May 24

Events
Up to 1900
1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre, in present-day Israel, for Egypt.
1276 - Magnus Ladulas is crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral.
1487 - 10-year-old Lambert Simnel is crowned in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, with the name Edward VI, in a bid to threaten the reign of King Henry VII of England.
1595 - The Nomenclator of Leiden University Library in the Netherlands appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.
1607 - 100 English settlers leave for Jamestown, Virginia.
1621 - The Protestant Union is formally dissolved.
1626 - Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.
1667 - The French Royal Army crosses the border into the then-Spanish Netherlands, starting the War of Devolution opposing France to the Spanish Empire and the Triple Alliance.
1689 - The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration, protecting Protestants, with Roman Catholics intentionally excluded.
1738 - John Wesley is converted, establishing the Methodist Movement.
1798 - The Irish Rebellion of 1798 against British rule begins.
1813 - Simon Bolivar enters Merida, Venezuela.
1819 - Queen Victoria is born at Kensington Palace in London. At the time of her birth, she is not expected to become Queen.
1822 - The Battle of Pichincha in Ecuador: Antonio Jose de Sucre secures the independence of the Presidency of Quito.
1830 - Mary had a Little Lamb by Sarah Josepha Hale is published.
1832 - The first Kingdom of Greece is declared at the London Conference.
1844 - Samuel Morse sends the message What hath God wrought to inaugurate the first telegraph line.
1846 - Mexican-American War: Zachary Taylor captures Monterrey.
1856 - John Brown and his men kill five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.
1861 - American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.
1883 - The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened.
1895 - Henry Irving becomes the first person from the theatre to be knighted.
1900 - Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State.
1901 2000
1901 - The Caerphilly pit disaster in South Wales kills 78 miners.
1913 - Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia marries Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover.
1915 - World War I: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
1921 - In the US, the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti begins.
1930 - Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first Woman to fly solo from England to Australia.
1935 - In Cincinnati, Ohio the first night game in Major League Baseball is held.
1940 - Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.
1941 - World War II: In the Battle of the Atlantic, the German battleship Bismarck sinks the Royal Navy's HMS Hood, killing all but three of the sailors on board.
1944 - Iceland, then-still under the Danish crown, holds a referendum on its future status, with 97% of voters choosing to become a republic, which is declared on June 17.
1950 - The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is proclaimed.
1956 - The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland. It is won by Switzerland's Lys Assia.
1958 - United Press International is formed.
1960 - The Cordon Caulle volcano in Chile erupts, two days after the strongest-ever measured earthquake struck the area.
1962 - The rocket Mercury Atlas 7 is launched by NASA.
1963 - United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy meets with author James Baldwin in an unsuccessful attempt at improving race relations.
1964 - After the Peru national football team had a goal against the Argentina national football team disallowed, in Lima, a mass panic breaks out, killing 328 people.
1967 - Egypt imposes a blockade and siege of Israel's Red Sea coast.
1968 - Front de la Liberation de Quebec separatists bomb the US Consulate in Quebec City.
1970 - Drilling of the Kola Superdeep Borehole begins in the northwest of the Soviet Union, now northwest Russia, near the border with Finland.
1976 - The London to Washington, DC Concorde service begins.
1981 - President of Ecuador Jaime Roldos Aguilera is killed in an aircraft accident, along with his wife and Presidential Committee.
1992 - The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigns following pro-Democracy protests.
1992 - Thomas Klestil is elected to replace Kurt Waldheim as President of Austria.
1993 - Eritrea becomes independent from Ethiopia.
1994 - Four men are convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and sentenced to 240 years each in prison.
1999 - The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands, indicts Slobodan Milosevic and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kosovo.
2000 - Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon, following a 22-year occupation.
From 2001
2001 - 15-year-old Sherpa Temba Tsheri reaches the top of Mount Everest.
2001 - The Versailles wedding hall disaster in Jerusalem kills 23 people.
2002 - Russia and the United States sign the Moscow Treaty.
2003 - Sertab Erener, representing Turkey, wins the 48th Eurovision Song Contest in Riga, Latvia. In the same competition, the United Kingdom, represented by Jemini, finishes with 0 points for the first time.
2004 - North Korea bans mobile phones.
2008 - Dima Bilan, representing Russia, wins the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade, Serbia.
2014 - Three people are shot dead at a Jewish Centre in Brussels, Belgium.
2014 - For the first time, the UEFA Champions League final is contested by two teams from the same city. In Lisbon, Real Madrid defeat Atletico Madrid 4-1 in extra time.
