May 24

May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). There are 221 days remaining.

• 1153 - Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland.
• 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.
• 1276 - Magnus Ladulås crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral.
• 1487 - Imposter Lambert Simnel is crowned as "King Edward VI" at Dublin.
• 1595 - Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.
• 1621 - Protestant Union formally dissolved.
• 1626 - Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.
• 1668 - Glen Cove, New York is founded.
• 1689 - The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration protecting Protestants (Roman Catholics are intentionally excluded).
• 1738 - John Wesley is converted, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day.
• 1787 - The United States Constitutional Convention is convened after a quorum of delegates arrives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 1798 - Irish Rebellion of 1798 led by the United Irishmen against British rule begins.
• 1822 - Battle of Pichincha: Antonio José de Sucre secures the independence of the Presidency of Quito.
• 1830 - Mary had a little lamb by Sarah Hale is published.
• 1844 - Samuel F. B. Morse sent the message "What hath God wrought" (a Bible quotation, Numbers 23:23) from the Supreme Court room in Washington, D.C. to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland.

• 1846 - Mexican-American War: General Zachary Taylor captures Monterrey.
• 1856 - John Brown and his men murder five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.
• 1861 - American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.
• 1883 - The Brooklyn Bridge in New York is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.
• 1893 - The Niagara Falls Park and River Railway opens in Ontario.
• 1895 - Henry Irving becomes the first personage from the theatre to be knighted.
• 1899 - The first public parking garage in the United States is opened in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1900 - Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State.
• 1911 - The New York Public Library opened.
• 1915 - World War I: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
• 1921 - The trial of Sacco and Vanzetti opens.
• 1929 - The Cocoanuts, the first film to star the Marx Brothers, opens.
• 1930 - Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first woman to fly from England to Australia (she left on May 5 for the 11,000 mile flight).
• 1935 - Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, hosts major-league baseball's first night game ever as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1.
• 1940 - Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.
• 1941 - World War II: In the North Atlantic, the German Battleship Bismarck sinks the HMS Hood killing all but three crewmen on what was the pride of the Royal Navy.
• 1943 - Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer in Auschwitz concentration camp.
• 1949 - The Soviet Union ends the 11-month Berlin Blockade.
• 1958 - United Press International is formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.
• 1961 - American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.
• 1962 - American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
• 1968 - Students set fire to the Paris bourse.
• 1968 - FLQ separatists bomb the U.S. consulate in Quebec City.
• 1974 - After a nine-year run, The Dean Martin Show airs for the last time.
• 1976 - London to Washington, DC Concorde service begins.
• 1980 - The International Court of Justice calls for the release of United States embassy hostages in Tehran. The hostages would not be freed until the following January.
• 1980 - Bobby Nystrom scores the game winning overtime goal to lift the New York Islanders to their first of four consecutive Stanley Cups.
• 1981 - First International Women's Day for Disarmament.
• 1988 - Section 28 is passed as law by Parliament in the United Kingdom.
• 1989 - Sonia Sutcliffe, wife of the Yorkshire Ripper, is awarded a six-figure sum in damages after winning a libel action against Private Eye.
• 1990 - A car carrying American Earth First! activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney explodes in Oakland, California, critically injuring both.
• 1991 - Israel conducts Operation Solomon, evacuating Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
• 1992 - The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigns following pro-democracy protests.
• 1993 - Eritrea gains its independence from Ethiopia.
• 1993 - Microsoft unveils Windows NT.
• 2000 - Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.
• 2001 - Mountain climbing: 15-year-old Sherpa Temba Tsheri becomes the youngest person to climb to the top of Mount Everest.
• 2001 - The Versailles wedding hall collapse in Jerusalem, Israel, kills 23 and injures over 200 in Israel's worst-ever civil disaster.

