On this day in History - Oct. 24

• 0051 - Domitian was born (d. 0096). Roman Emperor
• 0069 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus, the commander of the Danube armies, loyal to Vespasian, defeat the forces of Emperor Vitellius.
• 0996 - King Hugh Capet of France dies (b. 938)
• 1147 - Conquista de Lisboa aos mouros.
• 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.
• 1375 - King Valdemar IV of Denmark dies
• 1378 - David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay was born (d. 1402). Heir to the throne of Scotland.
• 1402 - David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay was born (d. 1378). Heir to the throne of Scotland
• 1458 - Alcácer Ceguer, no Norte de África, é conquistada por D. Afonso V.
• 1503 - Isabella of Portugal was born. Princesss of Portugal, Queen of Spain and empress of Germany, wife of Charles I of Spain
• 1537 - Jane Seymour dies, the third wife of England's King Henry VIII, dies 12 days after giving birth to Prince Edward, later King Edward VI.
• 1572 - Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby dies. English politician
• 1593 - Alleged teleportation of Gil Perez.
• 1601 - Tycho Brahe dies (b. 1546). Danish astronomer
• 1632 - Anton van Leeuwenhoek was born (d. 1723). Dutch microbiologist
• 1648 - The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years' War.
• 1655 - Pierre Gassendi dies (b. 1592). French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist
• 1669 - William Prynne dies (b. 1600). English Puritan leader
• 1672 - John Webb dies (b. 1611). English architect
• 1675 - Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham was born (d. 1749). English soldier and politician.
• 1708 - Kowa Seki dies. Japanese mathematician.
• 1710 - Alban Butler was born (d. 1773). English Catholic priest and writer.
• 1725 - Alessandro Scarlatti dies (b. 1660). Italian composer.
• 1763 - Dorothea von Schlegel was born (d. 1839). German novelist.
• 1788 - Sarah Hale was born (d. 1879). American poet.
• 1795 - Partitions of Poland: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is completely divided between Austria, Prussia and Russia
• 1799 - Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf dies (b. 1739). Austrian composer
• 1804 - Wilhelm Eduard Weber was born (d. 1891). German physicist.
• 1811 - Ferdinand Hiller was born (d. 1885). German composer.
• 1812 - Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Maloyaroslavets takes place near Moscow.
• 1821 - Elias Boudinot dies (b. 1740). American President of the Continental Congress
• 1834 - At least 14 Aborigines are shot dead by police at "Battle of Pinjarra" following attacks on settlers in Australia.
• 1836 - Ramalho Ortigão was born (d. 1915). Portuguese writer. His works include As Farpas (with Eça de Queiroz) and A Holanda.
• 1852 - Daniel Webster dies (b. 1782). American lawyer and politician.
• 1854 - Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom was born (d. 1907). Dutch chemist.
• 1855 - Portugal: É criado o Concelho de Albergaria-a-Velha
• 1855 - James S. Sherman was born (d. 1912). Vice President of the United States
• 1857 - Sheffield F.C., the world's first football club, is founded in Sheffield, England.
• 1857 - Ned Williamson was born (d. 1894). Baseball player.
• 1860 - Convention of Beijing makes Kowloon peninsula part of the British colony of Hong Kong.
• 1861 - The first transcontinental telegraph line across the United States is completed, spelling the end for the 18-month-old Pony Express.
• 1868 - Alexandra David-Néel was born (d. 1969). French explorer and writer
• 1872 - Peter O'Connor was born (d. 1957). Irish athlete.
• 1875 - Konstantin Yuon was born (d. 1958). Russian painter.
• 1882 - Dr. Robert Koch discovers germ that causes tuberculosis.
• 1882 - Dame Sybil Thorndike was born (d. 1976). British actress.
• 1887 - Octave Lapize was born (d. 1917). French cyclist.
• 1887 - Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg was born (d. 1969). Queen of Spain.
