24 January Events

January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 341 days remaining until the end of the year (342 in leap years). This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Friday or Saturday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Wednesday (56).

    AD 41 – Roman Emperor Caligula, known for his eccentricity and sadistic despotism, is assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards. The Guard then proclaims Caligula's uncle Claudius as Emperor
    1438 – The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV.
    1458 – Matthias Corvinus becomes king of Hungary.
    1624 – Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa.
    1679 – King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament.
    1739 – Peshva warrior Chimnaji Appa defeats Portuguese forces and captures Tarapur Fort, India.
    1742 – Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
    1758 – During the Seven Years' War the leading burghers of Königsberg submit to Elizabeth of Russia, thus forming Russian Prussia (until 1763)
    1817 – Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured during the Action of Picheuta.
    1835 – Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt, which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.
    1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento.
    1857 – The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully fledged university in South Asia.
    1859 – The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later named Romania) formed as a personal union under the rule of Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza.
    1862 – Bucharest is proclaimed the capital of Romania.
    1900 – Second Boer War: Boers stop a British attempt to break the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.
    1908 – The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.
    1915 – World War One: British Grand Fleet battle cruisers under Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty engage Rear-Admiral Franz von Hipper's battle cruisers in the Battle of Dogger Bank.
    1916 – In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.
    1918 – The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars effective February 14(NS)
    1933 – The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices.
    1939 – The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people.
    1942 – World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand, then under Japanese control, to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom.
    1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.
    1946 – The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
    1947 – Greek banker Dimitrios Maximos becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
    1960 – Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as the "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
    1961 – Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.
    1968 – Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launches Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider fighting around Long Bình and Biên Hòa
    1972 – Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.
    1977 – Massacre of Atocha in Madrid occurs during the Spanish transition to democracy.
    1978 – Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.
    1984 – Apple Computer places the Macintosh personal computer on sale in the United States.
    1990 – Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.
    2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
    2009 – Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.
    2011 – At least 35 die and 180 are injured in a bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.

Source: Wikipedia