What happened on October 24? There are more than 276 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About October 24
October 24 is the 298th day of the year 2024. There are 68 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday. This day falls under the 43rd week of the year 2024.
On this day in Baring, Missouri 63531 sunrise will occur at 07:28 AM and sunset will occur at 06:17 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Scorpio. The modern birthstone for this month is Opal while the mystical birthstone is Jasper.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 97 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 18 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For October 24
- 69Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus, the commander of the Danube armies, loyal to Vespasian, defeat the forces of Emperor Vitellius.
- 1147After a siege of 4 months crusader knights led by Afonso Henriques reconquered Lisbon.
- 1260Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, is assassinated by Baibars, who seizes power for himself.
- 1260The spectacular Cathedral of Chartres is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France; the cathedral is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- 1360The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified at Calais, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years’ War.
- 1590John White, The governor of the second Roanoke Colony, returns to England after an unsuccessful search for the “lost” colonists.
- 1648The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years’ War.
- 1795Partitions of Poland: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is completely divided among Austria, Prussia, and Russia
- 1812Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Maloyaroslavets takes place near Moscow.
- 1851William Lassell discovers the moons Umbriel and Ariel (moon) orbiting Uranus.
- 1857Sheffield F.C., the world’s first football club, is founded in Sheffield, England.
- 1861The First Transcontinental Telegraph line across the United States is completed, spelling the end for the 18-month-old Pony Express.
- 1901Annie Edson Taylor becomes the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
- 1911Orville Wright remains in the air 9 minutes and 45 seconds in a Wright Glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.
- 1912First Balkan War: The Battle of Kumanovo concludes with the Serbian victory.
- 1917Battle of Caporetto; Italy suffers a catastrophic defeat by the forces of Austria-Hungary and Germany on the Austro-Italian front of World War I (lasts until 19 November - also called Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo).
- 1926Harry Houdini’s last performance, which is at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit, Michigan.
- 1929“Black Thursday” stock market crash on the New York Stock Exchange.
- 1930A bloodless coup d'état in Brazil ousts Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa, the last President of the First Republic. Getúlio Dornelles Vargas is then installed as “provisional president.”
- 1931The George Washington Bridge opens to public traffic.
- 1944World War II: The Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku, and the battleship Musashi are sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
- 1945Founding of the United Nations
- 1946A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket takes the first photograph of earth from outer space.
- 1947Walt Disney testifies before the House Un-American Activities Committee, naming Disney employees he believes to be communists.
- 1949The cornerstone of the United Nations Headquarters is laid.
- 1954Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam
- 1957The USAF starts the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.
- 1960Nedelin catastrophe: An R-16 ballistic missile explodes on the launch pad at the Soviet Union’s Baikonur Cosmodrome space facility, killing over 100. Among the dead is Field Marshal Mitrofan Nedelin, whose death is reported to have occurred in a plane crash
- 1964Northern Rhodesia gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes the Republic of Zambia (Southern Rhodesia remained a colony until the next year, with the Unilateral Declaration of Independence)
- 1973Yom Kippur War ends
- 1977Veterans Day is observed on the fourth Monday in October for the seventh and last time. (The holiday is once again observed on November 11 beginning the following year.)
- 1980The government of Poland legalizes Solidarity trade union
- 1986Nezar Hindawi is sentenced to 45 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down by a British court, for the attempted bombing on an El Al flight at Heathrow. After the verdict, the United Kingdom breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, claiming that Hindawi is helped by Syrian officials.
- 1990Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti reveals to the Italian parliament the existence of Gladio, the Italian “stay-behind” clandestine paramilitary NATO army, which was implicated in false flag terrorist attacks implicating communists and anarchists as part of the strategy of tension from the late 1960s to early 1980s.
- 1998Launch of Deep Space 1 comet/asteroid mission
- 2002Police arrest spree killers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, ending the Beltway sniper attacks in the area around Washington, DC.
- 2003Concorde makes its last commercial flight.
- 2005Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in Florida resulting in 35 direct 26 indirect fatalities and causing $20.6B USD in damage.
- 2007Chang'e 1, the first satellite in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, is launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
- 2008“Bloody Friday” saw many of the world’s stock exchanges experience the worst declines in their history, with drops of around 10% in most indices.
Who Were Born On October 24?