• 1891 - Rafael Molina-Trujillo was born. President of the Dominican Republic
• 1898 - Pierre Puvis de Chavannes dies (b. 1824). French painter
• 1901 - Anna Edson Taylor, a 43-year-old widow, becomes the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and live to tell about it.
• 1901 - Gilda Gray was born (d. 1959). Polish-born actress and dancer
• 1903 - Melvin Purvis was born (d. 1960). American director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• 1904 - Moss Hart was born (d. 1961). American dramatist
• 1906 - Nobel Medicine Prize to Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramón y Cajal “in recognition of their work on the structure of the nervous system”
• 1906 - Alexander Gelfond was born (d. 1968). Russian mathematician.
• 1909 - Bill Carr was born (d. 1966). American athlete.
• 1911 - Orville Wright remained in the air 9 minutes and 45 seconds in a glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina setting a new world record that stood for 10 years.
• 1911 - Sonny Terry was born (d. 1986). American blues musician.
• 1911 - Paul Grégoire was born (d. 1993). French canadian archbishop of Montreal.
• 1912 - First Balkan War: The Battle of Kumanovo concludes with the Serbian victory.
• 1912 - Mykola Lysenko dies (b. 1842). Ukrainian composer
• 1913 - Tito Gobbi was born (d. 1984). Italian baritone.
• 1915 - Bob Kane was born (d. 1998). American cartoonist.
• 1915 - Roger Milliken was born. American millionaire.
• 1915 - Désiré Charnay dies (b. 1828). French archaeologist
• 1917 - Battle of Caporetto starts on the Austro-Italian front of World War I
• 1917 -The day of the Russian revolution, The Red Revolution.
• 1920 - Marcel Schützenberger was born (d. 1996). French mathematician.
• 1922 - Irish Parliament adopts a constitution for an Irish Free State.
• 1922 - George Cadbury dies (b. 1839). British chocolate and cocoa manufacturer.
• 1923 - Denise Levertov was born (d. 1997). English-born poet.
• 1925 - Luciano Berio was born (d. 2003). Italian composer
• 1926 - Harry Houdini's last performance, which was at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit, Michigan.
• 1926 - Y. A. Tittle was born. American football player
• 1927 - Gilbert Bécaud was born (d. 2001). French singer, composer and actor.
• 1927 - Jean-Claude Pascal was born (d. 1992). French singer.
• 1929 - "Black Thursday" stock market crash on the New York Stock Exchange.
• 1929 - George Crumb was born. American composer.
• 1929 - Hubert Aquin was born (d. 1977). French Canadian novelist, political activist and editor.
• 1929 - Yordan Radichkov was born. Bulgarian writer
• 1929 - "Black Thursday" stock market crash on the New York Stock Exchange.
• 1929 - Amadeu Ataliba Arruda Amaral Leite Penteado dies in São Paulo (b. 6 Nov 1875). Brazilian poet and journalist.
• 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."
• 1930 - The Big Bopper was born (d.1959). American singer
• 1930 - Johan Galtung was born. Norwegian scientist
• 1930 - Sultan Ahmad Shah was born. King of Malaysia
• 1931 - The George Washington Bridge opens to public traffic.
• 1931 - Sofia Gubaidulina was born. Russian composer.
• 1931 - Al Capone, Chicago's organized crime boss, is convicted of tax evasion in a federal court.
• 1932 - Ziraldo Alves Pinto was born in Caratinga, Minas Gerais. Brazilian writer, journalist and cartoonist.
• 1932 - Pierre-Gilles de Gennes was born. French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1932 - Robert Mundell was born. Canadian economist, Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1933 - Norman Rush was born. American writer.
• 1933 - Ronald and Reginald Kray were born. British gangsters.
• 1935 - Italy invades Ethiopia
• 1935 - Malcolm Bilson was born. American pianist and music professor
• 1935 - Dutch Schultz dies (b. 1902). American gangster.
• 1936 - Bill Wyman was born. English musician (The Rolling Stones)
• 1937 - Miguel Ángel Coria was born. Spanish composer.
