May 24

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May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). There are 221 days remaining.

Events

• 1153 - Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland.
• 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.
• 1276 - Magnus Ladulås crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral.
• 1487 - Imposter Lambert Simnel is crowned as "King Edward VI" at Dublin.
• 1595 - Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.
• 1621 - Protestant Union formally dissolved.
• 1626 - Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.
• 1668 - Glen Cove, New York is founded.
• 1686 - Gabriel Fahrenheit, German physicist and engineer (d. 1736)
• 1689 - The Act of Toleration passes the English Parliament protecting Protestants (Roman Catholics are intentionally excluded).
• 1738 - John Wesley is converted, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day.
• 1787 - The United States Constitutional Convention is convened after a quorum of delegates arrives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 1798 - Irish republican rebellion against British rule begins.
• 1822 - Battle of Pichincha: Antonio José de Sucre secures the independence of the Presidency of Quito.
• 1830 - Mary had a little lamb by Sarah Hale is published.
• 1844 - The first electric telegram is sent by Samuel F. B. Morse, from Baltimore, Maryland, to Washington, D.C., saying "What hath God wrought?".
• 1846 - Mexican-American War: General Zachary Taylor captures Monterrey.
• 1856 - John Brown and his men murder five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.
• 1861 - American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.
• 1883 - The Brooklyn Bridge in New York is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.
• 1893 - The Niagara Falls Park and River Railway opens in Ontario.
• 1895 - Henry Irving becomes the first personage from the theatre to be knighted.
• 1899 - The first public parking garage in the United States is opened in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1900 - Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State.
• 1911 - The New York Public Library opened.
• 1914 - Levski Sofia football club is established.
• 1915 - World War I: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
• 1921 - The trial of Sacco and Vanzetti opens.
• 1929 - The Cocoanuts, the first film to star the Marx Brothers, opens.
• 1930 - Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first woman to fly from England to Australia (she left on May 5 for the 11,000 mile flight).
• 1935 - Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, hosts major-league baseball's first night game ever as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1.
• 1940 - Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.
• 1941 - World War II: In the North Atlantic, the German Battleship Bismarck sinks the HMS Hood killing all but three crewmen on what was the pride of the Royal Navy.
• 1943 - Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer in Auschwitz concentration camp.
• 1949 - The Soviet Union ends the 11-month Berlin Blockade.
• 1956 - In Lugano, Switzerland, Lys Assia wins the first Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland singing "Refrain".
• 1958 - United Press International is formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.
• 1961 - American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.
• 1962 - American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
• 1968 - Students set fire to the Paris bourse.
• 1968 - FLQ separatists bomb the U.S. consulate in Quebec City.
• 1974 - After a nine-year run, the Dean Martin Show airs for the last time.
• 1976 - London to Washington, DC Concorde service begins.
• 1980 - The International Court of Justice calls for the release of United States embassy hostages in Tehran.
• 1981 - First International Women's Day for Disarmament.
• 1988 - Section 28 is passed as law by Parliament in the United Kingdom.
• 1989 - Sonia Sutcliffe, wife of the Yorkshire Ripper, is awarded a six-figure sum in damages after winning a libel action against Private Eye.
• 1990 - A car carrying American Earth First! activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney explodes in Oakland, California, critically injuring both.
• 1991 - Israel conducts Operation Solomon, evacuating Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
• 1992 - The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigns following pro-democracy protests.
• 1993 - Eritrea gains its independence from Ethiopia.
• 1993 - Microsoft unveils Windows NT.
• 2000 - Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.
• 2001 - Mountain climbing: 15-year-old Sherpa Temba Tsheri becomes the youngest person to climb to the top of Mount Everest.
• 2001 - Wedding hall collapse in Jerusalem, Israel, kills 23 and injures over 200 in Israel's worst-ever civil disaster.

