On this day in history

January 24

29 births · 13 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

178

California Gold Rush

178 years ago

Born this day

1712

Frederick II of Prussia

Died aged 74

Photo (modified): Anton Graff · Public domain

Oldest record

1985th

Caligula

death anniversary

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Famous births29

AD 76 · 1950 yrs

Hadrian

Hadrian ( HAY-dree-ən; born Publius Aelius Hadrianus, 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. His form of address as Roman emperor was Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 62

View profile Photo (modified): Marie-Lan Nguyen · Public domain

1631 · 395 yrs

Henry Morgan

Sir Henry Morgan (Welsh: Harri Morgan; c. 1635 – 25 August 1688) was a Welsh privateer, plantation owner and, later, the lieutenant governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he and those under his command raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, from which he profited.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 57

View profile Photo (modified): Alexandre Exquemelin , Piratas de la America (1681) · Public domain

1679 · 347 yrs

Christian Wolff

Christian Wolff (German:; less correctly Wolf; also known as Wolfius; ennobled as Christian von Wolff in 1745; 24 January 1679 – 9 April 1754) was a German philosopher. Wolff is characterized as one of the most eminent German philosophers between Leibniz and Kant.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyDied aged 75

View profile Photo (modified): Johann Georg Wille · Public domain

1712 · 314 yrs

Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II (German: Friedrich II.; 24 January 1712 – 17 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled King in Prussia, declaring himself King of Prussia after annexing Royal Prussia from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 74

View profile Photo (modified): Anton Graff · Public domain

1732 · 294 yrs

Pierre-Augustin de Beaumarchais

Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (pronounced; né Caron; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French playwright and diplomat of the Age of Enlightenment.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 67

View profile Photo (modified): After Jean-Marc Nattier · Public domain

1746 · 280 yrs

Gustav III of Sweden

Gustav III (24 January 1746 – 29 March 1792), also called Gustavus III, was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 46

View profile Photo (modified): Workshop of Alexander Roslin · Public domain

1776 · 250 yrs

E. T. A. Hoffmann

Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (born Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann; 24 January 1776 – 25 June 1822) was a German Romantic author of fantasy and gothic horror, a jurist, composer, music critic and artist.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 46

View profile Photo (modified): E. T. A. Hoffmann · Public domain

1836 · 190 yrs

Nikolay Dobrolyubov

Nikolay Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov (Russian: Николай Александрович Добролюбов, IPA:; 5 February 1836 – 29 November 1861) was a Russian poet, literary critic, journalist, and prominent figure of the Russian revolutionary movement. He was a literary hero to both Karl Marx and Lenin.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyDied aged 25

View profile Photo (modified): Petr Borel · Public domain

1862 · 164 yrs

Edith Wharton

Edith Newbold Wharton (née Jones; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of upper-class New York society to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gilded Age.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 75

View profile Photo (modified): E. F. Cooper, Newport, Rhode Island · Public domain

1891 · 135 yrs

Walter Model

Otto Moritz Walter Model (IPA:; 24 January 1891 – 21 April 1945) was a German Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. Although he was a hard-driving, aggressive panzer commander early in the war, Model became best known as a practitioner of defensive warfare.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryWould be 135

View profile Photo (modified): Jäger · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

1917 · 109 yrs

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine ( BORG-nyne; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 109

View profile Photo (modified): Milburn McCarty Public Relations. It was not uncommon for a network, program sponsor or studio to distribute publicity i · Public domain

1940 · 86 yrs

Joachim Gauck

Joachim Wilhelm Gauck (German:; born 24 January 1940) is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2012 to 2017. A former Lutheran pastor, he came to prominence as an anti-communist civil rights activist in East Germany.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsAge 86

View profile Photo (modified): EnergieAgentur.NRW · CC BY 2.0

Showing 12 of 29

Famous deaths13

AD 41 · 1985 yrs

Caligula

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August AD 12 – 24 January AD 41), also called Gaius or Caligula, was the third Roman emperor, ruling from AD 37 until his assassination in AD 41.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 28

