Theodosius the Great, makes his ceremonial entry into Constantinople on November 24, 380 AD (adventus, or first formal entry). Theodosius was the last Roman emperor to rule the entire Roman Empire before its administration was permanently split between the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. More
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What Happened Today in History on November 24
Explore the historical events that shaped our world on November 24th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman repors on November 24 1642, the sighting the Island of Tasmania, becoming the first European to do so. He named the island Anthoonij van Diemenslandt, after the Governor of the Dutch East Indies. In 1856 it was renamed Tasmania in honor of Abel Tasman. More
Mohawk Chief Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant) dies. He was a Mohawk military and political leader who rose to prominence due to his education, abilities and his personal connections.
Brant fought in various wars throughout his life time. He participated in French and Indian War, allied with the British he fought with Mohawk and Iroquois allies. He received the silver medal from the British for service. He was fluent in English as well as at least three of the Six Nations’ Iroquoian languages. Brant led Mohawk and colonial Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. More
Charles Darwin’s book, "On the origin of species by means of natural selection" was published in London. The book was very popular and the first edition sold out on the first day.
It is considered to be one of the most important books on biology ever printed. The book was translated into 11 languages during Darwin's life time. More
The first U.S. federal prison for women officially opens in Alderson, West Virginia. The prison had a capacity for 700 inmates. All women serving federal sentences of more than a year were to be sent there.
The FBI Criminology Laboratory officially opens. During its first year, the Lab performed nearly 1,000 examinations. More
On Nov. 24, 1947, Congress votes to hold the “Hollywood 10” in contempt. The following day the Motion Picture Association of America announced that the “Hollywood 10” directors, producers, and writers who had refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) would be fired or suspended.
The ten men refused to state whether they were or had ever been members of the Communist Party, arguing that the questions violated their First Amendment rights. They were convicted in federal court in 1948 and received sentences of six months to one year in prison.
Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner with connections to the criminal underworld, shoots and mortally wounded Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy at 11:20 AM CST in the basement of the Dallas police station.
Oswald was being escorted from the city jail to the county jail at the time. He died at 1:07 PM at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Ruby was convicted but in October 1966, the Texas Court of Appeals reversed the decision on the grounds of improper admission of testimony and the fact that Ruby could not have received a fair trial in Dallas at the time. Ruby died of lung cancer in a Dallas hospital in January 1967, while awaiting a new trial, to be held in Wichita Falls, More
An unidentified man hijacks Northwest Orient Airlines, Flight 305, a Boeing 727 aircraft, flying from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington in the U.S. The hijacker was nicknamed D. B. Cooper by the media.
He tells a flight attendant that he is armed with a bomb, demanded $200,000 in ransom (equivalent to about $1,500,000 in 2023). He later parachuted out of the aircraft with the ransom money. Despite an extensive manhunt, he was never identified or caught. More
Fossils of one of the oldest known human ancestors, an Australopithecus afarensis specimen nicknamed “Lucy,” were discovered in Hadar, Ethiopia's Awash Valley.
Lucy, about 3.2 million years old, stood only a meter (3.5 feet) tall. She had powerful arms and long, curved toes that paleontologists think allowed her to climb trees as well as walk upright. More
The Dashun, a 9,000-ton ferry carrying more than 300 people and 40 crew members catches fire during a storm on November 24, 199 and capsizes in the Yellow Sea, off the northeast coast of China.
The ferry had departed from the port city of Yantai in Shandong province on its way to the northeastern port of Dalian for what is normally a seven hours journey. Nearly everyone on board perished, including the captain with only 22 survivors accounted for.
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ratified changes to the country's legal code that made women equal to men before the law and no longer subject to their husbands. More
A historic agreement is reached between Iran and six world powers, known as the Joint Plan of Action, to limit Iran's nuclear program.
The Colombian government and FARC sign a new, revised deal which is ratified by the Colombian Congress.