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Today April 24th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
1479 BC – Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty).
1184 BC – Greeks enter Troy using the Trojan Horse (traditional).
1558 – Mary Queen of Scots marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris.
1704 – The first regular newspaper in the United States, the Boston, Massachusetts New-Letter, is published.
1800 – The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 USD to purchase such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress.
1862 – American Civil War: A flotilla commanded by Union Admiral David Farragut passes two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River on its way to capture New Orleans, Louisiana.
1877 – Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878: Russia declares war on Ottoman Empire.
1898 – The Spanish-American War: The United States declare war on Spain.
1907 – Hersheypark, founded by Milton S. Hershey for the exclusive use of his employees, is opened.
1913 – The skyscraper Woolworth Building in New York City is opened.
1915 – The Armenian Genocide begins with a massacre of hundreds of prominent Armenians in Constantinople (now Istanbul).
1916 – Easter Rising begins: The Irish Republican Brotherhood led by nationalists Patrick Pearse, James Connolly, and Joseph Plunkett start a rebellion in Ireland.
1916 – Ernest Shackleton and five men of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition launch a lifeboat from uninhabited Elephant Island in the Southern Ocean to organise a rescue for ice-trapped ship Endurance.
1918 – First tank-to-tank combat, at Villers-Bretonneux, France, when three British Mark IVs met three German A7Vs.
1926 – The Treaty of Berlin under which Germany and the Soviet Union each pledged neutrality in the event of an attack on the other by a third party for the next five years.
1953 – Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
1955 – The Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemns colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.
1961 – The 17th century Swedish ship Vasa is salvaged.
1963 – Marriage of Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Kent to Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London.
1964 – Mexico becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
1965 – Civil war breaks out in the Dominican Republic when Colonel Francisco Caamaño, overthrows the triumvirate that was in power since the coup d état against Juan Bosch.
1967 – Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1, when the parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission.
1967 – Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland says in a news conference that the enemy had gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily.
1968 – Mauritius becomes a member state of the United Nations.
1970 – The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, is launched.
1970 – The Gambia becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as the first President.
1975 – The Baader-Meinhof Gang takes 13 hostages at theWest German embassy in Stockholm.
1980 – Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.
1990 – STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched by the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Births
1990 – Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine.
1991 – Freddie Stowers is awarded the posthumous Medal of Honor for which he had been recommended in 1918.
1993 – The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act comes into force establishing Panchayati Raj system in India.
1993 – An IRA bomb devastates the Bishopsgate area of London.
1996 – In the United States, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is introduced.
2004 – The United States lifts economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years previously, as a reward for its cooperation in eliminating weapons of mass destruction.
2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.
2006 – King Gyanendra of Nepal gives into the demands of protesters and restores the parliament that he dissolved in 2002.
2007 – Iceland announces that Norway will shoulder the defense of Iceland during peacetime.
Deaths
1533 – William I of Orange (d. 1584)
1581 – Vincent de Paul, French saint (d. 1660)
