On this day in History - August 24

1349 – Six thousand Jews are killed in Mainz after being blamed for the bubonic plague.

1608 – The first official English representative to India lands in Surat.

1857 – The Panic of 1857 begins, setting off one of the most severe economic crises in United States history.

1932 – Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop (from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey).

1944 – World War II: Allied troops begin the attack on Paris.

1981 – Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon.

1991 – Ukraine declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.