• 1937 - Santo Farina was born. American guitarist and composer (Santo & Johnny)
• 1938 - Ernst Barlach dies (b. 1870). German sculptor
• 1939 - Nylon stockings are sold to the public for the first time, in Wilmington, Delaware; Nazis require Jews to wear Star of David in Germany.
• 1939 - F. Murray Abraham was born. American actor
• 1939 - Madalena Iglésias was born. Portuguese singer
• 1940 - The 40-hour work week goes into effect in the United States under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
• 1940 - Martin Campbell was born. New Zealand film director
• 1941 - William H. Dobelle was born. American biomedical engineer; artificial organ pioneer
• 1943 - Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau dies (b. 1912). French Canadian poet.
• 1944 - World War II: The Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku is sunk.
• 1944 - Viktor Prokopenko was born (d. 2007). Ukranian footballer and coach.
• 1944 - Louis Renault dies. French automobile manufacturer and Nazi collaborator
• 1945 - Vidkun Quisling dies executed (b. 1887). Norwegian traitor
• 1945 - Founding of the United Nations / Criação da Organização das Nações Unidas por parte de 27 signatários
• 1945 - The Nobel Medicine Prize to Sir Alexander Fleming, Ernst Boris Chain, and Sir Howard Walter Florey. “for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases”
• 1945 - Anthony Christian was born. English Artist
• 1945 - Gérald Larose was born. Quebec labour union executive
• 1946 - Jerry Edmonton was born. Canadian drummer (Steppenwolf)
• 1946 - Gabriel González Videla se proclama presidente de Chile.
• 1947 - Kevin Kline was born. American actor
• 1947 - Walt Disney testifies to the House Unamerican Activities Committee, naming Disney employees he believes to be communists.
• 1948 - Kweisi Mfume was born. American civil rights activist, U.S. Congressman from Maryland
• 1948 - Paul and Barry Ryan were born. British composer-singer twins ("The Ryan Twins")
• 1948 - Franz Lehár dies (b. 1870). Austrian composer.
• 1949 - Robert Pickton was born. Canadian charged with the first degree murders of twenty-six women
• 1950 - Steven Greenberg was born. Composer
• 1950 - Rawly Eastwick was born. Baseball player
• 1954 - Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam
• 1954 - Brad Sherman was born. American politician
• 1954 - Thomas J. Mulcair was born. Quebec politician
• 1954 - Mike Rounds was born. American politician
• 1954 - Jozef Ráž was born. Slovak musician
• 1955 - The body of Manolo Just, a probable bisexual, is found in the Mexico apartment of Mary Rogers, daughter of Will Rogers. Homicide is suspected, but never proven.
• 1956 - Soviet Union invades Hungary
• 1956 - Dale Maharidge was born. American author
• 1957 - Ron Gardenhire was born. German-born American baseball manager
• 1957 - the USAF starts the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.
• 1957 - Christian Dior dies (b. 19805). French fashion designer
• 1959 - More than 10,000 Muslims flee from Burma to East Pakistan to escape pressure from Burmese officials and Buddhist tribes.
• 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.
• 1960 - Ian Baker-Finch was born. Australian golf player
• 1960 - Jaime Garzón was born (d. 1999). Colombian journalist and comedian.
• 1961 - O Reino Unido concede a autonomia à ilha de Malta.
• 1961 - Mary Bono was born. U.S. Congresswoman from California.
• 1961 - Dave Meltzer was born. American wrestling journalist.
• 1962 - The U.S. blockade of Cuba begins under a proclamation signed by President John F. Kennedy.
• 1962 - B.D. Wong was born. American actor.
• 1962 - Dave Blaney was born. American race car driver.
• 1962 - John Steinbeck is awarded with the Nobel Prize for Literature.
• 1964 - Northern Rhodesia gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes the Republic of Zambia (Southern Rhodesia remained a colony).
