On This Day: John Lennon's killer Mark Chapman sentenced

Aug. 24 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 79 A.D., thousands died and the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy.

In 1814, the British captured Washington and burned the Capitol and the White House.

In 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly non-stop across the United States.

In 1981, Mark Chapman, who claimed devils forced him to kill John Lennon and God told him to confess, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for fatally shooting the former leader of the Beatles.

In 1987, a U.S. appeals court in Cincinnati ruled public schools could require students to study textbooks not accepted by religious fundamentalists.

In 1990, Irish-British hostage Brian Keenan, held by pro-Iranian Muslim extremists in Lebanon for more than four years, was freed.

In 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev quit as general secretary of the Communist Party central committee. He also ordered his Cabinet to resign.

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In 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed into Florida south of Miami with sustained winds of 145 mph. The storm killed 15 people and caused more than $30 billion in damage.

In 1996, four women became students at The Citadel, a military school in South Carolina that had fought in court to remain all-male.

In 2004, two Russian passenger jetliners crashed within minutes of each other after taking off from Domodedovo Airport in Moscow. Authorities said terrorist attacks caused the crashes, which killed 89 people.

In 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush vowed in an Idaho speech that he wouldn't retreat from Iraq or the rest of the Middle East until U.S. troops "win the war on terror."

In 2006, Pluto, the small, distant astronomic body that has discovered in 1930, was demoted to "dwarf planet" status when the International Astronomical Union adopted a new definition of "planet."

In 2008, the Summer Olympic Games came to a close in Beijing, with the United States winning the most medals, 110, including 36 gold. Host China captured the most gold medals, 51, and was second in the overall category at 100. U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps won a record eight gold medals in eight events.

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In 2011, Steve Jobs, co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple Inc., resigned, telling his company's board he could "no longer meet my duties and expectations." Jobs, 56, who stayed on as chairman, had battled cancer for several years. He died Oct. 5, 2011.

In 2012, Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway, was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the longest prison term possible for murder and terrorism under Norwegian law.

In 2013, Bolivian government officials said inmates at a prison in Santa Cruz used knives, machetes, self-made flamethrowers and other weapons in a gang battle that left 30 people dead and dozens injured.

In 2014, acclaimed British actor-turned-director-filmmaker Richard Attenborough, whose 1982 movie Gandhi won eight Academy Awards, including Best Director, died in London. He was 90.