What Happened on May 24

Significant Events

  • 1595 Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library
  • 1738 John Wesley is converted, launching the Methodist movement; celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day
  • 1844 Samuel Morse taps out "What hath God wrought" in the world's first telegraph message
  • 1941 German battleship Bismarck sinks the British battle cruiser HMS Hood; 1,416 die, 3 survive
  • 1988 Section 28 passed as law by Parliament in the United Kingdom prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality. Repealed 2001/2004
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Did You Know?

"Mary Had A Little Lamb" by Sarah Josepha Hale is first published by Boston firm Marsh, Capen & Lyon

On May 24, 1830

Famous Birthdays

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Would You Believe?

In the Judgment of Paris, wine testers rate wines from California higher than their French counterparts, challenging the notion of France being the foremost producer of the world's best wines

On May 24, 1976

Famous Weddings

  • 1917 Writer Walter Lippmann (27) weds Faye Albertson
  • 1935 Swedish princess Ingrid marries Danish crown prince Frederik (IX)
  • 1986 Country singer Garth Brooks marries songwriter Sandy Mahl
  • 1995 Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (22) weds pediatrician Anjali Mehta (28)
  • 2002 Princess Martha Louise of Norway (30) weds author Ari Behn (29) in Trondheim
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Famous Deaths

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May in History