• 1966 - Roman Abramovich was born. Russian oil magnate, «owner» of Chelsea FC.
• 1966 - Vietnam: Manila Conference's "Declaration of Peace". President Johnson meets with other Allied leaders and they pledge to withdraw troops from Vietnam within six months if North Vietnam "withdraws its forces to the North and ceases infiltration of South Vietnam”.
• 1966 - Sofya Yanovskaya dies (b. 1896). Russian mathematician.
• 1967 - Jacqueline McKenzie was born. Australian actress.
• 1968 - Robert Wilonsky was born. American journalist.
• 1970 - Leftist Salvador Allende elected President of Chile.
• 1970 - Fernanda Venturini was born. Brazilian volleyball player.
• 1971 - Caprice Bourret was born. American model and actress.
• 1971 - Dervla Kirwan was born. Irish actress.
• 1971 - Carl Ruggles dies (b. 1876). American composer.
• 1972 - Scott Peterson was born. American murderer.
• 1972 - Pat Williams was born. American football player.
• 1972 - Jackie Robinson dies (b. 1919). Baseball player.
• 1972 - Claire Windsor dies (b. 1897). American actress.
• 1973 - Yom Kippur War ends.
• 1973 - Levi Leipheimer was born. American cyclist.
• 1973 - Jackie McNamara was born. Scottish footballer.
• 1973 - Mike Matthews was born. American baseball player.
• 1973 - Jeff Wilson was born. New Zealand rugby player.
• 1974 - Corey Dillon was born. American football player.
• 1974 - Wilton Guerrero was born. Baseball player.
• 1974 - David Oistrakh dies (b. 1908). Ukrainian violinist.
• 1975 - Juan Pablo Ángel was born. Colombian football player.
• 1976 - Petar Stoychev was born. Bulgarian long distance swimmer.
• 1977 - Iván Kaviedes was born. Ecuadoran footballer.
• 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).
• 1978 - Carlos Edwards was born. Trinidadian footballer.
• 1978 - Justin Lee Brannan was born. American musician.
• 1979 - Ben Gillies was born. Australian musician (Silverchair).
• 1980 - Matthew Amoah was born. Ghanian football player.
• 1980 - Monica was born. American singer.
• 1980 - James Killian was born. American football player.
• 1980 - Government of Poland legalizes Solidarity trade union.
  
• 1981 - Mallika Sherawat was born. Indian actress.
  
• 1981 - Tila Nguyen was born. American model.
• 1981 - Zac Posen was born. American fashion designer.
• 1982 - Mohamed Fairuz Fauzy was born. Malaysian racing driver.
• 1982 - Arturo Camacho Ramírez dies. Colombian poet.
• 1983 - Brian Vickers was born. American race car driver.
• 1983 - Adrienne Bailon was born. American actress and singer.
• 1984 – Felicia Chin was born. Singaporean actress.
• 1984 - Kaela Kimura was born. Japanese model and singer.
• 1985 - Wayne Rooney was born. English football player.
• 1985 - Maurice Roy dies (b. 1905). Archbishop of Quebec.
• 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.
• 1986 - Aubrey Graham was born. Canadian actor and rapper
• 1986 - John Ruddy was born. English footballer
• 1987 - An explosion rips through a PanAm sales office in Kuwait, two days after pro-Iranian Shiite Muslims in Lebanon vowed to strike at U.S. and European interests worldwide with thousands of suicide bombers.
• 1987 - Charlie White was born. American ice dancer
• 1987 - Anthony Vanden Borre was born. Belgian footballer
• 1987 - Lincoln Lewis was born. Australian actor
• 1989 - Televangelist Jim Bakker is sentenced to 45 years in prison and a 500,000 USD fine for defrauding investors of 3.7 million USD.
• 1989 - Eliza Taylor-Cotter was born. Australian actress
• 1990 - Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti reveals to the Italian parliament the existence of Gladio, the Italian "stay-behind" clandestine paramilitary NATO army.
