ED DANAHUE

After fire destroyed his well two months after it found oil along
Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, Edwin L. Drake rebuilt at the original
site. Drake, right, stands with his friend Peter Wilson of Titusville.

On August 24, 79 AD after centuries of dormancy, Mount Vesuvius
erupted in southern Italy, devastating the prosperous Roman cities
of  Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing thousands. The cities,
buried under a thick layer of volcanic material and mud, were
never rebuilt and largely forgotten in the course of history.

In the 18th century, Pompeii and Herculaneum were rediscovered and
excavated, providing an  unprecedented archaeological record of
the everyday life of an ancient civilization, startlingly preserved in
in sudden death.

ED DANAHUE

One of the major disasters in 19^th century around the world was the eruption
of the volcano Krakatau in western Pacific Ocean, Indonesia.

The volcano erupted on this day in 1883 and killed thousand people on the
other islands near it. The volcanic dust was thrown into the atmosphere
and affected the weather around the world, and people as far away as Britain
and the United States began to see bizarre red sunsets caused by particles
in the atmosphere.

On this day in 1859, the first oil well was successfully drilled in the
U.S. by Colonel Edwin L. Drake (below) near Titusville, PA.

Drake Well Museum in Titusville, PA is on the site where Edwin L.
Drake drilled the world’s first oil well in 1859 and launched the
modern petroleum industry.

It was on this day in 1979.

Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten was born
Prince Louis of Battenberg
(June 25, 1900 – August 27, 1979)  

President John F. Kennedy (left) Meets with Lord Louis Mountbatten (center) in 1961.  Mountbatten was Chief of the Defense Staff of the British Armed Forces at the time.

Brian Epstein was found dead in his home from an overdose of
sleeping pills on this day in 1967. Epstein first discovered The
Beatles in November 1961.

Brian Samuel Epstein
(September 19, 1934 – August 27, 1967)

Brian Epstein (center) with The Beatles.

SANDY KOZEL

Mount Vesuvius erupted killing approximately 20,000 people on this
day in 79 AD. The cities of Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum were buried in volcanic ash.

The above Photos of Plaster casts were made from actual victims trapped in the lava flows of the  ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy.      

        
       

.

Florida City: Gary Davis cradles his chihuahua Boo Boo in front of
his mobile home in the Goldcoaster Mobile Home Park the morning
after Hurricane Andrew.

Washington, DC, was invaded by British forces that set fire to the
White House and Capitol on this day in 1814.

The United States Capitol depicted after the 1812 burning of WA. D.C.

An artists depiction of the White House ruins after the conflagration
of August 24, 1814.

The planet Pluto was reclassified as a "dwarf planet" by the
International Astronomical Union on this day in 2006. Pluto’s
status was changed due to the IAU’s new rules for an object
qualifying as a planet. Pluto met two of the three rules because
it orbits the sun and is large enough to assume a nearly round
shape. However, since Pluto has an oblong orbit and overlaps
the orbit of Neptune it disqualified Pluto as a planet.

On this day in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly
across the U.S. non-stop. The trip from Los Angeles, CA to Newark,
NJ, took about 19 hours.

It was on this day in 1989.

Peter Edward Rose Sr. turned 77 in April.

Crater Lake National Park is located in southern Oregon. The lake is
in a dormant volcano and is an average of 1,943 feet deep, making
it the deepest lake in the United States. It was created by one of the
largest volcanic explosions in history when Mt. Mazama exploded
over seven thousand years ago, collapsing on itself.

The cataclysmic eruption of Mount Mazama 7,700 years ago began
with a towering column of pumice and ash, as depicted in this
painting by Paul Rockwood.