View profile Photo (modified): J. Paul Getty Museum · CC0

1852 · 174 yrs

Ján Kollár

Ján Kollár (Hungarian: Kollár János; 29 July 1793 – 24 January 1852) was a Slovak writer (mainly poet), archaeologist, scientist, Lutheran pastor, politician, and major proponent of Pan-Slavism.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 58

View profile Photo (modified): Jan Vilímek · Public domain

1919 · 107 yrs

Ismail Kemal

Ismail Qemali, or Ismail Kemal Bey Vlora (Albanian:; 16 January 1844 – 26 January 1919), was an Albanian politician and statesman who is regarded as the founder of modern Albania. He served as the first prime minister of Albania from December 1912 until his resignation in January 1914.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 75

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1920 · 106 yrs

Amedeo Modigliani

Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (US:; Italian:; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtWould be 142

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1924 · 102 yrs

Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

Marie-Adélaïde (French: Marie-Adélaïde Thérèse Hilda Wilhelmine, Luxembourgish: Marie-Adelheid; 14 June 1894 – 24 January 1924), was Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 1912 until her abdication in 1919.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SportsWould be 132

View profile Photo (modified): Bain News Service, publisher · Public domain

1965 · 61 yrs

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryDied aged 90

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1966 · 60 yrs

Homi Jehangir Bhabha

Homi Jehangir Bhabha (30 October 1909 – 24 January 1966) was an Indian nuclear theoretical physicist who is widely credited as the "father of the Indian nuclear programme".

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 116

View profile Photo (modified): Konrad Jacobs, Erlangen · CC BY-SA 2.0 de

1983 · 43 yrs

George Cukor

George Dewey Cukor ( KEW-kor; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and producer. He concentrated primarily on comedies and literary adaptations.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 127

View profile Photo (modified): Allan warren · CC BY-SA 3.0

1986 · 40 yrs

L. Ron Hubbard

Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author and the founder of Scientology.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 115

View profile Photo (modified): Adam Cuerden · CC BY 4.0

1989 · 37 yrs

Ted Bundy

Theodore Robert Bundy (né Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989), also known by the alias Chris Hagen, was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped and murdered dozens of young women and girls between 1974 and 1978.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Notable PeopleWould be 79

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown photographer · Public domain

2004 · 22 yrs

Leônidas

Leônidas da Silva (Portuguese pronunciation:; 6 September 1913 – 24 January 2004) was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the most important players of the first half of the 20th century.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SportsWould be 113

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

2012 · 14 yrs

Thodoros Angelopoulos

Theodoros "Theo" Angelopoulos (Greek: Θεόδωρος Αγγελόπουλος; 27 April 1935 – 24 January 2012) was a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. He dominated the Greek art film industry from 1975 on, and Angelopoulos was one of the most influential and widely respected filmmakers in the world.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 91

View profile Photo (modified): George Laoutaris · CC BY-SA 2.0

Showing 12 of 13

Events5

1722 · 304 yrs

Table of Ranks

The Table of Ranks (Russian: Табель о рангах, romanized: Tabel' o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a struggle with the existing hereditary nobility, or boyars.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

1789 · 237 yrs

Estates General of 1789

The Estates General of 1789 (French: États Généraux de 1789) was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

1848 · 178 yrs

California Gold Rush

The California gold rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush in California, which began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

2011 · 15 yrs

Domodedovo International Airport bombing

The Domodedovo International Airport bombing was a suicide bombing in the international arrival hall of Moscow Domodedovo Airport, in Domodedovsky District, Moscow Oblast, on 24 January 2011. The bombing killed 37 people and injured 173 others, including 86 who had to be hospitalised.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tragedy

2020 · 6 yrs

Elazığ–Sivrice earthquake of 2020

The 2020 Elazığ earthquake occurred at 20:55 local time (17:55 UTC) on 24 January in Turkey. The magnitude of the earthquake was determined to be 6.7 Mw.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Disaster

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