Friday 24 May 2024 Calendar with holidays, observances and special days

Holidays and observances

• Aldersgate Day/Wesley Day (Methodism)
• Aviation Maintenance Technician Day in United States
• Battle of Pichincha Day in Ecuador
• Civil Engineer's Day in Ecuador
• Commonwealth Day in Belize
• Completo Day in Chile
• Easter street festival in Hamburg
• European Day of Parks (Europarc Federation)
• Feast of Slavic illuminators in Macedonia
• International Fireworks Competition (starts on the Saturday of the third full week of May)
• National Brother's Day in USA
• National Coffee Day in Brazil
• National Day against Racism in Bolivia
• National Epilepsy Day in Spain
• National Escargot Day in USA
• National Holiday in Bermuda
• Pilgrimage to Sainte Marie de la Mer in France
• Slavonic Writing and Culture Day in Bulgaria
• Tiara Day
• World Interiors Day or Interior Designer Day (Celebrated on the fourth Saturday in May)
• World Schizophrenia Day

Events

• 2002 – Russia and the United States sign the Moscow Treaty.
• 1981 – Ecuadorian president Jaime Roldós Aguilera, his wife, and his presidential committee die in an aircraft accident while travelling from Quito to Zapotillo minutes after the president gave a famous speech regarding the 24 de mayo anniversary of the Battle of Pichincha.
• 1962 – Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
• 1961 – American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.
• 1956 – The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland.
• 1940 – Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.
• 1935 – The first night game in Major League Baseball history is played in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Cincinnati Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2–1 at Crosley Field.
• 1930 – Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia (she left on May 5 for the 11,000 mile flight).
• 1861 – American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.
• 1844 – Samuel Morse sends the message "What hath God wrought" (a biblical quotation, Numbers 23:23) from the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland, to inaugurate a commercial telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington D.C.
• 1832 – The First Kingdom of Greece is declared in the London Conference.
• 1813 – South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador ("The Liberator").
• 1683 – The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, opens as the world's first university museum.
• 1607 – 100 English settlers disembark in Jamestown, the first English colony in America.
• 1595 – Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.

