October 24

is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 68 days remaining.

Events

69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus, the commander of the Danube armies, loyal to Vespasian, defeat the forces of Emperor Vitellius.
1260 - The spectacular Cathedral of Chartres is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France; the cathedral is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
1260 - Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, is assassinated by Baibars, who seizes power for himself.
1360 - The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified at Calais, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War.
1593 - Alleged teleportation of Gil Perez.
1648 - The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years' War.
1795 - Partitions of Poland: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is completely divided between Austria, Prussia and Russia
1812 - Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Maloyaroslavets takes place near Moscow.
1857 - Sheffield F.C., the worlds first football club, is founded in Sheffield, England.
1861 - The first transcontinental telegraph line across the United States is completed, spelling the end for the 18-month-old Pony Express.
1917 - Battle of Caporetto starts on the Austro-Italian front of World War I
1929 - "Black Thursday" stock market crash on the New York Stock Exchange.
1930 - A bloodless coup d'état in Brazil ousts Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa, the last President of the First Republic. Getúlio Dornelles Vargas is then installed as "provisional president."
1935 - Italy invades Ethiopia
1944 - World War II: The Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku is sunk.
1945 - Founding of the United Nations
1947 - Walt Disney testifies to the House Unamerican Activities Committee, naming Disney employees he believes to be communists.
1954 - Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam
1956 - Soviet Union invades Hungary
1957 - the USAF starts the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.
1960 - Nedelin catastrophe: An R-16 ballistic missile explodes on the launch pad at the Soviet Union's Baikonur Cosmodrome space facility, killing 165. Among the dead is Field Marshall Mitrofan Nedelin, whose death is reported to have occurred in a plane crash.
1964 - Northern Rhodesia gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes the Republic of Zambia (Southern Rhodesia remained a colony)
1973 - Yom Kippur War ends
1977 - Veterans Day is observed on the fourth Monday in October for the seventh and last time. (The holiday is once again observed on November 11 beginning the following year.)
1980 - Government of Poland legalizes Solidarity trade union
1986 - Nezar Hindawi is sentenced to 45 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down by a British court, for the attempted bombing on an El Al flight at Heathrow. After the verdict, the United Kingdom breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, claiming that Hindawi was helped by Syrian officials.
1990 - Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti reveals to the Italian parliament the existence of Gladio, the Italian "stay-behind" clandestine paramilitary NATO army.
1995 - A total solar eclipse is visible from Iran, India, Thailand, and SE Asia. ^*
1998 - Launch of Deep Space 1 comet/asteroid mission
2002 - Police arrest spree killers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, ending the Beltway sniper attacks in the area around Washington, DC.
2003 - Concorde makes its last commercial flight, bringing the era of airliner supersonic transport to a close, at least for the time being.
2004 - A plane carrying ten members of the NASCAR Hendrick Motorsports team crashes en route to the race held at Martinsville Speedway. There were no survivors.
2005 - Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in South Florida.
2006 - Eid ul-Fitr (Muslim holiday)

