On this day: 24 May
Events, births and deaths on 24 May. Every date is checked against Wikidata.
Years ago today
1 year ago2025
Nothing recorded for that year.
10 years ago2016
Nothing recorded for that year.
100 years ago1926
- Births · Stanley Baxter
1000 years ago1026
Nothing recorded for that year.
Events · 21
- 1567Sture Murders — 24 May 1567 were the murders of five incarcerated Swedish nobles by Erik XIV of Sweden, who at that time was in a state of serious mental disorder, and his guards.
- 1667War of Devolution — war between France and Spain for the Spanish Netherlands (1667–1668)
- 1798Irish Rebellion of 1798 — 1798 rebellion during the French Revolutionary Wars
- 1822Battle of Pichincha — battle of the Ecuadorian War of Independence on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano overlooking Quito, resulting in a final victory for the independence movement a
- 1939Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang — 1939 battle
- 1941Battle of the Denmark Strait — 1941 naval battle between ships of the Royal Navy and the German Kriegsmarine
- 1944Congress of Përmet — meeting of the Albanian Partisans in May 1944
- 1956Eurovision Song Contest 1956 — 1st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest
- 1957May 24 Incident — 1957 protest in Taiwan
- 1976Judgment of Paris — wine competition
- 1991Operation Solomon — covert Israeli military operation to airlift Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 1991
- 1993Eritrea — country in the Horn of Africa
- 1995Knight Air Flight 816 — 1995 aviation accident
- 19981998 Hong Kong legislative election — elections in Hong Kong
- 2002Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty — 2002 nuclear disarmament treaty between the U.S. and Russia
- 2014Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting — shooting attack on 24 May 2014
- 20142014 Aegean Sea earthquake — 2014 severe earthquake centered in the northern Aegean Sea
- 20192019 Surat fire — Conflagration in India
- 2022Robb Elementary School shooting — 2022 mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, US
- 20242024 Enga landslide — 24 May 2024 landslide in Papua New Guinea
- 20262026 Quetta train bombing — train bombing in Quetta, Pakistan
Births · 60
- 15 BCE(Julian date)Germanicus — nephew and adopted son of emperor Tiberius, heir apparent of the Roman Empire, and father of emperor Caligula
- 1494(Julian date)Pontormo — Florentine Mannerist painter
- 1544(Julian date)William Gilbert — English physician, physicist and natural philosopher (1544-1603)
- 1686Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit — German-Polish physicist and engineer (1686-1736)
- 1743Jean-Paul Marat — politician and journalist during the French Revolution (1743-1793)
- 1794William Whewell — English philosopher and historian of science (1794–1866)
- 1803Charles Lucien Bonaparte — French noble, biologist, politician and art collector (1803–1857)
- 1816Emanuel Leutze — American artist (1816-1868)
- 1819Victoria — Queen of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901 (1819-1901)
- 1855Arthur Wing Pinero — British writer (1855-1934)
- 1870Jan Christiaan Smuts — South African statesman and military leader (1870–1950)
- 1870Benjamin N. Cardozo — United States federal judge (1870-1938)
- 1878Lillian Moller Gilbreth — American psychologist and industrial engineer (1878–1972)
- 1891William F. Albright — American archaeologist, biblical scholar, philologist, and expert on ceramics (1891-1971)
- 1899Suzanne Lenglen — French tennis player
- 1899Henri Michaux — French painter, poet and writer (1899–1984)
- 1900Eduardo De Filippo — Italian actor, director and playwright (1900–1984)
- 1901José Nasazzi — Uruguayan footballer (1901-1968)
- 1914Lilli Palmer — German actress (1914–1986)
- 1925Mai Zetterling — Swedish actress and film director (1925–1994)
- 1928William Trevor — Irish writer (1928–2016)
- 1932Arnold Wesker — British dramatist (1932-2016)
- 1937Archie Shepp — American jazz musician
- 1938Tommy Chong — Canadian actor and comedian
- 1938Prince Buster — Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (1938-2016)
Deaths · 60
- 571(Julian date)Kinmei — 29th Emperor of Japan
- 1136(Julian date)Hugo de Paganis — Grand Master of the Knights Templar
- 1153(Julian date)David I of Scotland — King of Alba from 1124 to 1153
- 1201(Julian date)Theobald III, Count of Champagne — Count of Champagne from 1197 to 1201
- 1351(Julian date)Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Uthman — Marinid sultan (c.1297–1351)
- 1408(Julian date)Taejo of Joseon — the first king of Joseon Dynasty in Korean history
- 1425(Julian date)Murdoch Stewart — Duke of Albany
- 1543(Julian date)Nicolaus Copernicus — Polish mathematician and astronomer (1473-1543)
- 1612Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury — English politician (1563-1612)
- 1632Robert Hues — English mathematician and geographer
- 1665Mary of Jesus of Ágreda — Spanish mystic nun (1602-1665)
- 1792George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney — Royal Navy admiral; (1719–1792)
- 1806John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll — Scottish soldier and nobleman (1723-1806)
- 1843Sylvestre François Lacroix — French mathematician (1765-1843)
- 1848Annette von Droste-Hülshoff — German composer and writer (1797–1848)
- 1872Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld — painter from Germany (1794-1872)
- 1879William Lloyd Garrison — American journalist and abolitionist (1805–1879)
- 1881Samuel Palmer — British landscape painter, etcher and printmaker (1805-1881)
- 1908Old Tom Morris — Scottish professional golfer (1821–1908)
- 1919Amado Nervo — Mexican modernist poet
- 1941Lancelot Holland — Royal Navy admiral (1887-1941)
- 1945Robert Ritter von Greim — German field marshal (1892–1945)
- 1948Jacques Feyder — Belgian-French film director (1885-1948)
- 1949Alexey Shchusev — Russian architect (1873-1949)
- 1950Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell — British Army general and Viceroy of India
Dates verified against Wikidata (CC0). Titles and descriptions come from Wikidata.