Actor Jared Harris

Events in 1961 and 24-8

Events in the world in the birth year of Jared Harris

• US breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba (Jan. 3).
• 1,200 US-sponsored anti-Castro exiles invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs (April 17); the attackers are all killed or captured by Cuban forces.
• East Germany erects the Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin to halt flood of refugees (Aug. 13). Background: The Cold War
• USSR detonates 50-megaton hydrogen bomb in the largest man-made explosion in history (Oct. 29). Background: nuclear weapons
• There are 2,000 US military advisers in South Vietnam. Background: Vietnam War
• OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) formally constituted.

Birthday Jared Harris (24-8) in history

• Day 24-8 year 79: The volcano Vesuvius suddenly awoke and erupted lava that buried the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
• Day 24-8 year 1572: A dark day for the Huguenots when 70,000 French Protestants were massacred on Saint Bartholomew's Day.
• Day 24-8 year 1814: The British set fire to the White House and the Capitol when they invaded Washington, DC during the War of 1812.
• Day 24-8 year 1821: Mexico gained its independence from Spain with the Treaty of Cordoba.
• Day 24-8 year 1949: The North Atlantic Treaty went into effect.
• Day 24-8 year 1968: France became the world's fifth nuclear power as it exploded a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific.
• Day 24-8 year 1989: Pete Rose was banned from baseball for gambling.
• Day 24-8 year 1991: Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as the general secretary of the Communist Party after a failed coup attempt against him.
• Day 24-8 year 1992: Hurricane Andrew hit Florida, causing record damage.