January 24: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

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

Events

• 41 - Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar (Caligula), known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism, is assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards.
• 1438 - The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugenius IV.
• 1458 - Matthias I Corvinus becomes king of Hungary.
• 1624 - Alfonso Mendez, appointed by Pope Gregory XV 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.
• 1848 - California gold rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento.
• 1888 - Jacob L. Wortman patents the typewriter ribbon.
• 1908 - Robert Baden-Powell begins 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 - A decree of the Council of People's Commissars, introducing the Gregorian calendar in Russia since February 1, issued
• 1922 - Christian K. Nelson patents the Eskimo Pie.
• 1924 - 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.
• 1945 - Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz, the concentration camp in Poland.
• 1952 - Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadaian-born Governor-General of Canada.
• 1962 - Brian Epstein signs on to manage The Beatles.
• 1966 - An Air India Boeing 707 jet crashes on Mont Blanc, on the border between France and Italy, killing 117
• 1972 - Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese soldier in hiding since the end of World War II in 1945, is discovered on Guam.
• 1982 - Super Bowl XVI: San Francisco 49ers defeat the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-21 in the first Super Bowl played north of the Mason-Dixon line
• 1984 - The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.
• 1986 - Voyager 2 passes within 81,500 km (50,680 miles) of Uranus.
• 1987 - In Lebanon, gunmen kidnap Alann Steen, Jesse Turner, Robert Polhill, and Mitheleshwar Singh.
• 1989 - Serial killer Ted Bundy is executed in Florida's electric chair.
• 1995 - The prosecution delivers its opening statement in the O. J. Simpson murder trial.
• 1996 - Polish Premier Jozef Oleksy resigns amid charges he spied for Moscow.
• 2001 - The last two of the Texas 7 are taken into custody in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
• 2002 - Enron Congressional hearings begin.
• 2002 - Terrorist suspect John Walker Lindh's hearing begins.
• 2002 - The United States Department of Justice indicts Robert Nicholas Angleton for conspiring to murder his wife, Doris Angleton, along with his brother Roger.
• 2003 - The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.

• 76 - Hadrian, Roman Emperor (d. 138)
• 1287 - Richard Aungerville, English bishop and writer (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 and courtier (d. 1706)
• 1670 - William Congreve, English playwright (d. 1729)
• 1674 - Thomas Tanner, English bishop and antiquarian (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)
• 1752 - Muzio Clementi, Italian composer (d. 1832)
• 1776 - E.T.A. Hoffmann, German writer, composer, and painter (d. 1822)
• 1862 - Edith Wharton, American writer (d. 1937)
• 1888 - Vicki Baum, Austrian writer (d. 1960)
• 1888 - Ernst Heinkel, German aircraft designer (d. 1958)
• 1895 - Eugen Roth, German writer (d. 1976)
• 1902 - E. A. Speiser, American Bible scholar (d. 1965)
• 1909 - Martin Lings, English Islamic scholar (d. 2005)
• 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
• 1925 - Maria Tallchief, American ballerina
• 1928 - Desmond Morris, British anthropologist and writer
• 1934 - Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet and dramatist (d. 1976)
• 1936 - Doug Kershaw, American musician
• 1939 - Ray Stevens, American musician
• 1941 - Neil Diamond, American singer
• 1941 - Aaron Neville, American singer
• 1943 - Sharon Tate, American actress (d. 1969)
• 1944 - Klaus Nomi, German singer (d. 1983)
• 1946 - Michael Ontkean, Canadian actor
• 1947 - Warren Zevon, American musician and songwriter (d. 2003)
• 1949 - John Belushi, American actor (d. 1982)
• 1951 - Yakov Smirnoff, Russian comedian
• 1958 - Jools Holland, British musician
• 1959 - Nastassja Kinski, German-born actress
• 1959 - Vic Reeves, English comedian
• 1963 - Arnold Vanderlyde, Dutch boxer
• 1963 - John Myung, American bassist (Dream Theater)
• 1963 - Martyn Grimley, British hockey player
• 1968 - Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
• 1970 - Matthew Lillard, American actor
• 1979 - Tatyana Ali, American actress
• 1980 - Nicole Marie Lenz, American actress
• 1986 - Mischa Barton, English-born actress
• 1986 - Ricky Ullman, American actor

• 41 - Caligula, Emperor of Rome (assassinated) (b. 12)
• 772 - Pope Stephen IV (b. 720)
• 1125 - King David IV of Georgia (b. 1073)
• 1366 - King Alfonso IV of Aragon (b. 1299)
• 1376 - Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, English military leader
• 1473 - Conrad Paumann, German composer
• 1595 - Archduke 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)
• 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)
• 1920 - Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1884)
• 1924 - Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1894)
• 1932 - Sir Alfred Yarrow, English shipbuilder (b. 1842)
• 1939 - Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician and nutritionist (b. 1867)
• 1943 - John Burns, English politician (b. 1858)
• 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)
• 1965 - Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (b. 1874)
• 1966 - Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist (b. 1909)
• 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)
• 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)
• 1986 - Vincente Minnelli, American film director (b. 1903)
• 1989 - Ted Bundy, American serial killer (executed) (b. 1946)
• 1990 - Madge Bellamy, American actress (b. 1899)
• 1991 - John M. Kelly, Irish politician and academic (b. 1931)
• 1993 - Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1908)
• 1998 - Walter D. Edmonds, American author (b. 1903)
• 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 coach (b. 1929)

• 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
• Oklahoma - Jim Ross day.

January 23 - January 25 - December 24 - February 24 — listing of all days