Summary of the Day ✨ 24 January (24/01)
A series of tragic disasters struck multiple countries as landslides in Indonesia killed at least 70 people while a plane crash in Russia claimed 74 lives, and separately, former doctor Larry Nassar received a 175-year prison sentence for sexually abusing gymnasts amid a bombing at Moscow’s airport that left 35 dead and 180 injured.
Historical Events 📜
- 2026: At least 70 people are killed and 10 others missing after major landslides in West Java, Indonesia.
- 2024: An Ilyushin Il-76 crashes in Russia’s Korochansky District, killing all 74 people on board.
- 2018: Former doctor Larry Nassar is sentenced up to 175 years in prison after being found guilty of using his position to sexually abuse female gymnasts.
- 2011: At least 35 are killed and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport.
- 2009: Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.
- 2003: The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
- 1990: Japan launches Hiten, the country’s first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.
- 1988: An Aeroflot Yakovlev Yak-40 crashes at Nizhnevartovsk Airport, killing 27 people.
- 1987: About 20,000 protestors march in a civil rights demonstration in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States.
- 1986: The Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to Uranus.
- 1978: Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada’s Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.
- 1977: The Atocha massacre occurs in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy.
- 1972: Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.
- 1968: Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launches Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider fighting around Long Bình and Biên Hòa.
- 1966: Air India Flight 101 crashes into Mont Blanc.
Famous Births 👶
- 2012: Princess Athena of Denmark
- 2003: Johnny Orlando, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1999: Vitalie Damașcan, Moldovan footballer
- 1999: Niki, Indonesian singer and songwriter
- 1999: Tristan Wirfs, American football player
- 1991: Zhan Beleniuk, Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler
- 1991: Tatiana Kashirina, Russian weightlifter
- 1991: Zack Kassian, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990: Mao Abe, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1989: Serdar Kesimal, Turkish footballer
- 1989: Gong Lijiao, Chinese shot putter
- 1989: Whit Merrifield, American baseball player
- 1989: José Quintana, Colombian baseball player
- 1989: Ki Sung-yueng, South Korean footballer
- 1988: Selina Jörg, German snowboarder
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Iris Cummings, American swimmer and aviator (born 1920)
- 2019: Rosemary Bryant Mariner, American United States Naval Aviator (born 1953)
- 2018: Mark E. Smith, British singer-songwriter (born 1957)
- 2017: Helena Kmieć, Polish Roman Catholic missionary (born 1991)
- 2017: Butch Trucks, American drummer (born 1947)
- 2016: Fredrik Barth, German-Norwegian anthropologist and academic (born 1928)
- 2016: Marvin Minsky, American computer scientist and academic (born 1927)
- 2016: Henry Worsley, English colonel and explorer (born 1960)
- 2015: Otto Carius, German lieutenant and pharmacist (born 1922)
- 2014: Shulamit Aloni, Israeli lawyer and politician, 11th Israeli Minister of Education (born 1928)
- 2014: Rafael Pineda Ponce, Honduran academic and politician (born 1930)
- 2011: Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (born 1949)
- 2010: Pernell Roberts, American actor (born 1928)
- 2008: Usha Narayanan, Burmese-born First Lady of India (born 1922)
- 2007: Krystyna Feldman, Polish actress (born 1916)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Babylas of Antioch - Christian feast day:
Exuperantius of Cingoli - Christian feast day:
Felician of Foligno - Christian feast day:
Francis de Sales - Christian feast day:
Blessed Marie Poussepin - Christian feast day:
Pratulin Martyrs (Greek Catholic Church) - Christian feast day:
January 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Day of the Unification of the Romanian Principalities (Romania)
- Feast of Our Lady of Peace (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances:
Feria de Alasitas (La Paz) - Uttar Pradesh Day (Uttar Pradesh, India)
- National Girl Child Day (India)