Births

• 1988 – Billy Gilman, American singer-songwriter. He has released five albums, including three for Epic Nashville.
• 1988 – Lucian Wintrich, American political artist and White House correspondent. He was among the first members of the White House Press Corps to be openly gay and one of the youngest.
• 1988 – Monica Lin Brown, American sergeant. Monica Lin Brown (born 24 May 1988) is a United States Army sergeant and medic who became the first woman during the War in Afghanistan and only the second woman since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the United States military's third-highest medal for valor in combat.
• 1986 – Mark Ballas, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, dancer, and actor. Mark Alexander Ballas Jr. (born May 24, 1986) is an American dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, musician, and actor.
• 1984 – Sarah Hagan, American actress. Sarah Margaret Hagan (born May 24, 1984) is an American television and film actress.
• 1983 – Pedram Javaheri, Iranian-American meteorologist and journalist. He also fills in on HLN's Morning Express with Robin Meade and appears on CNN U.S. during breaking news and severe weather coverage.
• 1982 – Rian Wallace, American football player. He won Super Bowl XL with the team, beating the Seattle Seahawks.
• 1980 – Jason Babin, American football player. He played college football at Western Michigan, where he was twice recognized as the conference defensive player of the year.
• 1979 – Kareem McKenzie, American football player. As a member of the New York Giants, he won Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI, twice against the New England Patriots.
• 1979 – Tracy McGrady, American basketball player. McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, two-time NBA scoring champion, and one-time winner of the NBA Most Improved Player Award.
• 1978 – Brad Penny, American baseball player. Louis Cardinals, and Detroit Tigers, and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
• 1978 – Elijah Burke, American wrestler. Elijah Samuel Burke (born May 24, 1978) is an American professional wrestler and color commentator, better known under the ring names D'Angelo Dinero, Da Pope and Elijah Burke.
• 1976 – Alessandro Cortini, Italian-American singer and keyboard player. Alessandro Cortini (born May 24, 1976) is an Italian musician best known for being the keyboard player in the American band Nine Inch Nails, Cortini is also the frontman for the Los Angeles-based electronic-alternative band SONOIO.
• 1973 – Bartolo Colón, Dominican-American baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians (1997–2002), Montreal Expos (2002), Chicago White Sox (2003, 2009), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004–2007), Boston Red Sox (2008), New York Yankees (2011), Oakland Athletics (2012–2013), New York Mets (2014–2016), Atlanta Braves (2017), Minnesota Twins (2017), and Texas Rangers (2018).
• 1972 – Greg Berlanti, American director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for his work on the television series Dawson's Creek, Brothers & Sisters, Everwood, Political Animals, Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and You, in addition to his contributions to DC Comics on film and television, including The CW's Arrowverse.
• 1969 – Rich Robinson, American guitarist and songwriter. Richard Spencer Robinson (born May 24, 1969) is an American musician and founding member of the rock and roll band The Black Crowes.
• 1967 – Eric Close, American actor. Eric Randolph Close (born May 24, 1967) is an American actor, best known for his roles in television series, particularly as FBI agent Martin Fitzgerald in the CBS mystery drama Without a Trace (2002–2009) and Teddy Conrad in the ABC musical drama Nashville (2012–2017).
• 1967 – Heavy D, Jamaican-American rapper, producer, and actor (d. 2011), was a Jamaican-born American rapper, record producer, singer and actor. Myers was the former leader of Heavy D & the Boyz, a group which included dancers/background vocalists G-Whiz (Glen Parrish), "Trouble" T.
• 1966 – Ricky Craven, American race car driver and sportscaster. Richard Allen Craven (born May 24, 1966) is an American stock car racing analyst and former driver who currently works for Fox NASCAR.
• 1965 – John C. Reilly, American actor. John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, singer, voice actor, screenwriter, and producer who made his film debut in Brian De Palma's war film Casualties of War (1989).
• 1963 – Joe Dumars, American basketball player. He played for the Detroit Pistons from 1985 until 1999.
• 1963 – Michael Chabon, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Michael Chabon (/ˈʃeɪbɒn/ SHAY-bon; born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist and short story writer.
• 1963 – Rich Rodriguez, American football player and coach. His career college football coaching record stands at 163–118–2.
• 1962 – Gene Anthony Ray, American actor, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2003). He was known for his portrayal of dancer Leroy Johnson in both the 1980 film Fame and the 1982–1987 Fame television series based upon the film.
• 1962 – Héctor Camacho, Puerto Rican-American boxer (d. 2012), was a Puerto Rican professional boxer and entertainer. Known for his quickness in the ring and flamboyant style, Camacho competed professionally from 1980 to 2010, and was a world champion in three weight classes.
• 1961 – Alain Lemieux, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach. Louis Blues, Quebec Nordiques, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
• 1959 – Pelle Lindbergh, Swedish-American ice hockey player (d. 1985), was a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender who played parts of five seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers. Lindbergh died at age 26 in a single-car accident five months after leading the Flyers to the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals and winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender.
• 1958 – Chip Ganassi, American race car driver, team owner and businessman. Floyd "Chip" Ganassi Jr. (born May 24, 1958) is an American businessman, former racing driver, current team owner and member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
• 1956 – Larry Blackmon, American singer-songwriter and producer. Larry Ernest Blackmon (born May 24, 1956) is an American vocalist and musician who gained acclaim as the lead singer and founder frontman of the funk and R&B band Cameo.
• 1955 – Rosanne Cash, American singer-songwriter and guitarist. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife.
• 1947 – Albert Bouchard, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer. He was a founding member and drummer of the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult.
• 1947 – Waddy Wachtel, American guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Keith Richards (guitarist of Keith's side-band The X-pensive Winos), The Rolling Stones (lead guitar on Saint Of Me), Jon Bon Jovi, James Taylor, Iggy Pop, Warren Zevon, Bryan Ferry, Michael Sweet, Jackson Browne, and Andrew Gold, both in the studio and live.
• 1945 – Priscilla Presley, American actress and businesswoman. In her acting career, Presley had a starring role as Jane Spencer in the three successful Naked Gun films, in which she co-starred with Leslie Nielsen, and played the role of Jenna Wade on the long-running television series Dallas.
• 1945 – Terry Callier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012), was an American jazz, soul, and folk guitarist and singer-songwriter.
• 1944 – Patti LaBelle, American singer-songwriter and actress. Following the group's name change to Labelle in the early 1970s, they released the iconic disco song "Lady Marmalade" and the group later became the first African-American vocal group to land the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
• 1943 – Gary Burghoff, American actor. Gary Rich Burghoff (born May 24, 1943) is an American actor who is known for originating the role of Charlie Brown in the 1967 Off-Broadway musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and the character Corporal Walter Eugene "Radar" O'Reilly in the film MASH, as well as the TV series.
• 1941 – Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist, writer, and producer; Nobel Prize laureate. Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman; May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, and visual artist who has been a major figure in popular culture for more than fifty years.
• 1940 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996). Born in Leningrad in 1940, Brodsky ran afoul of Soviet authorities and was expelled ("strongly advised" to emigrate) from the Soviet Union in 1972, settling in the United States with the help of W.
• 1938 – Tommy Chong, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. He became a naturalized United States citizen in the late 1980s.
• 1937 – Archie Shepp, American saxophonist and composer. Archie Vernon Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz.
• 1936 – Harold Budd, American composer and poet. He has developed a style of playing piano he terms "soft pedal".
• 1935 – Joan Micklin Silver, American director and screenwriter. She received her B.A.
• 1933 – Jane Byrne, American lawyer and politician, 50th Mayor of Chicago (d. 2014), was an American politician who was the first woman to be elected mayor of a major city in the United States. She served as the 50th Mayor of Chicago from April 16, 1979, until April 29, 1983.
• 1925 – Carmine Infantino, American illustrator and educator (d. 2013), was an American comics artist and editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are the Silver Age version of DC super-speedster the Flash, with writer Robert Kanigher; the stretching Elongated Man, with John Broome, and Christopher Chance, the second iteration of the Human Target, with Len Wein.
• 1924 – Philip Pearlstein, American soldier and painter. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus with paintings in the collections of over 70 public art museums.
• 1914 – Lilli Palmer, German-American actress (d. 1986), was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Hollywood productions, earning a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance in But Not for Me (1959).
• 1913 – Joe Abreu, American baseball player and soldier (d. 1993), was an American Major League Baseball infielder. He played nine seasons in professional baseball, one at the major league level.
• 1910 – Jimmy Demaret, American golfer (d. 1983), was an American professional golfer. He won 31 PGA Tour events in a long career between 1935 and 1957, and was the first three-time winner of the Masters, with titles in 1940, 1947, and 1950.
• 1909 – Wilbur Mills, American banker and politician (d. 1992), was an American Democratic politician who represented Arkansas's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1939 until his retirement in 1977. As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee from 1958 to 1974, he was often called "the most powerful man in Washington."
• 1895 – Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr., American publisher, founded Advance Publications (d. 1979), was an American broadcasting businessman, magazine and newspaper publisher. He was the founder of Advance Publications.
• 1891 – William F. Albright, American archaeologist, philologist, and scholar (d. 1971), was an American archaeologist, biblical scholar, philologist, and expert on ceramics.
• 1879 – H. B. Reese, American candy maker, created Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (d. 1956). Reese Candy Company.
• 1878 – Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American psychologist and engineer (d. 1972), was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s as "a genius in the art of living." Gilbreth, one of the first female engineers to earn a Ph.D., is considered to be the first industrial/organizational psychologist.
• 1875 – Robert Garrett, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1961). Garrett (May 24, 1875 – April 25, 1961) was an American athlete, as well as investment banker and philanthropist in Baltimore, Maryland and financier of several important archeological excavations.
• 1870 – Benjamin N. Cardozo, American lawyer and judge (d. 1938), was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Previously, he had served as the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals.
• 1868 – Charlie Taylor, American engineer and mechanic (d. 1956). Charles Taylor usually refers to:
• 1863 – George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (d. 1938), was an American sculptor who trained in Paris. He is especially noted for his heroic sized Struggle of the Two Natures in Man at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, his twin sculpture groups at the Pennsylvania State Capitol, and his Lincoln statue in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• 1816 – Emanuel Leutze, German-American painter (d. 1868), was a German American history painter best known for his 1851 painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting.