2015 - Andrzej Duda is elected President of Poland.
2017 - Taiwan's highest court rules in favour of same-sex marriage.
2019 - Taiwan's same-sex marriage law enters into effect, making it the first legalisation of same-sex marriage in Asia.
2019 - Theresa May announces her intention to resign as Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with her successor to be chosen before the end of July.
Births
Up to 1900
15 BC - Germanicus, Roman general (d. 19 AD)
1084 - King David I of Scotland (d. 1153)
1494 - Pontormo, Italian painter (d. 1557)
1522 - John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury (d. 1571)
1544 - William Gilbert, English astronomer and philosopher (d. 1603)
1671 - Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1737)
1686 - Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Dutch scientist (d. 1736)
1743 - Jean-Paul Marat, French revolutionary (d. 1793)
1751 - Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia (d. 1819)
1759 - Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach, German composer (d. 1845)
1803 - Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist (d. 1866)
1810 - Charles Clark, 24th Governor of Mississippi (d. 1877)
1810 - Abraham Geiger, German rabbi and scholar (d. 1874)
1816 - Emanuel Leutze, German painter (d. 1868)
1819 - Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland (d. 1901)
1821 - Juan Bautista Topete, Spanish admiral and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1885)
1830 - Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter (d. 1897)
1836 - Joseph Rowntree, British social reformer (d. 1925)
1851 - Ramon Gonzalez Valencia, 29th President of Colombia (d. 1928)
1852 - Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham, Scottish politician, writer, journalist and adventurer (d. 1936)
1854 - John Riley Banister, American lawyer and cowboy (d. 1918)
1855 - Arthur Wing Panero, English actor, director and playwright (d. 1934)
1856 - Andrew Watson, Guyanese-Scottish footballer (d. 1921)
1861 - Gerald Strickland, 4th Prime Minister of Malta and British colonial Governor in Australia (d. 1940)
1870 - Jan Christiaan Smuts, Prime minister of South Africa (d. 1950)
1874 - Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1878)
1875 - Robert Garrett, American athlete (d. 1961)
1876 - Maurilio Fossati, Archbishop of Turin (d. 1965)
1878 - Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American psychologist and industrial engineer (d. 1972)
1879 - H. B. Reese, American candy maker (d. 1956)
1886 - Paul Paray, French conductor and composer (d. 1979)
1895 - Marcel Janco, Romanian-Israeli artist, writer and architect (d. 1984)
1899 - Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi poet (d. 1976)
1899 - Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (d. 1938)
1899 - Henri Michaux, French poet (d. 1984)
1900 - Eduardo De Filippo, Italian actor, director and screenwriter (d. 1984)
1901 1950
1901 - Jose Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1968)
1902 - Sylvia Daoust, Canadian sculptor (d. 2004)
1903 - Milo Burcham, American pilot (d. 1944)
1903 - Wladyslaw Orlicz, Polish mathematician (d. 1990)
1905 - Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov, Russian writer (d. 1984)
1910 - Jimmy Demaret, American golfer (d. 1983)
1911 - Ne Win, Burmese officer and politician (d. 2002)
1914 - Lilli Palmer, German actress (d. 1986)
1914 - George Tabori, Hungarian-German writer, screenwriter and dramatist (d. 2007)
1914 - Giuseppe Valdengo, Italian baritone (d. 2007)
1916 - Roden Cutler, Australian diplomat (d. 2002)
1921 - Maria Michi, Italian actress (d. 1980)
1924 - Mike Bongiorno, Italian-American television presenter (d. 2009)
1924 - Aleksander Arulaid, Estonian chess player and engineer (d. 1995)
1925 - Mai Zetterling, Swedish entertainer (d. 1994)
1925 - Carmine Infantino, American illustrator (d. 2013)
1925 - Carlo Annovazzi, Italian footballer (d. 1980)
1926 - Stanley Baxter, Scottish actor
1928 - Adrian Frutiger, Swiss typeface designer (d. 2015)
1928 - Jacobo Zabludovsky, Mexican lawyer and journalist (d. 2015)
1928 - Kurt Weber, Polish cinematographer (d. 2015)
1930 - Matthew Meselson, American geneticist and molecular biologist
1931 - Michael Lonsdale, French actor
