January 24

January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 341 days remaining until the end of the year (342 in leap years).

Events

Up to 1900

41 – Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar (Caligula), known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism, was assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards.
1438 – Pope Eugenius IV was suspended by the Council of Basel.
1458 – Matthias I Corvinus becomes king of Hungary.
1521 – Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Puka-Puka Islands in the Tuamotu Archipelago, Polynesia, South Pacific Ocean.
1624 – Alfonso Mendez, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa.
1679 – King Charles II of England disbands Parliament.
1742 – Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
1758 – Seven Years' War: The leading burghers of Konigsberg (now Kaliningrad) submit to Elizabeth of Russia, forming Russian Prussia (until 1763).
1772 – France takes control of the Crozet Islands in the Indian Ocean.
1817 – Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured in the Action Pichenta.
1835 – Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.
1848 – California gold rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento.
1857 – The University of Calcutta is founded.
1862 – Bucharest becomes the capital city of Romania.
1888 – Jacob L. Wortman patents the typewriter ribbon.

1901 – 2000

1908 – Robert Baden-Powell begins the Boy Scout movement.
1916 – In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad, the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.
1918 – A decree of the Council of People's Commissars, introducing the Gregorian calendar in Russia from February 1, issued
1922 – Christian K. Nelson patents the Eskimo Pie.
1924 – St. Petersburg, Russia is renamed Leningrad.
1927 – Young director Alfred Hitchcock releases his first movie, The Pleasure Garden, in England.
1936 – Albert Sarraut becomes Prime Minister of France.
1939 – Chillan, in Chile, is hit by a deadly earthquake.
1942 – World War II: The Allies bomb Bangkok, leading to Thailand declaring war on the United Kingdom and United States.
1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.
1945 – Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland is liberated by Soviet troops.
1946 – The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
1947 – Dimitrios Maximos becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
1952 – Vincent Massey sworn in as first Canada–born Governor-General of Canada.
1960 – Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
1961 – A bomber carrying two hydrogen bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina.
1962 – Brian Epstein signs to manage The Beatles.
1962 – 28 people manage to escape from East Berlin to West Berlin through a tunnel.
1966 – An Air India Boeing 707 jet crashes on Mont Blanc, on the border between France and Italy, killing 117
1972 – Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese soldier, is discovered on Guam, where he was hiding in a cave since 1944.
1976 – An earthquake kills 3,850 people in Turkey.
1977 – Massacre of Atochi in Madrid.
1978 – Soviet satellite Cosmos 954, with nuclear weapons on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories.
1982 – Super Bowl XVI: San Francisco 49ers defeat the Cincinnati Bengals, 26–21 in the first Super Bowl played north of the Mason-Dixon line
1984 – The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.
1986 – Voyager 2 passes within 50,679 miles of Uranus.
1987 – In Lebanon, gunmen kidnap Alann Steen, Jesse Turner, Robert Polhill and Mitheleshwar Singh.
1989 – Serial killer Ted Bundy is executed in Florida's electric chair.
1990 – Japan launches Hiten, its first lunar probe.
1993 – Turkish journalist and writer Ugur Mumcu is killed by a car bomb in Ankara.
1995 – The prosecution delivers its opening statement in the O. J. Simpson murder trial.
1996 – Polish Premier Jozef Oleksy resigns amid charges he spied for Moscow.

From 2001

2001 – The last two of the Texas 7 are taken into custody in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
2002 – Enron congressional hearings begin.
2002 – Terrorist suspect John Walker Lindh's hearing begins.
2002 – The United States Department of Justice indicts Robert Nicholas Angleton for conspiring to murder his wife, Doris Angleton, along with his brother Roger.
2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
2009 – The storm Klaus makes landfall in Bordeaux, France, on the way to causing large destruction and 26 deaths.
2011 – A bombing at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow kills 35 people.
2015 – An attack by Russian-backed rebels in Mariupol, Eastern Ukraine, kills at least 20 people.
2018 – Scientists in the People's Republic of China report in the journal "Cell" that the first monkey clones have been created.
2024 (Wednesday) – The UniTeam decides to throw the first ever general practice for their upcoming dance competition this year on October 18, 2024 (Friday)

