On this day, April 24th

April 24th

Events

* 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty).
* 1184 BC - Greeks enter Troy using the Trojan Horse (traditional).
* 1558 - Mary Queen of Scots marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris.
* 1704 - The first regular newspaper in the United States, the Boston, Massachusetts New-Letter, is published.
* 1800 - The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress”.
* 1862 - American Civil War: A flotilla commanded by Union Admiral David Farragut passes two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River on its way to capture New Orleans, Louisiana.
* 1863 - The Keyesville Massacre: a massacre of 53 Native American men from the Tehachapi tribe in Keyesville, California.
* 1877 - Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878: Russia declares war on Ottoman Empire.
* 1907 - Hersheypark, founded by Milton S. Hershey, for the exclusive use of his employees is opened.
* 1913 - The skyscraper Woolworth Building in New York City was opened.
* 1915 - The Armenian Genocide began with a massacre of hundreds of prominent Armenians in Constantinople (now Istanbul).
* 1916 - Easter Rising begins: The Irish Republican Brotherhood led by nationalists Patrick Pearse, James Connolly, and Joseph Plunkett start a rebellion in Ireland.
* 1918 - First tank to tank combat, at Villers-Bretonneux, France, when three British Mark IVs met three German A7Vs.
* 1941 - World War II: Operation Demon – The United Kingdom begins evacuating Greece.
* 1953 - Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
* 1955 - Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemned colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.
* 1961 - The 17th century Swedish ship Vasa is salvaged.
* 1963 - Marriage of Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Kent to Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London.
* 1964 - Mexico becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
* 1965 - Civil war breaks out in the Dominican Republic Colonel Francisco Caamaño, overthrows the triumvirate that was in power since the coup d'état against Juan Bosch.
* 1967 - Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1, when the parachute fails to open. He was the first human to die during a space mission.
* 1967 - Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland says in a news conference that the enemy had “gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily."
* 1968 - Mauritius becomes a member state of the United Nations.
* 1970 - The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, is launched.
* 1970 - The Gambia becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as the first President.
* 1975 - The Baader-Meinhof Gang blow up the West German embassy in Stockholm.
* 1980 - Eight U.S. servicemen died in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempted to end the Iran hostage crisis.
* 1990 - STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched by the Space Shuttle Discovery.

Shuttle mission STS-31 lifts off, carrying Hubble into orbit.
Shuttle mission STS-31 lifts off, carrying Hubble into orbit.

* 1990 - Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of anthrax after 48 years of quarantine.
* 1991 - Freddie Stowers is awarded the posthumous Medal of Honor for which he had been recommended in 1918.
* 1993 - The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act came into force establishing Panchayati Raj system in India.
* 1993 - An IRA bomb devastates the Bishopsgate area of City of London.
* 1996 - In the United States, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is introduced.
* 2004 - US lifts economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years previously, as a reward for its cooperation in eliminating weapons of mass destruction.
* 2005 - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.
* 2006 - King Gyanendra of Nepal gives into the demands of protesters and restores the parliament that he dissolved in 2002.
* 2007 - Iceland announces that Norway will shoulder the defense of Iceland during peacetime.

