On this day: January 24

Events on January 24

• 41 Roman emperor Caligula was murdered by Cassius Chaerea and other members of the Praetorian Guard, who proclaimed Claudius to be the new emperor. Wikipedia
• 41 Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula. Wikipedia
• 771 Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat dedicated a 65-ton stele, the largest stone known to be quarried by the Maya civilization, at his city of Quiriguá. Wikipedia
• 914 The Fatimid Caliphate began their first invasion of Egypt, against the Abbasids, which eventually ended in failure. Wikipedia
• 1536 King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behaviour and possible impotence. Wikipedia
• 1835 Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt, which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later. Wikipedia
• 1848 California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento. Wikipedia
• 1857 The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully fledged university in South Asia. Wikipedia
• 1857 The University of Calcutta was established as the first modern university in the Indian subcontinent. Wikipedia
• 1908 The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell. Wikipedia
• 1915 World War I: British Grand Fleet battle cruisers under Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty engage Rear-Admiral Franz von Hipper's battle cruisers in the Battle of Dogger Bank. Wikipedia
• 1918 The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars effective February 14 (New Style). Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand, then under Japanese control, to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom. Wikipedia
• 1943 World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca. Wikipedia
• 1946 The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission. Wikipedia
• 1960 Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as the "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police. Wikipedia
• 1966 Air India Flight 101 crashes into Mont Blanc. Wikipedia
• 1968 Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launched Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese army and the Viet Cong. Wikipedia
• 1968 Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launches Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider fighting around Long Bình and Biên Hòa. Wikipedia
• 1972 Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was found in the jungles of Guam, where he had been hiding since the end of World War II. Wikipedia
• 1972 Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II. Wikipedia
• 1978 Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered. Wikipedia
• 1978 The Soviet nuclear-powered satellite Kosmos 954 burned up during atmospheric reentry, scattering radioactive debris across Canada's Northwest Territories. Wikipedia
• 1986 The Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to Uranus. Wikipedia
• 1990 Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States. Wikipedia
• 2009 Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies. Wikipedia

Born on January 24

• 76 Hadrian, Roman emperor (died 138) Wikipedia
• 1679 Christian Wolff, German philosopher and academic (died 1754) Wikipedia
• 1712 Frederick the Great, Prussian king (died 1786) Wikipedia
• 1732 Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and financier (died 1799) Wikipedia
• 1739 Jean Nicolas Houchard, French General of the French Revolution (died 1793) Wikipedia
• 1746 Gustav III of Sweden (died 1792) Wikipedia
• 1776 E. T. A. Hoffmann, German jurist, author, and composer (died 1822) Wikipedia
• 1862 Edith Wharton, American novelist and short story writer (died 1937) Wikipedia
• 1889 Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, German general of paratroop forces during World War II (died 1968) Wikipedia
• 1907 Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengganu, fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (died 1979) Wikipedia
• 1907 Maurice Couve de Murville, French soldier and politician, Prime Minister of France (died 1999) Wikipedia
• 1917 Ernest Borgnine, American actor (died 2012) Wikipedia
• 1940 Joachim Gauck, German pastor and politician, 11th President of Germany Wikipedia
• 1941 Dan Shechtman, Israeli chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
• 1941 Neil Diamond, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Wikipedia
• 1943 Sharon Tate, American model and actress (died 1969) Wikipedia
• 1947 Michio Kaku, American physicist and academic Wikipedia
• 1949 John Belushi, American actor and screenwriter (died 1982) Wikipedia
• 1950 Daniel Auteuil, French actor, director, and screenwriter Wikipedia
• 1953 Moon Jae-in, South Korean politician, 19th President of South Korea Wikipedia
• 1961 Nastassja Kinski, German-American actress and producer Wikipedia
• 1987 Luis Suárez, Uruguayan footballer Wikipedia

Died on January 24

• 41 Caligula, Roman emperor (born 12) Wikipedia
• 817 Pope Stephen IV (born 770) Wikipedia
• 901 Liu Jishu, general of the Tang Dynasty Wikipedia
• 1125 David IV (born 1073) Wikipedia
• 1920 Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (born 1884) Wikipedia
• 1939 Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician, created Muesli (born 1867) Wikipedia
• 1965 Winston Churchill, English statesman, soldier, and writer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1874) Wikipedia
• 1966 Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist and academic (born 1909) Wikipedia
• 1971 Bill W., American activist, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (born 1895) Wikipedia
• 1983 George Cukor, American director and producer (born 1899) Wikipedia
• 1986 L. Ron Hubbard, American religious leader and author, founded the Church of Scientology (born 1911) Wikipedia
• 1989 Ted Bundy, American serial killer (born 1946) Wikipedia
• 2004 Leônidas, Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1913) Wikipedia
• 2016 Marvin Minsky, American computer scientist and academic (born 1927) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Babylas of Antioch Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Exuperantius of Cingoli Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Felician of Foligno Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Francis de Sales Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Marie Poussepin Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Pratulin Martyrs (Greek Catholic Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: January 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Day of the Unification of the Romanian Principalities (Romania) Wikipedia
• Feast of Our Lady of Peace (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances: Feria de Alasitas (La Paz) Wikipedia
• Uttar Pradesh Day (Uttar Pradesh, India) Wikipedia
• National Girl Child Day (India) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “January 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.