On this day: April 24

Events on April 24

• 1479 BC Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th dynasty). Wikipedia
• 1800 The Library of Congress (building pictured), the de facto national library of the United States, was established as part of an act of Congress providing for the transfer of the nation's capital from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. Wikipedia
• 1800 The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress". Wikipedia
• 1877 Russo-Turkish War: The Russian Empire declares war on the Ottoman Empire. Wikipedia
• 1904 Realizing that the Russification of Lithuania was not working, the Russian Empire lifted the 40-year-old ban on publications written in Lithuanian language using the Latin alphabet. Wikipedia
• 1915 The arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Istanbul marks the beginning of the Armenian genocide. Wikipedia
• 1915 The Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire began with the arrest and deportation of hundreds of prominent Armenians in Constantinople. Wikipedia
• 1916 Ernest Shackleton and five men of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition launch a lifeboat from uninhabited Elephant Island in the Southern Ocean to organise a rescue for the crew of the sunken Endurance. Wikipedia
• 1918 First World War: The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux began, which contained the first instance of tanks fighting against each other. Wikipedia
• 1918 World War I: First tank-to-tank combat, during the second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. Three British Mark IVs meet three German A7Vs. Wikipedia
• 1922 The first segment of the Imperial Wireless Chain providing wireless telegraphy between Leafield in Oxfordshire, England, and Cairo, Egypt, comes into operation. Wikipedia
• 1924 Thorvald Stauning becomes premier of Denmark (first term). Wikipedia
• 1926 The Treaty of Berlin is signed. Germany and the Soviet Union each pledge neutrality in the event of an attack on the other by a third party for the next five years. Wikipedia
• 1933 Nazi Germany began its persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg. Wikipedia
• 1933 Nazi Germany begins its persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg. Wikipedia
• 1944 World War II: The British Special Boat Service executed a successful raid to destroy an Axis radio station on the Greek island of Santorini. Wikipedia
• 1944 World War II: The SBS launches a raid against the garrison of Santorini in Greece. Wikipedia
• 1953 Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Wikipedia
• 1955 The Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemns colonialism, racism, and the Cold War. Wikipedia
• 1957 Suez Crisis: The Suez Canal is reopened following the introduction of UNEF peacekeepers to the region. Wikipedia
• 1965 Civil war breaks out in the Dominican Republic when Colonel Francisco Caamaño overthrows the triumvirate that had been in power since the coup d'état against Juan Bosch. Wikipedia
• 1965 Cold War: The Dominican Civil War broke out due to tensions following a military coup against the democratically elected government of President Juan Bosch two years earlier. Wikipedia
• 1970 The Gambia becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as its first President. Wikipedia
• 2005 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI. Wikipedia
• 2013 Violence in Bachu County, Kashgar Prefecture, of China's Xinjiang results in death of 21 people. Wikipedia
• 2013 A building collapses near Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1,134 people and injuring about 2,500 others. Wikipedia

Born on April 24

• 1533 William I of Orange, founding father of the Netherlands (died 1584) Wikipedia
• 1581 Vincent de Paul, French priest and saint (died 1660) Wikipedia
• 1815 Anthony Trollope, English novelist, essayist, and short story writer (died 1882) Wikipedia
• 1845 Carl Spitteler, Swiss poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1924) Wikipedia
• 1856 Philippe Pétain, French general and politician, 119th Prime Minister of France (died 1951) Wikipedia
• 1860 Queen Marau, last Queen of Tahiti (died 1935) Wikipedia
• 1876 Erich Raeder, German admiral (died 1960) Wikipedia
• 1880 Gideon Sundback, Swedish-American engineer and businessman, developed the zipper (died 1954) Wikipedia
• 1888 Pe Maung Tin, Burma-based scholar and educator (died 1973) Wikipedia
• 1908 Józef Gosławski, Polish sculptor (died 1963) Wikipedia
• 1930 José Sarney, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 31st President of Brazil Wikipedia
• 1934 Shirley MacLaine, American actress, singer, and dancer Wikipedia
• 1942 Barbra Streisand, American singer, actress, activist, and producer Wikipedia
• 1947 Roger D. Kornberg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
• 1947 Josep Borrell, Spanish engineer and politician, 22nd President of the European Parliament Wikipedia
• 1951 Enda Kenny, Irish educator and politician, 13th Taoiseach of Ireland Wikipedia
• 1952 Jean Paul Gaultier, French fashion designer Wikipedia
• 1964 Djimon Hounsou, Beninese-American actor and producer Wikipedia
• 1968 Hashim Thaçi, Kosovan soldier and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Kosovo Wikipedia
• 1973 Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer Wikipedia
• 1982 Kelly Clarkson, American singer-songwriter, talk show host Wikipedia
• 1987 Jan Vertonghen, Belgian international footballer Wikipedia

Died on April 24

• 1617 Concino Concini, Italian-French politician, Prime Minister of France (born 1575) Wikipedia
• 1731 Daniel Defoe, English journalist, novelist, and spy (born 1660) Wikipedia
• 1779 Eleazar Wheelock, American minister and academic, founded Dartmouth College (born 1711) Wikipedia
• 1852 Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet and translator (born 1783) Wikipedia
• 1891 Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, German field marshal (born 1800) Wikipedia
• 1942 Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian author (born 1874) Wikipedia
• 1945 Ernst-Robert Grawitz, German physician and SS officer, facilitator of medical experiments on concentration camp inmates (born 1899) Wikipedia
• 1947 Willa Cather, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (born 1873) Wikipedia
• 1960 Max von Laue, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1879) Wikipedia
• 1964 Gerhard Domagk, German pathologist and bacteriologist (born 1895) Wikipedia
• 1967 Vladimir Komarov, Russian pilot, engineer, and cosmonaut (born 1927) Wikipedia
• 1980 Alejo Carpentier, Swiss-Cuban musicologist and author (born 1904) Wikipedia
• 1986 Wallis Simpson, American socialite, Duchess of Windsor, wife of the former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, Duke of Windsor (born 1896) Wikipedia
• 2011 Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru and philanthropist (born 1926) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (Armenia, California, France) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Benedict Menni Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Dermot of Armagh Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Dyfnan of Anglesey Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Ecgberht of Ripon Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Elizabeth Hesselblad Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Fidelis of Sigmaringen Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Gregory of Elvira Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Ivo of Ramsey Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Johann Walter (Lutheran) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Mary of Clopas Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Mary Euphrasia Pelletier Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Mellitus Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Salome (disciple) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Wilfrid (Catholic Church and Church of England) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: William Firmatus Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: April 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Concord Day (Niger) Wikipedia
• Democracy Day (Nepal) Wikipedia
• Fashion Revolution Day, and its related observances: Labour Safety Day (Bangladesh, proposed) Wikipedia
• National Panchayati Raj Day (India) Wikipedia
• Republic Day (The Gambia) Wikipedia
• World Day for Laboratory Animals Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “April 24” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.