• 15 BC - Julius Caesar Germanicus, Roman commander (d. 19)
• 1494 - Pontormo, Italian painter (d. 1557)
• 1522 - John Jewel, English bishop (d. 1571)
• 1544 - William Gilbert, English natural philosopher (d. 1603)
• 1616 - John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale, (d. 1682)
• 1671 - Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1737)
• 1686 - Gabriel Fahrenheit, German physicist and engineer (d. 1736)
• 1689 - Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, English politician (d. 1769)
• 1743 - Jean-Paul Marat, French revolutionary (d. 1793)
• 1794 - William Whewell, English scientist, philosopher, and historian of science (d. 1866)
• 1810 - Charles Clark, Governor of Mississippi (d. 1877)
• 1810 - Abraham Geiger, German rabbi and scholar (d. 1874)
• 1816 - Emanuel Leutze, German-born painter (d. 1868)
• 1819 - Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1901)
• 1830 - Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter (d. 1897)
• 1836 - Joseph Rowntree, British social reformer (d. 1925)
• 1854 - John Riley Banister, American law officer and cowboy (d. 1918)
• 1855 - Arthur Wing Pinero, English playwright (d. 1934)
• 1863 - George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (d. 1938)
• 1868 - Charles E. Taylor, First aircraft maintenance professional (d. 1956)
• 1870 - Benjamin Cardozo, American jurist (d. 1938)
• 1870 - Jan Christian Smuts, Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1950)
• 1878 - Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American engineer (d. 1972)
• 1886 - Paul Paray, French conductor and composer (d. 1979)
• 1891 - William F. Albright, American archeologist and Biblical scholar (d. 1971)
• 1899 - Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (d. 1938)
• 1899 - Henri Michaux, French poet (d. 1984)
• 1900 - Lionel Conacher, Canadian athlete and politician (d. 1954)
• 1900 - Eduardo De Filippo, Italian actor and screenwriter (d. 1984)
• 1901 - José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1968)
• 1905 - Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov, Russian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
• 1909 - Wilbur Mills, American politician (d. 1992)
• 1914 - Lilli Palmer, German-born actress (d. 1986)
• 1923 - Siobhán McKenna, Irish actress (d. 1986)
• 1925 - Mai Zetterling, Swedish-born entertainer (d. 1994)
• 1926 - Stanley Baxter, Scottish actor
• 1928 - William Trevor, Irish writer
• 1930 - Hans-Martin Linde, German conductor
• 1934 - Jane Byrne, Mayor of Chicago
• 1934 - Barry Rose, English choir-trainer and organist
• 1935 - Joan Micklin Silver, American director
• 1936 - Harold Budd, American musician
• 1938 - Tommy Chong, Canadian-born actor and comedian
• 1940 - Joseph Brodsky, Russian-born poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
• 1941 - Bob Dylan, American singer and songwriter
• 1943 - Gary Burghoff, American actor
• 1944 - Patti LaBelle, American singer
• 1945 - Priscilla Presley, American actress
• 1946 - Irena Kirszenstein-Szewinska, Russian-born Polish athlete
• 1949 - Jim Broadbent, English actor
• 1955 - Rosanne Cash, American singer
• 1956 - Michael Jackson, Northern Irish clergyman
• 1959 - Pelle Lindbergh, Swedish professional goaltender (d. 1985)
• 1960 - Kristin Scott Thomas, English actress
• 1962 - Gene Anthony Ray, American actor (d. 2003)
• 1963 - Joe Dumars, American basketball player
• 1963 - Kathy Leander, Swiss singer
• 1964 - Adrian Moorhouse, British swimmer
• 1964 - Pat Verbeek, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1965 - John C. Reilly, American actor
• 1966 - Eric Cantona, French footballer
• 1967 - Heavy D, American rapper and actor
• 1969 - Rich Robinson, American musician (Black Crowes)
• 1970 - Tommy Page, American singer
• 1971 - Kris Draper, Canadian ice hockey player (Detroit Red Wings)
• 1972 - Greg Berlanti, American television writer and producer
• 1973 - Bartolo Colón, Dominican Major League Baseball player
• 1973 - Dermot O'Leary, English television presenter
• 1973 - Ruslana, Ukrainian singer
• 1973 - Ramón Ortiz, Baseball player
• 1975 - Marc Gagnon, Canadian short track speed skater
• 1976 - Alessandro Cortini, Italian musician
• 1978 - Bryan Greenberg, American actor
• 1978 - Brian Ching, Hawai'i soccer player
• 1979 - Tracy McGrady, American basketball player
• 1980 - Cecilia Cheung, Hong Kong actress
• 1982 - Issah Ahmed,Ghana footbal player
• 1984 - Sarah Hagan, American actress
• 1987 - Dominika Kasprzycka, Polish singer
• 1988 - Billy Gilman, American singer