1932 - Arnold Wesker, British dramatist (d. 2016)
1933 - Aharon Lichtenstein, French-Israeli rabbi (d. 2015)
1934 - Jane Byrne, 50th Mayor of Chicago (d. 2014)
1936 - Harold Budd, American composer and poet
1937 - Dick Balharry, Scottish conservationist (d. 2015)
1937 - Roger Peterson, American pilot (d. 1959)
1938 - Prince Buster, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
1940 - Joseph Brodsky, Russian poet (d. 1996)
1941 - Bob Dylan, American musician
1942 - Ichiro Ozawa, Japanese politician
1942 - Hannu Mikkola, Finnish rally driver
1942 - Fraser Stoddart, Scottish-American chemist
1944 - Susana Baca, Peruvian singer
1944 - Patti LaBelle, American singer
1945 - Priscilla Presley, American actress and wife of Elvis Presley
1945 - Terry Callier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
1945 - Driss Jetou, former Prime Minister of Morocco
1946 - Tansu Ciller, former Prime Minister of Turkey
1946 - Irena Szewinska, Polish athlete
1946 - Thomas Nordahl, Swedish footballer
1947 - Waddy Wachtel, American composer, musician, bandleader and producer
1947 - Martin Winterkorn, German businessman
1948 - Richard Dembo, French director and screenwriter
1949 - Jim Broadbent, British actor
1949 - Hubert Birkenmeier, German-American soccer player and coach
1951 1975
1953 - Alfred Molina, British actor
1955 - Rosanne Cash, American musician
1955 - Philippe Lafontaine, Belgian singer-songwriter
1956 - Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin
1956 - Larry Blackmon, American singer-songwriter, musician, producer and actor
1956 - Dominic Grieve, English politician
1957 - Walter Moers, German comic artist and writer
1959 - Pelle Lindbergh, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1985)
1960 - Guy Fletcher, British musician (Dire Straits)
1960 - Kristin Scott Thomas, British actress
1961 - Alain Lemieux, Canadian ice hockey player
1962 - Massimo Mauro, Italian footballer
1962 - Hector Camacho, Puerto Rican boxer (d. 2012)
1964 - Liz McColgan, Scottish athlete
1964 - Adrian Moorhouse, English swimmer
1964 - Pat Verbeek, Canadian ice hockey player
1965 - Jens Becker, German musician
1965 - John C. Reilly, American actor, singer, producer and screenwriter
1965 - Shinichiro Watanabe, Japanese director, producer and screenwriter
1966 - Eric Cantona, French footballer and actor
1966 - Ella Guru, American painter and musician
1967 - Heavy D, American rapper (d. 2011)
1967 - Dana Ashbrook, American actor
1967 - Andrey Borodin, Russian economist and businessman
1967 - Eric Close, American actor
1969 - Richard Lochhead, Scottish politician
1969 - Jacob Rees-Mogg, English politician
1972 - Greg Berlanti, American director, producer and screenwriter
1972 - Jim McIntyre, Scottish footballer and coach
1973 - Ruslana, Ukrainian singer
1973 - Jill Johnson, Swedish singer
1973 - Dermot O'Leary, British television presenter
1973 - Vladimir Smicer, Czech footballer
1973 - Shirish Kunder, Indian director, producer and screenwriter
1974 - Magnus Manske, German biochemist and computer programmer
1974 - Masahide Kobayashi, Japanese baseball player
1975 - Marc Gagnon, Canadian speed skater
1975 - Giannis Goumas, Greek footballer
From 1976
1976 - Alessandro Cortini, Italian musician
1976 - Catherine Cox, Australian netball player
1978 - Johan Holmqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
1978 - Jo Joyner, English actress
1978 - Brian Ching, American soccer player
1982 - DaMarcus Beasley, American soccer player
1982 - Roberto Colautti, Argentine-Israeli footballer
1985 - Bjorgvin Pall Gustavsson, Icelandic handball player
1986 - Jordan Metcalfe, English actor
1987 - Deborah Francois, Belgian actress
1987 - Fabio Fognini, Italian tennis player
1988 - Artem Anisimov, Russian ice hockey player
1989 - Mohammed Fellah, Norwegian footballer
1989 - Adel Taarabt, Moroccan footballer
1990 - Yuya Matsushita, Japanese singer and actor
1991 - Erika Umeda, Japanese singer
1992 - Rachel Victoria, Canadian actress
1994 - Cayden Boyd, American actor
1994 - Daiya Seto, Japanese swimmer
1995 - Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein
2007 - Maru the cat, famous cat and internet celebrity
Deaths
Up to 1900
641 - Constantine III, Eastern Roman Emperor (b. 612)
1153 - David I of Scotland (b. 1084)