- 51Titus Flavius Domitianus, Roman Emperor (d. 96)
- 1378David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, heir to the throne of Scotland (d. 1402)
- 1561Anthony Babington, Leader of the Babington Plot (d. 1586)
- 1632Anton van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch microbiologist (d. 1723)
- 1675Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, English soldier and politician (d. 1749)
- 1710Alban Butler, English Catholic priest and writer (d. 1773)
- 1763Dorothea von Schlegel, German novelist (d. 1839)
- 1788Sarah Josepha Hale, American poet (d. 1879)
- 1804Wilhelm Eduard Weber, German physicist (d. 1891)
- 1811Ferdinand Hiller, German composer (d. 1885)
- 1830Marianne North, English naturalist and flower painter (d. 1890)
- 1838Annie Edson Taylor, American Adventuress (d. 1921)
- 1854Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist (d. 1907)
- 1855James S. Sherman, American politician & 27th Vice President of the United States (d. 1912)
- 1857Ned Williamson, American baseball player (d. 1894)
- 1868Alexandra David-Néel, French explorer and writer (d. 1969)
- 1872Peter O'Connor, Irish athlete (d. 1957)
- 1875Konstantin Yuon, Russian painter (d. 1958)
- 1879B. A. Rolfe, American musician known as “The Boy Trumpet Wonder”, bandleader, recording artist, radio personality and film producer (d. 1956)
- 1882Dame Sybil Thorndike, British actress (d. 1976)
- 1885Rachel Katznelson-Shazar, Zionist political figure and widow of Zalman Shazar (d. 1975)
- 1887Octave Lapize, French cyclist (d. 1917)
- 1887Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Queen of Spain (d. 1969)
- 1891Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, President of the Dominican Republic (d. 1961)
- 1894Bibhutibhushan Mukhopadhyay, Bengali author (d. 1987)
- 1896Jack Warner, English actor (d. 1981)
- 1901Gilda Gray, Polish-born American actress and dancer (d. 1959)
- 1903Melvin Purvis, American FBI agent (d. 1960)
- 1904A.K. Golam Jilani, a Bangladeshi who was a revolutionary of the Indian independence movement. (d. 1932)
- 1904Moss Hart, American dramatist (d. 1961)
- 1905Fran Zwitter, Slovenian historian (d. 1988)
- 1906Alexander Gelfond, Russian mathematician (d. 1968)
- 1909Bill Carr, American athlete (d. 1966)
- 1911Paul Grégoire, French Canadian archbishop of Montreal (d. 1993)
- 1911Sonny Terry, American blues musician (d. 1986)
- 1913Tito Gobbi, Italian baritone (d. 1984)
- 1915Bob Kane, American cartoonist (d. 1998)
- 1915Marghanita Laski, British journalist and novelist (d. 1988)
- 1915Roger Milliken, American millionaire (d. 2010)
- 1916Anne Sharp, Scottish opera singer
- 1919Frank Piasecki, American aeronautical engineer (d. 2008)
- 1920Marcel-Paul Schützenberger, French mathematician (d. 1996)
- 1921R. K. Laxman, Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist
- 1923Denise Levertov, English-born poet (d. 1997)
- 1923Sir Robin Day OBE, British political broadcaster and commentator (d. 2000)
- 1925Bob Azzam, Egyptian singer (d. 2004)
- 1925Luciano Berio, Italian composer (d. 2003)
- 1925Willie Mabon, American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist (d. 1985)
- 1926Rafael Azcona, Spanish screenwriter (d. 2008)
- 1926Y. A. Tittle, American football player
- 1927Gilbert Bécaud, French composer and actor (d. 2001)
- 1927Jean-Claude Pascal, French singer and actor (d. 1992)
- 1929George Crumb, American composer
- 1929Hubert Aquin, French-Canadian novelist and activist (d. 1977)
- 1929Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian writer (d. 2004)
- 1930J.P. Richardson, The Big Bopper, American singer (d. 1959)
- 1930Johan Galtung, Norwegian peace researcher
- 1930Sultan Ahmad Shah, King of Malaysia
- 1931Sofia Gubaidulina, Russian composer
- 1932Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
- 1932Robert Mundell, Canadian economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1933Norman Rush, American writer
- 1933Reginald “Reggie” Kray, British gangster and murderer (d. 2000)
- 1933Ronald “Ronnie” Kray, British gangster and murderer (d. 1995)
- 1934Glen Glenn, American rockabilly singer
- 1935Malcolm Bilson, American pianist and music professor
- 1936Bill Wyman, English musician (The Rolling Stones)
- 1936David Nelson, American actor and director (d. 2011)
- 1936Jimmy Dawkins, American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer
- 1937Santo Farina, American musician and composer (Santo & Johnny)
- 1938Odean Pope, American jazz tenor saxophonist
- 1939F. Murray Abraham, American actor
- 1940Martin Campbell, New Zealand film director
- 1941William H. Dobelle, American biomedical engineer
- 1943Bill Dundee, American professional wrestler
- 1943Corky Siegel, American musician, singer-songwriter, and composer
- 1944Ray Downs American author and musician
- 1944Ted Templeman, American record producer, member of 1960's group Harper’s Bizarre
- 1944Viktor Prokopenko, Ukrainian footballer and coach (d. 2007)
- 1945Alan Titus, American baritone
- 1945Anthony Christian, English artist
- 1945Duncan Lunan, Scottish astronomer and writer
- 1945Gérald Larose, Quebec labour union executive
- 1946Jerry Edmonton, Canadian drummer (Steppenwolf) (d. 1993)
- 1947Kevin Kline, American actor
- 1948Kweisi Mfume, American politician and activist
- 1948Paul and Barry Ryan, British composer-singers
- 1949Robert Pickton, Canadian serial killer
- 1950Miroslav Sládek, Czech politician
- 1950Rawly Eastwick, American baseball player
- 1950Steven Greenberg, American composer (Lipps Inc.)
