From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 68 days remaining until the end of the year.
[edit] Events
- 69 – Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus, the commander of the Danube armies, loyal to Vespasian, defeat the forces of Emperor Vitellius.
- 1147 – After a siege of 4 months crusader knights led by Afonso Henriques, reconquered Lisbon.
- 1260 – The spectacular Cathedral of Chartres is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France; the cathedral is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- 1260 – Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, is assassinated by Baibars, who seizes power for himself.
- 1360 – The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified at Calais, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War.
- 1590 – John White, The governor of the second Roanoke Colony, returns to England after an unsuccessful search for the "lost" colonists.
- 1648 – The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years' War.
- 1795 – Partitions of Poland: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is completely divided among Austria, Prussia, and Russia
- 1812 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Maloyaroslavets takes place near Moscow.
- 1851 – William Lassell discovers the moons Umbriel and Ariel (moon) orbiting Uranus.
- 1857 – Sheffield F.C., the world's first football club, is founded in Sheffield, England.
- 1861 – The First Transcontinental Telegraph line across the United States is completed, spelling the end for the 18-month-old Pony Express.
- 1892 – Goodison Park, the world's first association football specific stadium is opened.
- 1901 – Annie Edson Taylor becomes the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
- 1911 – Orville Wright remains in the air 9 minutes and 45 seconds in a Wright Glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.
- 1912 – First Balkan War: The Battle of Kumanovo concludes with the Serbian victory.
- 1917 – Battle 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).
- 1926 – Harry 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.
- 1930 – A 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."
- 1931 – The George Washington Bridge opens to public traffic.
- 1944 – World War II: The Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku, and the battleship Musashi are sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
- 1945 – Founding of the United Nations
- 1946 – A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket takes the first photograph of earth from outer space.
- 1947 – Walt Disney testifies to the House Un-American Activities Committee, naming Disney employees he believes to be communists.
- 1954 – Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam
- 1957 – The USAF starts the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.
- 1960 – Nedelin 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
- 1964 – Northern Rhodesia gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes the Republic of Zambia (Southern Rhodesia remained a colony)
- 1973 – Yom Kippur War ends
- 1977 – Veterans 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.)
- 1980 – Government of Poland legalizes Solidarity trade union
- 1986 – Nezar 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.
- 1990 – Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti reveals to the Italian parliament the existence of Gladio, the Italian "stay-behind" clandestine paramilitary NATO army.
- 1998 – Launch of Deep Space 1 comet/asteroid mission
- 2002 – Police arrest spree killers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, ending the Beltway sniper attacks in the area around Washington, DC.
- 2003 – Concorde makes its last commercial flight.
- 2005 – Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in Florida resulting in 35 direct 26 indirect fatalities and causing $20.6B USD in damage.
- 2006 – Justice Rutherford of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice struck down the "motive clause", an important part of the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act.
- 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.
- 2009, 2010 – International Day of Climate Action
[edit] Births
- 51 – Titus Flavius Domitianus, Roman Emperor (d. 96)
- 1378 – David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, heir to the throne of Scotland (d. 1402)
- 1561 – Anthony Babington, Leader of the Babington Plot (d. 1586)
- 1632 – Anton van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch microbiologist (d. 1723)
