Summary of the Day ✨ 24 April (24/04)
On this day, tragedy struck multiple locations as a devastating building collapse near Dhaka, Bangladesh claimed 1,134 lives while WikiLeaks began publishing classified Guantanamo Bay files, exposing detainee treatment. Simultaneously, bombings in Egypt’s Dahab killed 23 people, violence erupted in China’s Xinjiang resulting in 21 deaths, and a school stabbing in France left one person dead and three wounded.
Historical Events 📜
- 2025: A mass stabbing at a school in Nantes, France, leaves 1 person dead and 3 others wounded.
- 2013: A building collapses near Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1,134 people and injuring about 2,500 others.
- 2013: Violence in Bachu County, Kashgar Prefecture, of China’s Xinjiang results in death of 21 people.
- 2011: WikiLeaks starts publishing the Guantanamo Bay files leak.
- 2006: Bombings in the Egyptian resort city of Dahab kill 23 people and injure about 80.
- 2005: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.
- 2004: The United States lifts economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years previously, as a reward for its cooperation in eliminating weapons of mass destruction.
- 1996: In the United States, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is passed into law.
- 1994: A Douglas DC-3 ditches in Botany Bay after takeoff from Sydney Airport. All 25 people on board survive.
- 1993: An IRA bomb devastates the Bishopsgate area of London.
- 1990: STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery.
- 1990: Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine.
- 1980: Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.
- 1979: Blair Peach, a New Zealand teacher, dies after being knocked unconscious during an Anti-Nazi League demonstration against a National Front election meeting in Southall, London.
- 1970: China launches Dong Fang Hong I, becoming the fifth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster.
Famous Births 👶
- 2002: Olivia Gadecki, Australian tennis player
- 1999: Ziyu He, Chinese violinist
- 1999: Jerry Jeudy, American football player
- 1998: Ryan Newman, American actress
- 1997: Lydia Ko, New Zealand golfer
- 1997: Veronika Kudermetova, Russian tennis player
- 1996: Ashleigh Barty, Australian tennis player
- 1995: Kehlani, American singer-songwriter
- 1994: Jordan Fisher, American singer, dancer, and actor
- 1994: Caspar Lee, British-South African YouTuber
- 1993: Ben Davies, Welsh international footballer
- 1992: Joe Keery, American actor
- 1992: Laura Kenny, English cyclist
- 1992: Jack Quaid, American actor
- 1991: Sigrid Agren, French-Swedish model
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Roy Phillips, British musician (born 1941)
- 2024: Bob Cole, Canadian sports announcer (born 1933)
- 2024: Terry Hill, Australian rugby league player (born 1972)
- 2024: Donald Payne Jr., American politician (born 1958)
- 2024: Mike Pinder, British musician (born 1941)
- 2023: Wang Xiaolong, Chinese Coast guardsman (born 1995)
- 2022: Andrew Woolfolk, American saxophonist (born 1950)
- 2017: Robert Pirsig, American author and philosopher (born 1928)
- 2016: Tommy Kono, American weightlifter and coach (born 1930)
- 2015: Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1922)
- 2014: Hans Hollein, Austrian architect, designed Haas House (born 1934)
- 2014: Sandy Jardine, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1948)
- 2014: Shobha Nagi Reddy, Indian politician (born 1968)
- 2014: Tadeusz Różewicz, Polish poet and playwright (born 1921)
- 2011: Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru and philanthropist (born 1926)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (Armenia, California, France)
- Christian feast day:
Benedict Menni - Christian feast day:
Dermot of Armagh - Christian feast day:
Dyfnan of Anglesey - Christian feast day:
Ecgberht of Ripon - Christian feast day:
Fidelis of Sigmaringen - Christian feast day:
Gregory of Elvira - Christian feast day:
Ivo of Ramsey - Christian feast day:
Johann Walter (Lutheran) - Christian feast day:
Mary of Clopas - Christian feast day:
Mary Euphrasia Pelletier - Christian feast day:
Mellitus - Christian feast day:
Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur - Christian feast day:
Salome (disciple) - Christian feast day:
Wilfrid (Church of England)