January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 341 days remaining until the end of the year (342 in leap years).

Events

41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula), known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism, is assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards. Claudius succeeds his nephew.

1438 - The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa.

1679 - King Charles II of England disbands Parliament.

1742 - Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.

1776 - Henry Knox arrives at Cambridge, Massachusetts with the artillery that he has transported from Fort Ticonderoga.

1826 - Mississippi College is founded in Clinton, becoming the first college in the state of Mississippi.

1848 - California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento.

1857 - The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first full-fledged university in south Asia.

1859 - Political union of Moldavia and Wallachia; Alexandru Ioan Cuza is elected as ruler.

1862 - Bucharest proclaimed capital of Romania.

1878 - The revolutionary Vera Zasulich shoots at Fyodor Trepov, the Governor of Saint Petersburg.

1887 - Battle of Dogali: Abyssinian troops defeat Italians.

1907 - Robert Baden-Powell founds the Boy Scout movement.

1916 - In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad, the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.

1918 - The Gregorian calendar introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars effective from February 14(NS)

1924 - Petrograd, formerly St. Petersburg, Russia, is renamed Leningrad.

1927 - Director Alfred Hitchcock releases his first film, The Pleasure Garden, in England.

1936 - Albert Sarraut becomes Prime Minister of France

1943 - World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.

1952 - Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor-General of Canada.

1966 - An Air India Boeing 707 jet crashes on Mont Blanc, on the border between France and Italy, killing 117.

1972 - Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.

1977 - Massacre of Atocha in Madrid, during the Spanish transition to democracy.

1978 - Soviet satellite Cosmos 954 burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering debris over Canada's Northwest Territories.

1978 - Rose Dugdale and Eddie Gallagher become the first convicted prisoners to marry in prison in the history of the Republic of Ireland.

1984 - The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.

1986 - Voyager 2 passes within 81,500 km (50,680 miles) of Uranus.

1986 - Wapping dispute: Newspaper workers in London launch ultimately unsuccessful strike against Rupert Murdoch's News International.

1993 - Turkish journalist and writer Uğur Mumcu is assassinated by a car bomb in Ankara.

1996 - Polish Premier Jozef Oleksy resigns amid charges that he spied for Moscow.

2003 - The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.

Births

76 - Hadrian, Roman Emperor (d. 138)

1287 - Richard Aungerville, English bishop (d. 1345)

1444 - Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1476)

1540 - Edmund Campion, English Jesuit (d. 1581)

1638 - Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet (d. 1706)

1670 - William Congreve, English playwright (d. 1729)

1674 - Thomas Tanner, English bishop (d. 1735)

1679 - Christian Wolff, German philosopher (d. 1754)

1705 - Farinelli, Italian castrato (d. 1782)

1712 - King Frederick II of Prussia (d. 1786)

1724 - Frances Brooke, English writer (d. 1789)

1732 - Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, French playwright (d. 1799)

1742 - Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn (d. 1808)

1752 - Muzio Clementi, Italian composer (d. 1832)

1754 - Andrew Ellicott, American surveyor (d. 1820)

1763 - Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, Russian general (d. 1831)

1776 - E.T.A. Hoffmann, German writer (d. 1822)

1779 - Elizabeth Alexeievna (Louise of Baden), Russian tsarina (d. 1826)

1848 - Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (d. 1916)

1862 - Edith Wharton, American writer (d. 1937)

1864 - Marguerite Durand, French feminist leader (d. 1936)

1872 - Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (d. 1943)

1873 - Leon Czolgosz, American anarchist, assassin of U.S. President William McKinley (d. 1901)

1886 - Henry King, American film director (d. 1982

1888 - Vicki Baum, Austrian writer (d. 1960)

1888 - Ernst Heinkel, German aircraft designer (d. 1958)

1891 - Walter Model, German field marshal (d. 1945)

1895 - Eugen Roth, German writer (d. 1976)

1898 - Cliff Heathcote, American baseball player (d. 1939)

1901 - Harry Calder, South African cricketer (d. 1995)

1902 - E. A. Speiser, American Bible scholar (d. 1965)

1905 - J. Howard Marshall, American billionaire (d. 1995)

1907 - Maurice Couve de Murville, French politician (d. 1999)

