# On this day: May 24

May 24 is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years), with 221 days left until the end of the year.

## May 24 in one line

Headline entries for May 24, from Wikipedia: in 1956, The first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Lugano, Switzerland; born 1941: Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist, writer, and producer; Nobel Prize laureate; died 1543: Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (born 1473). In 2026 it is a Sunday, in 2027 a Monday.

## Events on May 24

- 1567 The mentally ill King Erik XIV of Sweden and his guards murdered five incarcerated nobles, including some members of the influential Sture family. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sture_murders)
- 1667 Led by King Louis XIV, the French army invaded the Spanish Netherlands, beginning the War of Devolution. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Devolution)
- 1683 Oxford University's Ashmolean Museum, the world's first university museum, opened. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashmolean_Museum)
- 1689 The Act of Toleration became law, granting freedom of worship to English nonconformists under certain circumstances, but deliberately excluding Catholics. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toleration_Act_1688)
- 1738 At a Moravian meeting in Aldersgate, London, John Wesley experienced a spiritual rebirth, leading him to launch the Methodist movement. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wesley)
- 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 began, with battles beginning in County Kildare and fighting later spreading across the country. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Rebellion_of_1798)
- 1813 South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador ("The Liberator"). [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%B3n_Bol%C3%ADvar)
- 1830 The nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was first published as a poem by Sarah Josepha Hale. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Had_a_Little_Lamb)
- 1883 New York City's Brooklyn Bridge opened as the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge)
- 1913 Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia married Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover; the occasion was one of the last great social events of European royalty before World War I began. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Victoria_Louise_of_Prussia)
- 1930 English aviator Amy Johnson landed in Darwin, becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Johnson)
- 1941 Second World War: The German battleship Bismarck sank the British battlecruiser Hood at the Battle of the Denmark Strait. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Bismarck)
- 1948 Arab–Israeli War: After five days of fighting, Egyptian forces captured the Israeli community of Yad Mordechai after the defenders had abandoned it. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yad_Mordechai)
- 1956 The first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Lugano, Switzerland. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_1956)
- 1962 Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbited the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Carpenter)
- 1963 United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy met with African American author James Baldwin in an unsuccessful attempt to improve race relations. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin%E2%80%93Kennedy_meeting)
- 1967 Egypt imposes a blockade and siege of the Red Sea coast of Israel. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sea)
- 1970 On the Kola Peninsula in Russia, drilling began on the Kola Superdeep Borehole, which eventually reached a depth of 12,262 metres (40,230 ft), making it the deepest borehole ever drilled and the lowest artificial point on Earth. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_Superdeep_Borehole)
- 1976 In a wine competition in Paris, French judges shocked the wine industry by rating California wines higher than French ones. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_of_Paris_(wine))
- 1986 A stationary front began over the central Caribbean Sea, leading to severe floods that over two weeks killed dozens of people in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_Jamaica_floods)
- 1988 Section 28 of the United Kingdom's Local Government Act of 1988, a controversial amendment stating that a local authority cannot intentionally promote homosexuality, was enacted. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_28)
- 1991 The Israel Defense Forces began Operation Solomon, a covert operation to bring thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Solomon)
- 2006 An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary film that has been credited for raising international public awareness of climate change and re-energizing the environmental movement, was released. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Inconvenient_Truth)
- 2014 A gunman involved in Islamic extremism opened fire at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four people. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Museum_of_Belgium_shooting)
- 2022 An 18-year old gunman shot and killed nineteen students and two teachers in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uvalde_school_shooting)
- 2026 A suicide bombing targeting a shuttle train in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan, kills at least 47 people. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Quetta_train_bombing)

## Born on May 24

- 15 BC Germanicus, Roman general (died 19) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanicus)
- 1494 Pontormo, Italian painter (died 1557) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontormo)
- 1544 William Gilbert, English physician, physicist, and astronomer (died 1603) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gilbert_(physicist))
- 1686 Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Polish-German physicist and engineer, developed the Fahrenheit scale (died 1736) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Gabriel_Fahrenheit)
- 1743 Jean-Paul Marat, Swiss-French physician, journalist, and politician (died 1793) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Marat)
- 1819 Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (died 1901) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria)
- 1870 Jan Smuts, South African lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of South Africa (died 1950) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Smuts)
- 1893 Walter Baade, German astronomer (died 1960) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Baade)
- 1899 Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (died 1938) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanne_Lenglen)
- 1905 Mikhail Sholokhov, Russian novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1984) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Sholokhov)
- 1940 Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1996) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Brodsky)
- 1941 Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist, writer, and producer; Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan)
- 1945 Priscilla Presley, American actress and businesswoman [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priscilla_Presley)
- 1946 Tansu Çiller, Turkish politician, Prime Minister of Turkey [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tansu_%C3%87iller)
- 1946 Irena Szewińska, Russian-Polish sprinter (died 2018) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irena_Szewi%C5%84ska)
- 1949 Jim Broadbent, English actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Broadbent)
- 1953 Alfred Molina, English actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Molina)
- 1960 Kristin Scott Thomas, English actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristin_Scott_Thomas)
- 1963 Michael Chabon, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Chabon)
- 1965 John C. Reilly, American actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Reilly)
- 1966 Eric Cantona, French footballer and actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Cantona)
- 1994 Rodrigo De Paul, Argentine footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigo_De_Paul)

