October 24......

October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 68 days remaining in the year on this date.

EVENTS

● 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus, the commander of the Danube armies, loyal to Vespasian, defeat the forces of Emperor Vitellius.

● 1260 - The spectacular Cathedral of Chartres is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France; the cathedral is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

● 1260 - Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, is assassinated by Baibars, who seizes power for himself.

● 1360 - The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified at Calais, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War.

● 1537 - Jane Seymour, the third wife of England's King Henry VIII, died 12 days after giving birth to the future King Edward VI.

● 1593 - Alleged teleportation of Gil Perez.

● 1648 - The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years' War and effectively destroys the Holy Roman Empire.

● 1795 - Partitions of Poland: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is completely divided between Austria, Prussia and Russia

● 1812 - Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Maloyaroslavets takes place near Moscow.

● 1857 - Sheffield F.C., the world's first football club, is founded in Sheffield, England.

● 1861 - The first transcontinental telegraph line across the United States is completed, spelling the end for the 18-month-old Pony Express. The first transcontinental telegraph message was sent as Justice Stephen J. Field of California transmitted a telegram to President Abraham Lincoln.

● 1901 - Anna Edson Taylor, a 43-year-old widow, became the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

● 1917 - Battle of Caporetto starts on the Austro-Italian front of World War I

● 1929 - "Black Thursday" stock market crash on the New York Stock Exchange.

● 1930 - A bloodless coup d'état in Brazil ousts Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa, the last President of the First Republic. Getúlio Dornelles Vargas is then installed as "provisional president."

● 1931 - The George Washington Bridge, connecting New York and New Jersey, opened to traffic.

● 1935 - Italy invades Ethiopia

● 1939 - Nylon stockings were sold publicly for the first time, in Wilmington, Del.

● 1940 - The 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

● 1944 - World War II: The Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku is sunk.

● 1945 - The United Nations officially came into existence as its charter took effect.

● 1947 - Walt Disney testifies to the House Unamerican Activities Committee, naming Disney employees he believes to be communists.

● 1952 - Republican presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower declared, ''I shall go to Korea'' as he promised to end the conflict.

● 1954 - Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam

● 1957 - the USAF starts the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.

● 1960 - Nedelin catastrophe: An R-16 ballistic missile explodes on the launch pad at the Soviet Union's Baikonur Cosmodrome space facility, killing 165. Among the dead is Field Marshall Mitrofan Nedelin, whose death is reported to have occurred in a plane crash.

● 1962 - The U.S. blockade of Cuba during the missile crisis began under a proclamation signed by President John F. Kennedy.

● 1964 - Northern Rhodesia gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes the Republic of Zambia (Southern Rhodesia remained a colony)

● 1973 - Yom Kippur War ends

● 1977 - Veterans Day is observed on the fourth Monday in October for the seventh and last time. (The holiday is once again observed on November 11 beginning the following year.)

● 1980 - Government of Poland legalizes Solidarity trade union

● 1981 - CND rally attracts thousands

● 1983 - Nilsen 'strangled and mutilated' victims; Civil servant Dennis Nilsen goes on trial accused of six murders and two attempted murders.

● 1986 - Nezar Hindawi is sentenced to 45 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down by a British court, for the attempted bombing on an El Al flight at Heathrow. After the verdict, the United Kingdom breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, claiming that Hindawi was helped by Syrian officials.

● 1988 - Thirty years after it was expelled for refusing to answer allegations of corruption, the Teamsters union was welcomed back into the AFL-CIO.

● 1990 - Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti reveals to the Italian parliament the existence of Gladio, the Italian "stay-behind" clandestine paramilitary NATO army.

● 1992 - The Toronto Blue Jays became the first team outside the United States to win a World Series as they defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in Game 6.

● 1995 - A total solar eclipse is visible from Iran, India, Thailand, and SE Asia.

● 1998 - Launch of Deep Space 1 comet/asteroid mission

● 2001 - Swiss tunnel ablaze after head-on crash; At least 10 people die after two lorries crash head-on and catch fire inside the Gotthard road tunnel in Switzerland.

● 2001 - The House passed a $100 billion economic stimulus package in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

● 2002 - Police arrest spree killers Army veteran John Allen Muhammad and teenager Lee Boyd Malvo, ending the Beltway sniper attacks in the area around Washington, DC.

● 2003 - Concorde makes its last commercial flight, bringing the era of airliner supersonic transport to a close, at least for the time being.

