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October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 68 days remaining.
[edit] 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.
- 1593 - Alleged teleportation of Gil Perez.
- 1648 - The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years' War.
- 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.
- 1911 - Orville Wright remained in the air 9 minutes and 45 seconds in a glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina setting a new world record that stood for 10 years. [1]
- 1912 - First Balkan War: The Battle of Kumanovo concludes with the Serbian victory.
- 1917 - Battle of Caporetto starts on the Austro-Italian front of World War I
- 1926 - Harry Houdini's last performance, which was at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit, Michigan.
- 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 opens to public traffic.
- 1935 - Italy invades Ethiopia
- 1944 - World War II: The Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku is sunk.
- 1945 - Founding of the United Nations
- 1947 - Walt Disney testifies to the House Un-American Activities Committee, naming Disney employees he believes to be communists.
- 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.
- 1964 - Northern Rhodesia gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes the Republic of Zambia (Southern Rhodesia remained a colony)
- 1972 - Loddon Viaduct Collapsed in Berkshire, England, killing 3 and injuring hundreds
- 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
- 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.
- 1990 - Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti reveals to the Italian parliament the existence of Gladio, the Italian "stay-behind" clandestine paramilitary NATO army.
- 1995 - A total solar eclipse is visible from Iran, India, Thailand, and SE Asia. [2]
- 1998 - Launch of Deep Space 1 comet/asteroid mission
- 2002 - Police arrest spree killers John Allen Muhammad and 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.
- 2006 - Justice Rutherford of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice struck down the "motive clause", an important part of the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act.
[edit] Births
- 51 - Domitian, Roman Emperor (d. 96)
- 1378 - David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, heir to the throne of Scotland (d. 1402)
- 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)
- 1763 - Dorothea von Schlegel, German novelist (d. 1839)
- 1788 - Sarah Hale, American poet (d. 1879)
- 1804 - Wilhelm Eduard Weber, German physicist (d. 1891)
- 1811 - Ferdinand Hiller, German composer (d. 1885)
- 1854 - Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist (d. 1907)
- 1855 - James S. Sherman, Vice President of the United States (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)
- 1887 - Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg, queen of Spain (d.1969)
- 1891 - Rafael Molina-Trujillo, President of the Dominican Republic (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)
- 1911 - Sonny Terry, American blues musician (d. 1986)
- 1913 - Tito Gobbi, Italian baritone (d. 1984)
- 1915 - Bob Kane, American cartoonist (d. 1998)
- 1915 - Roger Milliken, American millionaire
- 1920 - Marcel-Paul 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
- 1927 - Jean-Claude Pascal, French singer and actor (d. 1992)
- 1927 - Gilbert Bécaud, French singer, composer and actor (d. 2001)
- 1929 - George Crumb, American composer
- 1929 - Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian writer
- 1929 - Hubert Aquin, French Canadian novelist, political activist and editor (d. 1977)
- 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
- 1933 - Norman Rush, American writer
- 1935 - Malcolm Bilson, American pianist and music professor
- 1936 - Bill Wyman, English musician (The Rolling Stones)
- 1937 - Santo Farina, American guitarist and composer (Santo & Johnny)
- 1939 - F. Murray Abraham, American actor
- 1940 - Martin Campbell, New Zealand film director
- 1941 - William H. Dobelle, American biomedical engineer; artificial organ pioneer
- 1945 - Anthony Christian, English artist
- 1945 - Gérald Larose, Quebec labour union executive
- 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
- 1950 - Steven Greenberg, composer
- 1950 - Rawly Eastwick, baseball player
- 1954 - Mike Rounds, Governor of South Dakota
- 1954 - Thomas J. Mulcair, Quebec politician
- 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.
- 1967 - Jacqueline McKenzie, Australian actress
- 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
- 1973 - Jeff Wilson, New Zealand Rugby & Cricket player
- 1974 - Wilton Guerrero, baseball player
- 1974 - Corey Dillon, American football player
- 1975 - Juan Pablo Ángel, Colombian footballer
- 1976 - Petar Stoychev, Bulgarian long distance swimmer
- 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
- 1982 - Mohamed Fairuz Fauzy, Malaysian racing driver
- 1983 - Brian Vickers, American race car driver
- 1983 - Adrienne Bailon, American actress and singer
- 1985 - Wayne Rooney, English footballer
- 1987 - Charlie White, American ice dancer
- 1989 - Eliza Taylor-Cotter, Australian actress
[edit] 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
- 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)
- 1935 - Dutch Schultz, American gangster (b. 1902)
- 1938 - Ernst Barlach, German sculptor (b. 1870)
- 1943 - Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau, French Canadian poet (b. 1912)
- 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)
- 1975 - Zdzisław Żygulski, Sr., Polish literary historian (b. 1888)
- 1985 - Maurice Roy, Archbishop of Quebec, (b. 1905)
- 1991 - Gene Roddenberry, American television producer (b. 1921)
- 1994 - Raúl Juliá, Puerto Rican actor (b. 1940)
- 1997 - Don Messick, American voice actor (b. 1926)
- 2001 - Wolf Rüdiger Hess, German neo-Nazi (b. 1937)
- 2002 - Winton M. Blount, United States Postmaster General (b. 1921)
- 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)
- 2006 - Enolia McMillan, American civil rights activist (b. 1904)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Nedelin Catastrophe occurs shortly after a premature ignition.
