October 24

Events

69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus, the commander of the Danube armies, loyal to Vespasian, defeat the forces of Roman Emperor|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 - Qutuz|Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, is List of assassinated people|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.

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.

1861 - The first transcontinental telegraph line across the United States is completed, spelling the end for the 18-month-old Pony Express.

1903 - General Order (GO) 167 authorized the formation of the "Canadian Signalling Corps (Militia)" (CSC) - the first independently organized Signal Corps in the British Empire.

1917 - Battle of Kobarid|Caporetto starts on the Austria|Austro-Italy|Italian front of World War I

1929 - "Wall Street Crash 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 List of Presidents of Brazil|President of the History of Brazil (1889-1930)|First Republic. Getúlio Dornelles Vargas is then installed as "provisional president."

1935 - Italy invades Ethiopia

1944 - World War II: The Japanese aircraft carrier ''Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku|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

1955 - The body of Manolo Just, a probable bisexuality|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

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 Zambia|Republic of Zambia (Southern Rhodesia remained a colony)

1970 - Salvador Allende elected President of Chile

1973 - Yom Kippur War ends

1980 - Government of Poland legalizes Solidarity trade union

1989 - Televangelist Jim Bakker is sentenced to 45 years in prison and a 500,000 US dollar|USD fine for defrauding investors of 3.7 million USD.

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.

1998 - Launch of Deep Space 1 comet/asteroid mission

1998 - Tropical Storm Hurricane Mitch|Mitch reaches Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale|hurricane strength.

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 Hendrick_Motorsports#Aviation_Tragedy|crashes en route to the race held at Martinsville Speedway. There were no survivors.

2005 - Cream (band)|Cream begins a series of three shows at Madison Square Garden. These shows are similar to the reunion shows held in May at the Royal Albert Hall.

2005 - Hurricane Hurricane Wilma|Wilma makes landfall in South Florida.

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)

1891 - Rafael Leonidas Trujillo |Rafael Molina-Trujillo, President of the Dominican Republic

1901 - Gilda Gray, Polish-born actress and dancer (d. 1959)

1903 - Melvin Purvis, American Federal Bureau of Investigation director (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 in Physics|Nobel Prize laureate

1932 - Robert Mundell, Canadian economist, Nobel Prize in Economics|Nobel Prize laureate

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 (band)|Steppenwolf)

1947 - Kevin Kline, American actor

1948 - Kweisi Mfume, American civil rights activist, U.S. Congressman from Maryland

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

1966 - Roman Abramovich, Russian oil magnate

1971 - Dervla Kirwan, Irish actress

1972 - Scott Peterson, American murderer

1972 - Pat Williams, American football player

1973 - Levi Leipheimer, American professional cyclist

1974 - Caprice Bourret, American model and actress

1975 - Juan Pablo Ángel, Columbian footballer

1979 - Ben Gillies, Australian musician (Silverchair)

1980 - James Killian, American football player

1980 - Monica (singer)|Monica, American singer

1981 - Tila Nguyen, American model

1985 - Wayne Rooney, English footballer

1991 - Edmund Townend, Author of Scorpius Diamond

Deaths

996 - King Hugh Capet of France (b. 938)

1260 - Qutuz|Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt

1375 - King Valdemar IV of Denmark

1537 - Jane Seymour, queen 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 (industrialist)|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)

1979 - Park Chung Hee, South-Korean president (b. 1917).

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)

Holidays and observances

Calendar of Saints|R.C. Saints - optional memorial of Antonio Maria Claret

Also see October 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

New Zealand -Labour Day (2005, 4th Monday in October).

Zambia - Independence Day (1964)

United Nations Day (charter 1945)

Discordianism - Maladay

References

In The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien, the date is mentioned to Frodo Baggins by Gandalf upon his waking in Rivendell.

External links

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/24

http://pddod.byethost15.com/ ---- October 23 - October 25 - November 24 - September 24 - more historical anniversaries