- 1675 – Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, English soldier and politician (d. 1749)
- 1710 – Alban Butler, English Catholic priest and writer (d. 1773)
- 1763 – Dorothea von Schlegel, German novelist (d. 1839)
- 1788 – Sarah Josepha Hale, American poet (d. 1879)
- 1804 – Wilhelm Eduard Weber, German physicist (d. 1891)
- 1811 – Ferdinand Hiller, German composer (d. 1885)
- 1830 – Marianne North, English naturalist and flower painter (d. 1890)
- 1838 – Annie Edson Taylor, American Adventuress (d. 1921)
- 1854 – Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist (d. 1907)
- 1855 – James S. Sherman, Vice President of the United States (d. 1912)
- 1857 – Ned Williamson, American baseball player (d. 1894)
- 1868 – Alexandra David-Néel, French explorer and writer (d. 1969)
- 1872 – Peter O'Connor, Irish athlete (d. 1957)
- 1875 – Konstantin Yuon, Russian painter (d. 1958)
- 1882 – Dame Sybil Thorndike, British actress (d. 1976)
- 1885 – Rachel Katznelson-Shazar, Zionist political figure and widow of Zalman Shazar (d. 1975)
- 1887 – Octave Lapize, French cyclist (d. 1917)
- 1887 – Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Queen of Spain (d. 1969)
- 1891 – Rafael Molina-Trujillo, President of the Dominican Republic (d. 1961)
- 1894 – Bibhutibhushan Mukhopadhyay, Bengali author (d. 1987)
- 1896 – Jack Warner, English actor (d. 1981)
- 1901 – Gilda Gray, Polish-born American actress and dancer (d. 1959)
- 1903 – Melvin Purvis, American FBI agent (d. 1960)
- 1904 – Moss Hart, American dramatist (d. 1961)
- 1904 – A.K. Golam Jilani, a Bangladeshi who was a revolutionary of the Indian independence movement. (d. 1932)
- 1905 – Fran Zwitter, Slovenian historian (d. 1988)
- 1906 – Alexander Gelfond, Russian mathematician (d. 1968)
- 1909 – Bill Carr, American athlete (d. 1966)
- 1911 – Sonny Terry, American blues musician (d. 1986)
- 1911 – Paul Grégoire, French Canadian archbishop of Montreal (d. 1993)
- 1913 – Tito Gobbi, Italian baritone (d. 1984)
- 1915 – Bob Kane, American cartoonist (d. 1998)
- 1915 – Roger Milliken, American millionaire
- 1915 – Marghanita Laski, British journalist and novelist (d. 1988)
- 1916 – Anne Sharp, Scottish opera singer
- 1919 – Frank Piasecki, American aeronautical engineer (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Marcel-Paul Schützenberger, French mathematician (d. 1996)
- 1923 – Sir Robin Day OBE, British political broadcaster and commentator (d. 2000)
- 1923 – Denise Levertov, English-born poet (d. 1997)
- 1925 – Luciano Berio, Italian composer (d. 2003)
- 1925 – Bob Azzam, Egyptian singer (d. 2004)
- 1926 – Y. A. Tittle, American football player
- 1926 – Rafael Azcona, Spanish screenwriter (d. 2008)
- 1927 – Jean-Claude Pascal, French singer and actor (d. 1992)
- 1927 – Gilbert Bécaud, French composer and actor (d. 2001)
- 1929 – George Crumb, American composer
- 1929 – Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian writer (d. 2004)
- 1929 – Hubert Aquin, French-Canadian novelist and activist (d. 1977)
- 1930 – J.P. Richardson, The Big Bopper, American singer (d. 1959)
- 1930 – Johan Galtung, Norwegian peace researcher
- 1930 – Sultan Ahmad Shah, King of Malaysia
- 1931 – Sofia Gubaidulina, Russian composer
- 1932 – Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
- 1932 – Robert Mundell, Canadian economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1933 – Reginald "Reggie" Kray, British gangster and murderer (d. 2000)
- 1933 – Ronald "Ronnie" Kray, British gangster and murderer (d. 1995)
- 1933 – Norman Rush, American writer
- 1935 – Malcolm Bilson, American pianist and music professor
- 1936 – David Nelson, American actor and director
- 1936 – Bill Wyman, English musician (The Rolling Stones)
- 1937 – Santo Farina, American musician and composer (Santo & Johnny)
- 1939 – F. Murray Abraham, American actor
- 1940 – Martin Campbell, New Zealand film director
- 1941 – William H. Dobelle, American biomedical engineer
- 1943 – Bill Dundee, American professional wrestler
- 1944 – Ray Downs American author and musician
- 1944 – Viktor Prokopenko, Ukrainian footballer and coach (d. 2007)
- 1945 – Anthony Christian, English artist
- 1945 – Gérald Larose, Quebec labour union executive
- 1945 – Duncan Lunan, Scottish astronomer and writer
- 1945 – Alan Titus, American baritone
- 1946 – Jerry Edmonton, Canadian drummer (Steppenwolf) (d. 1993)
- 1947 – Kevin Kline, American actor
- 1948 – Paul and Barry Ryan, British composer-singers
- 1948 – Kweisi Mfume, American politician and activist
- 1949 – Robert Pickton, Canadian serial killer
- 1950 – Steven Greenberg, American composer (Lipps Inc.)