- 1954Brad Sherman, American politician
- 1954Doug Davidson, American actor
- 1954Jozef Ráž, Slovak musician
- 1954Malcolm Turnbull, Australian politician
- 1954Mike Rounds, American politician, current governor of South Dakota
- 1954Thomas J. Mulcair, Quebec politician
- 1955Katherine Knight, Australian murderess
- 1956Dale Maharidge, American author
- 1956David Stergakos, Greek-American basketball player
- 1956Jeff Merkley, American politician, junior senator of Oregon
- 1957John Kassir, American actor and comedian
- 1957Ron Gardenhire, German-born American baseball manager
- 1959Anthony Waller, Lebanese film director
- 1960B.D. Wong, American actor
- 1960Dennis Anderson, American monster truck driver (Grave Digger)
- 1960Ian Baker-Finch, Australian golfer
- 1960Jaime Garzón, Colombian journalist and comedian (d. 1999)
- 1960Joachim “Jo” Winkelhock, German race car driver
- 1961Bruce L. Castor, Jr. American politician
- 1961Dave Meltzer, American wrestling journalist
- 1961Mary Bono, American politician
- 1962Dave Blaney, American race car driver
- 1962Jay Novacek, American football player
- 1963John Hendrie, Scottish footballer
- 1965Kyriakos Velopoulos, Greek politician
- 1966Roman Abramovich, Russian oil magnate
- 1967Ian Bishop, West Indian cricketer
- 1967Jacqueline McKenzie, Australian actress
- 1968Mark Walton, American story artist, actor
- 1968Robert Wilonsky, American journalist
- 1969Adela Noriega, Mexican actress
- 1970Jeff Mangum, American musician
- 1970Rob Leslie-Carter, British engineer and project manager
- 1971Caprice Bourret, American model and actress
- 1971Dervla Kirwan, Irish actress
- 1972Kim Ji-soo, South Korean actress
- 1972Pat Williams, American football player
- 1972Scott Peterson, American murderer
- 1973Jackie McNamara, Scottish footballer
- 1973Jeff Wilson, New Zealand rugby player and cricketer
- 1973Laura Veirs American singer-songwriter
- 1973Levi Leipheimer, American cyclist
- 1973Madlib, American musician and rapper
- 1974Corey Dillon, American football player
- 1974Gábor Babos, Hungarian football player
- 1974Jamal Mayers, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974Wilton Guerrero, Dominican baseball player
- 1975Juan Pablo Ángel, Colombian footballer
- 1976Joakim Nätterqvist, Swedish actor
- 1976Matteo Mazzantini, Italian rugby player
- 1976Petar Stoychev, Bulgarian swimmer
- 1977Iván Kaviedes, Ecuadoran footballer
- 1978Carlos Edwards, Trinidadian footballer
- 1978James Hopes, Australian one-day cricketer
- 1979Ben Gillies, Australian musician (Silverchair)
- 1980Casey Wilson, American comic actress (Happy Endings, Saturday Night Live)
- 1980Christian Vander, German footballer
- 1980Matthew Amoah, Ghanaian footballer
- 1980Monica, American singer and actress
- 1980Zac Posen, American fashion designer
- 1981Jemima Rooper, British actress
- 1981Sebastián Bueno, Argentine footballer
- 1981Tila Tequila, American model
- 1982Macay McBride, American baseball player
- 1982Mohamed Fairuz Fauzy, Malaysian racing driver
- 1983Adrienne Bailon, American actress and singer
- 1983Brian Vickers, American race car driver
- 1983Hernán Garin, Argentine footballer
- 1983V V Brown, English singer
- 1984Felicia Chin, Singaporean actress
- 1984Jonas Gustavsson, Swedish hockey player
- 1984Kaela Kimura, Japanese model and singer
- 1985Wayne Rooney, English footballer
- 1986Drake, Canadian actor and rapper
- 1986John Ruddy, English footballer
- 1987Anthony Vanden Borre, Belgian footballer
- 1987Charlie White, American ice dancer
- 1987Lincoln Lewis, Australian actor
- 1989Eliza Taylor-Cotter, Australian actress
- 1989Shenae Grimes, Canadian actress
- 1994Krystal Jung, American-born Korean singer
Who Died On October 24?
