May 24 facts for kids

2025 Calendar

May 24 in recent years

May 24 is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 221 days remain until the end of the year.

May 24th is a special day filled with many important events throughout history, from the founding of the first English colony in North America to major scientific and cultural achievements. It's also a day when many famous people were born and passed away, leaving their mark on the world. Let's explore some of the exciting things that happened on this date!

Events
Births
Deaths
Holidays and observances
See also

Events

History Makers (Pre-1600)

919 – Nobles in Franconia and Saxony chose Henry the Fowler as king of the East Frankish Kingdom.
1218 – The Fifth Crusade began its journey from Acre towards Egypt.
1276 – Magnus Ladulås was crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral.
1487 – A ten-year-old boy named Lambert Simnel was crowned Edward VI in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland. This was an attempt to challenge King Henry VII's rule.
1595 – The first printed catalog of a library, called Nomenclator, was released by Leiden University Library.

New Beginnings (1601–1900)

1607 – Jamestown, the very first lasting English colony in North America, was started.
1626 – Peter Minuit bought the island of Manhattan.
1667 – The French Royal Army crossed into the Spanish Netherlands, starting a war.
1683 – The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, opened. It was the world's first university museum.
1689 – The English Parliament passed the Act of Toleration. This law protected most Protestants but not Roman Catholics.
1738 – John Wesley had a spiritual experience that helped start the Methodist movement. This day is still celebrated by Methodists as Aldersgate Day.
1798 – The Irish Rebellion of 1798 began. It was led by the United Irishmen against British rule.
1813 – South American independence leader Simón Bolívar entered Mérida, leading an invasion of Venezuela. He was called El Libertador ("The Liberator").
1822 – At the Battle of Pichincha, Antonio José de Sucre helped secure independence for the area of Presidency of Quito.
1832 – The First Kingdom of Greece was officially declared at the London Conference.
1844 – Samuel Morse sent the first message, "What hath God wrought," over a commercial telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington D.C.
1856 – John Brown and his group killed five people who supported slavery at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.
1861 – American Civil War: Union troops took control of Alexandria, Virginia.
1873 – Patrick Francis Healy became the first black president of a mostly white university in the United States.
1883 – The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City opened to traffic after 14 years of building.
1900 – Second Boer War: The United Kingdom took over the Orange Free State.

Modern Milestones (1901–present)

1915 – World War I: Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, joining the Allies.
1930 – Amy Johnson landed in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia.
1935 – The first night game in Major League Baseball history was played in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2–1.
1940 – Igor Sikorsky successfully flew the first single-rotor helicopter.
1941 – World War II: In the Battle of the Atlantic, the German battleship Bismarck sank the British ship HMS Hood.
1944 – The Börse Berlin building burned down after being hit during an air raid in World War II.
1944 – The Congress of Përment happened in Albania. It set up a temporary government, the first independent Albanian government since 1939.
1948 – Arab–Israeli War: Egypt captured the Israeli kibbutz of Yad Mordechai. This five-day fight gave Israeli forces time to get ready to stop the Egyptian advance later.
1956 – The first Eurovision Song Contest was held in Lugano, Switzerland.
1958 – United Press International was created by combining the United Press and the International News Service.
1960 – After the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest earthquake ever recorded, the Cordón Caulle volcano began to erupt.
1961 – American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders were arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for "disturbing the peace" after getting off their bus.
1962 – Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbited the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
1967 – Egypt blocked the Red Sea coast of Israel.
1976 – The Judgment of Paris took place in France. This event helped make California a major player in producing high-quality wine.
1981 – Ecuadorian president Jaime Roldós Aguilera, his wife, and his team died in a plane crash.
1982 – Liberation of Khorramshahr: Iranian forces recaptured the city of Khorramshahr from the Iraqis during the Iran–Iraq War.
1991 – Israel carried out Operation Solomon, flying Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
1992 – The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, stepped down after protests for democracy.
1993 – Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia.
1994 – Four men were found guilty of bombing the World Trade Center in New York in 1993.
1999 – The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands, charged Slobodan Milošević and four others with war crimes.
2000 – Israeli troops left southern Lebanon after being there for 22 years.
2002 – Russia and the United States signed the Moscow Treaty.
2014 – A 6.4 magnitude earthquake happened in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey, injuring many people.
2019 – Twenty-two students died in a fire in Surat (India).
2019 – British Prime Minister Theresa May announced she would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party due to issues with Brexit.

Births

Historical Figures (Pre-1600)

15 BC – Germanicus, a Roman general.
1335 – Margaret of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary.
1494 – Pontormo, an Italian painter.
1522 – John Jewel, an English bishop.
1544 – William Gilbert, an English physician, physicist, and astronomer.
1576 – Elizabeth Carey, Lady Berkeley, an English courtier.

