April 24
Overview
Holidays & Observances
Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day(Armenia,France)
A solemn day honoring the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, recognized in Armenia and by France on April 24.
Christian feast day:
Benedict Menni, Dermot of Armagh, Dyfnan of Anglesey, Ecgberht of Ripon, Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Gregory of Elvira, Ivo of Ramsey, Johann Walter(Lutheran), Mary of Clopas, Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, Mellitus, Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur, Salome (disciple), Wilfrid(Church of England), William Firmatus, April 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
A collective celebration of numerous saints and disciples recognized across Christian traditions, observed on April 24.
Concord Day(Niger)
National holiday in Niger celebrating unity and harmony among the country’s diverse communities.
Democracy Day (Nepal)
A public holiday in Nepal commemorating the advent of democracy and the end of the Rana regime in 1951.
Fashion Revolution Day, and its related observances:
Labour Safety Day(Bangladesh, proposed)
An annual campaign advocating for ethical, safe, and transparent practices in the global fashion industry.
National Panchayati Raj Day(India)
Indian holiday celebrating the institution of local self-government through Panchayati Raj on April 24.
Republic Day (The Gambia)
A national holiday celebrated on April 24 marking The Gambia’s transition to a republic in 1970.
World Day for Laboratory Animals
An international observance raising awareness of the welfare of animals used in scientific research.
Benedict Menni
Commemorates Saint Benedict Menni, founder of the Hospitaller Brothers of Mercy, on April 24.
Events
Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th dynasty).
In 1479 BC, Thutmose III ascended the Egyptian throne, though actual power lay with his stepmother Hatshepsut.
Traditional reckoning of the Fall of Troy marking the end of the legendary Trojan War, given by chief librarian of the Library of Alexandria Eratosthenes, among others.
Scholars like Eratosthenes placed the legendary Fall of Troy in 1183 BC, signalling the end of the Trojan War.
Battle of Mühlberg. Duke of Alba, commanding Spanish-Imperial forces of Charles I of Spain, defeats the troops of Schmalkaldic League.
On April 24, 1547, the Duke of Alba led Spanish-Imperial forces to victory over the Schmalkaldic League at Mühlberg.
Mary, Queen of Scots, marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre-Dame de Paris.
Mary, Queen of Scots married France's Dauphin François at Notre-Dame de Paris in 1558, strengthening Franco-Scottish ties.
The first regular newspaper in British Colonial America, The Boston News-Letter, is published.
The Boston News-Letter, the first continuously published newspaper in Colonial America, debuted on April 24, 1704.
French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat is acquitted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of charges brought by the Girondin in Paris.
French revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat was acquitted of Girondin charges by the Revolutionary Tribunal in Paris in 1793.
The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress".
In 1800, President John Adams signed legislation allocating funds to establish the United States Library of Congress.
The great fire in Surat city of India caused more than 500 deaths and destruction of more than 9,000 houses.
A devastating fire swept through Surat in India in 1837, claiming over 500 lives and destroying thousands of homes.
Russo-Turkish War: The Russian Empire declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire in 1877, igniting the Russo-Turkish War in the Balkans.
Births
King of Aragon from 1134 to 1157, known as the Monk.
Sabina of Bavaria
Bavarian duchess and noblewoman of the House of Wittelsbach.
Thomas Lucy
English politician and magistrate known for his conflict with William Shakespeare.
William I of Orange
Founder of the Dutch Republic and leader of the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule.
Guglielmo Gonzaga
Duke of Mantua from 1550 to 1587, renowned as a patron of the arts during the Italian Renaissance.
Henry Wriothesley
2nd Earl of Southampton, English nobleman and courtier under Elizabeth I.
Xu Guangqi
Ming Dynasty official and scholar who pioneered Western scientific knowledge in China.
Vincent de Paul
French priest renowned for his charitable work and founding the Vincentian congregation.
Gaston
French prince and Duke of Orléans, notable for his involvement in the Fronde uprisings.
Deaths
Mellitus
Anglo-Saxon saint who served as the first Archbishop of Canterbury, instrumental in establishing the early English church.
Petronille de Chemillé
French abbess of the Fontevrault Abbey, known for her leadership of a major medieval monastic community.
Duchess of Austria and last member of the Babenberg dynasty whose contested inheritance shaped the region’s history.
Theodore I
Italian marquis who ruled Montferrat and engaged in dynastic alliances and conflicts in early 14th-century Italy.
Jorge Manrique
Spanish nobleman and poet best known for his elegiac verses 'Coplas por la muerte de su padre'.
Şehzade Ahmet
Ottoman prince who vied for the sultanate and played a central role in early 16th-century succession struggles.
Concino Concini
Italian-born courtier who rose to power as First Minister of France under Queen Marie de’ Medici.
Fidelis of Sigmaringen
German Capuchin friar and martyr celebrated as a Catholic saint for his missionary zeal.
Thomas Fincke
Danish mathematician and physicist credited with introducing the terms tangent and secant.