April 24

Events
Up to 1900
1184 BC - Traditional date of the Fall of Troy.
1558 - Mary, Queen of Scots marries future King Francis II of France.
1585 - Felice Peretti is elected Pope, becoming Pope Sixtus V.
1704 - The first regular newspaperin Colonial America, the News-Letter, is published in Boston, Massachusetts.
1715 - Following defeat in the naval Battle of Fehmarn, Sweden sinks its own flagship, Hedvig Sophia, to prevent Denmark from taking it.
1800 - The Library of Congress in Washington, DC opens.
1877 - Russo-Turkish War: Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
1885 - American sharpshooter Annie Oakley is hired to be part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West.
1895 - Joshua Slocum sets sail from Boston, Massachusetts on his boat Spray, on his way to becoming the first person to sail single-handedly around the world.
1898 - The Spanish-American War begins.
1901 2000
1904 - The Lithuanian press ban ends after over 40 years.
1907 - Hersheypark, founded by Milton S. Hershey exclusively for his employees, opens.
1913 - New York City's Woolworth building is opened.
1914 - The Franck-Hertz Experiment, a pillar of quantum mechanics, is presented to the German Physical Society.
1915 - The arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Istanbul marks the beginning of the Armenian Genocide.
1916 - The Irish Easter Rising begins in Dublin.
1916 - Ernest Shackleton and five men of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition launch a lifeboat from the uninhabited Elephant Island in the Southern Ocean to organize a rescue for the ice-trapped ship Endurance.
1922 - The first segment of the Imperial Wireless Chain providing wireless telegraphy between Leafield, Oxfordshire, England and Cairo, Egypt, begins operations.
1926 - The Treaty of Berlin is signed. Germany and the Soviet Union each pledge neutrality in the event of an attack on the other, for the next five years.
1933 - Nazi Germany begins with the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society in Magdeburg.
1953 - Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
1955 - End of the Bandung Conference in Indonesia: 29 non-aligned Asian and African countries condemn colonialism, racism and the Cold War.
1957 - Following the Suez Crisis, the Suez Canal is re-opened.
1957 - The BBC first broadcasts the long-running astronomy TV programme The Sky at Night, presented by Patrick Moore until his death in 2012.
1964 - The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen is beheaded.
1965 - A civil war starts in the Dominican Republic.
1967 - Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when his parachute fails to open.
1968 - Mauritius joins the UN.
1970 - The Gambia becomes a republic with Dawda Jawara as its first President.
1970 - The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, is launched.
1971 - Soyuz 10 docks with Salyut 1.
1974 - President of Austria Franz Jonas dies in office aged 74, following a long period of illness.
1990 - Gruinard Island in Scotland is declared free of Anthrax.
1990 - STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from Space Shuttle Discovery.
1993 - An Irish Republican Army bomb hits the Bishopsgate area of London.
From 2001
2004 - In Cyprus, a referendum on reunification results in the Turkish population mainly voting yes, but the Greek population mainly voting no, meaning that only Greek Cyprus joins the EU the following week.
2004 - The United States lifts (ends) economic sanctions on Libya.
2005 - Josef Alois Ratzinger is officially inaugurated as Pope Benedict XVI.
2005 - Snuppy, the world's first cloned dog, is born in South Korea.
2007 - Iceland announces that Norway will take responsibility of its defence in peacetime.
2013 - 1,127 people are killed when an eight-storey clothing factory building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapses. Over 2,500 are injured.
2016 - The candidates of the traditional political parties are rejected in Austria's Presidential election, with Alexander Van der Bellen and Norbert Hofer advancing to the second round.
