On This Day: 24 April

24 April in Indian history

• 1837A fire broke out in Surat, India, which went on to destroy about 75% of the city.India

24 April in world history

• 2011WikiLeaks starts publishing the Guantanamo Bay files leak.
• 2005Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.
• 1994A Douglas DC-3 ditches in Botany Bay after takeoff from Sydney Airport. All 25 people on board survive.
• 1993The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a truck bomb in London's financial district in Bishopsgate, killing one person, injuring forty-four others, and causing damage that cost £350 million to repair.
• 1980Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.
• 1967Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when its parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission.
• 1967Vietnam 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".
• 1965Cold War: The Dominican Civil War broke out due to tensions following a military coup against the democratically elected government of President Juan Bosch two years earlier.
• 1957Suez Crisis: The Suez Canal is reopened following the introduction of UNEF peacekeepers to the region.
• 1955The Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemns colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.
• 1944World War II: The British Special Boat Service executed a successful raid to destroy an Axis radio station on the Greek island of Santorini.
• 1933Nazi Germany began its persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg.
• 1922The first portion of the Imperial Wireless Chain, a strategic international wireless telegraphy communications network created to link the countries of the British Empire, opened.
• 1918World War I: First tank-to-tank combat, during the second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. Three British Mark IVs meet three German A7Vs.
• 1916Easter Rising: Irish rebels, led by Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, launch an uprising in Dublin against British rule and proclaim an Irish Republic.
• 1914The Franck–Hertz experiment, the first electrical measurement to clearly demonstrate quantum mechanics, was presented to the German Physical Society.
• 1800The Library of Congress, the de facto national library of the United States, was established as part of an act of Congress providing for the transfer of the nation's capital from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.

Born on 24 April

• 1977Carlos Beltrán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
• 1973Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketerIndia
• 1934Jayakanthan, Indian journalist and author (died 2015)India
• 1929Dr. Rajkumar, Indian actor and singer (died 2006)India
• 1919David Blackwell, American mathematician and academic (died 2010)
• 1897Manuel Ávila Camacho, Mexican colonel and politician, 45th President of Mexico (died 1955)

Died on 24 April

• 2014Shobha Nagi Reddy, Indian politician (born 1968)India
• 2011Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru and philanthropist (born 1926)India
• 1779Eleazar Wheelock, American minister and academic, founded Dartmouth College (born 1711)
• 624Mellitus, saint and archbishop of Canterbury

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 24 April in history?

2011: WikiLeaks starts publishing the Guantanamo Bay files leak. 2005: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI. 1994: A Douglas DC-3 ditches in Botany Bay after takeoff from Sydney Airport. All 25 people on board survive. 1993: The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a truck bomb in London's financial district in Bishopsgate, killing one person, injuring forty-four others, and causing damage that cost £350 million to repair.

What happened on 24 April in Indian history?

1837: A fire broke out in Surat, India, which went on to destroy about 75% of the city.

Which famous people were born on 24 April?

Carlos Beltrán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (1977); Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer (1973); Jayakanthan, Indian journalist and author (died 2015) (1934); Dr. Rajkumar, Indian actor and singer (died 2006) (1929).

Which day is observed on 24 April?

National Panchayati Raj Day; National Panchayati Raj Day (India); Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (Armenia, California, France); Concord Day (Niger); Democracy Day (Nepal).