1909 - Martin Lings, English Islamic scholar (d. 2005)

1909 - Ann Todd, English actress (d. 1993)

1913 - Norman Dello Joio, American composer

1915 - Robert Motherwell, American painter (d. 1991)

1916 - Jack Brickhouse, American sports broadcaster (d. 1998)

1917 - Ernest Borgnine, American actor

1918 - Oral Roberts, American evangelist

1919 - Coleman Francis, American film director

1922 - Charles Socarides, American psychiatrist (d. 2005)

1925 - Maria Tallchief, American ballerina

1926 - Georges Lautner, French director and screenwriter

1927 - Sir Patrick Macnaghten, 11th Baronet, British aristocrat (d. 2007)

1928 - Desmond Morris, British anthropologist

1928 - Michel Serrault, French actor (d. 2007)

1934 - Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet (d. 1976)

1936 - Doug Kershaw, American musician

1939 - Ray Stevens, American musician

1941 - Neil Diamond, American singer

1941 - Aaron Neville, American singer

1943 - Subhash Ghai, Indian film director

1943 - Sharon Tate, American actress and Manson murder victim (d. 1969)

1944 - Klaus Nomi, German singer (d. 1983)

1945 - John Garamendi, American politician

1946 - Michael Ontkean, Canadian actor

1947 - Warren Zevon, American musician (d. 2003)

1947 - Masashi Ozaki, Japanese golfer

1948 - Michael Des Barres, British actor and rock singer

1949 - John Belushi, American actor (d. 1982)

1950 - Gerald Brisco, American professional wrestler

1950 - Benjamin Urrutia, Ecuadorian writer

1950 - Daniel Auteuil, French actor

1951 - Yakov Smirnoff, Ukrainian-born American comedian

1954 - Jo Gartner, Austrian racing driver (d. 1986)

1956 - Hanne Krogh, Norwegian singer (Bobbysocks)

1957 - Adrian Edmondson, British comedian

1958 - Neil Allen, American baseball player

1958 - Jools Holland, British musician

1959 - Vic Reeves, English comedian

1959 - David Mills, American author

1961 - Nastassja Kinski, German-born actress

1961 - Vince Russo, American writer

1963 - Martyn Grimley, English field hockey player

1963 - Arnold Vanderlyde, Dutch boxer

1965 - Carlos Saldanha, Brazilian director

1965 - Mike Awesome, American professional wrestler (d. 2007)

1966 - Jimeoin, Northern Irish comedian

1967 - Mark Kozelek, American singer/songwriter (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon)

1967 - Phil LaMarr, American voice actor

1967 - John Myung, American musician (Dream Theater)

1968 - Michael Kiske, German musician

1968 - Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast

1969 - Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Icelandic actor

1970 - Matthew Lillard, American actor

1971 - Cory Bailey, Major League Baseball Player

1971 - Andrea Mackris, American television producer

1972 - Naoshi Mizuta, Japanese composer

1974 - Shii Ann Huang, American game show contestant

1974 - Ed Helms, American actor

1975 - Rónald Gómez, Costa Rican soccer player

1976 - Shae-Lynn Bourne, Canadian ice dancer with Victor Kraatz

1979 - Tatyana Ali, American actress

1979 - Tom Kostopoulos, Canadian ice hockey player

1980 - Rocky Boiman, Natoional Football League outside linebacker

1980 - Nicole Marie Lenz, American actress

1981 - Travis Hanson, Major League Baseball player

1983 - Shaun Maloney, Scottish soccer player

1983 - Scott Speed, American race car driver

1984 - Benoît Huot, Quebec paralympic swimmer

1984 - Scott Kazmir, Major League Baseball pitcher

1984 - Witold Kiełtyka, Polish drummer (Decapitated) (d. 2007)

1986 - Mischa Barton, English-born American actress

1986 - Raviv Ullman, Israeli-born American actor

1989 - Calvin Goldspink, English singer

Deaths

41 - Caligula, Emperor of Rome (b. 12)

772 - Pope Stephen III (b. 720)

1002 - Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 980)

1125 - David IV of Georgia (b. 1073)

1366 - Alfonso IV of Aragon (b. 1299)

1376 - Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, English military leader

1473 - Conrad Paumann, German composer

1595 - Ferdinand II of Austria (b. 1529)

