Historical Events on January 24

  • 1835: Slaves rise up and revolt in Salvador da Bahia.
  • 1848: Gold is found at Sutter’s Hill just outside Sacramento, California by James W. Marshall in the opening months of the California Gold Rush.
  • 1857: The first official university in South Asia – the University of Calcutta is found in 1857.
  • 1915: At the Battle of Dogger Bank during WWI, Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty leads British forces in an attack against forces led by Rear-Admiral Franz von Hipper.
  • 1916: The U.S Supreme Court rules that the federal income tax is indeed constitutional in the case of Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.
  • 1933: The 20th Amendment to the U.S Constitution is ratified on this day; This amendment changes the beginning and the end of terms for all elected federal offices.
  • 1942: The Allies bomb Bangkok, Thailand and Thailand declares war against the U.S and the U.K.
  • 1943: The conference in Casablanca between U.S President Franklin D. Roosevelt and U.K Prime Minister Winston Churchill concludes on this day.
  • 1968: Operation Coburg is launched against NVA and Viet Cong forces by the First Australian Task Force around Long Binh and Bien Hoa.
  • 1972: Japanese Sargeant Shoichi Yokoi is discovered in a jungle in Guam – where he had been for 28 years, since World War II.
  • 1984: The Macintosh personal computer, made by Apple Computer, goes on sale in the U.S.
  • 2003: Formed in response to the 9/11 Attacks, the U.S Department of Homeland Security officially begins operations in the United States.

Famous Birthdays on January 24

  • American novelist and Pulitzer Prize Winner, Edith Wharton is born in 1862.
  • English author Martin Lings is born in 1909.
  • American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond is born in 1941.
  • American singer-songwriter Aaron Neville is born in 1941.
  • American model and actress, Sharon Tate is born in 1943
  • American comedian, actor and screenwriter, John Belushi is born in 1949.
  • American physicist Alan Sokal is born in 1955.
  • American actress Kristen Schaal is born in 1978.