May 24 in History

Historical Events on May 24

1856 John Brown and his men kill five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.

1861 American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.

1915 World War I: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary, joining the conflict on the side of the Allies.

1940 Acting on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, NKVD agent Iosif Grigulevich orchestrates an unsuccessful assassination attempt on exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in Coyoacán, Mexico.

1941 World War II: In the Battle of the Atlantic, the German Battleship Bismarck sinks then-pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, killing all but three crewmen.

1961 American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.

1967 Egypt imposes a blockade and siege of the Red Sea coast of Israel.

1991 Israel conducts Operation Solomon, evacuating Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

1992 The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigns following pro-democracy protests.

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Famous Birthdays on May 24

1819 Queen Victoria

1941 Bob Dylan

1966 Eric Cantona

1969 Jacob Rees-Mogg

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Famous Deaths on May 24

1153 David I of Scotland

1543 Nicolaus Copernicus

1974 Duke Ellington

1995 Harold Wilson

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