May 24

## Events 
### Up to 1900 
* 1218 &ndash; The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre, in present-day Israel, for Egypt.
* 1276 &ndash; Magnus Ladulas is crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral.
* 1487 &ndash; 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 &ndash; The Nomenclator of Leiden University Library in the Netherlands appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.
* 1607 &ndash; 100 English settlers leave for Jamestown, Virginia.
* 1621 &ndash; The Protestant Union is formally dissolved.
* 1626 &ndash; Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.
* 1667 &ndash; 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 &ndash; The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration, protecting Protestants, with Roman Catholics intentionally excluded.
* 1738 &ndash; John Wesley is converted, establishing the Methodist Movement.
* 1798 &ndash; The Irish Rebellion of 1798 against British rule begins.
* 1813 &ndash; Simon Bolivar enters Mérida, Venezuela.
* 1819 &ndash; Queen Victoria is born at Kensington Palace in London. At the time of her birth, she is not expected to become Queen.
* 1822 &ndash; The Battle of Pichincha in Ecuador: Antonio José de Sucre secures the independence of the Presidency of Quito.
* 1830 &ndash; *Mary had a Little Lamb* by Sarah Josepha Hale is published.
* 1832 &ndash; The first Kingdom of Greece is declared at the London Conference.
* 1844 &ndash; Samuel Morse sends the message *What hath God wrought* to inaugurate the first telegraph line.
* 1846 &ndash; Mexican-American War: Zachary Taylor captures Monterrey.
* 1856 &ndash; John Brown and his men kill five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.
* 1861 &ndash; American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.
* 1883 &ndash; The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened.
* 1895 &ndash; Henry Irving becomes the first person from the theatre to be knighted.
* 1900 &ndash; Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State.

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
* 1901 &ndash; The Caerphilly pit disaster in South Wales kills 78 miners.
* 1913 &ndash; Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia marries Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover.
* 1915 &ndash; World War I: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
* 1921 &ndash; In the US, the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti begins.
* 1930 &ndash; Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first Woman to fly solo from England to Australia.
* 1935 &ndash; In Cincinnati, Ohio the first night game in Major League Baseball is held.
* 1940 &ndash; Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.
* 1941 &ndash; 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 &ndash; 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 &ndash; The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is proclaimed.
* 1956 &ndash; The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland. It is won by Switzerland's Lys Assia.
* 1958 &ndash; United Press International is formed.
* 1960 &ndash; The Cordon Caulle volcano in Chile erupts, two days after the strongest-ever measured earthquake struck the area.
* 1962 &ndash; The rocket Mercury Atlas 7 is launched by NASA.
* 1963 &ndash; United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy meets with author James Baldwin in an unsuccessful attempt at improving race relations.
* 1964 &ndash; 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 &ndash; Egypt imposes a blockade and siege of Israel's Red Sea coast.
* 1968 &ndash; Front de la Libération de Québec separatists bomb the US Consulate in Quebec City.
* 1970 &ndash; Drilling of the Kola Superdeep Borehole begins in the northwest of the Soviet Union, now northwest Russia, near the border with Finland.
* 1976 &ndash; The London to Washington, DC Concorde service begins.
* 1981 &ndash; President of Ecuador Jaime Roldos Aguilera is killed in an aircraft accident, along with his wife and Presidential Committee.
* 1992 &ndash; The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigns following pro-Democracy protests.
* 1992 &ndash; Thomas Klestil is elected to replace Kurt Waldheim as President of Austria.
* 1993 &ndash; Eritrea becomes independent from Ethiopia.
* 1994 &ndash; Four men are convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and sentenced to 240 years each in prison.
* 1999 &ndash; 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 &ndash; Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon, following a 22-year occupation.

