April 24 in history — What Happened Today in History

Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.

China launches Dong Fang Hong I, becoming the fifth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster.

The Gambia becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as its first President.

Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when its parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission.

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".

Civil war breaks out in the Dominican Republic when Colonel Francisco Caamaño overthrows the triumvirate that had been in power since the coup d'état against Juan Bosch.

Marriage of Princess Alexandra of Kent to Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London.

Suez Crisis: The Suez Canal is reopened following the introduction of UNEF peacekeepers to the region.

The Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemns colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.

Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

World War II: The SBS launches a raid against the garrison of Santorini in Greece.

Nazi Germany begins its persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg.

Benny Rothman leads the mass trespass of Kinder Scout, leading to substantial legal reforms in the United Kingdom.

The Treaty of Berlin is signed. Germany and the Soviet Union each pledge neutrality in the event of an attack on the other by a third party for the next five years.

Thorvald Stauning becomes premier of Denmark (first term).

The first segment of the Imperial Wireless Chain providing wireless telegraphy between Leafield in Oxfordshire, England, and Cairo, Egypt, comes into operation.

World War I: First tank-to-tank combat, during the second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. Three British Mark IVs meet three German A7Vs.

Easter Rising: Irish rebels, led by Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, launch an uprising in Dublin against British rule and proclaim an Irish Republic.

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 the crew of the sunken Endurance.

The arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Istanbul marks the beginning of the Armenian genocide.

The Franck–Hertz experiment, a pillar of quantum mechanics, is presented to the German Physical Society.

The Woolworth Building, a skyscraper in New York City, is opened.

Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail single-handedly around the world, sets sail from Boston, Massachusetts aboard the sloop Spray.

American sharpshooter Annie Oakley is hired by Nate Salsbury to be a part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West.

Russo-Turkish War: The Russian Empire declares war on the Ottoman Empire.

The great fire in Surat, India causes more than 500 deaths and destruction of more than 9,000 houses.

The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress".

French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat is acquitted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of charges brought by the Girondin in Paris.

Sigrid Agren, French-Swedish model

Morgan Ciprès, French figure skater

Batuhan Karadeniz, Turkish footballer

Kim Tae-ri, South Korean actress

Jan Veselý, Czech basketball player

Elīna Babkina, Latvian basketball player

David Boudia, American diver

Taja Mohorčič, Slovenian tennis player

Ben Howard, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Kris Letang, Canadian ice hockey player

Rein Taaramäe, Estonian cyclist

Jan Vertonghen, Belgian international footballer

Varun Dhawan, Indian actor

Sandy Jardine, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1948)

Shobha Nagi Reddy, Indian politician (born 1968)

Tadeusz Różewicz, Polish poet and playwright (born 1921)

Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru and philanthropist (born 1926)

Jimmy Giuffre, American clarinet player, and saxophonist, and composer (born 1921)

Brian Labone, English footballer (born 1940)

Moshe Teitelbaum, Romanian-American rabbi and author (born 1914)

Ezer Weizman, Israeli general and politician, 7th President of Israel (born 1924)

Fei Xiaotong, Chinese sociologist and academic (born 1910)

José Giovanni, French-Swiss director and producer (born 1923)

Estée Lauder, American businesswoman, co-founded Estée Lauder Companies (born 1906)

Nüzhet Gökdoğan, Turkish astronomer and mathematician (born 1910)

Lucien Wercollier, Luxembourgish sculptor (born 1908)