Births

• 15 BC - Julius Caesar Germanicus, Roman commander (d. 19)
• 1494 - Pontormo, Italian painter (d. 1557)
• 1522 - John Jewel, English bishop (d. 1571)
• 1544 - William Gilbert, English scientist (d. 1603)
• 1616 - John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale, (d. 1682)
• 1671 - Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1737)
• 1689 - Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, English politician (d. 1769)
• 1743 - Jean-Paul Marat, French revolutionary (d. 1793)
• 1794 - William Whewell, English philosopher (d. 1866)
• 1810 - Charles Clark, Governor of Mississippi (d. 1877)
• 1810 - Abraham Geiger, German rabbi and scholar (d. 1874)
• 1816 - Emanuel Leutze, German-born painter (d. 1868)
• 1819 - Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1901)
• 1836 - Joseph Rowntree, British social reformer (d. 1925)
• 1854 - John Riley Banister, American law officer and cowboy (d. 1918)
• 1855 - Arthur Wing Pinero, English playwright (d. 1934)
• 1863 - George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (d. 1938)
• 1870 - Benjamin Cardozo, American jurist (d. 1938)
• 1870 - Jan Christian Smuts, Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1950)
• 1878 - Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American engineer (d. 1972)
• 1886 - Paul Paray, French conductor and composer (d. 1979)
• 1891 - William F. Albright, American archeologist and Biblical scholar (d. 1971)
• 1899 - Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player
• 1899 - Henri Michaux, French poet
• 1901 - José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer
• 1905 - Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov, Russian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
• 1909 - Wilbur Mills, American politician (d. 1992)
• 1914 - Lilli Palmer, German-born actress (d. 1986)
• 1925 - Mai Zetterling, Swedish-born entertainer (d. 1994)
• 1926 - Stanley Baxter, Scottish actor
• 1928 - William Trevor, Irish writer
• 1930 - Hans-Martin Linde, German conductor
• 1934 - Jane Byrne, Mayor of Chicago
• 1934 - Barry Rose, English choir-trainer and organist
• 1936 - Harold Budd, American musician
• 1938 - Tommy Chong, Canadian-born actor and comedian
• 1940 - Joseph Brodsky, Russian-born poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
• 1941 - Bob Dylan, American singer and songwriter
• 1943 - Gary Burghoff, American actor
• 1944 - Arthur Brown, English musician
• 1944 - Patti LaBelle, American singer
• 1945 - Priscilla Presley, American actress
• 1946 - Irena Kirszenstein-Szewinska, Russian-born Polish athlete
• 1949 - Jim Broadbent, English actor
• 1953 - Alfred Molina, English actor
• 1955 - Rosanne Cash, American singer
• 1956 - Michael Jackson, Northern Irish clergyman
• 1960 - Kristin Scott Thomas, English actress
• 1962 - Gene Anthony Ray, American actor (d. 2003)
• 1963 - Joe Dumars, American basketball player
• 1963 - Kathy Leander, Swiss singer
• 1964 - Adrian Moorhouse, British swimmer
• 1964 - Pat Verbeek, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1965 - John C. Reilly, American actor
• 1966 - Eric Cantona, French footballer
• 1967 - Heavy D, American rapper and actor
• 1972 - Greg Berlanti, American television writer and producer
• 1973 - Bartolo Colón, Dominican Major League Baseball player
• 1973 - Dermot O'Leary, English television presenter
• 1973 - Ruslana, Ukrainian singer
• 1975 - Marc Gagnon, Canadian short track speed skater
• 1976 - Alessandro Cortini, Italian musician
• 1978 - Bryan Greenberg, American actor
• 1979 - Tracy McGrady, American basketball player
• 1980 - Cecilia Cheung, Hong Kong actress
• 1980 - Dov Goldberg, The Radshag
• 1984 - Sarah Hagan, American actress
• 1988 - Billy Gilman, American singer

Deaths

• 1153 - King David I of Scotland (b. 1084)
• 1351 - Abu al-Hasan 'Ali, Sultan of Morocco
• 1425 - Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, Scottish politician (b. 1362)
• 1456 - Ambroise de Loré, French military commander (b. 1396)
• 1543 - Nicolas Copernicus, astronomer (b. 1473)
• 1612 - Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English statesman and spymaster (b. 1563)
• 1627 - Luis de Góngora, Spanish poet (b. 1561)
• 1725 - Jonathan Wild, English criminal (b. 1683)
• 1734 - Georg Ernst Stahl, German physician and chemist (b. 1660)
• 1749 - Graf Valentin Potocki, Polish nobleman (burned at the stake)
• 1792 - George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, British naval officer (b. 1718)
• 1806 - John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, British field marshal (b. 1723)
• 1879 - William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist, writer, and publisher (b. 1805)
• 1881 - Samuel Palmer, English artist (b. 1805)
• 1883 - Abdel Kadir, Algerian leader (b. 1808)
• 1919 - Amado Nervo, Mexican poet (b. 1870)
• 1947 - C. F. Ramuz, Swiss writer (b. 1878)
• 1949 - Aleksey Shchusev, Russian architect (b. 1873)
• 1950 - Archibald Wavell, American general (b. 1883)
• 1959 - John Foster Dulles, United States Secretary of State (b. 1888)
• 1963 - Elmore James, American musician (b. 1918)
• 1969 - Willy Ley, German-born rocket scientist (b. 1906)
• 1974 - Duke Ellington, American composer and musician (b. 1899)
• 1981 - George Jessel, American actor (b. 1898)
• 1984 - Vincent J. McMahon, American pro wrestling promoter (b. 1914)
• 1995 - Harold Wilson, British statesman and prime minister (b. 1916)
• 1996 - John Abbott, third Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1905)
• 1997 - Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (b. 1923)
• 1999 - Owen Hart, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1965)
• 2003 - Lady Rachel Kempson, English actress and the mother of Vanessa Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave (b. 1910)
• 2004 - Henry Ries, American photographer (b. 1917)
• 2005 - Arthur Haulot, Belgian journalist and resistance figher (b. 1913)
• 2005 - Vivian Liberto, first wife of Johnny Cash (b. 1934)

Holidays and observances

• Canada: Victoria Day, on this date or the Monday before it. In Quebec, it is known as "National Patriots' Day" (Journée nationale des patriotes).
• Bermuda: Bermuda Day
• Eritrea: National Day
• Bulgaria: Sts. Cyril and Methodius Day
• Saint Sarah is celebrated in Carmague, France by the Roma or Gypsies.

External links

• BBC: On This Day

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May 23 - May 25 - April 24 - June 24 – listing of all days