Historical Events on May 24

  • 1830: American writer and editor Sara Josepha Hale published “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on this day.
  • 1844: Samuel Morse sends a biblical quote (Numbers 23:23) from the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the U.S Capital to his assistant named Alfred Vail who was in Baltimore, Maryland. This was the inauguration of the commercial telegraph line that connected Washington, D.C and Baltimore, Maryland.
  • 1856: 5 Slavery supporter are killed by John Brown and his men at Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas.
  • 1861: The city of Alexandria in Virginia is occupied by Union forces during the American Civil War on this day.
  • 1883: After nearly 14-years of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge finally opens up to the public in New York City.
  • 1900: The Orange Free State is officially annexed by the U.K during the Second Boer War.
  • 1915: Joining the Allies, Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary during WWI.
  • 1930: Amy Johnson becomes the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia when she lands in Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia.
  • 1940: The first successful single rotor helicopter flight is performed by Igor Sikorsky.
  • 1941: The Royal Navy’s HMS Hood is attacked and sunk by the German Battleship Bismark. All of the crew of the HMS Hood – except for 3 people – are killed.
  • 1962: In the Aurora 7 Space Capsule, American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth 3 times.
  • 1992: After pro-democracy protest in Thailand, General Suchinda Kraprayoon steps down as dictator.
  • 1992: The Serbian militia and police forces arrive in Kozarac, Bosnian and Herzegovina to ethnically cleanse the area.

Famous Birthdays on May 24

  • Queen Victoria of the U.K is born in 1819.
  • American sculptor George Grey Barnard is born in 1863.
  • American candy manufacturer, H.B. Reese is born in 1879.
  • Russian-American poet and Nobel Prize laureate, Joseph Brodsky is born in 1940.
  • American singer-songwriter and Nobel Prize laureate, Bob Dylan is born in 1941.
  • American singer-songwriter Patti LaBelle is born in 1944.
  • American actress Priscilla Presley is born in 1945.