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On this day -- April 24
By Wikipedia
Apr 24, 2006
April 24 is the 114th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (115th in leap years). There are 251 days remaining.
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 - The Armenian Genocide began when the Young Turks undertook the systematic annihilation of Armenian intellectuals and entrepreneurs within the city of Constantinople and later the entire Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire.
- 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 Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London.
- 1964 - Mexico becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1967 - Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1, when the parachute fails to open. He was the first human to die during a space mission.
- 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 Commonwealth of Nations, 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.
- 2004 - Referenda on a United Nations plan, which proposes to re-unite the island of Cyprus, take place in both the Republic of Cyprus controlled and Turkish controlled parts. Although the Turkish Cypriots vote in favour, the Greek Cypriots reject the proposal.
- 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)
- 1580 - Vincent de Paul, French saint (d. 1660)
- 1706 - Giovanni Battista Martini, Italian musician (d. 1780)
- 1718 - Nathaniel Hone, Irish-born painter (d. 1784)
- 1815 - Anthony Trollope, English novelist (d. 1882)
- 1845 - Carl Spitteler, Swiss writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
- 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, Russian-born mathematician (d. 1986)
- 1904 - Willem de Kooning, Dutch painter (d. 1997)
- 1905 - Robert Penn Warren, American poet (d. 1989)
- 1906 - William Joyce, Irish fascist (d. 1946)
- 1907 - William Sargant, British psychiatrist (d. 1988)
- 1914 - William Castle, American film director and producer (d. 1977)
- 1916 - Lou Thesz, American professional wrestler (d. 2002)
- 1922 - J.D. Cannon, American actor (d. 2005)
- 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, American musician
- 1930 - Richard Donner, American film director and producer
- 1933 - Claire Davenport, British actress (d. 2002)
- 1934 - Shirley MacLaine, American actress and author
- 1936 - Jill Ireland, British actress (d. 1990)
- 1937 - Joe Henderson American jazz saxophonist
- 1940 - Sue Grafton, American author
- 1941 - John Williams, Australian guitarist
- 1942 - Richard M. Daley, American politician
- 1942 - Barbra Streisand, American singer, actress, and director
- 1952 - Jean-Paul Gaultier, French fashion designer
- 1953 - Eric Bogosian, American actor and writer
- 1954 - Mumia Abu-Jamal, American journalist, political activist, and death-row inmate
- 1955 - John de Mol, Dutch media tycoon
- 1957 - David J, British musician (Bauhaus, Love and rockets, solo artist, etc)
- 1957 - Boris Williams, British musician (The Cure)
- 1960 - Paula Yates, British television presenter (d. 2000)
- 1962 - Stuart Pearce, English Footballer and manager
- 1964 - Cedric the Entertainer, American comedian and actor
- 1964 - Djimon Hounsou, Benin-born actor
- 1968 - Stacy Haiduk, American actress
- 1972 - Chipper Jones, baseball player
- 1972 - Jure Košir, Slovenian skier
- 1973 - Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
- 1974 - Joseph Bruce, American rapper (Insane Clown Posse)
- 1975 - Sam Doumit, American actress
- 1976 - Steve Finnan, Irish footballer
- 1977 - Eric Balfour, American actor
- 1977 - Carlos Beltran, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player
- 1980 - Austin Nichols, American actor.
- 1982 - Kelly Clarkson, American singer
- 1982 - Shayna Nackoney, Canadian synchronized swimmer
- 1984 - Tyson Ritter, American singer and bassist (All-American Rejects)
Deaths
- 624 - Mellitus, third Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1338 - Marquis Theodore I of Montferrat (b. 1291)
- 1342 - Pope Benedict XII (b. 1285)
- 1656 - Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (b. 1561)
- 1731 - Daniel Defoe, English writer (b. 1660)
- 1736 - Prince Eugene of Savoy, French-born Austrian general (b. 1663)
- 1779 - Eleazar Wheelock, American founder of Dartmouth College (b. 1711)
- 1852 - Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet (b. 1783)
- 1891 - Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian field marshal (b. 1800)
- 1924 - G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist (b. 1844)
- 1938 - George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (b. 1863)
- 1942 - Karin Boye, Swedish author (b. 1900)
- 1942 - Lucy Maude Montgomery, Canadian author (b. 1874)
- 1947 - Willa Cather, American writer (b. 1873)
- 1960 - Max von Laue, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
- 1964 - Gerhard Domagk, German bacteriologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (declined) (b. 1895)
- 1965 - Louise Dresser, American 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 and politician (b. 1917)
- 1997 - Pat Paulsen, American comedian and politician (b. 1927)
- 1997 - Eugene Stoner, American engineer and weapons designer (b. 1922)
- 2001 - Al Hibbler, American singer (b. 1915)
- 2004 - Estée Lauder, American cosmetics entrepreneur (b. 1906)
- 2005 - Ezer Weizman, President of Israel (b. 1924)
- 2005 - Fei Xiaotong, Chinese sociologist (b. 1910)
Holidays and observances