1620 – John Graunt, English statistician and founder of the science of demography (d. 1674)
1706 – Giovanni Battista Martini, Italian musician (d. 1780)
1718 – Nathaniel Hone, Irish-born painter (d. 1784)
1743 – Edmund Cartwright, British inventor (d. 1823)
1784 – Peter Vivian Daniel, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1860)
1815 – Anthony Trollope, English novelist (d. 1882)
1845 – Carl Spitteler, Nobel laureate (d. 1924)
1856 – Henri Philippe Pétain, French soldier and statesman (d. 1951)
1876 – Erich Raeder, German naval commander (d. 1960)
1876 – Ioannis Georgiadis, Greek fencer (d. 1960)
1878 – Jean Crotti, Swiss artist (d. 1958)
1882 – Hugh Dowding, commander of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain (d. 1970)
1887 – Denys Finch Hatton, English big-game hunter (d. 1931)
1889 – Stafford Cripps, British politician (d. 1952)
1889 – Lyubov Popova, Russian painter (d. 1924)
1896 – Benjamin Whorf, American linguist (d. 1941)
1897 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, President of Mexico (d. 1955)
1899 – Oscar Zariski, Russian-born mathematician (d. 1986)
1903 – José Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of the Falange (d. 1936)
1904 – Willem de Kooning, Dutch painter (d. 1997)
1905 – Robert Penn Warren, American poet (d. 1989)
1906 – William Joyce, Irish fascist (d. 1946)
1907 – William Sargant, British psychiatrist (d. 1988)
1908 – Marceline Day, American actor (d. 2000)
1914 – William Castle, American film director and producer (d. 1977)
1914 – Justin Wilson, American Cajun chef and humorist (d. 2001)
1916 – Lou Thesz, American professional wrestler (d. 2002)
1922 – J.D. Cannon, American actor (d. 2005)
1924 – Sir Clement Freud, British writer, radio personality, and politician
1924 – Ruth Kobart, American actor and singer (d. 2002)
1926 – Thorbjörn Fälldin, Prime Minister of Sweden
1929 – Dr.Rajkumar, Kannada actor
1930 – Jerome Callet, American musician
1930 – Richard Donner, American film director and producer
1933 – Patricia Bosworth, American actor, journalist, writer and biographer
1933 – Claire Davenport, British actress (d. 2002)
1933 – Alan Eagleson, Canadian ice hockey agent and promoter
1933 – Helmuth Lohner, Austrian actor
1933 – Freddie Scott, American singer (d. 2007)
1934 – Shirley MacLaine, American actor and author
1936 – Jill Ireland, British actress (d. 1990)
1937 – Joe Henderson, American jazz saxophonist (d. 2001)
1940 – Sue Grafton, American author
1941 – John Williams, Australian guitarist
1942 – Richard M. Daley, American politician
1942 – Barbra Streisand, American singer and actor
1943 – Richard Sterban, American singer
1945 – Doug Clifford, American drummer
1945 – Robert Knight, American singer
1945 – Doug Riley, Canadian musician (d. 2007)
1945 – Dick Rivers, French singer and actor
1947 – Claude Dubois, Quebec singer and songwriter
1947 – Josep Borrell Fontelles, Former President of the European Parliament
1947 – Roger D. Kornberg, American chemist, Nobel-prized
1948 – Paul Cellucci, 69th Governor of Massachusetts and former United States Ambassador to Canada
1949 – Véronique Sanson, French singer and songwriter
1952 – Jean-Paul Gaultier, French fashion designer
1953 – Eric Bogosian, American actor and writer
1954 – Mumia Abu-Jamal, American death-row inmate
1954 – Captain Sensible, British guitarist
1955 – John de Mol, Dutch media businessman
1957 – David J, British musician
1957 – Boris Williams, British musician
1958 – Valery Lantratov, Russian ballet dancer
1958 – Brian Paddick, British former deputy assistant commissioner and most senior openly gay police officer
1959 – Malcolm Oastler, Australian engineer
1959 – Dave Ridgway, Canadian football player
1960 – Paula Yates, British television presenter (d. 2000)
1962 – Stuart Pearce, English footballer and manager
1962 – Steve Roach, Australian rugby league footballer
1963 – Paula Frazer, American singer/songwriter
1963 – Billy Gould, American musician
1963 – Mano Solo, French singer
1963 – Tõnu Trubetsky, Estonian musician
1964 – Cedric the Entertainer, American comedian and actor
1964 – Djimon Hounsou, Beninese actor
1965 – Son Chang Min, South Korean actor
1966 – Pierre Brassard, Quebec humorist and actor
1966 – Alessandro Costacurta, Italian footballer
1967 – Omar Vizquel, Venezuelan baseball player
1968 – Stacy Haiduk, American actress
1968 – Todd Jones, American baseball player
