Timeline August 22 to 25

August 22
1777  American Revolutionary War: British forces abandon the Siege of Fort Stanwix after hearing rumors of Continental Army reinforcements.
1862  Claude Debussy, French composer, was born.
1868  Willis Whitney, American chemist, was born. He founded General Electric research laboratory.
1920  Ray Bradbury, Science-Fiction author, was born.

August 23
1305  Sir William Wallace is executed for High Treason at Smithfield in London.
1541  French explorer Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada.
1775  Britain's King George III proclaimed the American Colonies in a state of open rebellion.
1912  Gene Kelly, American dancer and choreographer, was born.

August 24
79  Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash. An estimated 20,000 people died.
1572  St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. The slaughter of French Protestants at the hands of Catholics began in Paris, France.
1814  British troops invaded Washington, DC, and burned public buildings in reprisal for the American sacking of Niagara and York.
1891  Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera.
1949  The North Atlantic Treaty went into effect.
2006  The International Astronomical Union declared that Pluto was no longer a planet, demoting it to the status of a "dwarf planet."

August 25
1609  Galileo Galilei demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.
1768  James Cook began his first voyage.
1918  Leonard Bernstein, American conductor, composer and pianist, was born.
1930  Sean Connery, actor, was born.