- 1950 – Rawly Eastwick, American baseball player
- 1950 – Miroslav Sládek, Czech politician
- 1954 – Brad Sherman, American politician
- 1954 – Malcolm Turnbull, Australian politician
- 1954 – Thomas J. Mulcair, Quebec politician
- 1954 – Mike Rounds, American politician, current governor of South Dakota
- 1954 – Jozef Ráž, Slovak musician
- 1955 – Katherine Knight, Australian murderess
- 1956 – Dale Maharidge, American author
- 1956 – Jeff Merkley, American politician, junior senator of Oregon
- 1957 – Ron Gardenhire, German-born American baseball manager
- 1957 – John Kassir, American actor and comedian
- 1959 – Anthony Waller, Lebanese film director
- 1960 – Ian Baker-Finch, Australian golfer
- 1960 – B.D. Wong, American actor
- 1960 – Jaime Garzón, Colombian journalist and comedian (d. 1999)
- 1960 – Joachim "Jo" Winkelhock, German race car driver
- 1960 – Dennis Anderson, American monster truck driver (Grave Digger)
- 1961 – Mary Bono, American politician
- 1961 – Bruce L. Castor, Jr. American politician
- 1961 – Dave Meltzer, American wrestling journalist
- 1962 – Dave Blaney, American race car driver
- 1962 – Jay Novacek, American football player
- 1963 – John Hendrie, Scottish footballer
- 1965 – Kyriakos Velopoulos, Greek politician
- 1966 – Roman Abramovich, Russian oil magnate
- 1967 – Jacqueline McKenzie, Australian actress
- 1967 – Ian Bishop, West Indian cricketer
- 1968 – Mark Walton, American story artist, actor
- 1968 – Robert Wilonsky, American journalist
- 1969 – Adela Noriega, Mexican actress
- 1970 – Rob Leslie-Carter, British engineer and project manager
- 1970 – Jeff Mangum, American musician
- 1971 – Dervla Kirwan, Irish actress
- 1971 – Caprice Bourret, American model and actress
- 1972 – Kim Ji-soo, South Korean actress
- 1972 – Scott Peterson, American murderer
- 1972 – Pat Williams, American football player
- 1973 – Levi Leipheimer, American cyclist
- 1973 – Madlib, American musician and rapper
- 1973 – Jackie McNamara, Scottish footballer
- 1973 – Jeff Wilson, New Zealand rugby player and cricketer
- 1973 – Laura Veirs American singer-songwriter
- 1974 – Wilton Guerrero, Dominican baseball player
- 1974 – Corey Dillon, American football player
- 1974 – Jamal Mayers, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 – Juan Pablo Ángel, Colombian footballer
- 1976 – Matteo Mazzantini, Italian rugby player
- 1976 – Joakim Nätterqvist, Swedish actor
- 1976 – Petar Stoychev, Bulgarian swimmer
- 1977 – Iván Kaviedes, Ecuadoran footballer
- 1978 – Carlos Edwards, Trinidadian footballer
- 1978 – James Hopes, Australian one-day cricketer
- 1979 – Ben Gillies, Australian musician (Silverchair)
- 1980 – Monica, American singer and actress
- 1980 – Matthew Amoah, Ghanaian footballer
- 1980 – Zac Posen, American fashion designer
- 1980 – Casey Wilson, American comic actress (Saturday Night Live)
- 1981 – Sebastián Bueno, Argentine footballer
- 1981 – Jemima Rooper, British actress
- 1981 – Tila Tequila, American model
- 1982 – Mohamed Fairuz Fauzy, Malaysian racing driver
- 1982 – Macay McBride, American baseball player
- 1983 – Adrienne Bailon, American actress and singer
- 1983 – VV Brown, English singer
- 1983 – Hernán Garin, Argentine footballer
- 1983 – Brian Vickers, American race car driver
- 1984 – Kaela Kimura, Japanese model and singer
- 1984 – Felicia Chin, Singaporean actress
- 1984 – Jonas Gustavsson, Swedish hockey player
- 1985 – Wayne Rooney, English footballer
- 1986 – Aubrey Graham, Canadian actor and rapper
- 1986 – John Ruddy, English footballer
- 1987 – Charlie White, American ice dancer
- 1987 – Anthony Vanden Borre, Belgian footballer
- 1987 – Lincoln Lewis, Australian actor
- 1989 – Shenae Grimes, Canadian actress
- 1989 – Eliza Taylor-Cotter, Australian actress
- 1994 – Krystal Jung, American-born Korean singer
[edit] Deaths
- 996 – King Hugh Capet of France (b. 938)
- 1260 – Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt
