August 24

Events - Society & Lifestyle

1967day.year

Led by Abbie Hoffman, the Youth International Party temporarily disrupts trading at the New York Stock Exchange by throwing dollar bills from the viewing gallery, causing trading to cease as brokers scramble to grab them.

Abbie Hoffman and the Yippies halted trading at the New York Stock Exchange by showering the floor with dollar bills.
On August 24, 1967, Abbie Hoffman led five Youth International Party members into the NYSE gallery. At precisely 2:10 pm, they began tossing singles onto the trading floor below. Brokers and specialists abandoned their posts, scrambling to collect the money. Trading ground to a halt for several minutes as chaos reigned on the exchange floor. The stunt mocked capitalist greed and drew national media attention to anti-war and counterculture movements. It cemented Hoffman’s reputation as a master of theatrical protest.
1967 Abbie Hoffman Youth International Party New York Stock Exchange
1970day.year

Vietnam War protesters bomb Sterling Hall at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, leading to an international manhunt for the perpetrators.

Anti-war activists bombed Sterling Hall on the UW–Madison campus, triggering a widespread manhunt.
In the early hours of August 24, 1970, four men planted a powerful bomb inside Sterling Hall at UW–Madison. They intended to destroy the Army Mathematics Research Center housed within the building. The explosion killed one researcher and injured several others, shocking the community. FBI agents led an international search effort for the bombers, who remained at large for years. The attack underscored the intensity of campus resistance to the Vietnam War. It remains one of the deadliest acts of domestic protest during that era.
1970 Vietnam War bomb University of Wisconsin–Madison