born 1923)

Antônio Ermírio de Moraes, Brazilian businessman (born 1928)

Gerry Baker, American soccer player and manager (born 1938)

Nílton de Sordi, Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1931)

Julie Harris, American actress (born 1925)

Muriel Siebert, American businesswoman and philanthropist (born 1928)

Dadullah, Pakistani Taliban leader (born 1965)

Pauli Ellefsen, Faroese surveyor and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (born 1936)

Steve Franken, American actor (born 1932)

Félix Miélli Venerando, Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1937)

Seyhan Erözçelik, Turkish poet and author (born 1962)

Mike Flanagan, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1951)

Satoshi Kon, Japanese director and screenwriter (born 1963)