### From 2001 
* 2001 &ndash; 15-year-old Sherpa Temba Tsheri reaches the top of Mount Everest.
* 2001 &ndash; The Versailles wedding hall disaster in Jerusalem kills 23 people.
* 2002 &ndash; Russia and the United States sign the Moscow Treaty.
* 2003 &ndash; 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 &ndash; North Korea bans mobile phones.
* 2008 &ndash; Dima Bilan, representing Russia, wins the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade, Serbia.
* 2014 &ndash; Three people are shot dead at a Jewish Centre in Brussels, Belgium.
* 2014 &ndash; For the first time, the UEFA Champions League final is contested by two teams from the same city. In Lisbon, Real Madrid defeat Atlético Madrid 4–1 in extra time.
* 2015 &ndash; Andrzej Duda is elected President of Poland.
* 2017 &ndash; Taiwan's highest court rules in favour of same-sex marriage.
* 2019 &ndash; Taiwan's same-sex marriage law enters into effect, making it the first legalisation of same-sex marriage in Asia.
* 2019 &ndash; 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 &ndash; Germanicus, Roman general (d. 19 AD)
* 1084 &ndash; King David I of Scotland (d. 1153)
* 1494 &ndash; Pontormo, Italian painter (d. 1557)
* 1522 &ndash; John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury (d. 1571)
* 1544 &ndash; William Gilbert, English astronomer and philosopher (d. 1603)
* 1671 &ndash; Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1737)
* 1686 &ndash; Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Dutch scientist (d. 1736)
* 1743 &ndash; Jean-Paul Marat, French revolutionary (d. 1793)
* 1751 &ndash; Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia (d. 1819)
* 1759 &ndash; Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach, German composer (d. 1845)
* 1803 &ndash; Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist (d. 1866)
* 1810 &ndash; Charles Clark, 24th Governor of Mississippi (d. 1877)
* 1810 &ndash; Abraham Geiger, German rabbi and scholar (d. 1874)
* 1816 &ndash; Emanuel Leutze, German painter (d. 1868)
* 1819 &ndash; Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland (d. 1901)
* 1821 &ndash; Juan Bautista Topete, Spanish admiral and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1885)
* 1830 &ndash; Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter (d. 1897)
* 1836 &ndash; Joseph Rowntree, British social reformer (d. 1925)
* 1851 &ndash; Ramón González Valencia, 29th President of Colombia (d. 1928)
* 1852 &ndash; Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham, Scottish politician, writer, journalist and adventurer (d. 1936)
* 1854 &ndash; John Riley Banister, American lawyer and cowboy (d. 1918)
* 1855 &ndash; Arthur Wing Panero, English actor, director and playwright (d. 1934)
* 1856 &ndash; Andrew Watson, Guyanese-Scottish footballer (d. 1921)
* 1861 &ndash; Gerald Strickland, 4th Prime Minister of Malta and British colonial Governor in Australia (d. 1940)
* 1870 &ndash; Jan Christiaan Smuts, Prime minister of South Africa (d. 1950)
* 1874 &ndash; Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1878)
* 1875 &ndash; Robert Garrett, American athlete (d. 1961)
* 1876 &ndash; Maurilio Fossati, Archbishop of Turin (d. 1965)
* 1878 &ndash; Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American psychologist and industrial engineer (d. 1972)
* 1879 &ndash; H. B. Reese, American candy maker (d. 1956)
* 1886 &ndash; Paul Paray, French conductor and composer (d. 1979)
* 1895 &ndash; Marcel Janco, Romanian-Israeli artist, writer and architect (d. 1984)
* 1899 &ndash; Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi poet (d. 1976)
* 1899 &ndash; Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (d. 1938)
* 1899 &ndash; Henri Michaux, French poet (d. 1984)
* 1900 &ndash; Eduardo De Filippo, Italian actor, director and screenwriter (d. 1984)

