Madison led his troops

• On Aug. 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, President James Madison is present at the Battle of Bladensburg and takes command of one of the few remaining American artillery batteries, thus becoming the only president to exercise his authority as commander in chief in actual battle.

• On Aug. 19, 1909, the first automobile race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The track’s surface of crushed rock and tar proved dangerous and was soon replaced with 3.2 million paving bricks, laid in a bed of sand and fixed with mortar. Dubbed “The Brickyard,” the speedway reopened in December 1909.

• On Aug. 20, 1921, author Jacqueline Susann is born. With her novels “Valley of the Dolls,” “The Love Machine” and “Once Is Not Enough,” Susann became the first novelist to have three bestsellers on the list at once.

• On Aug. 21, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a proclamation admitting Hawaii into the Union as the 50th state. The president also issued an order for an American flag featuring 50 stars. The new flag became official on July 4, 1960.

• On Aug. 23, 1999, seven people in New York die from what turns out to be the first cases of West Nile virus in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the virus, spread by mosquitoes, had been contracted by birds throughout the area. In subsequent years, the West Nile virus moved steadily westward across the United States.