November 24
November 24 is the 328th day of the year (329th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 37 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
- 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal entry, into Constantinople.
- 1190 - Isabella of Jerusalem marries Conrad of Montferrat at Acre, making him de jure King.
- 1639 - Jeremiah Horrocks observes the transit of Venus, an event he had predicted.
- 1642 - Abel Tasman becomes the first European to discover the island Van Diemen's Land (later renamed Tasmania).
- 1859 - Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of Species.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Lookout Mountain - Near Chattanooga, Tennessee, Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant capture Lookout Mountain and begin to break the Confederate siege of the city led by General Braxton Bragg.
- 1898 - The International Conference of Rome for the Social Defense Against Anarchists opens.
- 1917 - Nine police officers and one civilian are killed when a bomb explodes at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin police headquarters building.
- 1922 - Author and Irish Republican Army member Robert Erskine Childers is executed by an Irish Free State firing squad for illegally carrying a revolver.
- 1932 - In Washington, D.C., the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory (better known as the FBI Crime Lab) officially opens.
- 1935 - The Senegalese Socialist Party holds its second congress.
- 1941 - World War II: The United States grants Lend-Lease to the Free French.
- 1943 - World War II: The USS Liscome Bay is torpedoed near Tarawa and sinks with nearly 650 men killed.
- 1944 - World War II: Bombing of Tokyo - The first bombing raid against the Japanese capital from the east and by land is carried out by 88 American aircraft.
- 1947 - Red Scare: After the so-called Hollywood 10 refuse to co-operate with the House Un-American Activities Committee concerning allegations of Communist influence in the movie industry, the United States House of Representatives votes 346 to 17 to approve citations of contempt of Congress against them.
- 1962 - The West Berlin branch of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany forms a separate party, the Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin.
- 1963 - Lee Harvey Oswald is assassinated by Jack Ruby in the basement of Dallas police department headquarters on live television.
- 1963 - Vietnam War: Newly sworn-in US President Lyndon B. Johnson confirms that the United States intends to continue supporting South Vietnam both militarily and economically.
- 1965 - Joseph Désiré Mobutu seizes power in the Congo and becomes President; he goes on to rule the country (which he renames Zaire in 1971) for over 30 years, until being overthrown by rebels in 1997.
- 1966 - A Bulgarian plane with 82 people on board crashes near Bratislava, Slovakia.
- 1966 - New York City experiences the smoggiest day in the city's history.
- 1969 - Apollo program: The Apollo 12 command module splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean, ending the second manned mission to the Moon.
- 1971 - During a severe thunderstorm over Washington state, a hijacker calling himself Dan Cooper (AKA D.B. Cooper) parachutes from a Northwest Orient Airlines plane with US$200,000 in ransom money - neither he nor the money have ever been found.
- 1974 - Donald Johanson and Tom Gray discover the 40% complete Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, nicknamed "Lucy" after The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia's Afar Depression.
- 1992 - In the People's Republic of China, a China Southern Airlines domestic flight crashes, killing all 141 people on-board.
- 1993 - In Liverpool, 11-year-olds Robert Thompson and Jon Venables are convicted of the murder of 2-year-old James Bulger.
- 2005 - Conservative leader Stephen Harper, the leader of the Official Opposition in the Canadian Parliament, introduces a motion of no confidence, which NDP leader Jack Layton seconds. The motion is passed on November 28 leading to the dissolution of the 38th Canadian Parliament.
- 2006 - Israeli rapist Benny Sela escapes from police custody while being transferred to a court hearing.