Influential People (1601–1900)

1616 – John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, a Scottish politician.
1628 – Marek Sobieski, a Polish noble.
1669 – Emerentia von Düben, a Swedish royal favorite.
1671 – Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
1686 – Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, a Polish-German physicist and engineer who created the Fahrenheit temperature scale.
1689 – Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, an English politician.
1743 – Jean-Paul Marat, a Swiss-French physician, journalist, and politician.
1789 – Cathinka Buchwieser, a German opera singer and actress.
1794 – William Whewell, an English priest and philosopher.
1803 – Alexander von Nordmann, a Finnish biologist and paleontologist.
1810 – Abraham Geiger, a German rabbi and scholar.
1816 – Emanuel Leutze, a German-American painter.
1819 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
1830 – Alexei Savrasov, a Russian painter.
1855 – Arthur Wing Pinero, an English actor, director, and playwright.
1861 – Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland, a Maltese lawyer and politician, and Prime Minister of Malta.
1863 – George Grey Barnard, an American sculptor.
1868 – Charlie Taylor, an American engineer and mechanic.
1870 – Benjamin N. Cardozo, an American lawyer and judge.
1870 – Jan Smuts, a South African lawyer and politician, and Prime Minister of South Africa.
1874 – Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine.
1875 – Robert Garrett, an American discus thrower and shot putter.
1878 – Lillian Moller Gilbreth, an American psychologist and engineer.
1879 – H. B. Reese, an American candy maker who created Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
1886 – Paul Paray, a French organist, composer, and conductor.
1887 – Mick Mannock, an Irish soldier and pilot.
1891 – William F. Albright, an American archaeologist and scholar.
1892 – Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, an American author and educator.
1895 – Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr., an American publisher who founded Advance Publications.
1899 – Suzanne Lenglen, a French tennis player.
1899 – Henri Michaux, a Belgian-French poet and painter.
1900 – Eduardo De Filippo, an Italian actor and screenwriter.

Modern Births (1901–present)