Deaths

• 2014 – John Vasconcellos, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Haynes Johnson, American journalist and author (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Helmut Braunlich, German-American violinist and composer (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Kathi Kamen Goldmark, American journalist and author (b. 1948)
• 2012 – Lee Rich, American production manager and producer (b. 1918)
• 2011 – Huguette Clark, American heiress, painter, and philanthropist (b. 1906)
• 2010 – Raymond V. Haysbert, American businessman and activist (b. 1920)
• 2009 – Jay Bennett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1963)
• 2008 – Jimmy McGriff, American organist and bandleader (b. 1936)
• 2006 – Henry Bumstead, American art director and production designer (b. 1915)
• 2004 – Edward Wagenknecht, American critic and educator (b. 1900)
• 2004 – Henry Ries, German-American photographer (b. 1917)
• 2002 – Wallace Markfield, American author (b. 1926)
• 2000 – Kurt Schork, American journalist and scholar (b. 1947)
• 1991 – Gene Clark, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944)
• 1984 – Vince McMahon Sr., American wrestling promoter and businessman, founded WWE (b. 1914)
• 1974 – Duke Ellington, American pianist and composer (b. 1899)
• 1965 – Sonny Boy Williamson II, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (b. 1908)
• 1963 – Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1918)
• 1959 – John Foster Dulles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 52nd United States Secretary of State (b. 1888)
• 1951 – Thomas N. Heffron, American actor, director, screenwriter (b. 1872)
• 1949 – Alexey Shchusev, Russian architect, designed Lenin's Mausoleum and Moscow Kazanskaya railway station (b. 1873)
• 1879 – William Lloyd Garrison, American journalist and activist (b. 1805)
• 1861 – Elmer E. Ellsworth, American colonel (b. 1837)
• 1136 – Hugues de Payens, first Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b. c. 1070)