Births
- 1273 - Alphonso, Earl of Chester, son of Edward I of England (d. 1284)
- 1394 - Charles, Duke of Orléans, French poet (d. 1465)
- 1420 - John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English politician (d. 1473)
- 1583 - Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar, Spanish poet (d. 1641)
- 1615 - Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine (d. 1690)
- 1630 - Etienne Baluze, French scholar (d. 1718)
- 1632 - Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher (d. 1677)
- 1655 - Charles XI of Sweden (d. 1697)
- 1690 - Charles Theodore Pachelbel, German composer (d. 1750)
- 1713 - Junipero Serra, Spanish missionary (d. 1784)
- 1713 - Laurence Sterne, Irish novelist (d. 1768)
- 1724 - Maria Amalia of Saxony, queen of Spain (d. 1760)
- 1729 - Alexander Suvorov, Russian general (d. 1800)
- 1745 - Maria Louisa of Spain, Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1792)
- 1774 - Thomas Dick, Scottish scientific teacher and writer (d. 1857)
- 1784 - Zachary Taylor, 12th President of the United States (d. 1850)
- 1787 - Franz Xaver Gruber, Austrian organist (d. 1863)
- 1801 - Ludwig Bechstein, German poet (d. 1860)
- 1806 - William Webb Ellis, credited with the invention of Rugby (d. 1872)
- 1811 - Ulrich Ochsenbein, Swiss Federal Councillor (d. 1890)
- 1815 - Grace Darling, English heroine (d. 1842)
- 1826 - Carlo Collodi, Italian author (d. 1890)
- 1833 - Antoine Labelle, Quebec catholic priest (d. 1891)
- 1849 - Frances Hodgson Burnett, British-born author (d. 1924)
- 1853 - Bat Masterson, American gunfighter (d. 1921)
- 1859 - Cass Gilbert, American architect (d. 1934)
- 1864 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French painter (d. 1901)
- 1868 - Scott Joplin, Ragtime Composer (d. 1917)
- 1869 - António Óscar Carmona, 97th Prime Minister of Portugal and 11th President of Portugal (d. 1951)
- 1874 - Charles William Miller, Brazilian footballer (d. 1953)
- 1876 - Walter Burley Griffin, American architect (d. 1937)
- 1877 - Alben W. Barkley, Vice President of the United States (d. 1956)
- 1881 - Al Christie, Canadian-born film director and producer (d. 1951)
- 1884 - Itzhak Ben-Zvi, President of Israel (d. 1963)
- 1886 - Margaret Caroline Anderson, American publisher (d. 1973)
- 1887 - Erich von Manstein, German military commander (d. 1973)
- 1888 - Dale Carnegie, American writer (d. 1955)
- 1888 - Fredrick Willius, American cardiologist (d. 1972)
- 1893 - Charles F. Hurley, 54th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1946)
- 1894 - Herbert Sutcliffe, English cricketer (d. 1978)
- 1897 - Lucky Luciano, American gangster (d. 1962)
- 1899 - Ward Morehouse, American theater critic and newspaper columnist (d. 1966)
- 1908 - Libertad Lamarque, Argentine actress and singer (d. 2000)
- 1911 - Joe Medwick, baseball player (d. 1975)
- 1911 - Kirby Grant, American actor (d. 1985)
- 1912 - Bernard Delfgaauw, Dutch philosopher (d. 1993)
- 1912 - Garson Kanin, American writer (d. 1999)
- 1912 - Teddy Wilson, American jazz pianist (d. 1986)
- 1913 - Geraldine Fitzgerald, Irish-born actress (d. 2005)
- 1916 - Forrest J. Ackerman, American writer
- 1916 - Irwin Allen, American film producer (d. 1991)
- 1917 - Howard Duff, American actor (d. 1990)
- 1919 - David Kossoff, British actor (d. 2005)
- 1921 - John Lindsay, American politician (d. 2000)
- 1924 - Victor Grinich, Croatian-American businessman (d. 2000)
- 1925 - William F. Buckley Jr., American writer
- 1925 - Simon van der Meer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1926 - Tsung-Dao Lee, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1927 - Ahmadou Kourouma, Ivorian writer (d. 2003)
- 1930 - Bob Friend, baseball player
- 1934 - Alfred Schnittke, Russian composer (d. 1998)
- 1935 - Ronald Vernie Dellums, U.S. Representative from California
- 1938 - Charles Starkweather, American Spree Killer (d. 1959)
- 1938 - Oscar Robertson, American basketball player
- 1938 - Willy Claes, Belgian politician
- 1940 - Paul Tagliabue, retired commissioner of the National Football League
- 1940 - Don Metz, American architect
- 1940 - Eric Wilson, Canadian children's author.
