1. On August 24, 1812, the Battle of the Narrows took place in New Mexico during the Mexican War of Independence. Mexican rebels led by Ignacio Allende and Mariano Abasolo defeated Spanish royalists.

2. A more positive event took place on August 24, 1955, when Clint Eastwood filmed his first scene for the movie "The Beguiled" in White Sands National Monument.

3. August 24, 1966, marks the date when Georgia O'Keeffe, renowned artist and resident of New Mexico, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon B. Johnson.

4. In 1971, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.6 struck the town of Socorro on August 24. While no significant damage was reported, it was a reminder of the seismic activity that can occur in New Mexico.

5. On a more lighthearted note, August 24, 2016, was proclaimed "The Day the Music Lived" by the city of Clovis in honor of the influential music produced at the former Norman Petty Recording Studios in the 1950s and 60s.