October 24Birthdays & History

On this day: October 24 in history

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

1. 69In the Second Battle of Bedriacum, troops loyal to Vespasian defeat those of Emperor Vitellius.Europe
2. 1260Chartres Cathedral is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France.Europe
3. 1260After defeating the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut and assassinating the previous Mamluk sultan, Qutuz, Baybars ascends to the Egyptian throne as the fourth sultan of the Mamluk Sultanate.AsiaMiddle East
4. 1360The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War.Europe
5. 1590John White, the governor of the second Roanoke Colony, returns to England after an unsuccessful search for the "lost" colonists.Europe
6. 1596The second Spanish armada sets sail to strike against England, but is smashed by storms off Cape Finisterre forcing a retreat to port.Europe
7. 1641Felim O'Neill of Kinard, the leader of the Irish Rebellion, issues his Proclamation of Dungannon, justifying the uprising and declaring continued loyalty to King Charles I of England.Europe
8. 1648The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War.Europe
9. 1795Poland is completely consumed by Russia, Prussia and Austria.Europe
10. 1812Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Maloyaroslavets takes place near Moscow.Europe
11. 1813Treaty of Gulistan: The Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813 comes to a close with the signing of the Treaty of Gulistan, under which terms Qajar Iran agrees to cede the bulk of its Caucasian territories, which comprise much of modern Dagestan, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, to the Russian Empire.Middle EastEurope
12. 1851William Lassell discovers the moons Umbriel and Ariel orbiting Uranus.Europe
13. 1857Sheffield F.C., the world's oldest association football club still in operation, is founded in England.Europe
14. 1860Convention of Peking: The Second Opium War formally comes to a close, with Qing China ceding Kowloon in perpetuity to the victorious British Empire.AsiaEurope
15. 1861The first transcontinental telegraph line across the United States is completed.North America
16. 1871An estimated 17 to 22 Chinese immigrants are lynched in Los Angeles, California.AsiaNorth America
17. 1876Shinpūren rebellion: Upset at the Westernisation of Meiji Japan and the abolition of the Tokugawa feudal hierarchy, the Keishintō, a group of extremist Shinto former samurai, launch a surprise attack against the Meiji government in Kumamoto Prefecture.Asia
18. 1886Normanton incident: As the British merchant vessel Normanton sinks off the coast of Japan, her European officers appear to commandeer the ship's lifeboats for themselves, leaving her Asian crew and passengers to die and conjuring significant political outrage in Japan.EuropeAsiaAsia
19. 1889Henry Parkes delivers the Tenterfield Oration, effectively starting the federation process in Australia.Oceania
20. 1894First Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Jiuliancheng: Under the command of General Yamagata Aritomo, the Imperial Japanese Army covertly crosses the Yalu River into Qing territory and launches an assault on the fortifications at Hushan.AsiaAsia
21. 1900U.S. Government announces plans to buy Danish West Indies for $7 million.North AmericaEuropeLatin America
22. 1901Annie Edson Taylor becomes the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.North America
23. 1902Guatemala's Santa María volcano begins to erupt, becoming the third-largest eruption of the 20th century.Latin America
24. 1911Orville Wright remains in the air for nine minutes and 45 seconds in a glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.North America
25. 1912First Balkan War: The Battle of Kumanovo concludes with the Serbian victory against the Ottoman Empire.EuropeMiddle East
26. 1912First Balkan War: The Battle of Kirk Kilisse concludes with a Bulgarian victory against the Ottoman Empire.EuropeMiddle East
27. 1917World War I: Italy suffers a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Caporetto on the Austro-Italian front.Europe
28. 1918World War I: Italian victory in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto.Europe
29. 1926Harry Houdini's last performance takes place at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit.North America
30. 1929"Black Thursday" on the New York Stock Exchange, the first day of the panic in the markets that contributes to the Great Depression.North America
31. 1930A bloodless coup d'état in Brazil ends the First Republic, replacing it with the Vargas Era.Latin America
32. 1931The George Washington Bridge opens to public traffic over the Hudson River.North America
33. 1944World War II: Japan's center force is temporarily repulsed in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.Asia
34. 1944World War II: The USS Tang (SS-306) sank in the Formosa Strait after being struck by its own torpedo, with 78 of its crew lost.Asia
35. 1944World War II: The USS Shark (SS-314) was lost with all 87 hands in the Bashi Straits after torpedoing the Japanese freighter Arisan Maru.Asia
36. 1945The United Nations Charter comes into effect.World
37. 1946A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket takes the first photograph of earth from outer space.North America
38. 1947United Air Lines Flight 608 crashes in the Bryce Canyon National Park in Garfield County, Utah, while attempting an emergency landing at Bryce Canyon Airport, killing 52 people.North America
39. 1947Famed animator Walt Disney testifies before the House Un-American Activities Committee, naming Disney employees he believes to be communists.North America
40. 1949The cornerstone of the United Nations Headquarters is laid.North America
41. 1950Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China: The People's Liberation Army ceases all military operations in Tibet, ending the Battle of Chamdo.Asia
42. 1954US President Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam.North AmericaAsia
43. 1957The United States Air Force starts the X-20 Dyna-Soar crewed space program.North America
44. 1960Nedelin catastrophe: An R-16 ballistic missile explodes on the launch pad at the Soviet Union's Baikonur Cosmodrome space facility, killing over 100 people, including Field Marshal Mitrofan Nedelin.Europe
45. 1963An oxygen leak from an R-9 Desna missile at the Baikonur Cosmodrome triggers a fire that kills seven people.Europe
46. 1964Northern Rhodesia gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes Zambia.AfricaEurope
47. 1975In Iceland, 90% of women take part in a national strike, refusing to work in protest of gender inequality.Europe
48. 1980The government of Poland legalizes the Solidarity trade union.Europe
49. 1986Nezar Hindawi is sentenced to 45 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down by a British court, for the attempted bombing of an El Al flight at Heathrow Airport.Europe
50. 1990Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti reveals to the Italian parliament the existence of Gladio, the Italian NATO force formed in 1956, intended to be activated in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion.Europe
51. 1992The Toronto Blue Jays become the first Major League Baseball team based outside the United States to win the World Series.North America
52. 1998Deep Space 1 is launched to explore the asteroid belt and test new spacecraft technologies.North America
53. 2003Concorde makes its last commercial flight.EuropeNorth America
54. 2004Arsenal Football Club loses to Manchester United, ending a row of unbeaten matches at 49 matches, which is the record in the Premier League.Europe
55. 2005Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in Florida, resulting in 35 direct and 26 indirect fatalities and causing $20.6B USD in damage.North America
56. 2007Chang'e 1, the first satellite in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, is launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center.Asia
57. 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.World
58. 2014The China National Space Administration launches an experimental lunar mission, Chang'e 5-T1, which will loop behind the Moon and return to Earth.Asia
59. 2015A driver deliberately crashes into the Oklahoma State Homecoming parade, killing four people and injuring 34.North America
60. 2016Three heavily armed terrorists from the Islamic State – Khorasan Province open fire on and eventually suicide bomb a police training centre in Balochistan, Pakistan, killing at least 59 cadets and injuring more than 165 others.Asia
61. 2016A French surveillance aircraft flying to Libya crashes on takeoff in Malta, killing all five people on board.EuropeAfrica
62. 2018The world's longest sea crossing, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, opens for public traffic.Asia

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