On This Day — 24 January

2026

At least 70 people are killed and 10 others missing after major landslides in West Java, Indonesia.

2026 West Bandung landslide

2024

An Ilyushin Il-76 crashes in Russia's Korochansky District, killing all 74 people on board.

2024 Korochansky Ilyushin Il-76 crash

2018

Former doctor Larry Nassar is sentenced up to 175 years in prison after being found guilty of using his position to sexually abuse female gymnasts.

Larry Nassar

2011

At least 35 are killed and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.

Domodedovo International Airport bombing

2009

Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.

Cyclone Klaus

2003

The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.

United States Department of Homeland Security

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.

Hiten (spacecraft)

1988

An Aeroflot Yakovlev Yak-40 crashes at Nizhnevartovsk Airport, killing 27 people.

Aeroflot

1987

About 20,000 protestors march in a civil rights demonstration in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States.

1987 Forsyth County protests

1986

The Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to Uranus.

Voyager 2

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.

Soviet Union

1977

The Atocha massacre occurs in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy.

1977 Atocha massacre

1972

Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.

Shoichi Yokoi

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.

Vietnam War

1966

Air India Flight 101 crashes into Mont Blanc.

Air India Flight 101

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.

1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash

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.

Algerian War

1946

The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.

United Nations General Assembly

1943

World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

1942

World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand, then under Japanese control, to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom.

World War II

1939

The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people.

1939 Chillán earthquake

1935

Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company starts selling the first canned beer.

Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company

1933

The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices.

Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution

1918

The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars effective February 14 (New Style).

Gregorian calendar

1916

In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.

Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.

1915

World War I: 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.

World War I

1908

The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.

Scouting

1900

Second Boer War: Boers stop a British attempt to break the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.

Second Boer War

1859

The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later named Romania) is formed as a personal union under the rule of Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza.

United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia

1857

The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully fledged university in South Asia.

University of Calcutta

1848

California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento.

California gold rush

1835

Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt, which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.

Salvador, Bahia

1817

Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured during the action of Picheuta.

Crossing of the Andes

1758

During the Seven Years' War the leading burghers of Königsberg submit to Elizabeth of Russia, thus forming Russian Prussia (until 1763).

Seven Years' War

1742

Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.

Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor

1679

King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament.

Charles II of England

1651

Arauco War: Spanish and Mapuche authorities meet in the Parliament of Boroa renewing the fragile peace established at the parliaments of Quillín in 1641 and 1647.

Arauco War

1536

King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behaviour and possible impotence.

Henry VIII

1458

Matthias Corvinus is elected King of Hungary.

Matthias Corvinus

1438

The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV.

Council of Florence

914

Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.

Fatimid invasion of Egypt (914–915)

41

Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.

AD 41