Births

51 - Domitian, Roman Emperor (d. 96)
1402 - David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, heir to the throne of Scotland (b. 1378)
1632 - Anton van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch microbiologist (d. 1723)
1675 - Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, English soldier and politician (d. 1749)
1710 - Alban Butler, English Catholic priest and writer (d. 1773)
1788 - Sarah Hale, American poet (d. 1879)
1804 - Wilhelm Eduard Weber, German physicist (d. 1891)
1811 - Ferdinand Hiller, German composer (d. 1885)
1855 - James S. Sherman, Vice President of the United States (d. 1912)
1868 - Alexandra David-Néel, French explorer and writer (d. 1969)
1872 - Peter O'Connor, Irish athlete (d. 1957)
1875 - Konstantin Yuon, Russian painter (d. 1958)
1891 - Rafael Molina-Trujillo, President of the Dominican Republic (d. 1961)
1901 - Gilda Gray, Polish-born actress and dancer (d. 1959)
1903 - Melvin Purvis, American FBI agent (d. 1960)
1904 - Moss Hart, American dramatist (d. 1961)
1909 - Bill Carr, American athlete (d. 1966)
1915 - Tito Gobbi, Italian baritone (d. 1984)
1915 - Bob Kane, cartoonist (d. 1998)
1915 - Roger Milliken, textile heir
1923 - Denise Levertov, English-born poet (d 1997)
1925 - Luciano Berio, Italian composer (d. 2003)
1926 - Y. A. Tittle, American football player
1927 - Jean-Claude Pascal, French singer (d.1992)
1929 - George Crumb, American composer
1929 - Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian writer
1930 - The Big Bopper, American singer (d. 1959)
1930 - Johan Galtung, Norwegian scientist
1930 - Sultan Ahmad Shah, King of Malaysia
1931 - Sofia Gubaidulina, Russian composer
1932 - Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1932 - Robert Mundell, Canadian economist, Nobel Prize laureate
1935 - Malcolm Bilson, American fortepianist and music professor
1936 - Bill Wyman, English musician (The Rolling Stones)
1939 - F. Murray Abraham, American actor
1945 - Anthony Christian, English Artist
1946 - Jerry Edmonton, Canadian drummer (Steppenwolf)
1947 - Kevin Kline, American actor
1948 - Kweisi Mfume, American civil rights activist, U.S. Congressman from Maryland
1950 - Steven Greenberg, Composer of Funkytown by Lipps, Inc.
1953 - Steven Hatfill, "Person of interest" in the 2001 anthrax attacks
1954 - Mike Rounds, Governor of South Dakota
1957 - Ron Gardenhire, baseball manager
1960 - Ian Baker-Finch, Australian golf player
1960 - Jaime Garzón, Colombian journalist and comedian (d. 1999)
1961 - Mary Bono, U.S. Congresswoman from California
1962 - B.D. Wong, American actor
1962 - Dave Blaney, American NASCAR driver
1966 - Roman Abramovich, Russian oil magnate
1971 - Dervla Kirwan, Irish actress
1971 - Caprice Bourret, American model and actress
1972 - Scott Peterson, American murderer
1972 - Pat Williams, American football player
1973 - Levi Leipheimer, American professional cyclist
1973 - Jackie McNamara, Scottish footballer
1975 - Juan Pablo Ángel, Columbian footballer
1977 - Iván Kaviedes, Ecuadorian footballer
1979 - Ben Gillies, Australian musician (Silverchair)
1980 - James Killian, American football player
1980 - Monica, American singer
1981 - Tila "Tequila" Nguyen, American model
1981 - Zac Posen, American fashion designer
1985 - Wayne Rooney, English footballer
1989 - Eliza Taylor-Cotter, Australian Actress

Deaths

996 - King Hugh Capet of France (b. 938)
1260 - Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt
1375 - King Valdemar IV of Denmark
1537 - Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII of England
1572 - Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby, English politician
1601 - Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer (b. 1546)
1655 - Pierre Gassendi, French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist (b. 1592)
1669 - William Prynne, English Puritan leader (b. 1600)
1672 - John Webb, English architect (b. 1611)
1708 - Kowa Seki, Japanese mathematician
1725 - Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (b. 1660)
1799 - Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Austrian composer (b. 1739)
1821 - Elias Boudinot, American President of the Continental Congress (b. 1740)
1852 - Daniel Webster, American lawyer and politician (b. 1782)
1898 - Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, French painter (b. 1824)
1912 - Mykola Lysenko, Ukrainian composer (b. 1842)
1915 - Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist (b. 1828)
1938 - Ernst Barlach, German sculptor
1944 - Louis Renault, French automobile manufacturer (b. 1877)
1945 - Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian traitor (executed) (b. 1887)
1948 - Franz Lehár, Austrian composer (b. 1870)
1957 - Christian Dior, French fashion designer (b. 1905)
1971 - Carl Ruggles, American composer (b. 1876)
1972 - Jackie Robinson, baseball player (b. 1919)
1972 - Claire Windsor, American actress (b. 1897)
1974 - David Oistrakh, Ukrainian violinist (b. 1908)
1991 - Gene Roddenberry, American television producer (b. 1921)
1997 - Don Messick, voice actor (b. 1926)
2001 - Wolf Rüdiger Hess, German neo-Nazi (b. 1937)
2002 - Winton M. Blount, United States Postmaster General (b. 1921)
2002 - Adolph Green, American lyricist and playwright (b. 1914)
2002 - Harry Hay, American activist (b. 1912)
2004 - Randy Dorton, NASCAR crew member (b. 1954)
2004 - Ricky Hendrick, NASCAR team owner (b. 1980)
2004 - James Cardinal Hickey, American Catholic archbishop (b. 1920)
2005 - José Azcona del Hoyo, President of Honduras (b. 1926)
2005 - Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (b. 1913)

Gourt Home::Gourt :: October 24

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

References

External links