● 2004 - A plane carrying ten members of the NASCAR Hendrick Motorsports team crashes en route to the race held at Martinsville Speedway. There were no survivors.

● 2005 - Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in South Florida.

BIRTHS

● 51 - Domitian, Roman Emperor (d. 96)

● 1402 - David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, heir to the throne of Scotland (b. 1378)

● 1632 - Anton van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch microbiologist (d. 1723)

● 1675 - Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, English soldier and politician (d. 1749)

● 1710 - Alban Butler, English Catholic priest and writer (d. 1773)

● 1788 - Sarah Josepha Hale, American poet and magazine publisher (d. 1879)

● 1804 - Wilhelm Eduard Weber, German physicist (d. 1891)

● 1811 - Ferdinand Hiller, German composer (d. 1885)

● 1830 - Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood, American attorney and social reformer (d. 1917)

● 1854 - Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist (d. 1907)

● 1855 - James Schoolcraft Sherman, Vice President of the United States (1909-12) (d. 1912)

● 1857 - Ned Williamson, baseball player (d. 1894)

● 1868 - Alexandra David-Néel, French explorer and writer (d. 1969)

● 1872 - Peter O'Connor, Irish athlete (d. 1957)

● 1875 - Konstantin Yuon, Russian painter (d. 1958)

● 1882 - Dame Sybil Thorndike, British Actress (d. 1976)

● 1887 - Octave Lapize, French cyclist (d. 1917)

● 1891 - Rafael Molina-Trujillo, President of the Dominican Republic (1930-61) (d. 1961)

● 1901 - Gilda Gray, Polish-born American actress and dancer (d. 1959)

● 1903 - Melvin Purvis, American Federal Bureau of Investigation agent (d. 1960)

● 1904 - Moss Hart, American dramatist (d. 1961)

● 1906 - Alexander Gelfond, Russian mathematician (d. 1968)

● 1909 - Bill Carr, American athlete (d. 1966)

● 1915 - Tito Gobbi, Italian baritone (d. 1984)

● 1915 - Bob Kane, American cartoonist (‘Batman’) (d. 1998)

● 1915 - Roger Milliken, American millionaire

● 1920 - Marcel Schützenberger, French mathematician (d. 1996)

● 1923 - Denise Levertov, English-born poet (d. 1997)

● 1925 - Luciano Berio, Italian composer (d. 2003)

● 1926 - Y. A. Tittle, American football player and Hall of Fame member

● 1927 - Jean-Claude Pascal, French singer (d.1992)

● 1929 - George Crumb, American composer

● 1929 - Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian writer

● 1930 - The Big Bopper, American singer (d. 1959)

● 1930 - Johan Galtung, Norwegian scientist

● 1930 - Sultan Ahmad Shah, King of Malaysia

● 1931 - Sofia Gubaidulina, Russian composer

● 1932 - Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

● 1932 - Robert Mundell, Canadian economist, Nobel Prize laureate

● 1933 - Ronald and Reginald Kray, British gangsters

● 1935 - Malcolm Bilson, American pianist and music professor

● 1936 - Bill Wyman, English musician (The Rolling Stones)

● 1936 - David Nelson, Actor-producer

● 1939 - F. Murray Abraham, American actor (''Amadeus'')

● 1941 - William H. Dobelle, American biomedical engineer; artificial organ pioneer

● 1945 - Anthony Christian, English Artist

● 1946 - Jerry Edmonton, Canadian drummer (Steppenwolf)

● 1947 - Kevin Kline, American actor

● 1948 - Paul and Barry Ryan, British composer-singer twins ("The Ryan Twins")

● 1948 - Kweisi Mfume, American civil rights activist, U.S. Congressman from Maryland and Former NAACP president

● 1950 - Steven Greenberg, composer

● 1950 - Rawly Eastwick, baseball player

● 1953 - Billy Thomas, Country musician (Terry McBride and the Ride)

● 1954 - Mike Rounds, Governor of South Dakota

● 1957 - Ron Gardenhire, baseball manager

● 1960 - Ian Baker-Finch, Australian golf player

● 1960 - Jaime Garzón, Colombian journalist and comedian (d. 1999)

● 1961 - Mary Bono, U.S. Congresswoman from California

● 1962 - B.D. Wong, American actor

● 1962 - Dave Blaney, American race car driver

● 1966 - Roman Abramovich, Russian oil magnate and owner of Chelsea F.C.