- 1375 – King Valdemar IV of Denmark (b. c.1320)
- 1537 – Jane Seymour, consort of Henry VIII of England (b. 1508)
- 1572 – Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby, English politician (b. c.1508)
- 1601 – Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer (b. 1546)
- 1655 – Pierre Gassendi, French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist (b. 1592)
- 1669 – William Prynne, English Puritan leader (b. 1600)
- 1672 – John Webb, English architect (b. 1611)
- 1708 – Kowa Seki, Japanese mathematician
- 1725 – Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (b. 1660)
- 1799 – Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Austrian composer (b. 1739)
- 1821 – Elias Boudinot, American President of the Continental Congress (b. 1740)
- 1852 – Daniel Webster, American lawyer and politician (b. 1782)
- 1875 – Raffaello Carboni, Italian writer (b. 1817)
- 1898 – Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, French painter (b. 1824)
- 1912 – Mykola Lysenko, Ukrainian composer (b. 1842)
- 1915 – Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist (b. 1828)
- 1922 – George Cadbury, British chocolate and cocoa manufacturer (b. 1839)
- 1935 – Dutch Schultz, American organized crie figure (b. 1902)
- 1938 – Ernst Barlach, German sculptor (b. 1870)
- 1943 – Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau, French Canadian poet (b. 1912)
- 1944 – Louis Renault, French car manufacturer (b. 1877)
- 1945 – Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian soldier and politician (b. 1887)
- 1948 – Franz Lehár, Austrian composer (b. 1870)
- 1958 – George Edward Moore, British philosopher (b. 1873)
- 1964 – Toni Kinshofer, German mountaineer (b. 1931)
- 1966 – Sofya Yanovskaya, Russian mathematician (b. 1896)
- 1971 – Carl Ruggles, American composer (b. 1876)
- 1972 – Jackie Robinson, American baseball player (b. 1919)
- 1972 – Claire Windsor, American actress (b. 1897)
- 1974 – David Oistrakh, Ukrainian violinist (b. 1908)
- 1975 – Zdzisław Żygulski, Sr., Polish literary historian (b. 1888)
- 1985 – Richie Evans, American NASCAR driver (b. 1941)
- 1985 – Maurice Roy, Archbishop of Quebec, (b. 1905)
- 1989 – Jerzy Kukuczka, Polish mountaineer (b. 1948)
- 1991 – Gene Roddenberry, American television producer (b. 1921)
- 1993 – Heinz Kubsch, German footballer (b. 1930)
- 1994 – Yannis Hotzeas, Greek Marxist theoretician (b. 1930)
- 1994 – Raúl Juliá, Puerto Rican actor (b. 1940)
- 1997 – Don Messick, American voice actor (b. 1926)
- 2001 – Wolf Rüdiger Hess, German neo-Nazi (b. 1937)
- 2002 – Herman Gaviria, Colombian football player (b. 1969)
- 2002 – Winton M. Blount, United States Postmaster General (b. 1921)
- 2002 – Harry Hay, American activist (b. 1912)
- 2004 – Randy Dorton, American race car crew member (b. 1954)
- 2004 – Ricky Hendrick, American race car team owner (b. 1980)
- 2004 – James Aloysius Hickey, American Catholic cardinal and archbishop (b. 1920)
- 2005 – José Azcona del Hoyo, Honduran statesman (b. 1926)
- 2005 – Joy Clements, American soprano (b. 1932)
- 2005 – Robert Sloman, British television writer (b. 1926)
- 2005 – Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Immanuel C.Y. Hsu, Chinese intellectual and scholar (b. 1923)
- 2005 – Mokarrameh Ghanbari, Iranian painter (b. 1928)
- 2006 – Enolia McMillan, American civil rights activist (b. 1904)
- 2006 – William Montgomery Watt, Scottish historian and Islamic scholar (b. 1909)
- 2007 – Petr Eben, Czech organ composer (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Alisher Saipov, Kyrgyz journalist (b. 1981)
- 2007 – Ian Middleton, New Zealand novelist (b. 1928)
- 2008 – Moshe Cotel, American composer and pianist (b. 1943)
- 2010 – Lamont Johnson, American television director (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Joseph Stein, American playwright (b. 1912)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