Births

Up to 1900

76 – Hadrian, Roman Emperor (d. 138)
1444 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1476)
1540 – Edmund Campion, English priest and martyr (d. 1581)
1679 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher (d. 1754)
1705 – Farinelli, Italian singer (d. 1782)
1712 – Frederick II of Prussia (d. 1786)
1724 – Frances Brooke, English writer (d. 1789)
1732 – Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, French playwright (d. 1799)
1742 – Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn (d. 1808)
1746 – King Gustav III of Sweden (d. 1792)
1749 – Charles James Fox, British politician (d. 1806)
1752 – Muzio Clementi, Italian composer (d. 1832)
1776 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German writer (d. 1822)
1778 – Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, French Prince (d. 1820)
1779 – Tsarina Elizabeth Alexeievna of Russia (d. 1826)
1792 – Friedrich Wilhelm, Count Brandenburg, Prussian statesman (d. 1850)
1816 – Coles Bashford, Governor of Wisconsin (d. 1878)
1828 – Ferdinand Cohn, German botanist and microbiologist (d. 1898)
1848 – Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (d. 1916)
1850 – Hermann Ebbinghaus, German psychologist (d. 1909)
1862 – Edith Wharton, American writer (d. 1937)
1864 – Marguerite Durand, French Women's rights activist (d. 1936)
1866 – Jaan Poskal, Estonian lawyer, diplomat and politician (d. 1920)
1872 – Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (d. 1943)
1872 – Ethel Turner, Australian writer (d. 1958)
1872 – Morris William Travers, English chemist (d. 1961)
1886 – Henry King, American movie director (d. 1982)
1888 – Ernst Heinkel, German aircraft designer (d. 1958)
1888 – Vicki Baum, Austrian writer (d. 1960)
1891 – Walter Model, German field marshal (d. 1945)
1895 – Eugen Roth, German writer (d. 1976)
1900 – Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian-born American geneticist and biologist (d. 1975)

1901 – 1950

1901 – A. M. Cassandre, Ukrainian-born French artist (d. 1968)
1901 – Mikhail Romm, Soviet-Russian film director (d. 1971)
1907 – Maurice Couve de Murville, Prime Minister of France (d. 1999)
1910 – Doris Haddock (Granny D), American political activist (d. 2010)
1913 – Norman Dello Joio, American composer (d. 2008)
1915 – Robert Motherwell, American painter (d. 1991)
1916 – Arnoldo Foa, Italian actor and director (d. 2014)
1916 – Rafael Caldera, President of Venezuela (d. 2009)
1916 – Gene Mako, Hungarian-American tennis player (d. 2013)
1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (d. 2012)
1918 – Oral Roberts, American evangelist (d. 2009)
1920 – Jerry Maren, American actor
1922 – Daniel Boulanger, French actor and screenwriter (d. 2014)
1925 – Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
1925 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina (d. 2013)
1926 – Georges Lautner, French movie director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1928 – Desmond Morris, British zoologist, publicist and artist
1928 – Michel Serrault, French actor (d. 2007)
1931 – Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician (d. 2012)
1935 – Bamber Gascoigne, British actor and broadcaster
1940 – Joachim Gauck, German pastor, activist, publicist and former President of Germany
1941 – Neil Diamond, American singer and songwriter
1941 – Dan Shechtman, Israeli scientist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
1941 – Aaron Neville, American musician
1942 – Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (d. 2008)
1943 – Subhash Ghai, Indian director, screenwriter and politician
1943 – Peter Struck, German politician (d. 2012)
1943 – Sharon Tate, American actress (d. 1969)
1944 – Klaus Nomi, German singer (d. 1983)
1945 – John Garamendi, American politician
1947 – Masashi Ozaki, Japanese golfer
1947 – Michio Kaku, American theoretical physicist
1947 – Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
1948 – Michael Des Barres, British actor and singer
1949 – John Belushi, American actor (d. 1982)
1950 – Gennifer Flowers, American actress