[edit] Births

* 1533 - William I of Orange (d. 1584)
* 1581 - Vincent de Paul, French saint (d. 1660)
* 1620 - John Graunt, English statistician and founder of the science of demography (d. 1674)
* 1706 - Giovanni Battista Martini, Italian musician (d. 1780)
* 1718 - Nathaniel Hone, Irish-born painter (d. 1784)
* 1743 - Edmund Cartwright, British inventor (d. 1823)
* 1784 - Peter Vivian Daniel, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1860)
* 1815 - Anthony Trollope, English novelist (d. 1882)
* 1845 - Carl Spitteler, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
* 1856 - Henri Philippe Pétain, French soldier and statesman (d. 1951)
* 1876 - Erich Raeder, German naval commander (d. 1960)
* 1876 - Ioannis Georgiadis, Greek fencer (d. 1960)
* 1878 - Jean Crotti, Swiss artist (d. 1958)
* 1882 - Hugh Dowding, Scottish fighter pilot (d. 1970)
* 1887 - Denys Finch Hatton, English big-game hunter (d. 1931)
* 1889 - Stafford Cripps, British politician (d. 1952)
* 1889 - Lyubov Popova, Russian painter (d. 1924)
* 1896 - Benjamin Whorf, American linguist (d. 1941)
* 1897 - Manuel Ávila Camacho, President of Mexico (d. 1955)
* 1899 - Oscar Zariski, Russian-born mathematician (d. 1986)
* 1903 - José Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of the Falange (d. 1936)
* 1904 - Willem de Kooning, Dutch painter (d. 1997)
* 1905 - Robert Penn Warren, American poet (d. 1989)
* 1906 - William Joyce, Irish fascist (d. 1946)
* 1907 - William Sargant, British psychiatrist (d. 1988)
* 1908 - Marceline Day, American actor (d. 2000)
* 1914 - William Castle, American film director and producer (d. 1977)
* 1916 - Lou Thesz, American professional wrestler (d. 2002)
* 1922 - J.D. Cannon, American actor (d. 2005)
* 1924 - Sir Clement Freud, British writer, radio personality, and politician
* 1924 - Ruth Kobart, American actor and singer (d. 2002)
* 1926 - Thorbjörn Fälldin, Prime Minister of Sweden
* 1929 - Dr.Rajkumar, Kannada actor
* 1930 - Jerome Callet, American musician
* 1930 - Richard Donner, American film director and producer
* 1933 - Patricia Bosworth, American actor, journalist, writer and biographer
* 1933 - Claire Davenport, British actress (d. 2002)
* 1933 - Alan Eagleson, Canadian hockey agent and promoter
* 1933 - Helmuth Lohner, Austrian actor
* 1933 - Freddie Scott, American singer (d. 2007)
* 1934 - Shirley MacLaine, American actor and author
* 1936 - Jill Ireland, British actress (d. 1990)
* 1937 - Joe Henderson, American jazz saxophonist (d. 2001)
* 1940 - Sue Grafton, American author
* 1941 - John Williams, Australian guitarist
* 1942 - Richard M. Daley, American politician
* 1942 - Barbra Streisand, American singer and actor
* 1945 - Doug Clifford, American drummer
* 1945 - Robert Knight, American singer
* 1945 - Doug Riley, Canadian musician (d. 2007)
* 1945 - Dick Rivers, French singer and actor
* 1947 - Claude Dubois, Quebec singer and songwriter
* 1947 - Josep Borrell Fontelles, Former President of the European Parilment
* 1947 - Roger D. Kornberg, American chemist, Nobel-prized
* 1948 - Paul Cellucci, 69th Governor of Massachusetts and former United States Ambassador to Canada
* 1949 - Véronique Sanson, French singer and songwriter
* 1952 - Jean-Paul Gaultier, French fashion designer
* 1953 - Eric Bogosian, American actor and writer
* 1954 - Mumia Abu-Jamal, American death-row inmate
* 1954 - Captain Sensible, British guitarist
* 1955 - John de Mol, Dutch media businessman
* 1957 - David J, British musician
* 1957 - Boris Williams, British musician
* 1958 - Valery Lantratov, Russian ballet dancer
* 1958 - Brian Paddick, British former deputy assistant commissioner and most senior openly gay police officer
* 1959 - Malcolm Oastler, Australian engineer
* 1959 - Dave Ridgway, Canadian football player
* 1960 - Paula Yates, British television presenter (d. 2000)
* 1962 - Stuart Pearce, English footballer and manager
* 1962 - Steve Roach, Australian rugby league footballer
* 1963 - Paula Frazer, American singer/songwriter
* 1963 - Billy Gould, American musician
* 1963 - Mano Solo, French singer
* 1963 - Tõnu Trubetsky, Estonian musician
* 1964 - Cedric the Entertainer, American comedian and actor
* 1964 - Djimon Hounsou, African-American actor
* 1965 - Son Chang Min, South Korean actor
* 1966 - Pierre Brassard, Quebec humorist and actor
* 1966 - Alessandro Costacurta, Italian footballer
* 1967 - Omar Vizquel, American baseball player
* 1968 - Stacy Haiduk, American actress
* 1968 - Todd Jones, American baseball player
* 1968 - Yuji Nagata, Japanese professional wrestler
* 1968 - Hashim Thaci, Kosovan politician
* 1969 - Elias Atmatsidis, Greek footballer
* 1969 - Melinda Clarke, American actress
* 1969 - Viveca Paulin, Swedish actress
* 1970 - Damien Fleming, Australian fast bowler
* 1971 - Mauro Pawlowski, Belgian guitarist and singer
* 1972 - Rab Douglas, Scottish footballer
* 1972 - Nicolas Gill, French Canadian judoka
* 1972 - Chipper Jones, baseball player
* 1972 - Jure Košir, Slovenian skier
* 1973 - Eric Snow, American basketball player
* 1973 - Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
* 1973 - Gabby Logan, British television presenter
* 1974 - Joseph Bruce, American rapper
* 1974 - Kristie Krabe, American stage actress
* 1974 - Derek Luke, American actor
* 1974 - Eric Kripke, American television writer, director and producer
* 1974 - Brian Marshall, American bassist
* 1974 - Dave Vitty, British radio personality
* 1975 - Sam Doumit, American actress
* 1976 - Steve Finnan, Irish footballer
* 1977 - Siarhey Balakhonau, Belarus writer
* 1977 - Carlos Beltran, Puerto Rican baseball player
* 1978 - Eric Balfour, American actor
* 1978 - Kim Hyun-ju, Korean actress
* 1978 - Stella Damasus Aboderin, Nigerian actress
* 1980 - Fernando Arce, Mexican footballer
* 1980 - Austin Nichols, American actor
* 1981 - Taylor Dent, American tennis player
* 1982 - Kelly Clarkson, American singer
* 1983 - Princess Iman bint Al Hussein of Jordan
* 1984 - Tyson Ritter, American musician
* 1991 - Ryan Phillips, Canadian musician
* 1994 - Austin Rogers, American actor
* 1998 - Ryan Newman, American actress