Births
Up to 1900
1086 - Ramiro II of Aragon (d. 1157)
1492 - Sabina of Bavaria (d. 1564)
1533 - William I of Orange (d. 1584)
1580 - Vincent de Paul, French saint (d. 1660)
1620 - John Graunt, English statistician (d. 1674)
1706 - Giovanni Battista Martini, Italian musician (d. 1780)
1718 - Nathaniel Hone, Irish-born painter (d. 1784)
1719 - Giuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti, Italian poet (d. 1789)
1721 - Johann Philipp Kirnberger, German composer and music theorist (d. 1783)
1743 - Edmund Cartwright, British inventor (d. 1823)
1777 - Maria Clementina of Austria (d. 1801)
1787 - Mathieu Orfila, Spanish-French chemist (d. 1853)
1815 - Anthony Trollope, English novelist (d. 1882)
1819 - Klaus Groth, German writer (d. 1899)
1825 - R. M. Ballantyne, Scottish writer (d. 1894)
1829 - James Sheakley, Territorial Governor of Alaska (d. 1917)
1831 - George Nares, British admiral and polar explorer (d. 1915)
1841 - Charles Sprague Sargent, American botanist (d. 1927)
1845 - Carl Spitteler, Swiss writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
1851 - Morgan Earp, American Western figure and brother of Wyatt Earp (d. 1882)
1856 - Henri Philippe Petain, French soldier and statesman (d. 1951)
1871 - Blanche Ring, American singer (d. 1961)
1876 - Erich Raeder, German naval commander (d. 1960)
1878 - Jean Crotti, Swiss artist (d. 1958)
1879 - Susanna Bokoyni, Hungarian-American centenarian and circus performer (d. 1984)
1880 - Gideon Sundback, Swedish engineer, businessman and developer of the zipper (d. 1954)
1882 - Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, Scottish fighter pilot (d. 1970)
1889 - Sir Stafford Cripps, British politician (d. 1952)
1889 - Lyubov Popova, Russian painter (d. 1924)
1896 - Charlie Rivel, Spanish clown (d. 1983)
1896 - Benjamin Whorf, American linguist (d. 1941)
1897 - Manuel Avila Camacho, President of Mexico (d. 1955)
1899 - Oscar Zariski, Russian-born mathematician (d. 1986)
1901 1925
1903 - Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, Spanish lawyer and politician (d. 1936)
1904 - Willem de Kooning, Dutch painter (d. 1997)
1905 - Robert Penn Warren, American poet (d. 1989)
1906 - William Joyce, Irish fascist (d. 1946)
1907 - William Sargant, British psychiatrist (d. 1988)
1908 - Viktor Abakumov, Soviet politician (d. 1954)
1908 - Marceline Day, American actress (d. 2000)
1908 - Jozef Goslawski, Polish sculptor (d. 1963)
1909 - Bernhard Grzimek, German zoologist, naturalist, writer and movie maker (d. 1987)
1913 - Dieter Grau, German-American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
1914 - William Castle, American movie director and producer (d. 1977)
1916 - Lou Thesz, American professional wrestler (d. 2002)
1919 - Glafcos Clerides, 4th President of Cyprus (d. 2013)
1919 - Cesar Manrique, Spanish artist, architect and conservationist (d. 1992)
1922 - Susanna Agnelli, Italian politician (d. 2009)
1922 - J.D. Cannon, American actor (d. 2005)
1922 - Marc-Adelard Tremblay, Canadian anthropologist (d. 2014)
1923 - Gus Bodnar, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
1924 - Sir Clement Freud, British writer, radio personality, and politician (d. 2009)
1926 1950
1926 - Thorbjorn Falldin, former Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 2016)
1927 - Frank Lucchesi, American baseball player, coach and manager (d. 2019)
1927 - Josy Barthel, Luxembourgish middle-distance runner (d. 1992)
1928 - Tommy Docherty, Scottish footballer
1929 - Hella Pick, Austrian-British journalist
1929 - Rajkumar, Indian actor (d. 2006)
1930 - Jerome Callet, American musician
1930 - Richard Donner, American movie director and producer
1930 - Jose Sarney, former President of Brazil
1931 - Bridget Riley, British artist
1933 - Claire Davenport, British actress (d. 2002)
1933 - Helmuth Lohner, Austrian actor (d. 2015)
1934 - Shirley MacLaine, American actress and writer
1935 - Kuaima Riruako, Namibian politician (d. 2014)
1936 - Jill Ireland, British actress (d. 1990)
1936 - Akwasi Afrifa, Ghanaian politician (d. 1979)
1936 - David Crombie, 56th Mayor of Toronto
1937 - Joe Henderson American jazz saxophonist (d. 2001)
1940 - Sue Grafton, American writer (d. 2017)
1940 - Michael Parks, American actor (d. 2017)
1941 - Silvio Moser, Swiss racing driver (d. 1974)
1941 - John Williams, Australian guitarist
1941 - Richard Holbrooke, American diplomat (d. 2010)
1942 - Richard M. Daley, American politician
1942 - Barbra Streisand, American singer, actress, and director
1942 - George Vella, 10th President of Malta
1944 - Tony Visconti, American music producer