1951 – 1975

1951 – Mike Thompson, American politician
1952 – Raymond Domenech, French football coach
1953 – Moon Jae-in, South Korean lawyer and President of South Korea
1953 – Matthew Wilder, American singer-songwriter
1955 – Jim Montgomery, American swimmer
1957 – Mark Eaton, American basketball player
1957 – Adrian Edmondson, English comedian
1958 – Jools Holland, English pianist, bandleader and television presenter
1959 – Vic Reeves, English comedian
1959 – Michel Preud'Homme, Belgian footballer
1961 – Guido Buchwald, German footballer
1961 – Natassja Kinski, German-born actress
1965 – Andreu Buenafuerte, Spanish humorist
1966 – Shaun Donovan, American politician
1966 – Julie Dreyfus, French actress
1968 – Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
1971 – Cory Bailey, American baseball player

From 1976

1976 – Shae-Lynn Bourne, Canadian ice dancer
1976 – Cindy Pieters, Belgian cyclist
1977 – Kensuke Kita, Japanese guitarist
1977 – Michelle Hunziker, Swiss television presenter, singer and model
1978 – Kristen Schaal, American actress
1979 – Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
1979 – Nik Wallenda, American acrobat and daredevil
1979 – Leandro Desabato, Argentine footballer
1980 – Rebecca Romero, English track cyclist and rower
1980 – Nicole Marie Lenz, American actress
1981 – Michael Wolf, German ice hockey player
1981 – Travis Hanson, American baseball player
1982 – Claudia Heill, Austrian judoka (d. 2011)
1983 – Shaun Maloney, Scottish footballer
1983 – Scott Speed, American racing driver
1983 – Diane Birch, American singer-songwriter and pianist
1983 – Davide Blondini, Italian footballer
1984 – Scott Kazmir, American baseball player
1984 – Wietold Kieltyka, Polish drummer (d. 2007)
1986 – Mischa Barton, English-born actress
1986 – Michael Kightly, English footballer
1987 – Wayne Hennessey, Welsh footballer
1987 – Luis Suarez, Uruguayan footballer
1988 – DaJuan Summers, American basketball player
1988 – Jade Ewen, English singer
1989 – Ki Sung-Yueng, South Korean footballer
1989 – Samba Diakité, Malian footballer
1989 – Calvin Goldspink, English actor and singer
1989 – Gong Lijiao, Chinese shot putter
1990 – Mao Abe, Japanese singer-songwriter
1992 – Becky Downie, British gymnast
1993 – Tanja Frank, Austrian sailor
1995 – Callan McAuliffe, Australian actor
1997 – Dylan Riley Snyder, American actor, singer and dancer
2012 – Princess Athena of Denmark

Deaths

Up to 1900

41 – Caligula, Roman Emperor (b. 12)
772 – Pope Stephen III (b. 721)
817 – Pope Stephen IV (b. 770)
863 – Charles of Provence (b. 845)
1002 – Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 980)
1125 – King David IV of Georgia (b. 1073)
1349 – Luchino Visconti, Regent of Milan (b. 1287)
1366 – Alfonso IV of Aragon (b. 1299)
1595 – Ferdinand II of Austria (b. 1529)
1813 – Theodore Sedgwick, American politician (b. 1746)
1861 – Robert P. Letcher, American politician, Governor of Kentucky (b. 1788)
1877 – Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist (b. 1796)
1879 – Heinrich Geissler, inventor (b. 1815)
1882 – Levi Boone, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1808)
1895 – Lord Randolph Churchill, British politician (b. 1849)