• 1153 - King David I of Scotland (b. 1084)
• 1351 - Abu al-Hasan 'Ali, Sultan of Morocco
• 1425 - Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, Scottish politician (b. 1362)
• 1456 - Ambroise de Loré, French military commander (b. 1396)
• 1543 - Nicolas Copernicus, astronomer (b. 1473)
• 1612 - Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English statesman and spymaster (b. 1563)
• 1627 - Luis de Góngora, Spanish poet (b. 1561)
• 1725 - Jonathan Wild, English criminal (b. 1683)
• 1734 - Georg Ernst Stahl, German physician and chemist (b. 1660)
• 1749 - Graf Valentin Potocki, Polish nobleman (burned at the stake)
• 1792 - George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, British naval officer (b. 1718)
• 1806 - John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, British field marshal (b. 1723)
• 1879 - William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist, writer, and publisher (b. 1805)
• 1881 - Samuel Palmer, English artist (b. 1805)
• 1883 - Abdel Kadir, Algerian leader (b. 1808)
• 1919 - Amado Nervo, Mexican poet (b. 1870)
• 1945 - Robert Ritter von Greim, German field marshal (b. 1892)
• 1947 - C. F. Ramuz, Swiss writer (b. 1878)
• 1948 - Jacques Feyder, Belgian director and screenwriter (b. 1885)
• 1949 - Aleksey Shchusev, Russian architect (b. 1873)
• 1950 - Archibald Wavell, American general (b. 1883)
• 1959 - John Foster Dulles, United States Secretary of State (b. 1888)
• 1963 - Elmore James, American musician (b. 1918)
• 1969 - Willy Ley, German-born rocket scientist (b. 1906)
• 1974 - Duke Ellington, American composer and musician (b. 1899)
• 1984 - Vincent J. McMahon, American pro wrestling promoter (b. 1914)
• 1991 - Gene Clark, American singer and songwriter (The Byrds) (b. 1944)
• 1995 - Harold Wilson, British statesman and prime minister (b. 1916)
• 1997 - Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (b. 1923)
• 2000 - Kurt Schork, American reporter and war correspondent (b. 1947)
• 2003 - Rachel Kempson, Lady Redgrave, English actress, widow of Sir Michael Redgrave, and the mother of Corin Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave (b. 1910)
• 2004 - Henry Ries, American photographer (b. 1917)
• 2005 - Arthur Haulot, Belgian journalist and resistance fighter (b. 1913)
• 2005 - Vivian Liberto, first wife of Johnny Cash (b. 1934)

• Canada: Victoria Day, on this date or the Monday before it. In Quebec, it is known as National Patriotes Day (Journée nationale des patriotes). The holiday is often referred to as "May Two-Four," -- a "two-four" being slang for a case of beer with 24 bottles or cans.
• Bermuda: Bermuda Day.
• Eritrea: National Day.
• Bulgaria: Saints Cyril and Methodius Day celebrated as Bulgarian Education and Culture, and Slavonic Script Day.
• Macedonia: Saints Cyril and Methodius Day celebrated as Macedonian Script and Culture Day.
• Aldersgate Day (Methodism).

• Saints Donatianus and Rogatianus
• Saint Amaël
• Saint Suzanna
• Mary, Help of the Christians
• Saint Sarah is celebrated in Camargue, France by the Roma or Gypsies.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On this day in Canada

May 23 - May 25 - April 24 - June 24 – listing of all days