[edit] Deaths

* 624 - Mellitus, third Archbishop of Canterbury
* 709 - Wilfrid, English archbishop and saint
* 1338 - Marquis Theodore I of Montferrat (b. 1291)
* 1342 - Pope Benedict XII (b. 1285)
* 1622 - Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Swiss friar, martyr, and saint (b. 1577)
* 1656 - Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (b. 1561)
* 1731 - Daniel Defoe, English writer (b. 1660)
* 1736 - Prince Eugene of Savoy, French-born Austrian general (b. 1663)
* 1779 - Eleazar Wheelock, American founder of Dartmouth College (b. 1711)
* 1852 - Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet (b. 1783)
* 1891 - Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian field marshal (b. 1800)*
* 1924 - G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist (b. 1844)
* 1938 - George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (b. 1863)
* 1939 - Louis Trousselier, French cyclist (b. 1881)
* 1942 - Karin Boye, Swedish author (b. 1900)
* 1942 - Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian author (b. 1874)
* 1944 - William Stephens, U.S. political figure (b. 1859)
* 1945 - Ernst-Robert Grawitz, German physician (b. 1899)
* 1947 - Willa Cather, American writer (b. 1873)
* 1947 - Hans Biebow, German war criminal (by execution; b. 1902)
* 1960 - Max von Laue, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
* 1964 - Gerhard Domagk, German bacteriologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (declined) (b. 1895)
* 1965 - Louise Dresser, American actress (b. 1878)
* 1967 - Vladimir Komarov, cosmonaut (b. 1927)
* 1974 - Bud Abbott, American actor and comedian (b. 1895)
* 1975 - Pete Ham, Welsh musician and frontman of Badfinger (b. 1947)
* 1980 - Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer (b. 1904)
* 1982 - Ville Ritola, Finnish athlete (b. 1896)
* 1983 - Rolf Stommelen, German race car driver (b. 1943)
* 1986 - Wallis Simpson, American wife of Edward, Duke of Windsor (b. 1896)
* 1993 - Oliver Tambo, South African activist and politician (b. 1917)
* 1997 - Pat Paulsen, American comedian and politician (b. 1927)
* 1997 - Eugene Stoner, American engineer and weapons designer (b. 1922)
* 2001 - Al Hibbler, American singer (b. 1915)
* 2001 - Leon Sullivan, African-American civil rights leader and pastor (b. 1922)
* 2004 - Estée Lauder, American cosmetics entrepreneur (b. 1906)
* 2005 - Ezer Weizman, President of Israel (b. 1924)
* 2005 - Fei Xiaotong, Chinese sociologist (b. 1910)
* 2006 - Steve Stavro, Canadian businessman and sports team owner (b. 1927)
* 2006 - Moshe Teitelbaum, Hassidic rabbi (b. 1914)
* 2006 - Brian Labone, English footballer (b. 1940)

[edit] Holidays and observances

* Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.
* Australia - Kapyong Day a day of remembrance for Korean War veterans, named after the Battle of Kapyong in 1951
* The Gambia - Republic Day in (1970).

in the Roman Catholic Church:

* Saint Egbert of Northumbria
* Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen
* Saint Honorius