• 1991 - After more than a year of delays, the Brazilian government begins its privatization program, selling 75 percent of a state-owned steel company, for about US$1.17 billion.
• 1991 - Gene Roddenberry dies (b. 1921). American television producer
• 1992 - The Toronto Blue Jays become the first non-US team to win the World Series. This is also known as the first real "World" Series.
• 1993 - Islamic militants shoot and stab two Israeli soldiers to death in the occupied Gaza Strip.
• 1994 - Início das filmagens de O Convento, filme de Manoel de Oliveira com Catherine Deneuve e John Malkovitch.
• 1994 - Sete quadros de Picasso são roubados de uma galeria em Zurique, Suíça.
• 1994 - O cientista francês Daniel Cohen obtém o Premio Literario de Direitos Humanos da UNESCO.
• 1994 - Raúl Juliá dies (b. 1940). Puerto Rican actor.
  
• 1995 - A total solar eclipse is visible from Iran, India, Thailand, and SE Asia.
• 1997 - Don Messick dies (b. 1926). American voice actor
• 1997 - El escritor español Arturo Pérez Reverte recibe el premio Jean Monet de Literatura Europea, por su novela La piel del tambor.
• 1998 - For the first time, the world-champion South African rugby team accepts a black player.
• 1998 - Launch of Deep Space 1 comet/asteroid mission
• 1998 - Tropical Storm Mitch reaches hurricane strength.
• 1999 - Fernando de la Rúa, líder de la Alianza Opositora, logra la victoria en las elecciones argentinas para suceder al peronista Carlos Saul Ménem.
• 1999 - A Venezuelan constitutional assembly approves a measure calling for "truthful information" in the media, alarming critics who say it could result in an attack on the free press.
• 2001 - Wolf Rüdiger Hess dies (b. 1937). German neo-Nazi
• 2002 - Police arrest spree killers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, ending the Beltway sniper attacks in the area around Washington, DC.
• 2002 - Winton M. Blount dies (b. 1921). United States Postmaster General
• 2002 - Adolph Green dies (b. 1914). American lyricist and playwright
• 2002 - Harry Hay dies (b. 1912). American activist
• 2002 - Elections in Bahrain to the 40-seat lower house of parliament
• 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.
• 2004 - James Cardinal Hickey dies (b. 1920). Archbishop of Washington, D.C.
• 2004 - Randy Dorton dies (b. 1954). NASCAR crew member
• 2004 - Ricky Hendrick dies (b. 1980). NASCAR team owner
• 2004 - James Cardinal Hickey dies (b. 1920). American Catholic archbishop.
• 2005 - José Azcona del Hoyo dies (b. 1926). President of Honduras
• 2005 - Rosa Parks dies (b. 1913). American civil rights activist.
• 2005 - Rockstar Games releases Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for the Sony Playstation Portable. Also, Firaxis Games will release Civilization 4 for the PC.
• 2005 - Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in South Florida.
• 2006 - Justice Rutherford of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice struck down the "motive clause", an important part of the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act.
• 2006 - Australia's government announces that more than 70,000 farmers are eligible for special federal relief after the worst drought in a century has affected more than half of Australia's farm and ranch land.
• 2006 – Enolia McMillan dies (b. 1904). American civil rights activist.
  
• 2006 – William Montgomery Watt dies (b. 1909). Islamic studies scholar, orientalist and historian.
  
• 2007 – Alisher Saipov dies (b. 1981). Kyrgyz journalist.
• 2007 – Ian Middleton dies (b. 1928) New Zealand novelist.
• 2007 – Petr Eben dies (b. 1929). Czech organ composer.
• 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.
• 2008 – Moshe Cotel dies (b. 1943). American composer and pianist.
  
• United Nations Day, the anniversary of the 1945 Charter of the United Nations (International).
• Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Fitr (2006).
• Zambia - Independence Day (1964).
• Maladay (Discordianism)
• World Development Information Day (International).