### 1901 &ndash; 1950 
* 1901 &ndash; José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1968)
* 1902 &ndash; Sylvia Daoust, Canadian sculptor (d. 2004)
* 1903 &ndash; Milo Burcham, American pilot (d. 1944)
* 1903 &ndash; Wladyslaw Orlicz, Polish mathematician (d. 1990)
* 1905 &ndash; Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov, Russian writer (d. 1984)
* 1910 &ndash; Jimmy Demaret, American golfer (d. 1983)
* 1911 &ndash; Ne Win, Burmese officer and politician (d. 2002)
* 1914 &ndash; Lilli Palmer, German actress (d. 1986)
* 1914 &ndash; George Tabori, Hungarian-German writer, screenwriter and dramatist (d. 2007)
* 1914 &ndash; Giuseppe Valdengo, Italian baritone (d. 2007)
* 1916 &ndash; Roden Cutler, Australian diplomat (d. 2002)
* 1921 &ndash; Maria Michi, Italian actress (d. 1980)
* 1924 &ndash; Mike Bongiorno, Italian-American television presenter (d. 2009)
* 1924 &ndash; Aleksander Arulaid, Estonian chess player and engineer (d. 1995)
* 1925 &ndash; Mai Zetterling, Swedish entertainer (d. 1994)
* 1925 &ndash; Carmine Infantino, American illustrator (d. 2013)
* 1925 &ndash; Carlo Annovazzi, Italian footballer (d. 1980)
* 1926 &ndash; Stanley Baxter, Scottish actor
* 1928 &ndash; Adrian Frutiger, Swiss typeface designer (d. 2015)
* 1928 &ndash; Jacobo Zabludovsky, Mexican lawyer and journalist (d. 2015)
* 1928 &ndash; Kurt Weber, Polish cinematographer (d. 2015)
* 1930 &ndash; Matthew Meselson, American geneticist and molecular biologist
* 1931 &ndash; Michael Lonsdale, French actor
* 1932 &ndash; Arnold Wesker, British dramatist (d. 2016)
* 1933 &ndash; Aharon Lichtenstein, French-Israeli rabbi (d. 2015)
* 1934 &ndash; Jane Byrne, 50th Mayor of Chicago (d. 2014)
* 1936 &ndash; Harold Budd, American composer and poet
* 1937 &ndash; Dick Balharry, Scottish conservationist (d. 2015)
* 1937 &ndash; Roger Peterson, American pilot (d. 1959)
* 1938 &ndash; Prince Buster, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
* 1940 &ndash; Joseph Brodsky, Russian poet (d. 1996)
* 1941 &ndash; Bob Dylan, American musician
* 1942 &ndash; Ichiro Ozawa, Japanese politician
* 1942 &ndash; Hannu Mikkola, Finnish rally driver
* 1942 &ndash; Fraser Stoddart, Scottish-American chemist
* 1944 &ndash; Susana Baca, Peruvian singer
* 1944 &ndash; Patti LaBelle, American singer
* 1945 &ndash; Priscilla Presley, American actress and wife of Elvis Presley
* 1945 &ndash; Terry Callier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
* 1945 &ndash; Driss Jetou, former Prime Minister of Morocco
* 1946 &ndash; Tansu Ciller, former Prime Minister of Turkey
* 1946 &ndash; Irena Szewinska, Polish athlete
* 1946 &ndash; Thomas Nordahl, Swedish footballer
* 1947 &ndash; Waddy Wachtel, American composer, musician, bandleader and producer
* 1947 &ndash; Martin Winterkorn, German businessman
* 1948 &ndash; Richard Dembo, French director and screenwriter
* 1949 &ndash; Jim Broadbent, British actor
* 1949 &ndash; Hubert Birkenmeier, German-American soccer player and coach