1945 - Doug Clifford, American drummer (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
1945 - Dick Rivers, French singer (d. 2019)
1947 - Josep Borrell, Spanish politician, 22nd President of the European Parliament
1947 - Roger D. Kornberg, American chemist
1948 - Paul Cellucci, 69th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 2013)
1951 1963
1951 - Nigel Harrison, English musician and songwriter
1951 - Enda Kenny, Irish Taoiseach
1952 - Jean-Paul Gaultier, French fashion designer
1953 - Eric Bogosian, American actor and writer
1954 - Mumia Abu-Jamal, American journalist, political activist, and death-row inmate
1954 - Captain Sensible, British guitarist (The Damned)
1954 - Jack Blades, American musician
1955 - John de Mol, Dutch media tycoon
1955 - Eamon Gilmore, Irish politician
1957 - David J, British musician
1957 - Boris Williams, British musician (The Cure)
1958 - Brian Paddick, English deputy police officer and politician
1958 - Valery Lantratov, Russian ballet dancer
1958 - Susan Tsvangirai, (d. 2009) wife of Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
1958 - Steve Wright, British serial killer
1960 - Paula Yates, British television presenter (d. 2000)
1961 - Andrew Murrison, English physician and politician
1962 - Stuart Pearce, English footballer and manager
1962 - Steve Roach, Australian rugby player
1963 - Billy Gould, American musician (Faith No More)
1964 1976
1964 - Cedric the Entertainer, American comedian and actor
1964 - Djimon Hounsou, Benin-born actor
1966 - Alessandro Costacurta, Italian footballer
1967 - Omar Vizquel, Venezuelan baseball player
1968 - Stacy Haiduk, American actress
1968 - Hashim Thaci, Kosovan politician
1968 - Yuji Nakata, Japanese wrestler
1968 - Roxanna Panufnik, British composer
1969 - Eilidh Whiteford, Scottish politician
1971 - Mauro Pawlowski, Belgian guitarist and singer (Evil Superstars and dEUS)
1971 - Alejandro Fernandez, Mexican singer
1972 - Chipper Jones, American baseball player
1972 - Jure Kosir, Slovenian skier
1972 - Rab Douglas, Scottish footballer
1972 - Adhemar Ferreira de Camargo Neto, Brazilian footballer
1973 - Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
1973 - Lee Westwood, British golfer
1973 - Gabby Logan, British television presenter
1973 - Eric Snow, American basketball player
1974 - Comedy Dave, British television and radio host
1974 - Joseph Bruce, American rapper (Insane Clown Posse)
1974 - Stephen Wiltshire, British artist
1975 - Sam Doumit, American actress
1975 - Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, wife of Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau
1976 - Steve Finnan, Irish footballer
From 1977
1977 - Carlos Beltran, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player
1977 - Siarhiej Balachonau, Belarusian writer
1978 - Eric Balfour, American actor
1980 - Austin Nichols, American actor
1980 - Karen Asrian, Armenian chess player (d. 2008)
1980 - Fernando Arce, Mexican footballer
1981 - Taylor Dent, American tennis player
1982 - Kelly Clarkson, American singer
1982 - Shayna Nackoney, Canadian synchronized swimmer
1984 - Tyson Ritter, American singer and bassist (All-American Rejects)
1985 - Josephine Jobert, French actress and singer
1985 - Kaori Nazuka, Japanese voice actress
1986 - Kellin Quinn, American singer
1987 - Simone Corsi, Italian motorcycle racer
1987 - Ben Howard, British singer-songwriter
1987 - Jan Vertonghen, Belgian footballer
1989 - David Boudia, American diver
1992 - Laura Kenny, English cyclist
1992 - Doc Shaw, American actor, singer, rapper and model
1993 - Laura Gil, American basketball player
1996 - Ashleigh Barty, Australian tennis player
1997 - Lydia Ko, New Zealand golfer
1998 - Ryan Newman, American actress
2005 - Snuppy, cloned dog
Deaths
Up to 1900
624 - Mellitus, Archbishop of Canterbury
709 - Wilfrid, English archbishop and saint
1185 - Emperor Antoku of Japan (b. 1178)
1342 - Pope Benedict XII (b. 1285)
1479 - Jorge Manrique, Spanish poet (b. 1440)
1617 - Concino Concini, Italian-French politician (b. 1575)
1622 - Fidelis Sigmaringen, German friar and saint (b. 1577)
1656 - Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (b. 1561)
1678 - Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, German aristocrat (b. 1630)
1731 - Daniel Defoe, English writer (b. 1660)
1748 - Anton thor Helle, German-Estonian clergyman and translator (b. 1683)
1794 - Axel von Fersen the Elder, Swedish statesman and soldier (b. 1719)
1852 - Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet (b. 1783)
1852 - Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden (b. 1790)