## Died on May 24

- 1136 Hugues de Payens, first Grand Master of the Knights Templar (born c. 1070) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugues_de_Payens)
- 1153 David I of Scotland (born 1083) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_I_of_Scotland)
- 1408 Taejo of Joseon (born 1335) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taejo_of_Joseon)
- 1543 Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (born 1473) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus)
- 1627 Luis de Góngora, Spanish poet and cleric (born 1561) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_de_G%C3%B3ngora)
- 1848 Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, German author and composer (born 1797) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annette_von_Droste-H%C3%BClshoff)
- 1879 William Lloyd Garrison, American journalist and activist (born 1805) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lloyd_Garrison)
- 1945 Robert Ritter von Greim, German field marshal and pilot (born 1892) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ritter_von_Greim)
- 1950 Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English field marshal and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (born 1883) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Wavell%2C_1st_Earl_Wavell)
- 1959 John Foster Dulles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 52nd United States Secretary of State (born 1888) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Foster_Dulles)
- 1974 Duke Ellington, American pianist and composer (born 1899) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Ellington)
- 1995 Harold Wilson, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1916) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Wilson)
- 2010 Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (born 1972) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Gray_(American_musician))
- 2023 Tina Turner, American-Swiss rock and pop singer, dancer, actress and author (born 1939) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Turner)

## Holidays and observances

- Aldersgate Day/Wesley Day (Methodism) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldersgate_Day)
- Battle of Pichincha Day (Ecuador) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Ecuador)
- Bermuda Day (Bermuda), celebrated on the nearest weekday if May 24 falls on the weekend. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda_Day)
- Christian feast day: Anna Pak Agi (one of The Korean Martyrs) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Pak_Agi)
- Christian feast day: Donatian and Rogatian [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donatian_and_Rogatian)
- Christian feast day: Jackson Kemper (Episcopal Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Kemper)
- Christian feast day: Joanna [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanna%2C_wife_of_Chuza)
- Christian feast day: Juan de Prado [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_de_Prado)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Louis-Zéphirin Moreau [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis-Z%C3%A9phirin_Moreau)
- Christian feast day: Mary, Help of Christians [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary%2C_Help_of_Christians)
- Christian feast day: Sarah (celebrated by the Romani people of Camargue) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sarah)
- Christian feast day: Simeon Stylites the Younger [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_Stylites_the_Younger)
- Christian feast day: Vincent of Lérins [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_of_L%C3%A9rins)
- Christian feast day: May 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_24_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Commonwealth Day (Belize) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Belize)
- Independence Day (Eritrea), celebrates the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia in 1993. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(Eritrea))
- Lubiri Memorial Day (Buganda) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubiri)
- Saints Cyril and Methodius Day (Eastern Orthodox Church, Julian Calendar) and its related observance: Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavonic Literature Day (Bulgaria) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_Slavonic_Alphabet%2C_Bulgarian_Enlightenment_and_Culture)
- Saints Cyril and Methodius Day (Eastern Orthodox Church, Julian Calendar) and its related observance: Saints Cyril and Methodius, Slavonic Enlighteners' Day (North Macedonia) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_North_Macedonia)
- Victoria Day; celebrated on Monday on or before May 24. (Canada), and its related observance: National Patriots' Day or Journée nationale des patriotes (Quebec) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Patriots'_Day)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “May 24”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_24) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/May 24”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/May_24) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“May 24”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_24) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_24?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for May 24 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## May 24 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Sunday | 2026-W21 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2027 | Monday | 2027-W21 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2028 | Wednesday | 2028-W21 | 🌑 New Moon |
| 2029 | Thursday | 2029-W21 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2030 | Friday | 2030-W21 | 🌗 Last Quarter |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on May 24

- [🇰🇷 South Korea](https://whathappen.today/holidays/south-korea/): Buddha's Birthday (2026)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← May 23](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/may-23/) · [May 25 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/may-25/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/may-24/