### 1951 &ndash; 1975 
* 1953 &ndash; Alfred Molina, British actor
* 1955 &ndash; Rosanne Cash, American musician
* 1955 &ndash; Philippe Lafontaine, Belgian singer-songwriter
* 1956 &ndash; Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin
* 1956 &ndash; Larry Blackmon, American singer-songwriter, musician, producer and actor
* 1956 &ndash; Dominic Grieve, English politician
* 1957 &ndash; Walter Moers, German comic artist and writer
* 1959 &ndash; Pelle Lindbergh, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1985)
* 1960 &ndash; Guy Fletcher, British musician (Dire Straits)
* 1960 &ndash; Kristin Scott Thomas, British actress
* 1961 &ndash; Alain Lemieux, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1962 &ndash; Massimo Mauro, Italian footballer
* 1962 &ndash; Héctor Camacho, Puerto Rican boxer (d. 2012)
* 1964 &ndash; Liz McColgan, Scottish athlete
* 1964 &ndash; Adrian Moorhouse, English swimmer
* 1964 &ndash; Pat Verbeek, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1965 &ndash; Jens Becker, German musician
* 1965 &ndash; John C. Reilly, American actor, singer, producer and screenwriter
* 1965 &ndash; Shinichiro Watanabe, Japanese director, producer and screenwriter
* 1966 &ndash; Eric Cantona, French footballer and actor
* 1966 &ndash; Ella Guru, American painter and musician
* 1967 &ndash; Heavy D, American rapper (d. 2011)
* 1967 &ndash; Dana Ashbrook, American actor
* 1967 &ndash; Andrey Borodin, Russian economist and businessman
* 1967 &ndash; Eric Close, American actor
* 1969 &ndash; Richard Lochhead, Scottish politician
* 1969 &ndash; Jacob Rees-Mogg, English politician
* 1972 &ndash; Greg Berlanti, American director, producer and screenwriter
* 1972 &ndash; Jim McIntyre, Scottish footballer and coach
* 1973 &ndash; Ruslana, Ukrainian singer
* 1973 &ndash; Jill Johnson, Swedish singer
* 1973 &ndash; Dermot O'Leary, British television presenter
* 1973 &ndash; Vladimir Smicer, Czech footballer
* 1973 &ndash; Shirish Kunder, Indian director, producer and screenwriter
* 1974 &ndash; Magnus Manske, German biochemist and computer programmer
* 1974 &ndash; Masahide Kobayashi, Japanese baseball player
* 1975 &ndash; Marc Gagnon, Canadian speed skater
* 1975 &ndash; Giannis Goumas, Greek footballer

### From 1976 
* 1976 &ndash; Alessandro Cortini, Italian musician
* 1976 &ndash; Catherine Cox, Australian netball player
* 1978 &ndash; Johan Holmqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
* 1978 &ndash; Jo Joyner, English actress
* 1978 &ndash; Brian Ching, American soccer player
* 1982 &ndash; DaMarcus Beasley, American soccer player
* 1982 &ndash; Roberto Colautti, Argentine-Israeli footballer
* 1985 &ndash; Björgvin Páll Gústavsson, Icelandic handball player
* 1986 &ndash; Jordan Metcalfe, English actor
* 1987 &ndash; Déborah François, Belgian actress
* 1987 &ndash; Fabio Fognini, Italian tennis player
* 1988 &ndash; Artem Anisimov, Russian ice hockey player
* 1989 &ndash; Mohammed Fellah, Norwegian footballer
* 1989 &ndash; Adel Taarabt, Moroccan footballer
* 1990 &ndash; Yuya Matsushita, Japanese singer and actor
* 1991 &ndash; Erika Umeda, Japanese singer
* 1992 &ndash; Rachel Victoria, Canadian actress
* 1994 &ndash; Cayden Boyd, American actor
* 1994 &ndash; Daiya Seto, Japanese swimmer
* 1995 &ndash; Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein
* 2007 &ndash; Maru the cat, famous cat and internet celebrity

## Deaths 
### Up to 1900 
* 641 &ndash; Constantine III, Eastern Roman Emperor (b. 612)
* 1153 &ndash; David I of Scotland (b. 1084)
* 1201 &ndash; Theobald III, Count of Champagne (b. 1179)
* 1351 &ndash; Abu al-Hasan 'Ali, Sultan of Morocco (b. 1297)
* 1377 &ndash; Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania (b. 1296)
* 1408 &ndash; Taejo of Joseon, ruler of Korea (b. 1335)
* 1543 &ndash; Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer (b. 1473)
* 1612 &ndash; Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician (b. 1563)
* 1734 &ndash; Georg Ernst Stahl, German physician and chemist (b. 1660)
* 1806 &ndash; John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, Scottish field marshal (b. 1723)
* 1848 &ndash; Annette von Droste-Huelshoff, German writer and composer (b. 1797)
* 1861 &ndash; Elmer G. Ellsworth, American colonel (b. 1837)
* 1876 &ndash; Georgi Benkovski, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1843)
* 1879 &ndash; William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist and publisher (b. 1805)
* 1881 &ndash; Samuel Palmer, English painter (b. 1805)

