What Happened on August 24

Gutenberg's Masterwork Completed

The first great printed book is finished — a Bible of 42 lines to the page, with 290 master characters in blackletter type.

MAINZ, August 24 — A new age of letters hath begun. The first major book produced upon a printing press, the Gutenberg Bible, now stands complete, and its pages promise to carry learning far beyond the cloister's wall. This volume, known also as the 42-line Bible or the B42, was finished with a visible date of 15 August 1456, and already its fame hath spread; in March of the past year, the future Pope Pius II wrote of seeing its pages displayed in Frankfurt. Johann Gutenberg's craft masters a set of 290 characters for its blackletter type, and his oil-based ink, rich in copper, lead, and titanium, gives the text a lasting sheen.

The President's House in Ashes

On August 24, British forces burned the President's House and Capitol in retribution for the American burning of York in 1813, following Napoleon's abdication in 1814.

WASHINGTON, August 24 — In the annals of this young republic, few days have borne such infamy as this, when the enemy's torch hath consumed the seat of our government. British forces, having invaded the capital, set fire to the President's House, destroying its interior and charring much of its exterior, and likewise the Capitol Building, in retribution for our own burning of York in April 1813. This calamity follows Britain's reinforcement of North America after Napoleon's abdication in April 1814.

U.S. Orders Lodge to Push Diem's Ouster

Ambassador Lodge is ordered to encourage South Vietnamese army officers to oust President Diem unless he removes his brother Nhu.

SAIGON, August 24 — Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. has been ordered by the State Department to encourage South Vietnamese Army officers to oust President Ngo Dinh Diem if he will not remove his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, from his unofficial position of power. The directive, Cable 243, sent this day, marks a shift in U.S. policy, advising Lodge to seek Nhu's removal and to look for alternative leadership if Diem refuses reform. Since Diem's sidelining of Nhu is seen as virtually nil, the cable effectively means fomenting a coup.

Saratoga Planes Sink Jap Carrier Ryūjō

Third carrier battle of the Pacific — bombers from the Saratoga send the Ryūjō to the bottom near Santa Isabel Island.

ABOARD A U.S. NAVY CARRIER, August 24 — In the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign, bombers from the aircraft carrier Saratoga have sunk the Japanese carrier Ryūjō near Santa Isabel Island, contributing to an Allied victory. The battle, which began this day and continues into tomorrow, has seen the two fleets never within sight of each other; all attacks have been delivered by carrier-based or land-based aircraft. Japan's losses include dozens of aircraft and their experienced aircrews, and reinforcements for Guadalcanal have been delayed. The Ryūjō, a light carrier, went down under a hail of bombs.

Brant's Indians Slay Pennsylvania Militia

Mohawk Chief's Force Annihilates Rebel Company Near Aurora — 'Monster Brant' Name Denied

NEW YORK, August 24 — Joseph Brant, the Mohawk chieftain, hath led his Indians against a company of the Pennsylvania militia near present-day Aurora, in the Indiana country, and hath killed or taken the whole thereof. Brant, long a captain of the Mohawks and of the loyalist band termed Brant's Volunteers, hath warred stoutly against the rebels on the New York frontier. The Americans, falsely accusing him of cruelties, have styled him 'Monster Brant,' a calumny he doth reject. The affair occurred, it is said, at the mouth of Hogan's Creek, upon the Ohio, where the militia lay encamped.

Serbian Victory at Cer: First Allied Triumph

Austrian Panic on the Drina — Serbs Re-enter Šabac — Aerial Combat Marks the Battle

BELGRADE, August 24 — The thunder of Austrian guns has ceased along the Cer range, and the Serbs, re-entering Šabac this day, have ended the first Austro-Hungarian invasion of their land with the first Allied victory of the war. The battle opened on the night of August 15, when Serbian troops met Austrian outposts on Cer Mountain; by August 19, the enemy's morale had collapsed, thousands fleeing in panic, many drowning in the Drina. Serbian losses are put at 3,000 to 5,000 killed and 15,000 wounded, while Austrian wounded alone reach 30,000.

Pluto Stripped of Planet Status by IAU Vote

Reclassification Makes It a Dwarf Planet — Eight Planets Now in Solar System

PRAGUE, August 24 — The Solar System has changed its face. The International Astronomical Union, voting here, has redefined the term planet and classified Pluto as a dwarf planet, leaving eight known planets. The definition, proposed by Uruguayan astronomers Julio Ángel Fernández and Gonzalo Tancredi, failed Pluto because it has not cleared its neighborhood of smaller objects. The discovery of Eris in January 2005, thought slightly larger than Pluto, spurred the debate. NASA said it will adopt the new guidelines.

Rome Falls to Visigoths After Eight Centuries

Alaric's Host Takes the City — St. Jerome Laments the Fall of the World's Captor

ROME, August 24 — After nearly eight hundred years, the city that once took the whole world has itself been taken. The Visigoths, under their king Alaric, who first united them in 395, have sacked Rome, the first foreign enemy to do so since the Gauls. Though Rome hath long ceased to be the seat of empire, Mediolanum having held that honor since 286 and Ravenna since 402, the blow is grievous.

Red Guards Wreck Tibet's Holiest Temple, Lhasa Reports Say

Reports say the Jokhang, which houses a famed image of the Buddha, has been stripped of its sacred objects.

LHASA, Aug. 24 — Red Guards have vandalized the Jokhang, the holiest Buddhist temple in Tibet, according to reports reaching this office. The ancient shrine, revered as the spiritual heart of the Tibetan people, has been desecrated by the youthful militants who are carrying the Cultural Revolution to the remote Himalayan region.

The destruction was said to have occurred in recent days, as the Guards swept through Lhasa in a drive against all religious and traditional influences. The Jokhang, which houses a famed image of the Buddha, has been stripped of its sacred objects.

No official statement has been issued by the Chinese authorities. The extent of the damage remains unknown.

R.38 Airship Falls in Humber; 44 of 49 Crew Perish

World's largest rigid airship breaks in two over Hull — five survivors picked up

HULL, Aug. 24 — The Royal Navy's airship R.38, the largest in the world, was destroyed over Hull this morning when her frame broke in two, hurling 44 of her 49 crew to their deaths. Only five men were saved from the wreckage, which plunged into the Humber estuary.

The great craft, 700 feet long, was on a trial flight.

Act of Uniformity Enforces New Prayer Book; Ministers Ejected

Nonconformist clergy quit benefices — statute keeps liturgy in force

LONDON, Aug. 24 — The Act of Uniformity this day enforces the Book of Common Prayer, containing the Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, as the sole liturgy of the Church of England.

Vargas Dead By Own Hand in Catete Palace

President shoots himself in chest; crisis over Vaz murder ends in tragedy

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 24 — In his third-floor bedroom at Catete Palace, President Getúlio Vargas shot himself in the chest with a revolver at 8:45 this morning. The act came amid crisis, after generals demanded his resignation over the murder of Major Rubens Vaz.

Andrew Ravages Florida as Category 5 Storm

A Category 5 storm with 165 mph winds makes landfall, leaving a trail of ruin.

HOMESTEAD, Fla., Aug. 24 — The costliest hurricane in Florida history has left a trail of ruin, with Andrew, a Category 5 storm packing 165 mph winds, making landfall on Elliott Key and then here, stripping homes to their concrete foundations.