- 996King Hugh Capet of France (b. 938)
- 1260Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt
- 1375King Valdemar IV of Denmark (b. c.1320)
- 1537Jane Seymour, consort of Henry VIII of England (b. 1508)
- 1572Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby, English politician (b. c.1508)
- 1601Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer (b. 1546)
- 1655Pierre Gassendi, French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist (b. 1592)
- 1669William Prynne, English Puritan leader (b. 1600)
- 1672John Webb, English architect (b. 1611)
- 1708Kowa Seki, Japanese mathematician
- 1725Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (b. 1660)
- 1799Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Austrian composer (b. 1739)
- 1821Elias Boudinot, American President of the Continental Congress (b. 1740)
- 1852Daniel Webster, American lawyer and politician (b. 1782)
- 1875Raffaello Carboni, Italian writer (b. 1817)
- 1898Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, French painter (b. 1824)
- 1912Mykola Lysenko, Ukrainian composer (b. 1842)
- 1915Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist (b. 1828)
- 1922George Cadbury, British chocolate and cocoa manufacturer (b. 1839)
- 1935Dutch Schultz, American organized crime figure (b. 1902)
- 1938Ernst Barlach, German sculptor (b. 1870)
- 1943Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau, French Canadian poet (b. 1912)
- 1944Louis Renault, French car manufacturer (b. 1877)
- 1945Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian soldier and politician (b. 1887)
- 1948Franz Lehár, Austrian composer (b. 1870)
- 1958George Edward Moore, British philosopher (b. 1873)
- 1964Toni Kinshofer, German mountaineer (b. 1931)
- 1966Sofya Yanovskaya, Russian mathematician (b. 1896)
- 1971Carl Ruggles, American composer (b. 1876)
- 1971Jo Siffert, Swiss racing driver (b. 1936)
- 1972Claire Windsor, American actress (b. 1897)
- 1972Jackie Robinson, American baseball player (b. 1919)
- 1974David Oistrakh, Ukrainian violinist (b. 1908)
- 1975Zdzisław Żygulski, Sr., Polish literary historian (b. 1888)
- 1985Maurice Roy, Archbishop of Quebec, (b. 1905)
- 1985Richie Evans, American NASCAR driver (b. 1941)
- 1989Jerzy Kukuczka, Polish mountaineer (b. 1948)
- 1991Gene Roddenberry, American television producer (b. 1921)
- 1993Heinz Kubsch, German footballer (b. 1930)
- 1994Raúl Juliá, Puerto Rican actor (b. 1940)
- 1994Yannis Hotzeas, Greek Marxist theoretician (b. 1930)
- 1997Don Messick, American voice actor (b. 1926)
- 2001Wolf Rüdiger Hess, German neo-Nazi (b. 1937)
- 2002Harry Hay, American activist (b. 1912)
- 2002Herman Gaviria, Colombian football player (b. 1969)
- 2002Winton M. Blount, United States Postmaster General (b. 1921)
- 2004James Aloysius Hickey, American Catholic cardinal and archbishop (b. 1920)
- 2004Randy Dorton, American race car crew member (b. 1954)
- 2004Ricky Hendrick, American race car team owner (b. 1980)
- 2005Immanuel C.Y. Hsu, Chinese intellectual and scholar (b. 1923)
- 2005José Azcona del Hoyo, Honduran statesman (b. 1926)
- 2005Joy Clements, American soprano (b. 1932)
- 2005Mokarrameh Ghanbari, Iranian painter (b. 1928)
- 2005Robert Sloman, British television writer (b. 1926)
- 2005Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (b. 1913)
- 2006Enolia McMillan, American civil rights activist (b. 1904)
- 2006William Montgomery Watt, Scottish historian and Islamic scholar (b. 1909)
- 2007Alisher Saipov, Kyrgyz journalist (b. 1981)
- 2007Anne Weale, British writer (b. 1929)
- 2007Ian Middleton, New Zealand novelist (b. 1928)
- 2007Petr Eben, Czech organ composer (b. 1929)
- 2008Moshe Cotel, American composer and pianist (b. 1943)
- 2010Joseph Stein, American playwright (b. 1912)
- 2010Lamont Johnson, American television director (b. 1922)
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