Historical events on April 24
APRIL 24, 1980
Eight U.S. servicemen died in Operation Eagle Claw, a failed attempt to rescue the captives in the Iran hostage crisis.
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army,
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APRIL 24, 1837
A fire broke out in Surat, India, which went on to destroy about 75% of the city.
In April 1837, a fire broke out in the Indian city of Surat, then under British East India Company rule. It resulted
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APRIL 24, 1918
First World War: The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux began, which contained the first instance of tanks fighting against each other.
World War I or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the
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APRIL 24, 1922
The first portion of the Imperial Wireless Chain, a strategic international wireless telegraphy communications network created to link the countries of the British Empire, opened.
The Imperial Wireless Chain was a strategic international communications network of powerful long range radiotelegraphy stations, created by the British government to
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APRIL 24, 1904
Realizing that the Russification of Lithuania was not working, the Russian Empire lifted the 40-year-old ban on publications written in Lithuanian language using the Latin alphabet.
Russification, Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or
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APRIL 24, 2011
Secret documents relating to detainees at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camp were released on WikiLeaks and several independent news organizations.
The Guantánamo Bay files leak began on 24 April 2011, when WikiLeaks, along with The New York Times, NPR and The Guardian
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APRIL 24, 1932
An estimated 400 ramblers committed a wilful mass trespass of Kinder Scout (pictured) in the Peak District to highlight the denial of access to areas of open country in England.
Walking is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits.
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APRIL 24, 2003
A backhoe breached a pipeline in Toronto, Canada, which caused a gas explosion that killed seven people.
A backhoe is a type of excavating equipment, or excavator, consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated
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APRIL 24, 2013
A building in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed, killing 1,134 people, making it the deadliest accidental structural failure in modern history.
Savar is an upazila of Dhaka District in the division of Dhaka, Bangladesh and is located at a distance of about 24
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APRIL 24, 1933
Nazi Germany began its persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg.
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945,
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APRIL 24, 1916
Irish republicans led by Patrick Pearse began the Easter Rising against British rule in Ireland, and proclaimed the Irish Republic an independent state.
Irish republicanism is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has
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APRIL 24, 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.
The Provisional Irish Republican Army, officially known as the Irish Republican Army and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican
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APRIL 24, 1990
The Hubble Space Telescope (pictured) was launched aboard STS-31 by Space Shuttle Discovery.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It
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APRIL 24, 1704
John Campbell released the first issue of The Boston News-Letter, the first continuously published newspaper in British North America.
John Campbell was an early American newspaper publisher and editor and Postmaster of Boston. He founded the first regularly published newspaper in
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APRIL 24, 1866
German composer Max Bruch conducted the premiere of his first violin concerto, which later became his most famous work.
Max Bruch was a German Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the
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APRIL 24, 1944
World War II: The British Special Boat Service executed a successful raid to destroy an Axis radio station on the Greek island of Santorini.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all
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APRIL 24, 1965
Cold 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.
The Cold War was a period of global geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their
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APRIL 24, 1914
The Franck–Hertz experiment, the first electrical measurement to clearly demonstrate quantum mechanics, was presented to the German Physical Society.
The Franck–Hertz experiment was the first electrical measurement to clearly show the quantum nature of atoms. It was presented on April 24,
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APRIL 24, 1915
The Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire began with the arrest and deportation of hundreds of prominent Armenians in Constantinople.
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by
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APRIL 24, 1800
The Library of Congress (building pictured), 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.
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United
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