1626 - Samuel Argall, English adventurer and naval officer (b. 1580)

1639 - Georg Jenatsch, Swiss politician (b. 1596)

1666 - Johann Andreas Herbst, German composer (b. 1588)

1709 - George Rooke, English admiral (b. 1650)

1769 - François de Chevert, French general (b. 1695)

1856 - Rabbi Yechezkel of Kuzmir, Polish Hasidic leader (b. 1775)

1877 - Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist (b. 1796)

1882 - Levi Boone, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1808)

1883 - Friedrich von Flotow, German composer (b. 1812)

1895 - Lord Randolph Churchill, British politician (b. 1849)

1911 - David Graham Phillips, American journalist and novelist (b. 1867)

1920 - Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1884)

1924 - Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1894)

1932 - Alfred Yarrow, English shipbuilder (b. 1842)

1939 - Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician and nutritionist (b. 1867)

1943 - John Burns, English politician (b. 1858)

1948 - Maria Mandel, Camp Leader at Auschwitz (b. 1912)

1948 - Arthur Liebehenschel, Commandant at Auschwitz concentration camp (b. 1901)

1955 - Ira Hayes, American World War II hero (b. 1923)

1960 - Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (b. 1886)

1961 - Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American swimmer and inventor (b. 1884)

1962 - Stanley Lord, captain of the SS Californian the night of the Titanic disaster (b. 1877)

1962 - André Lhote, french painter.

1965 - Winston Churchill, soldier, politician, historian, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Nobel laureate (b. 1874)

1966 - Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist (b. 1909)

1970 - Caresse Crosby, American poet (b. 1891)

1971 - Bill W., American co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (b. 1895)

1973 - J. Carrol Naish, American actor (b. 1897)

1975 - Larry Fine, American actor and comedian (b. 1902)

1978 - Herta Oberheuser, German doctor (b. 1911)

1982 - Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian president and dictator (b. 1918)

1983 - George Cukor, American film director (b. 1899)

1986 - L. Ron Hubbard, American writer and founder of Scientology (b. 1911)

1986 - Flo Hyman, American volleyball player (b. 1954)

1986 - Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (b. 1921)

1988 - Werner Fenchel, German mathematician (b. 1905)

1989 - Ted Bundy, American serial killer (b. 1946)

1989 - George Knudson, Canadian golfer (b. 1937)

1990 - Madge Bellamy, American actress (b. 1899)

1991 - John M. Kelly, Irish politician and academic (b. 1931)

1992 - Ken Darby, American composer, arranger and conductor (b. 1909)

1992 - Ricky Ray Rector, American murderer (b. 1950)

1993 - Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1908)

1993 - Uğur Mumcu, Turkish journalist and writer (b. 1942)

1994 - Yves Navarre, French writer (b. 1940)

1998 - Walter D. Edmonds, American author (b. 1903)

2000 - Bobby Duncum, Jr., American professional wrestler (b. 1965)

2002 - Peter Gzowski, Canadian broadcaster, writer and reporter (b. 1934)

2002 - Elie Hobeika, Lebanese Forces militia commander (b. 1956)

2003 - Gianni Agnelli, Italian auto executive (b. 1921)

2004 - Leônidas da Silva, Brazilian footballer (b. 1913)

2005 - June Bronhill, Australian singer (b. 1929)

2005 - Vladimir Savchenko, Ukrainian writer (b. 1933)

2005 - Chalkie White, English rugby union coach (b. 1929)

2006 - Fayard Nicholas, American tap dancer, one-half of The Nicholas Brothers (b. 1914)

2006 - Schafik Handal, Salvadorean politician

2006 - Chris Penn, American actor (b. 1965)

2007 - Krystyna Feldman, Polish actress (b. 1916)

2007 - Guadalupe Larriva, Ecuadorian politician (b. 1956)

2007 - Emiliano Mercado del Toro, World's Oldest Military Veteran (b. 1891)

2008 - Randy Salerno, co-anchor of Chicago's CBS 2 News

Holidays and observances

Roman Empire - first day of the Sementivae in honor of Ceres and Terra

Roman Catholic Church - Feasts of St. Francis de Sales and Our Lady of Peace

January 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Wales - Saint Cadoc

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