24 May History
- 1543 - Nicolaus Copernicus publishes proof of a sun-centered solar system. He dies just after publication.
- 1607 - Captain Christopher Newport and 105 followers found the colony of Jamestown at the mouth of the James River on the coast of Virginia.
- 1610 - Sir Thomas Gates institutes "laws divine moral and marshal, " a harsh civil code for Jamestown.
- 1624 - After years of unprofitable operation, Virginia's charter is revoked and it becomes a royal colony.
- 1689 - English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration, protecting Protestants. Roman Catholics are specifically excluded from exemption.
- 1738 - The Methodist Church is established.
- 1764 - Boston lawyer James Otis denounces "taxation without representation," calling for the colonies to unite in opposition to Britain's new tax measures.
- 1798 - Believing that a French invasion of Ireland is imminent, Irish nationalists rise up against the British occupation.
- 1844 - Samuel Morse taps out the first telegraph message.
- 1846 - General Zachary Taylor captures Monterey.
- 1861 - General Benjamin Butler declares slaves to be the contraband of war.
- 1863 - Bushwackers led by Captain William Marchbanks attack a Federal militia party in Nevada, Missouri.
- 1878 - The first American bicycle race is held in Boston.
- 1930 - Amy Johnson becomes the first woman to fly from England to Australia.
- 1941 - The British battleship Hood is sunk by the German battleship Bismarck. There are only three survivors.
- 1951 - Willie Mays begins playing for the New York Giants.
- 1961 - Civil rights activists are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi.
24 May Birthdays
- 1544 - William Gilbert, English physician and scientist.
- 1743 - Jean-Paul Marat, French revolutionary.
- 1819 - Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1836-1901).
- 1878 - Lillian Moller Gilbreth, pioneer in time-motion studies.
- 1895 - Samuel I. Newhouse, American publisher.
- 1903 - Arthur Vineberg, Canadian heart surgeon.
- 1905 - Mikhail Sholokhov, Russian novelist (And Quiet Flows the Don).
- 1928 - William Trevor, Irish short story writer and novelist (The Old Boys, The Boarding House).
- 1941 - Bob Dylan (Robert Zimmerman), singer and songwriter.