1901 – 2000

1911 – David Graham Phillips, American journalist and novelist (b. 1867)
1918 – George Arthur Crump, American architect (b. 1871)
1919 – Ismail Qemali, 1st Prime Minister of Albania (b. 1844)
1920 – Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1884)
1924 – Marie-Adelaide, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1894)
1924 – Anna Bayerova, Czech physician (b. 1853)
1930 – Rebecca Latimer Felton, American politician (b. 1835)
1937 – Andrew J. Montague, Governor of Virginia (b. 1862)
1939 – Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician (b. 1867)
1948 – Maria Mandl, Austrian concentration camp overseer and convicted Nazi war criminal (b. 1912)
1955 – Henry Potter, American golfer (b. 1881)
1955 – Ira Hayes, American marine (b. 1923)
1960 – Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (b. 1886)
1961 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American pole vaulter and inventor (b. 1884)
1962 – Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar, Turkish writer (b. 1901)
1965 – Winston Churchill, British statesman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1874)
1969 – King Saud of Saudi Arabia (b. 1902)
1971 – Bill W., American activist, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (b. 1895)
1980 – Lil Dagover, Dutch-German actress (b. 1887)
1982 – Alfredo Ovando Candia, 56th President of Bolivia (b. 1918)
1986 – Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (b. 1921)
1986 – L. Ron Hubbard, American writer and founder of Scientology (b. 1911)
1988 – Werner Fenchel, German mathematician (b. 1905)
1989 – Ted Bundy, American serial killer (b. 1946)
1992 – Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (b. 1909)
1993 – Thurgood Marshall, United States Supreme Court Justice (b. 1908)
1993 – Ugur Mumcu, Turkish journalist and writer (b. 1942)

From 2001

2003 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman and auto executive (b. 1921)
2004 – Leonidas da Silva, Brazilian footballer (b. 1913)
2006 – Chris Penn, American actor (b. 1965)
2007 – Emiliano Mercado del Toro, Puerto Rican supercentenarian (b. 1891)
2009 – Kay Yow, American basketball coach (b. 1942)
2011 – Bhimsen Joshi, Indian musician (b. 1922)
2011 – Bernd Eichinger, German movie director and producer (b. 1949)
2012 – Theodoros Angelopoulos, Greek movie director and screenwriter (b. 1935)
2012 – James Farentino, American actor (b. 1938)
2012 – J. Joseph Garrahy, Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1930)
2014 – Shulamit Aloni, Israeli politician (b. 1928)
2015 – Otto Carius, German World War II tank commander (b. 1922)
2015 – Johan Ferner, Norwegian sailor (b. 1927)
2015 – Toller Cranston, Canadian figure skater (b. 1949)
2015 – Link Byfield, Canadian conservative columnist, politician and publisher (b. 1951)
2015 – Joe Franklin, American television and radio host (b. 1926)
2015 – Julio Canessa, Chilean diplomat and general (b. 1925)
2015 – Frances Lennon, British artist (b. 1912)
2016 – Jimmy Bain, Scottish musician (b. 1947)
2016 – Fredrik Barth, Norwegian social anthropologist (b. 1928)
2016 – Forouzan, Iranian actress (b. 1937)
2016 – Marvin Minsky, American scientist (b. 1927)
2016 – Henry Worsley, English adventurer (b. 1960)
2017 – Fred André, Dutch footballer (b. 1941)
2017 – Chuck Canfield, American businessman and politician (b. 1932)
2017 – Carlos Verdejo, Chilean footballer (b. 1934)
2017 – Chuck Weyant, American racing driver (b. 1923)
2017 – Butch Trucks, American drummer (b. 1947)
2017 – Robert Folsom, American politician (b. 1927)
2017 – Gil Ray, American drummer (b. 1956)
2018 – Marcos Carvajal, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1984)
2018 – Gonzalo Facio Segreda, Costa Rican politician (b. 1918)
2018 – Renaud Gagneux, French composer (b. 1947)
2018 – Jack Ketchum, American novelist and screenwriter (b. 1946)
2018 – Mark E. Smith, English singer-songwriter (b. 1957)

Observances

Feast Day of Our Lady of Peace (Roman Catholicism)
Unification Day (Romania)