Historical Events on June 24
- 1340: King Edward III and his fleet almost completely destroys the French fleet at the Battle of Sluys during the 100 Years War.
- 1374: In Aachen, Germany, cases of St. John’s Dance mysteriously erupt in the streets of the city.
- 1497: At Newfoundland, John Cabot lands. It’s the first European landing at the area since the Vikings landed there previously.
- 1509: Henry VIII becomes the King of England.
- 1604: The mouth of the Saint John River in Canada is discovered by Samuel de Champlain on this day.
- 1779: During the American Revolutionary War, the Great Siege of Gibraltar starts.
- 1793: In France, the first Republican Constitution is adopted by the citizens.
- 1916: Mary Pickford signs a million dollar contract and becomes the first female film star in history to do so. Her 2-year million dollar contract would be worth twenty-two million dollars today.
- 1918: Airmail service from Montreal to Toronto begins in Canada on this date.
- 1922: The American Professional Football Association becomes the NFL (National Football League) on this day.
- 1938: Pieces of a meteorite land around Chicora in Pennsylvania. It’s estimated that the meteor must have weighed approximately 450 tons when it hit the atmosphere of the Earth and exploded into a bunch of little pieces.
- 1939: Siam officially becomes Thailand on this day.
- 1940: Operation Collar begins during World War 2.
- 1947: A UFO sighting is reported in Mount Rainier in Washington by Kenneth Arnold.
- 1949: Hopalong Cassidy premiers on NBC. It’s the first televised western.
- 1957: The United States Supreme Court hands down the ruling in the Roth v. United States case. It ruled that obscenity is not protected by the 1st
Famous Birthdays on June 24
- Austrian-American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate, Victor Francis Hess is born in 1883.
- American boxer Jack Dempsey is born in 1895.
- American singer-songwriter Phil Harris is born in 1904.
- American physicist, engineer and Nobel Prize laureate, Martin Lewis Perl is born in 1927.
- English-American drummer Mick Fleetwood is born in 1947.
- American actor and director Peter Weller is born in 1947.
- American singer Dennis Danell is born in 1961.
- American NHL player and scout, Gary Suter is born in 1964.