1201 - Theobald III, Count of Champagne (b. 1179)
1351 - Abu al-Hasan 'Ali, Sultan of Morocco (b. 1297)
1377 - Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania (b. 1296)
1408 - Taejo of Joseon, ruler of Korea (b. 1335)
1543 - Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer (b. 1473)
1612 - Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician (b. 1563)
1734 - Georg Ernst Stahl, German physician and chemist (b. 1660)
1806 - John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, Scottish field marshal (b. 1723)
1848 - Annette von Droste-Huelshoff, German writer and composer (b. 1797)
1861 - Elmer G. Ellsworth, American colonel (b. 1837)
1876 - Georgi Benkovski, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1843)
1879 - William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist and publisher (b. 1805)
1881 - Samuel Palmer, English painter (b. 1805)
1901 2000
1901 - Charlotte Mary Yonge, English novelist (b. 1823)
1908 - Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (b. 1821)
1909 - Georg von Neumayer, German geophysicist and polar scientist (b. 1826)
1919 - Amado Nervo, Mexican poet (b. 1870)
1948 - Jacques Feyder, Belgian director and screenwriter (b. 1885)
1949 - Alkesey Shchusev, Russian architect (b. 1873)
1950 - Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, British field marshal (b. 1883)
1959 - John Foster Dulles, United States Secretary of State (b. 1888)
1960 - Avraham Arnon, Israeli educator (b. 1887)
1972 - Ismail Yasin, Egyptian actor (b. 1915)
1972 - Asta Nielsen, Danish actress (b. 1881)
1974 - Duke Ellington, American jazz musician (b. 1899)
1979 - Ernest Bullock, English organist, composer and educator (b. 1890)
1981 - Jaime Roldos Aguilera, President of Ecuador (b. 1940)
1984 - Vince McMahon, Sr., American wrestling promoter and businessman (b. 1914)
1991 - Gene Clark, American singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1944)
1992 - Hitoshi Ogawa, Japanese racing driver (b. 1965)
1993 - Juan Jesus Posadas, Mexican cardinal (b. 1926)
1995 - Harold Wilson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)
From 2001
2003 - Rachel Kempson, British actress (b. 1910)
2004 - Edward Wagenknecht, American literary critic (b. 1900)
2005 - Vivian Liberto, first wife of Johnny Cash (b. 1934)
2005 - Eddie Albert, American actor (b. 1906)
2008 - Rob Knox, British actor (b. 1989)
2008 - Jimmy McGriff, American jazz musician and bandleader (b. 1936)
2010 - Paul Gray, American musician (Slipknot) (b. 1972)
2010 - Anneliese Rothenberger, German opera singer (b. 1926)
2013 - Pyotr Todorovsky, Ukrainian-Russian movie director, screenwriter and cinematographer (b. 1925)
2013 - Antonio Puchades, Spanish footballer (b. 1925)
2013 - Ed Shaughnessy, American drummer (b. 1929)
2014 - John Vasconcellos, American politician (b. 1932)
2015 - Marcus Belgrave, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1936)
2015 - Tanith Lee, British writer (b. 1947)
2015 - Bharat Raj Upreti, Nepalese judge (b. 1950)
2016 - Burt Kwouk, Chinese-English actor (b. 1930)
2016 - Lewis Fiander, Australian actor (b. 1938)
2016 - Buck Kartalian, American actor (b. 1922)
2016 - Mell Lazarus, American cartoonist (b. 1927)
2016 - Berend Jan Udink, Dutch politician (b. 1926)
2017 - Ezekiel Anisi, Papua New Guinean politician (b. 1988)
2017 - Juliana Koo, Chinese-American diplomat (b. 1905)
2017 - Jared Martin, American actor (b. 1941)
2017 - Pierre Seron, Belgian comic book artist (b. 1942)
2017 - Denis Johnson, American writer (b. 1949)
2017 - Tom Gilbey, British fashion designer (b. 1938)
2017 - William Duborgh Jensen, Norwegian fashion designer (b. 1935)
2017 - Noel Kinsey, Welsh footballer (b. 1925)
2017 - Sonny West, American actor and stunt performer (b. 1937)
2018 - Cliff Jackson, English footballer (b. 1941)
2018 - Roblimo, American journalist and author (b. 1952)
2018 - TotalBiscuit, British gaming critic and commentator (b. 1984)
2018 - Gudrun Burwitz, German Nazi militant (b. 1929)
2018 - Jerry Maren, American actor (b. 1920)
2019 - Murray Gell-Mann, American physicist (b. 1929)
Observances
Battle of Pichincha Day (Ecuador)
Bermuda Day
Commonwealth Day (Belize)
Independence Day (Eritrea)
Aldersgate Day (Methodism)
National Patriots Day (Quebec)
Days of the year