April 24

April 24 is the 114th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (115th in leap years). There are 251 days remaining.

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Events

• 1184 BC – Greeks enter Troy using the Trojan Horse (traditional).
• 1704 – The first regular newspaper in the United States, the Boston, Massachusetts New-Letter, is published.
• 1800 – The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress".
• 1862 – American Civil War: A flotilla commanded by Union Admiral David Farragut passes two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River on its way to capture New Orleans, Louisiana.
• 1863 – The Keyesville Massacre: a massacre of 53 Native American men from the Tehachapi tribe in Keyesville, California.
• 1898 – Spanish-American War: Spain declares war on the United States.
• 1913 – The skyscraper Woolworth Building in New York City was opened.
• 1915 – Armenian Genocide: The Ottoman Government began their genocidal campaign to annihilate the Armenian people of Anatolia.
• 1916 – Easter Uprising begins: The Irish Republican Brotherhood led by nationalist Patrick Pearse start a rebellion in Ireland.
• 1940 – World War II: Operation Demon – The United Kingdom begins evacuating Greece.
• 1953 – Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
• 1955 – Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemned colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.
• 1961 – The 17th century Swedish ship Vasa is salvaged.
• 1963- Marriage of Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Kent to Angus James Bruce Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London.
• 1967 – Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1.
• 1967  – Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland says in a news conference that the enemy had "gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily."
• 1968 – Mauritius becomes a member state of the United Nations.
• 1970 – The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, is launched.
• 1970  – The Gambia becomes a republic within the British Commonwealth, with Dawda Jawara as the first President.
• 1975 – The Baader-Meinhof Gang blow up the West German embassy in Stockholm.
• 1980 – Eight U.S. servicemen died in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempted to end the Iran hostage crisis.
• 1981 – The first IBM PC is introduced.
• 1982 – In Harrogate, United Kingdom, Nicole wins the twenty-seventh Eurovision Song Contest for Germany singing "Ein bißchen Frieden" (A little bit of peace).
• 1984 – Apple Computer unveils its Apple IIc portable computer.
• 1990 – STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched by the Space Shuttle Discovery.
• 1990 – Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of anthrax after 48 years of quarantine.
• 1991 – Freddie Stowers is awarded the posthumous Medal of Honor for which he had been recommended in 1918.
• 1993 – An IRA bomb devastates the Bishopsgate area of City of London.
• 1994 – The world's largest lollipop weighing 3,011 pounds (1,366 kg) is made in Denmark
• 1995 – The last Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 rolls off the assembly line.
• 1996 – In the United States, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is introduced.
• 2004 – US lifts economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years previously as a reward for its cooperation in eliminating weapons of mass destruction.
• 2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.

Births

• 1533 – William I of Orange (d. 1584)
• 1718 – Nathaniel Hone, Irish-born painter (d. 1784)
• 1815 – Anthony Trollope, English novelist (d. 1882)
• 1856 – Henri Philippe Pétain, French soldier and statesman (d. 1951)
• 1876 – Erich Raeder, German]] naval commander (d. 1960)
• 1878 – Jean Crotti, Swiss artist (d. 1958)
• 1882 – Hugh Dowding, Scottish fighter pilot (d. 1970)
• 1889 – Sir Stafford Cripps, British politician (d. 1952)
• 1896 – Benjamin Whorf, American linguist (d. 1941)
• 1897 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, President of Mexico (d. 1955)
• 1899 – Oscar Zariski, mathematician (d. 1986)
• 1904 – Willem de Kooning, Dutch painter (d. 1997)
• 1905 – Robert Penn Warren, American poet, Pulitzer Prize winner (d. 1989)
• 1906 – William Joyce, Irish fascist (d. 1946)
• 1907 – William Sargant, British psychiatrist (d. 1988)
• 1914 – Justin Wilson, American humorist, celebrity chef, and writer (d. 2001)
• 1914  – William Castle, director, producer (d. 1977)
• 1916 – Lou Thesz, American professional wrestler (d. 2002)
• 1922 – J.D. Cannon, American actor
• 1924 – Sir Clement Freud, British writer, radio personality, and politician
• 1926 – Thorbjörn Fälldin, Prime Minister of Sweden
• 1927 – Alan MacDiarmid, New Zealand chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1930 – Jerome Callet, musician
• 1930  – Richard Donner, director and producer
• 1934 – Shirley MacLaine, American actress and author
• 1936 – Jill Ireland, British actress (d. 1990)
• 1940 – Sue Grafton, author
• 1941 – John Williams, Australian guitarist
• 1942 – Richard M. Daley, politician
• 1942  – Barbra Streisand, singer, actress, and director
• 1952 – Jean-Paul Gaultier, fashion designer
• 1953 – Eric Bogosian, actor, writer
• 1954  – Mumia Abu-Jamal, journalist and political activist
• 1960 – Paula Yates, British television presenter (d. 2000)
• 1962 – Jeff Minter, computer games programmer
• 1963 – Tony Blackplait, musician, director, and writer
• 1964 – Cedric the Entertainer, comedian and actor
• 1964  – Djimon Hounsou, actor
• 1968 – Stacy Haiduk, actress
• 1972 – Chipper Jones, baseball player
• 1973 – Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricket player
• 1977 – Carlos Beltran, baseball player
• 1982 – Kelly Clarkson, singer, winner of the first American Idol competition

Deaths

• 624 – Mellitus, third Archbishop of Canterbury
• 1342 – Pope Benedict XII (b. 1285)
• 1731 – Daniel Defoe, English writer (b. 1660)
• 1736 – Eugene of Savoy, French-born Austrian general (b. 1663)
• 1924 – G. Stanley Hall, psychologist (b. 1844)
• 1938 – George Grey Barnard, sculptor (b. 1863)
• 1942 – Lucy Maude Montgomery, Canadian author (b. 1874)
• 1947 – Willa Cather, American writer (b. 1873)
• 1965 – Louise Dresser, actress (b. 1878)
• 1967 – Vladimir Komarov, cosmonaut (b. 1927)
• 1974 – Bud Abbott, American actor and comedian (b. 1895)
• 1980 – Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer (b. 1904)
• 1982 – Ville Ritola, Finnish athlete (b. 1896)
• 1986 – Wallis Simpson, American wife of Edward, Duke of Windsor (b. 1896)
• 1993 – Oliver Tambo, South AFrican activist, politician
• 1997 – Pat Paulsen, American comedian, politician
• 1997 – Eugene Stoner, American engineer, military designer
• 2001 – Al Hibbler, American singer
• 2004 – Estée Lauder, cosmetics entrepreneur (b. 1906)
• 2005 – Ezer Weizman, President of Israel (b. 1924)

Holidays and observances

• Easter Sunday 1791, 1859, 2011.
• Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day
• Republic Day in the Gambia (1970)
• The feast day of the following in the Roman Catholic Church:
  • Saint Egbert of Northumbria
  • Fidelis of Sigmaringen
  • Honorius
  • Deodatus
  • Bova and Doda
  • Wilfrid of York
  • William Firmat
  • Mary Euphrasia Pelletier
• 24-hour comics day

External links

• BBC: On This Day

April 23 – April 25 – March 24 – May 24 – listing of all days