Historical Events on November 24

  • 1859: The book: “On the Origin of Species” is published by Charles Darwin on this day.
  • 1863: General Ulysses S. Grant leads Union forces to capture Lookout Mountain at the Battle of Lookout Mountain during the American Civil War.
  • 1877: The novel: “Black Beauty” is published by Anna Sewell on this day.
  • 1940: The First Slovak Republic officially becomes a member of the Axis Powers.
  • 1941: Lend-Lease policy was extended to the Free French forces during WWII.
  • 1943: The USS Liscome Bay is torpedoed at the Battle Of Makin during World War II. It sinks and 650 men are killed.
  • 1944: The first attack on the Japanese city of Tokyo from the airfield on the Northern Mariana Islands is conducted by the 73rd Bombardment Wing of the United States Army Air Force.
  • 1963: The alleged assassin of U.S President John F. Kennedy is murdered live on television by a nightclub owner named Jack Ruby. The murder took place in the Dallas Police Department basement as two detectives were escorting Mr. Oswald to an armored car that would take him to a nearby jail.
  • 1973: Because of the oil crisis, a national speed limit was set for the Autobahn in Germany. However, this speed limit only lasted about 4 months.
  • 1974: The partially complete Australopithecus afarensis skeleton was discovered by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray in the Awash Valley in Ethiopia. They would name the skeleton “Lucy” after the famous Beatles song: “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”

Famous Birthdays on November 24

  • American general and 12th President of the United States, Zachary Taylor is born in 1784.
  • German author and poet, Ludwig Bechstein is born in 1801.
  • American lawyer and 35th Vice President of the United States, Alben W. Barkley is born in 1877.
  • American actress Katherine Heigl is born in 1978.
  • American actress Sarah Hyland is born in 1990.