- 1941 - Pete Best, British musician
- 1941 - Donald "Duck" Dunn, American musician, Booker T. and the M.G.'s
- 1942 - Billy Connolly, Scottish comedian
- 1942 - Marlin Fitzwater, White House Press Secretary
- 1943 - Dave Bing, American basketball player
- 1943 - Robin Williamson, Scottish musician
- 1944 - Ibrahim Gambari, Nigerian scholar
- 1945 - Lee Michaels, American musician and singer
- 1946 - Ted Bundy, American serial killer (d. 1989)
- 1946 - Penelope Jones Halsall (aka: Caroline Courtney, Melinda Wright, Lydia Hitchcock, Penny Jordan, Annie Groves)
- 1947 - Dave Sinclair, English musician (Caravan, Hatfield and the North)
- 1947 - Dwight Schultz, American actor
- 1948 - Spider Robinson, science fiction author
- 1948 - Steve Yeager, baseball player
- 1949 - Shane Bourne, Australian comedian and actor
- 1951 - Chet Edwards, American politician
- 1952 - Norbert Haug, German motorsport executive (Mercedes Benz)
- 1952 - Thierry Lhermitte, French comedian and actor
- 1953 - Glenn Withrow, American actor
- 1954 - Emir Kusturica, Serbian filmmaker
- 1955 - Ian Botham, England test cricketer
- 1955 - Elvis Ramone, American drummer (The Ramones)
- 1955 - Takashi Yuasa, Japanese lawyer
- 1955 - Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, Swedish politician
- 1957 - Denise Crosby, American actress
- 1957 - Edward Stourton, British radio presenter
- 1958 - Roy Aitken, Scottish former footballer
- 1958 - Alain Chabat, French actor and director
- 1960 - Amanda Wyss, American actress
- 1960 - Edgar Meyer, American bassist and composer
- 1961 - Carlos Carnero, Spanish member of parliament
- 1961 - Arundhati Roy, Indian writer
- 1962 - John Squire, British guitarist (The Stone Roses)
- 1962 - John Kovalic, British-born cartoonist
- 1964 - Garret Dillahunt, American actor
- 1964 - Brad Sherwood, American comedian
- 1964 - Tony Rombola, American guitarist (Godsmack)
- 1965 - Kim Roe-ha, South Korean actor
- 1965 - Shirley Henderson, Scottish actress
- 1966 - Paul Robinett, American internet personality
- 1966 - Russell Watson, British singer
- 1967 - Cal Eldred, American baseball player
- 1968 - Bülent Korkmaz, Turkish footballer
- 1969 - Rob Nicholson, American musician
- 1970 - Julieta Venegas, Mexican singer
- 1970 - Doug Brien, American football placekicker
- 1971 - Cosmas Ndeti, three-time Boston Marathon winner
- 1971 - Keith Primeau, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 - Stephen Merchant, British comedian
- 1974 - Taro Yamamoto, Japanese actor
- 1975 - Thomas Kohnstamm, American writer
- 1976 - Dave Aizer, American television host
- 1976 - Chen Lu, Chinese figure skater
- 1976 - Christian Laflamme, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 - Colin Hanks, American actor
- 1978 - Katherine Heigl, American actress
- 1980 - Beth Phoenix, American professional wrestler
- 1982 - Sean O'Loughlin, English rugby league footballer
- 1983 - Dean Ashton, English footballer
- 1983 - Meredith Henderson, Canadian actress
- 1983 - Karine Vanasse, Quebec actress
- 1985 - Julia Alexandratou, Greek fashion model and singer
- 1985 - Tony Hunt, National Football League player
- 1986 - Tonya Sexton American.
