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On this day in history - January 24

What Happened On This Day – January 24

  • 1990 Japan launches its first lunar probe

    Hiten was the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Luna 24 in 1976 and the first deep space probe that executed an aerobraking maneuver.

  • 1984 The Apple Macintosh computer goes on sale

    The “Mac” was the first commercially successful personal computer using a graphical user interface and a mouse.

  • 1946 The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution

    Resolution 1 was passed to found the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission (UNAEC).

  • 1848 The California Gold Rush begins

    Some 300,000 people traveled to California after James W. Marshall had found gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California.

  • 1835 Slaves stage a rebellion in Brazil to end slavery

    The Malê Revolt was instrumental in ending slavery in Brazil.

Illustration of stork, signifying birth

Births On This Day,
January 24

  • 1943 Sharon Tate

    American actress

  • 1941 Neil Diamond

    American singer-songwriter, guitarist

  • 1776 E. T. A. Hoffmann

    German jurist, author

  • 1712 Frederick the Great

    Prussian king

  • 76 Hadrian

    Roman Emperor

Illustration of tombstone, signifying death

Deaths On This Day,
January 24

  • 1989 Ted Bundy

    American serial killer

  • 1986 L. Ron Hubbard

    American religious leader, author, founded the Church of Scientology

  • 1965 Winston Churchill

    English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel Prize laureate

  • 1895 Lord Randolph Churchill

    English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer

  • 41 Caligula

    Roman Emperor