1930 – Roger McCluskey Is Born
Roger Frank McCluskey was born on August 24, 1930, and went on to establish himself as a notable American open‑wheel and sprint car competitor. Over a career that included starts in the Indianapolis 500 and championships under the USAC sanctioning body, McCluskey competed across multiple series and disciplines, earning recognition within the sprint‑car community and later honors such as Hall of Fame induction entries. His biography and driver records list August 24, 1930 as his birthdate; he died on August 29, 1993.
1945 – Final Cadillac-Built M24 Light Tank Completed
Cadillac Division production of the M24 light tank, commonly known as the Chaffee, concluded in August 1945, and industry histories record that the final Cadillac‑built M24 unit rolled off the assembly line on August 24, 1945. The M24 had been produced by Cadillac (with some units by Massey‑Harris) during 1944–1945 to meet wartime light tank requirements, and period documentation and later automotive‑history summaries consistently identify August 24, 1945 as the completion date for the last Cadillac‑assembled vehicle.
1964 – Éric Bernard Is Born
French racing driver Éric Bernard was born in Martigues on August 24, 1964. After climbing through the European single-seater ranks, Bernard reached Formula One in 1989 and went on to race for Larrousse, Ligier and Lotus during a career that stretched into 1994. He competed during one of Formula One’s most memorable eras, sharing the grid with drivers including Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher. Bernard never became a championship contender, but his career placed him among the relatively small group of drivers who reached motorsport’s highest level during an extraordinarily competitive period.
1967 – Death of Henry J. Kaiser
Henry John Kaiser, an American industrialist associated with the Kaiser shipyards, Kaiser Industries and the founding of Kaiser Permanente, died in Hawai‘i on August 24, 1967 at age 85. He also was co founder of the postwar automaker Kaiser-Frazer, which aimed to compete with the Big 3 as a new independent mark.
2085 – Yugo Goes on Sale in USA
The Yugo, also known as the Zastava Koral, is a small economy car that gained notoriety as one of the cheapest and most basic cars ever produced. Its history is intertwined with the economic and political landscape of Yugoslavia, the country where it was manufactured. While it first launched in 1980, it was on August 24, 1985 that the Yugo GV went on sale in the United States.
