Vintage News · Odd history for April 24

What Happened On April 24

Q: What happened on April 24?

1866: German composer Max Bruch (pictured) conducted the premiere of his first violin concerto. 1704: John Campbell released the first issue of The Boston News-Letter, the first continuously published newspaper in British North America. 1895: Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail single-handedly around the world, sets sail from Boston, Massachusetts aboard the sloop Spray. 1704: The first regular newspaper in British Colonial America, The Boston News-Letter, is published. 1922: The first portion of the Imperial Wireless Chain, a strategic international wireless telegraphy communications network created to link the countries of the British Empire, opened. 1918: First World War: The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux began, which contained the first instance of tanks fighting against each other. 1914: The Franck–Hertz experiment, the first electrical measurement to clearly demonstrate quantum mechanics, was presented to the German Physical Society. 2005: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI. 1980: Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis. 1970: China launches Dong Fang Hong I, becoming the fifth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster.

47 events and 206 births, refreshed daily. OddlyTrue's own archive for 24 April →

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10 odd things that happened on April 24

1866 First ever
German composer Max Bruch (pictured) conducted the premiere of his first violin concerto.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1704 First ever
John Campbell released the first issue of The Boston News-Letter, the first continuously published newspaper in British North America.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1895 First ever
Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail single-handedly around the world, sets sail from Boston, Massachusetts aboard the sloop Spray.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1704 First ever
The first regular newspaper in British Colonial America, The Boston News-Letter, is published.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1922 First ever
The first portion of the Imperial Wireless Chain, a strategic international wireless telegraphy communications network created to link the countries of the British Empire, opened.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1918 First ever
First World War: The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux began, which contained the first instance of tanks fighting against each other.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1914 First ever
The Franck–Hertz experiment, the first electrical measurement to clearly demonstrate quantum mechanics, was presented to the German Physical Society.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2005 Oddly true
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1980 Oddly true
Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1970 Oddly true
China launches Dong Fang Hong I, becoming the fifth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2025A mass stabbing at a school in Nantes, France, leaves one person dead and three others wounded. Wikipedia →
2013A building collapses near Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1,134 people and injuring about 2,500 others. Wikipedia →
2013Violence in Bachu County, Kashgar Prefecture, of China's Xinjiang results in death of 21 people. Wikipedia →
2011WikiLeaks starts publishing the Guantanamo Bay files leak. Wikipedia →
2006Bombings in the Egyptian resort city of Dahab kill 23 people and injure about 80. Wikipedia →
2005Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI. Wikipedia →
2004The United States lifts economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years previously, as a reward for its cooperation in eliminating weapons of mass destruction. Wikipedia →
1996In the United States, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is passed into law. Wikipedia →
1994A Douglas DC-3 ditches in Botany Bay after takeoff from Sydney Airport. All 25 people on board survive. Wikipedia →
1993An IRA bomb devastates the Bishopsgate area of London. Wikipedia →
1990STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery. Wikipedia →
1990Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine. Wikipedia →
1980Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis. Wikipedia →
1970China launches Dong Fang Hong I, becoming the fifth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster. Wikipedia →
1970The Gambia becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as its first President. Wikipedia →
1967Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when its parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission. Wikipedia →
1967Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland says in a news conference that the enemy had "gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily". Wikipedia →
1965Civil 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 →
1963Marriage of Princess Alexandra of Kent to Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London. Wikipedia →
1957Suez Crisis: The Suez Canal is reopened following the introduction of UNEF peacekeepers to the region. Wikipedia →
1955The Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemns colonialism, racism, and the Cold War. Wikipedia →
1953Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: The SBS launches a raid against the garrison of Santorini in Greece. Wikipedia →
1933Nazi Germany begins its persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg. Wikipedia →
1932Benny Rothman leads the mass trespass of Kinder Scout, leading to substantial legal reforms in the United Kingdom. Wikipedia →
1926The 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 →
1924Thorvald Stauning becomes premier of Denmark (first term). Wikipedia →
1922The first segment of the Imperial Wireless Chain providing wireless telegraphy between Leafield in Oxfordshire, England, and Cairo, Egypt, comes into operation. Wikipedia →
1918World War I: First tank-to-tank combat, during the second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. Three British Mark IVs meet three German A7Vs. Wikipedia →
1916Easter Rising: Irish rebels, led by Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, launch an uprising in Dublin against British rule and proclaim an Irish Republic. Wikipedia →
1916Ernest 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 →
1915The arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Istanbul marks the beginning of the Armenian genocide. Wikipedia →
1914The Franck–Hertz experiment, a pillar of quantum mechanics, is presented to the German Physical Society. Wikipedia →
1913The Woolworth Building, a skyscraper in New York City, is opened. Wikipedia →
1895Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail single-handedly around the world, sets sail from Boston, Massachusetts aboard the sloop Spray. Wikipedia →
1885American sharpshooter Annie Oakley is hired by Nate Salsbury to be a part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Wikipedia →
1877Russo-Turkish War: The Russian Empire declares war on the Ottoman Empire. Wikipedia →
1837The great fire in Surat, India causes more than 500 deaths and destruction of more than 9,000 houses. Wikipedia →
1800The 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 →
1793French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat is acquitted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of charges brought by the Girondin in Paris. Wikipedia →
1704The first regular newspaper in British Colonial America, The Boston News-Letter, is published. Wikipedia →
1558Mary, Queen of Scots, marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre-Dame de Paris. Wikipedia →
1547Battle of Mühlberg. Duke of Alba, commanding Spanish-Imperial forces of Charles I of Spain, defeats the troops of Schmalkaldic League. Wikipedia →
934Abbasid Caliph Al-Qahir is deposed and blinded. His nephew al-Radi succeeds him as caliph. Wikipedia →
858Consecration of Pope Nicholas I following the death of Pope Benedict III earlier that month. Wikipedia →
1183 BCTraditional reckoning of the Fall of Troy marking the end of the legendary Trojan War, given by chief librarian of the Library of Alexandria Eratosthenes, among others. Wikipedia →
1479 BCThutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th dynasty). Wikipedia →

From The Guardian Archives — On This Day

2023The Guardian
One in five child abuse images found online last year were category A – report
Internet Watch Foundation says amount of material showing most extreme form of sexual abuse has doubled since 2020
Read on The Guardian →
2020The Guardian
Coronavirus 24 April: at a glance
A summary of the biggest developments in the global coronavirus outbreak
Read on The Guardian →
1939The New York Times
L.I.U. Only Unbeaten Nine in City With Fordham and N.Y.U. Halted
The race for honors among the colleges in metropolitan baseball circles remains wide open as the result of developmen…
Read on NYTimes.com →

Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform · Historic front pages via the NYT Archive API

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform and the NYT Archive API. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.