- 1987 - Megan Mullins, American singer
- 1998 - Bridger Palmer, American child actor
- 1998 - Brecken Palmer, American child actor
Deaths
- 654 - Emperor Kōtoku of Japan (b. 596)
- 1468 - Jean de Dunois, French soldier (b. 1402)
- 1531 - Johannes Oecolampadius, German religious reformer (b. 1482)
- 1541 - Margaret Tudor, wife of James IV of Scotland (b. 1489)
- 1572 - John Knox, Scottish reformer (b. 1510)
- 1583 - René de Birague, French cardinal and chancellor (b. 1506)
- 1615 - Sethus Calvisius, German calendar reformer (b. 1556)
- 1650 - Manuel Cardoso, Portuguese composer (b. 1566)
- 1722 - Johann Adam Reinken, German organist (b. 1623)
- 1741 - Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden (b. 1688)
- 1770 - Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian (b. 1685)
- 1775 - Lorenzo Ricci, Italian Jesuit leader (b. 1703)
- 1781 - James Caldwell, American revolutionary (b. 1734)
- 1793 - Clément Charles François de Laverdy, French statesman (b. 1723)
- 1801 - Franz Moritz Graf von Lacy, Austrian field marshal (b. 1725)
- 1807 - Joseph Brant, Mohawk leader (b. 1742)
- 1848 - William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1779)
- 1870 - Comte de Lautréamont, French writer (b. 1846)
- 1890 - August Belmont, Sr., Prussian-born financier (b. 1816)
- 1916 - Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, American-born gunsmith (b. 1840)
- 1920 - Alexandru Macedonski, Romanian writer (b. 1854)
- 1922 - Robert Erskine Childers, Irish nationalist (executed) (b. 1870)
- 1929 - Georges Clemenceau, Premier of France (b. 1841)
- 1943 - Doris Miller, American navy cook (b. 1919)
- 1956 - Guido Cantelli, Italian conductor (b. 1920)
- 1957 - Diego Rivera, Mexican painter (b. 1886)
- 1958 - Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, British politician, Nobel laureate (b. 1864)
- 1959 - Dally Messenger, Australian rugby player (b. 1883)
- 1960 - Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia (b. 1882)
- 1963 - Lee Harvey Oswald, accused assassin of John F. Kennedy (b. 1939)
- 1965 - Abdullah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1895)
- 1967 - Louis Fratto, American gangster (b. 1908)
- 1973 - John Neihardt, American writer (b. 1881)
- 1980 - George Raft, American actor (b. 1895)
- 1980 - Herbert Agar, American journalist and historian (b. 1897)
- 1985 - Big Joe Turner, American singer (b. 1911)
- 1987 - Jehane Benoît, French Canadian culinary author (b. 1904)
- 1990 - Fred Shero, National Hockey League player and coach (b. 1925)
- 1990 - Dodie Smith, English novelist and playwright (b. 1896)
- 1990 - Juan Manuel Bordeu, Argentine racing driver (b. 1934)
- 1991 - Freddie Mercury, Zanzibar-born singer (Queen) (b. 1946)
- 1991 - Eric Carr, American drummer (KISS) (b. 1950)
- 1993 - Albert Collins, American blues guitarist (b. 1932)
- 1996 - Sorley MacLean, British poet (b. 1911)
- 2001 - Melanie Thornton, American dance/pop singer (b. 1967)
- 2002 - John Rawls, political philosopher (b. 1921)
- 2003 - Floquet de Neu, Ecuato Guinean albino gorilla (b. 1964)
- 2003 - Warren Spahn, Major League Baseball player (b. 1921)
- 2004 - Wong Jim, Hong Kong songwriter (b. 1940)
- 2004 - Arthur Hailey, British-born author (b. 1920)
- 2005 - Pat Morita, American actor (b. 1932)
- 2006 - Juice Leskinen, Finnish rock singer (b. 1950)
- 2006 - George W. S. Trow, American writer (b. 1943)
- 2006 - Zdeněk Veselovský, Czech zoologist (b. 1938)
Holidays and observances
- Roman festivals - in the Byzantine empire the Brumalia (a wine festival) were celebrated from this day until the winter solstice
- R.C. Saints - Saint Andrew Dung-Lac and other Vietnamese Martyrs
- Feast Day of Saint Colman of Cloyne - Cobh, Ireland
- Teacher's Day in Turkey
- Lachit Divas is observed on 24th November each year in Assam, India to commemorate the heroism of the Assamese General Lachit Borphukan and the victory of Assamese army over the Mughal army in the Battle of Saraighat in 1671.
- Evolution Day