● 1971 - Dervla Kirwan, Irish actress

● 1971 - Caprice Bourret, American model and actress

● 1972 - Scott Peterson, American murderer

● 1972 - Pat Williams, American football player

● 1973 - Levi Leipheimer, American cyclist

● 1973 - Jackie McNamara, Scottish footballer

● 1973 - Mike Matthews, baseball player

● 1974 - Wilton Guerrero, baseball player

● 1975 - Juan Pablo Ángel, Columbian footballer

● 1977 - Iván Kaviedes, Ecuadoran footballer

● 1979 - Ben Gillies, Australian musician (Silverchair)

● 1980 - James Killian, American football player

● 1980 - Monica, American singer

● 1980 - Matthew Amoah, Ghanian footballer

● 1981 - Tila "Tequila" Nguyen, American model

● 1981 - Zac Posen, American fashion designer

● 1981 - Mallika Sherawat, Indian actress

● 1983 - Brian Vickers, American race car driver

● 1983 - Adrienne Bailon, American actress and singer

● 1985 - Wayne Rooney, English footballer

● 1989 - Eliza Taylor-Cotter, Australian actress

DEATHS

● 996 - King Hugh Capet of France (b. 938)

● 1260 - Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt

● 1375 - King Valdemar IV of Denmark (bc. 1320)

● 1537 - Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII of England, 12 days after giving birth to the future King Edward VI.

● 1572 - Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby, English politician (bc. 1508)

● 1601 - Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer (b. 1546)

● 1655 - Pierre Gassendi, French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist (b. 1592)

● 1669 - William Prynne, English Puritan leader (b. 1600)

● 1672 - John Webb, English architect (b. 1611)

● 1708 - Kowa Seki, Japanese mathematician

● 1725 - Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (b. 1660)

● 1799 - Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Austrian composer (b. 1739)

● 1821 - Elias Boudinot, American President of the Continental Congress (b. 1740)

● 1852 - Daniel Webster, American lawyer and politician (b. 1782)

● 1898 - Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, French painter (b. 1824)

● 1912 - Mykola Lysenko, Ukrainian composer (b. 1842)

● 1915 - Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist (b. 1828)

● 1922 - George Cadbury, British chocolate and cocoa manufacturer (b. 1839)

● 1938 - Ernst Barlach, German sculptor (b. 1870)

● 1944 - Louis Renault, French automobile manufacturer (b. 1877)

● 1945 - Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian traitor (executed) (b. 1887)

● 1948 - Franz Lehár, Austrian composer (b. 1870)

● 1957 - Christian Dior, French fashion designer (b. 1905)

● 1966 - Sofya Yanovskaya, Russian mathematician (b. 1896)

● 1971 - Carl Ruggles, American composer (b. 1876)

● 1972 - Jackie Robinson, baseball player (b. 1919)

● 1972 - Claire Windsor, American actress (b. 1897)

● 1974 - David Oistrakh, Ukrainian violinist (b. 1908)

● 1991 - Gene Roddenberry, American television producer (b. 1921)

● 1997 - Don Messick, American voice actor (b. 1926)

● 1999 - Sen. John Chafee, R-RI

● 2001 - Wolf Rüdiger Hess, German neo-Nazi (b. 1937)

● 2002 - Winton M. Blount, United States Postmaster General (b. 1921)

● 2002 - Adolph Green, American lyricist and playwright (b. 1914)

● 2002 - Harry Hay, American activist (b. 1912)

● 2004 - Randy Dorton, American race car crew member (b. 1954)

● 2004 - Ricky Hendrick, American race car team owner (b. 1980)

● 2004 - James Cardinal Hickey, American Catholic archbishop (b. 1920)

● 2005 - José Azcona del Hoyo, President of Honduras (b. 1926)

● 2005 - Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (b. 1913)

HOLIDAYS AND OBSERVANCES

● Roman Catholic Saints
● Optional memorial of San Antonio Maria Claret (St. Anthony of Claret)

● Zambia - Independence Day (1964)

● United Nations Day (charter 1945)

● Discordianism - Maladay

● 2006 Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Fitr.

REFERENCES

● In The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien, the date is mentioned to Frodo Baggins by Gandalf upon his waking in Rivendell.


Click on this LINK to see original Wikipedia list with many having links with details.

Additional facts taken from:

On this day in the New York Times

The BBC’s Take on the day

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