1884 - Marie Taglioni, Swedish dancer (b. 1804)
1891 - Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian field marshal (b. 1800)
1900 - George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll, Scottish politician (b. 1823)
1901 2000
1901 - Arvid Posse, Prime Minister of Sweden (b. 1820)
1924 - G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist and educator (b. 1844)
1926 - Sunjong of the Korean Empire (b. 1874)
1931 - David Kldiashvili, Georgian writer (b. 1862)
1938 - George Gray Barnard, American sculptor (b. 1863)
1939 - Louis Trousselier, French cyclist (b. 1881)
1941 - Karin Boye, Swedish writer (b. 1900)
1942 - Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian novelist (b. 1874)
1942 - Leonid Kulik, Russian scientist (b. 1882)
1947 - Willa Cather, American writer (b. 1878)
1960 - Max von Laue, German physicist (b. 1897)
1962 - Emilio Prados, Spanish poet (b. 1899)
1964 - Gerhard Domagk, German doctor, won the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1895)
1965 - Louise Dresser, American actress (b. 1878)
1967 - Vladimir Komarov, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1927)
1968 - Walter Tewksbury, American athlete (b. 1876)
1974 - Franz Jonas, President of Austria (b. 1899)
1974 - Bud Abbott, American actor and comedian (b. 1895)
1980 - Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer (b. 1904)
1982 - Ville Ritola, Finnish runner (b. 1896)
1983 - Rolf Stommelen, German racing driver (b. 1943)
1986 - Wallis Simpson, wife of the former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (b. 1896)
1993 - Oliver Tambo, South African politician (b. 1917)
1993 - Tran Duc Thao, Vietnamese philosopher (b. 1917)
1996 - Donald Cammell, Scottish film director (b. 1934)
1997 - Pat Paulsen, American comedian and politician (b. 1927)
From 2001
2004 - Estee Lauder, American cosmetics entrepreneur (b. 1906)
2005 - Ezer Weizman, former President of Israel (b. 1924)
2011 - Sathya Sai Baba, Indian spiritual leader (b. 1926)
2011 - Marie-France Pisier, French actress (b. 1944)
2014 - Tadeusz Rozewicz, Polish poet, dramatist and writer (b. 1921)
2014 - Sandy Jardine, Scottish footballer (b. 1948)
2014 - Ricardo Bauleo, Argentine actor (b. 1946)
2014 - Hans Hollein, Austrian architect and designer (b. 1934)
2014 - Arturo Licata, Sicilian supercentenarian and oldest-living man (b. 1902)
2014 - Konstantin Orbelyan, Armenian pianist and composer (b. 1928)
2014 - Shobha Nagi Reddy, Indian politician (b. 1968)
2015 - Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, Polish politician, writer and Holocaust survivor (b. 1922)
2015 - Sid Tepper, American songwriter (b. 1918)
2015 - George C. Young, American lawyer and judge (b. 1916)
2015 - Rustum Ghazaleh, Syrian military officer (b. 1953)
2015 - Ismail Hussain, Indian politician (b. 1950)
2015 - Ken Birch, British footballer (b. 1933)
2015 - Valentine Lamb, British journalist (b. 1939)
2015 - Sabeen Mahmud, Pakistani human rights activist (b. 1974)
2016 - Nina Arkhipova, Russian actress (b. 1921)
2016 - Robert Dolan, American marine geologist (b. 1929)
2016 - Manuel de la Torre, American golf instructor (b. 1921)
2016 - Walter Jackson Freeman III, American biologist, neuroscientist and philosopher (b. 1927)
2016 - Tommy Kono, American weightlifter (b. 1930)
2016 - Thinle Lhondup, Nepalese actor (b. 1944)
2016 - Benjamin Manglona, Northern Marianas politician (b. 1938)
2016 - Billy Paul, American singer (b. 1934)
2016 - Klaus Siebert, German biathlete and coach (b. 1955)
2016 - Papa Wemba, Congolese singer and musician (b. 1949)
2017 - Benjamin Barber, American political theorist and author (b. 1939)
2017 - Robert M. Pirsig, American writer and philosopher (b. 1928)
2017 - Agnes Giebel, German soprano (b. 1921)
2017 - Don Gordon, American actor (b. 1926)
2017 - Nicholas Sand, American chemist (b. 1941)
2017 - Ken Sears, American basketball player (b. 1933)
2018 - Dinu C. Giurescu, Romanian historian and politician (b. 1927)
2018 - Paul Gray, Australian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1963)
2018 - Henri Michel, French footballer and coach (b. 1947)
2018 - Hariton Pushwagner, Norwegian artist (b. 1940)
2019 - Martin Kilson, American political scientist (b. 1931)
2019 - Jean-Pierre Marielle, French actor (b. 1932)
2019 - Sergey Pogorelov, Russian handball player (b. 1974)
2019 - Dick Rivers, French singer (b. 1945)
Observances
Democracy Day (Nepal)
Genocide Day (Armenia)
Republic Day (The Gambia)
Latest date for Holy Saturday
Second-latest date for Easter, last occurred on this date in 2011
Days of the year