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Easter Rising begins

Born on This Day

Barbra Streisand

1942 -

Golden-voiced singer, actress and director who starred in the films "Funny Girl" and "The Way We Were."

Cedric the Entertainer

1964 -

Comedian and actor known for "The Steve Harvey Show," the "Barbershop" film series and the "Madagascar" franchise.

Alejandro Fernández

1971 -

Mexican singer who's sold 20 million albums. Hits include the 1997 bolero-pop song "Si Tú Supieras" ("If You Knew").

Barbra Streisand2016 Kevin Mazur

Cedric the EntertainerFilmMagic

Alejandro FernándezGetty Images for The Latin Recor

1990

APR24

Space shuttle Discovery takes off, carrying the Hubble Space Telescope, which is launched the next day. Expected to remain in operation for 15 years, it still sends back data more than 30 years later.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on April 24th

Library of Congress established

President John Adams approves legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress,” thus establishing the Library of Congress. The first books, ordered from London, arrived in 1801 and were stored in the U.S. Capitol, the library’s first home. The first library catalog, dated April 1802, listed […]

Union issues conduct code for soldiers

The Union army issues General Orders No. 100, which provided a code of conduct for Federal soldiers and officers when dealing with Confederate prisoners and civilians. The code was borrowed by many European nations, and its influence can be seen on the Geneva Convention. The orders were the brainchild of Francis Lieber, a Prussian immigrant […]

Winston Churchill knighted

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, the British leader who guided Great Britain and the Allies through the crisis of World War II, is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on April 24, 1953. Born at Blenheim Palace in 1874, Churchill joined the British Fourth Hussars upon his father’s death in 1895. During the next five years, he enjoyed […]

The Bandung Conference concludes

The Afro-Asian Conference—popularly known as the Bandung Conference because it was held in Bandung, Indonesia—comes to a close on this day. During the conference, representatives from 29 “non-aligned” nations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East met to condemn colonialism, decry racism and express their reservations about the growing Cold War between the United States […]

Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov killed when parachute fails to deploy

On April 24, 1967, Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov is killed when his parachute fails to deploy during his spacecraft’s landing. He becomes the first human known to have died in space. Komarov was testing the spacecraft Soyuz I in the midst of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Earlier in […]

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Iran hostage rescue mission ends in disaster

On April 24, 1980, an ill-fated military operation to rescue the 52 American hostages held in Tehran ends with eight U.S. servicemen dead and no hostages rescued. With the Iran Hostage Crisis stretching into its sixth month and all diplomatic appeals to the Iranian government ending in failure, President Jimmy Carter ordered the military mission […]

Jane Fonda’s first workout video released

On April 24, 1982, Oscar-winning actress, anti-war activist and Hollywood royalty Jane Fonda adds a new title—exercise guru—as she extends her reach into the home-video market with the release of her first of her many bestselling aerobic workout tapes. Daughter of the celebrated actor Henry Fonda (star of 1940’s The Grapes of Wrath), Jane worked […]

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