1968 – Yuji Nagata, Japanese professional wrestler
1968 – Hashim Thaci, Kosovan politician
1969 – Elias Atmatsidis, Greek footballer
1969 – Melinda Clarke, American actress
1969 – Viveca Paulin, Swedish actress
1970 – Damien Fleming, Australian cricketer
1971 – Mauro Pawlowski, Belgian guitarist and singer
1972 – Rab Douglas, Scottish footballer
1972 – Nicolas Gill, Canadian judoka
1972 – Chipper Jones, American baseball player
1972 – Jure Košir, Slovenian skier
1973 – Eric Snow, American basketball player
1973 – Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
1973 – Gabby Logan, British television presenter
1974 – Kristie Krabe, American stage actress
1974 – Derek Luke, American actor
1974 – Eric Kripke, American television writer, director and producer
1974 – Brian Marshall, American bassist
1974 – Dave Vitty, British radio personality
1975 – Sam Doumit, American actress
1976 – Steve Finnan, Irish footballer
1977 – Siarhey Balakhonau, Belarusian writer
1977 – Carlos Beltrán, Puerto Rican baseball player
1978 – Eric Balfour, American actor
1978 – Kim Hyun-ju, Korean actress
1978 – Stella Damasus Aboderin, Nigerian actress
1979 – Laurentia Tan, Singaporean Paralympic equestrienne
1980 – Fernando Arce, Mexican footballer
1980 – Austin Nichols, American actor
1981 – Taylor Dent, American tennis player
1982 – Kelly Clarkson, American singer
1983 – Princess Iman bint Al Hussein of Jordan
1984 – Tyson Ritter, American musician
1987 – Kristopher Letang, Canadian hockey player
1987 – Jan Vertonghen, Belgian footballer
1994 – Austin Rogers, American actor
1998 – Ryan Newman, American actress
Holidays and observances
624 – Mellitus, third Archbishop of Canterbury
709 – Wilfrid, English archbishop and saint
1338 – Marquis Theodore I of Montferrat (b. 1291)
1342 – Pope Benedict XII (b. 1285)
1622 – Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Swiss friar and saint (b. 1577)
1656 – Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (b. 1561)
1731 – Daniel Defoe, English writer (b. 1660)
1736 – Prince Eugene of Savoy, French-born Austrian general (b. 1663)
1779 – Eleazar Wheelock, American founder of Dartmouth College (b. 1711)
1794 – Axel von Fersen the Elder, Swedish statesman and soldier; father of Axel von Fersen the Younger (b. 1719)
1852 – Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet (b. 1783)
1891 – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian field marshal (b. 1800)
1924 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist (b. 1844)
1938 – George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (b. 1863)
1939 – Louis Trousselier, French cyclist (b. 1881)
1942 – Karin Boye, Swedish author (b. 1900)
1942 – Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian author (b. 1874)
1944 – William Stephens, American political figure (b. 1859)
1945 – Ernst-Robert Grawitz, German physician (b. 1899)
1947 – Willa Cather, American writer (b. 1873)
1947 – Hans Biebow, German WWII figure (b. 1902)
1957 – Harry McClintock, American country singer and hobo
1960 – Max von Laue, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
1964 – Gerhard Domagk, German bacteriologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (declined) (b. 1895)
1965 – Louise Dresser, American actress (b. 1878)
1967 – Vladimir Komarov, cosmonaut (b. 1927)
1974 – Bud Abbott, American actor and comedian (b. 1895)
1975 – Pete Ham, Welsh musician (Badfinger) (b. 1947)
1980 – Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer (b. 1904)
1982 – Ville Ritola, Finnish athlete (b. 1896)
1983 – Rolf Stommelen, German race car driver (b. 1943)
1986 – Wallis Simpson, American wife of Edward, Duke of Windsor (b. 1896)
1993 – Oliver Tambo, South African activist and politician (b. 1917)
1997 – Pat Paulsen, American comedian and politician (b. 1927)
1997 – Eugene Stoner, American engineer and weapons designer (b. 1922)
2001 – Al Hibbler, American singer (b. 1915)
2001 – Leon Sullivan, American civil rights leader and pastor (b. 1922)
2004 – Estée Lauder, American cosmetics entrepreneur (b. 1906)
2005 – Ezer Weizman, President of Israel (b. 1924)
2005 – Fei Xiaotong, Chinese sociologist (b. 1910)
2006 – Steve Stavro, Canadian businessman and sports team owner (b. 1927)
2006 – Moshe Teitelbaum, Hassidic rabbi (b. 1914)
2006 – Brian Labone, English footballer (b. 1940)
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