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
* 1901 &ndash; Charlotte Mary Yonge, English novelist (b. 1823)
* 1908 &ndash; Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (b. 1821)
* 1909 &ndash; Georg von Neumayer, German geophysicist and polar scientist (b. 1826)
* 1919 &ndash; Amado Nervo, Mexican poet (b. 1870)
* 1948 &ndash; Jacques Feyder, Belgian director and screenwriter (b. 1885)
* 1949 &ndash; Alkesey Shchusev, Russian architect (b. 1873)
* 1950 &ndash; Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, British field marshal (b. 1883)
* 1959 &ndash; John Foster Dulles, United States Secretary of State (b. 1888)
* 1960 &ndash; Avraham Arnon, Israeli educator (b. 1887)
* 1972 &ndash; Ismail Yasin, Egyptian actor (b. 1915)
* 1972 &ndash; Asta Nielsen, Danish actress (b. 1881)
* 1974 &ndash; Duke Ellington, American jazz musician (b. 1899)
* 1979 &ndash; Ernest Bullock, English organist, composer and educator (b. 1890)
* 1981 &ndash; Jaime Roldos Aguilera, President of Ecuador (b. 1940)
* 1984 &ndash; Vince McMahon, Sr., American wrestling promoter and businessman (b. 1914)
* 1991 &ndash; Gene Clark, American singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1944)
* 1992 &ndash; Hitoshi Ogawa, Japanese racing driver (b. 1965)
* 1993 &ndash; Juan Jesus Posadas, Mexican cardinal (b. 1926)
* 1995 &ndash; Harold Wilson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)

### From 2001 
* 2003 &ndash; Rachel Kempson, British actress (b. 1910)
* 2004 &ndash; Edward Wagenknecht, American literary critic (b. 1900)
* 2005 &ndash; Vivian Liberto, first wife of Johnny Cash (b. 1934)
* 2005 &ndash; Eddie Albert, American actor (b. 1906)
* 2008 &ndash; Rob Knox, British actor (b. 1989)
* 2008 &ndash; Jimmy McGriff, American jazz musician and bandleader (b. 1936)
* 2010 &ndash; Paul Gray, American musician (Slipknot) (b. 1972)
* 2010 &ndash; Anneliese Rothenberger, German opera singer (b. 1926)
* 2013 &ndash; Pyotr Todorovsky, Ukrainian-Russian movie director, screenwriter and cinematographer (b. 1925)
* 2013 &ndash; Antonio Puchades, Spanish footballer (b. 1925)
* 2013 &ndash; Ed Shaughnessy, American drummer (b. 1929)
* 2014 &ndash; John Vasconcellos, American politician (b. 1932)
* 2015 &ndash; Marcus Belgrave, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1936)
* 2015 &ndash; Tanith Lee, British writer (b. 1947)
* 2015 &ndash; Bharat Raj Upreti, Nepalese judge (b. 1950)
* 2016 &ndash; Burt Kwouk, Chinese-English actor (b. 1930)
* 2016 &ndash; Lewis Fiander, Australian actor (b. 1938)
* 2016 &ndash; Buck Kartalian, American actor (b. 1922)
* 2016 &ndash; Mell Lazarus, American cartoonist (b. 1927)
* 2016 &ndash; Berend Jan Udink, Dutch politician (b. 1926)
* 2017 &ndash; Ezekiel Anisi, Papua New Guinean politician (b. 1988)
* 2017 &ndash; Juliana Koo, Chinese-American diplomat (b. 1905)
* 2017 &ndash; Jared Martin, American actor (b. 1941)
* 2017 &ndash; Pierre Seron, Belgian comic book artist (b. 1942)
* 2017 &ndash; Denis Johnson, American writer (b. 1949)
* 2017 &ndash; Tom Gilbey, British fashion designer (b. 1938)
* 2017 &ndash; William Duborgh Jensen, Norwegian fashion designer (b. 1935)
* 2017 &ndash; Noel Kinsey, Welsh footballer (b. 1925)
* 2017 &ndash; Sonny West, American actor and stunt performer (b. 1937)
* 2018 &ndash; Cliff Jackson, English footballer (b. 1941)
* 2018 &ndash; Roblimo, American journalist and author (b. 1952)
* 2018 &ndash; TotalBiscuit, British gaming critic and commentator (b. 1984)
* 2018 &ndash; Gudrun Burwitz, German Nazi militant (b. 1929)
* 2018 &ndash; Jerry Maren, American actor (b. 1920)
* 2019 &ndash; 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)