1901 – José Nasazzi, a Uruguayan footballer.
1902 – Lionel Conacher, a Canadian football player and politician.
1902 – Sylvia Daoust, a Canadian sculptor.
1904 – Chūhei Nambu, a Japanese jumper.
1905 – George Nakashima, an American woodworker and architect.
1905 – Mikhail Sholokhov, a Russian novelist and Nobel Prize winner.
1909 – Wilbur Mills, an American banker and politician.
1910 – Jimmy Demaret, an American golfer.
1913 – Joe Abreu, an American baseball player.
1914 – Lilli Palmer, a German-American actress.
1916 – Roden Cutler, an Australian lieutenant and politician.
1917 – Alan Campbell, Baron Campbell of Alloway, an English lawyer.
1918 – Coleman Young, an American politician and Mayor of Detroit.
1922 – Siobhán McKenna, an Irish actress.
1924 – Philip Pearlstein, an American painter.
1925 – Carmine Infantino, an American illustrator.
1925 – Mai Zetterling, a Swedish actress and director.
1926 – Stanley Baxter, a Scottish actor.
1928 – William Trevor, an Irish novelist.
1932 – Arnold Wesker, an English playwright.
1933 – Jane Byrne, an American lawyer and politician, and Mayor of Chicago.
1933 – Réal Giguère, a Canadian television host and actor.
1935 – Joan Micklin Silver, an American director.
1936 – Harold Budd, an American composer.
1937 – Maryvonne Dupureur, a French runner.
1937 – Archie Shepp, an American saxophonist.
1938 – Prince Buster, a Jamaican singer-songwriter.
1938 – Tommy Chong, a Canadian-American actor.
1940 – Joseph Brodsky, a Russian-American poet and Nobel Prize winner.
1941 – Bob Dylan, an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and Nobel Prize winner.
1942 – Ali Bacher, a South African cricketer.
1942 – Hannu Mikkola, a Finnish race car driver.
1943 – Gary Burghoff, an American actor.
1944 – Patti LaBelle, an American singer-songwriter and actress.
1945 – Terry Callier, an American singer-songwriter.
1945 – Priscilla Presley, an American actress and businesswoman.
1946 – Tansu Çiller, a Turkish politician and Prime Minister of Turkey.
1946 – Irena Szewińska, a Russian-Polish sprinter.
1947 – Albert Bouchard, an American singer-songwriter.
1947 – Mike De Leon, a Filipino director.
1947 – Waddy Wachtel, an American guitarist and producer.
1948 – Richard Dembo, a French director.
1949 – Jim Broadbent, an English actor.
1949 – Roger Deakins, an English cinematographer.
1953 – Alfred Molina, an English actor.
1955 – Rosanne Cash, an American singer-songwriter.
1955 – Philippe Lafontaine, a Belgian singer.
1956 – Larry Blackmon, an American singer-songwriter.
1956 – Dominic Grieve, an English lawyer and politician.
1958 – Chip Ganassi, an American race car driver and team owner.
1959 – Pelle Lindbergh, a Swedish-American ice hockey player.
1960 – Guy Fletcher, an English keyboard player.
1960 – Kristin Scott Thomas, an English actress.
1961 – Alain Lemieux, a Canadian-American ice hockey player.
1962 – Héctor Camacho, a Puerto Rican-American boxer.
1963 – Ivan Capelli, an Italian race car driver.
1963 – Michael Chabon, an American novelist.
1963 – Joe Dumars, an American basketball player.
1964 – Liz McColgan, a Scottish runner.
1964 – Adrian Moorhouse, an English swimmer.
1964 – Pat Verbeek, a Canadian ice hockey player.
1965 – John C. Reilly, an American actor.
1965 – Shinichirō Watanabe, a Japanese director.
1966 – Éric Cantona, a French footballer and actor.
1967 – Tamer Karadağlı, a Turkish actor.
1967 – Eric Close, an American actor.
1967 – Heavy D, a Jamaican-American rapper.
1969 – Jacob Rees-Mogg, an English politician.
1969 – Rich Robinson, an American guitarist.
1971 – Kris Draper, a Canadian ice hockey player.
1972 – Greg Berlanti, an American director.
1973 – Rodrigo, an Argentinian singer-songwriter.
1973 – Bartolo Colón, a Dominican-American baseball player.
1973 – Shirish Kunder, an Indian director.
1973 – Vladimír Šmicer, a Czech footballer.
1974 – Sébastien Foucan, a French runner and actor.
1974 – Magnus Manske, a German biochemist and computer programmer who helped create MediaWiki.
1975 – Will Sasso, a Canadian actor and comedian.
1975 – Marc Gagnon, a Canadian speed skater.
1976 – Alessandro Cortini, an Italian-American singer.
1976 – Catherine Cox, a New Zealand-Australian netball player.
1977 – Jeet Gannguli, an Indian music director.
1978 – Elijah Burke, an American wrestler.
1978 – Brad Penny, an American baseball player.
1979 – Tracy McGrady, an American basketball player.
1980 – Jason Babin, an American football player.
1980 – Anthony Minichiello, an Australian rugby league player.
1981 – Andy Lee, an Australian comedian.
1982 – Issah Gabriel Ahmed, a Ghanaian footballer.
1983 – Custódio Castro, a Portuguese footballer.
1984 – Sarah Hagan, an American actress.
1985 – Tim Bridgman, an English race car driver.
1986 – Mark Ballas, an American singer-songwriter and dancer.
1987 – Guillaume Latendresse, a Canadian ice hockey player.
1988 – Artem Anisimov, a Russian ice hockey player.
1988 – Billy Gilman, an American musician.
1989 – G-Eazy, an American rapper.
1990 – Mattias Ekholm, a Swedish ice hockey player.
1990 – Joey Logano, an American race car driver.
1991 – Aled Davies, a Welsh discus thrower.
1992 – Cody Eakin, a Canadian ice hockey player.
1994 – Rodrigo De Paul, an Argentine footballer.
1994 – Jarell Martin, an American basketball player.
1994 – Emily Temple Wood, an American, who won the 2016 Wikipedian of the Year award.
1999 – Tarjei Sandvik Moe, a Norwegian actor.

Deaths

Remembered Figures (Pre-1600)

688 – Ségéne, a bishop of Armagh.
1089 – Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury.
1136 – Hugues de Payens, the first leader of the Knights Templar.
1153 – David I of Scotland.
1201 – Theobald III, Count of Champagne.
1351 – Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman, a Moroccan sultan.
1408 – Taejo of Joseon.
1425 – Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, a Scottish politician.
1456 – Ambroise de Loré, a French commander.
1543 – Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish mathematician and astronomer.

Passing of Time (1601–1900)

1612 – Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, an English politician.
1627 – Luis de Góngora, a Spanish poet.
1632 – Robert Hues, an English mathematician.
1665 – Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, a Spanish abbess and mystic.
1734 – Georg Ernst Stahl, a German physician and chemist.
1792 – George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, an English admiral.
1806 – John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, a Scottish field marshal.
1843 – Sylvestre François Lacroix, a French mathematician.
1848 – Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, a German author and composer.
1861 – Elmer E. Ellsworth, an American colonel.
1872 – Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, a German painter.
1879 – William Lloyd Garrison, an American journalist and activist.
1881 – Samuel Palmer, an English painter.

