January 24Birthdays & History

On this day: January 24 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 41Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.Europe
2. 914Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.Middle East
3. 1438The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV.Europe
4. 1458Matthias Corvinus is elected King of Hungary.Europe
5. 1536King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behaviour and possible impotence.Europe
6. 1651Arauco War: Spanish and Mapuche authorities meet in the Parliament of Boroa renewing the fragile peace established at the parliaments of Quillín in 1641 and 1647.Europe
7. 1679King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament.Europe
8. 1742Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.Europe
9. 1758During the Seven Years' War the leading burghers of Königsberg submit to Elizabeth of Russia, thus forming Russian Prussia (until 1763).Europe
10. 1817Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured during the action of Picheuta.Latin America
11. 1835Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt, which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.Latin America
12. 1848California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento.North America
13. 1857The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully fledged university in South Asia.Asia
14. 1859The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later named Romania) is formed as a personal union under the rule of Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza.Europe
15. 1900Second Boer War: Boers stop a British attempt to break the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.AfricaEurope
16. 1908The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.Europe
17. 1915World War I: British Grand Fleet battle cruisers under Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty engage Rear-Admiral Franz von Hipper's battle cruisers in the Battle of Dogger Bank.Europe
18. 1916In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.North America
19. 1918The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars effective February 14 (New Style).Europe
20. 1933The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices.North America
21. 1935Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company starts selling the first canned beer.North America
22. 1939The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people.Latin America
23. 1942World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand, then under Japanese control, to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom.AsiaAsiaNorth America
24. 1943World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.Africa
25. 1946The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.World
26. 1960Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as the "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.AfricaEurope
27. 1961Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.North America
28. 1966Air India Flight 101 crashes into Mont Blanc.Asia
29. 1968Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launches Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider fighting around Long Bình and Biên Hòa.AsiaOceania
30. 1972Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.AsiaOceania
31. 1977The Atocha massacre occurs in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy.Europe
32. 1978Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.EuropeNorth America
33. 1986The Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to Uranus.World
34. 1987About 20,000 protestors march in a civil rights demonstration in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States.North America
35. 1988An Aeroflot Yakovlev Yak-40 crashes at Nizhnevartovsk Airport, killing 27 people.Europe
36. 1990Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.AsiaEuropeNorth America
37. 2003The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.North America
38. 2009Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.Europe
39. 2011At least 35 are killed and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.Europe
40. 2018Former doctor Larry Nassar is sentenced up to 175 years in prison after being found guilty of using his position to sexually abuse female gymnasts.North America
41. 2024An Ilyushin Il-76 crashes in Russia's Korochansky District, killing all 74 people on board.Europe
42. 2026At least 70 people are killed and 10 others missing after major landslides in West Java, Indonesia.Asia

Source: Wikipedia "January 24" / CC BY-SA 4.0