Recent Departures (1901–present)

1901 – Louis-Zéphirin Moreau, a Canadian bishop.
1908 – Old Tom Morris, a Scottish golfer and architect.
1915 – John Condon, an Irish-English soldier.
1919 – Amado Nervo, a Mexican poet and journalist.
1923 – Rolf Skår, a Norwegian engineer.
1929 – Nikolai von Meck, a Russian engineer.
1939 – Fanny Searls, an American biologist.
1941 – Lancelot Holland, an English admiral.
1945 – Robert Ritter von Greim, a German field marshal.
1948 – Jacques Feyder, a Belgian actor and director.
1949 – Alexey Shchusev, a Russian architect who designed Lenin's Mausoleum.
1950 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, an English field marshal and Governor-General of India.
1951 – Thomas N. Heffron, an American actor and director.
1956 – Martha Annie Whiteley, an English chemist.
1958 – Frank Rowe, an Australian public servant.
1959 – John Foster Dulles, an American lawyer and Secretary of State.
1963 – Elmore James, an American singer-songwriter.
1965 – Sonny Boy Williamson II, an American singer-songwriter.
1974 – Duke Ellington, an American pianist and composer.
1976 – Denise Pelletier, a Canadian actress.
1979 – Ernest Bullock, an English organist and composer.
1981 – Herbert Müller, a Swiss race car driver.
1984 – Vince McMahon Sr., an American wrestling promoter who founded WWE.
1988 – Freddie Frith, an English motorcycle racer.
1990 – Arthur Villeneuve, a Canadian painter.
1991 – Gene Clark, an American singer-songwriter.
1992 – Hitoshi Ogawa, a Japanese race car driver.
1995 – Harold Wilson, an English politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1996 – Thomas F. Connolly, an American admiral.
1996 – Enrique Álvarez Félix, a Mexican actor.
1996 – Joseph Mitchell, an American journalist.
1997 – Edward Mulhare, an Irish actor.
2000 – Kurt Schork, an American journalist.
2000 – Majrooh Sultanpuri, an Indian poet.
2002 – Wallace Markfield, an American author.
2003 – Rachel Kempson, an English actress.
2004 – Henry Ries, a German-American photographer.
2004 – Milton Shulman, a Canadian author and critic.
2004 – Edward Wagenknecht, an American critic.
2005 – Carl Amery, a German activist and author.
2005 – Arthur Haulot, a Belgian journalist.
2006 – Henry Bumstead, an American art director.
2006 – Claude Piéplu, a French actor.
2008 – Dick Martin, an American actor and comedian.
2008 – Jimmy McGriff, an American organist.
2009 – Jay Bennett, an American singer-songwriter.
2010 – Ray Alan, an English ventriloquist.
2010 – Paul Gray, an American bass player.
2010 – Petr Muk, a Czech singer-songwriter.
2011 – Huguette Clark, an American heiress and painter.
2012 – Klaas Carel Faber, a Dutch-German officer.
2012 – Jacqueline Harpman, a Belgian psychoanalyst and author.
2013 – Helmut Braunlich, a German-American violinist.
2013 – Ron Davies, a Welsh footballer.
2013 – Gotthard Graubner, a German painter.
2014 – David Allen, an English cricketer.
2014 – Stormé DeLarverie, known as the "Rosa Parks of the lesbian community".
2014 – Knowlton Nash, a Canadian journalist.
2015 – Dean Carroll, an English rugby player.
2015 – Tanith Lee, an English author.
2018 – John Bain (TotalBiscuit), an English gaming commentator.
2023 – Tina Turner, an American-Swiss rock and pop singer.

Holidays and observances

Aldersgate Day/Wesley Day (Methodism)
Battle of Pichincha Day (Ecuador)
Bermuda Day (Bermuda), celebrated on the nearest weekday if May 24 falls on the weekend.
Christian feast day:
- Anna Pak Agi (one of The Korean Martyrs)
- Donatian and Rogatian
- Jackson Kemper (Episcopal Church)
- Joanna
- Mary, Help of Christians
- Sarah (celebrated by the Romani people of Camargue)
- Vincent of Lérins
- May 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Commonwealth Day (Belize)
Independence Day (Eritrea), celebrates the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia in 1993.
Lubiri Memorial Day (Buganda)
Saints Cyril and Methodius Day (Eastern Orthodox Church, Julian Calendar) and its related observance:
- Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavonic Literature Day (Bulgaria)
- Saints Cyril and Methodius, Slavonic Enlighteners' Day (North Macedonia)
Victoria Day; celebrated on Monday on or before May 24. (Canada), and its related observance:
- National Patriots' Day or Journée nationale des patriotes (Quebec)