October 24

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1836 – Alonzo D. Phillips received a patent for the phosphorous friction safety match.

1861 – The first transcontinental telegraph message was sent to President Abraham Lincoln from Justice Stephen J. Field of California.

1901 – Daredevil and Michigan school teacher Anna Edson Taylor became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel. She did this on her 63rd birthday.

1911 – Orville Wright remained in the air for 9 minutes and 45 seconds in a Wright Glider at Kill Devils Hills, NC.

1926 – Harry Houdini’s last performance, which was at the Garrick Theater in Detroit, MI. He would die a week later due to complications with appendicitis.

1929 – “Black Thursday” — investors dumped more than 13 million shares, causing a stock market crash and leading to the Great Depression.

1931 – The upper level of the George Washington Bridge opened for traffic between New York and New Jersey. Today, it is the world’s busiest motor vehicle bridge.

1939 – Nylon stockings went on sale for the first time in Wilmington, DE.

1940 – The 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labors Standard Act of 1938.

1945 – The United Nations was formally established less than a month after the end of World War II.

1946 – A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket took the first photograph of Earth from outer space.

1949 – The cornerstone for the United Nations Headquarters was laid in New York, NY.

1969 – The movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” premiered in theaters.

1969 – Richard Burton bought his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, a 69-carat Cartier diamond ring for $1.5 million. Burton presented the ring to Taylor several days later.

1977 – Veterans Day was observed on the fourth Monday in October for the seventh and last time. The holiday was moved to November 11 the following year.

1989 – Disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker was sentenced to 50 years in prison for fraud.

1992 – The Toronto Blue Jays became the first non-U.S. team to win a World Series.

1996 – Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1997 – In Arlington, VA, sportscaster Marv Albert was spared a jail sentence after he made a courtroom apology to the woman he bit during sex.

1998 – The J.L. Hudson Department Store building in Detroit, MI came down.

2001 – The House of Representatives approved anti-terrorist legislation to permit police to secretly search homes, tap private telephone conversation and track Internet use.

2001 – The U.S. stamp “United We Stand” was dedicated.

2001 – NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft successfully entered orbit around Mars.

2002 – The police arrested 41-year-old John Allen Muhammad and 17-year-old John Lee Malvo as suspects in the Washington, DC Beltway sniper shootings.

2003 – The movie “Scary Movie 3” premiered in theaters.

2003 – In London, three Concorde jets touched down for the last time at Heathrow Airport, marking an end to commercial supersonic travel.

2005 – Hurricane Wilma made landfall in Florida, causing 61 deaths and over $20 billion in damage.

2008 – Jennifer Hudson’s mother and older brother were murdered at her mother’s home in Chicago, IL. An Amber Alert was issued for her missing eight-year-old nephew Julian. (His body was discovered three days later. Hudson’s brother-in-law was later convicted of the murders.)

BIRTHDAYS:

Norman Rush – 92 years old (1933) – Author and educator

John G. Cramer – 91 years old (1934) – Physicist and author

Malcolm Bilson – 90 years old (1935) – Pianist, musicologist, and educator

Santo Farina – 88 years old (1937) – Guitarist and songwriter

M. Rosaria Piomelli – 88 years old (1937) – Italian-American architect and academic

F. Murray Abraham – 86 years old (1939) – Actor

Merle Woo – 84 years old (1941) – Asian American activist

Bill Dundee – 82 years old (1943) – Scottish-American wrestler and manager

Bettye Swann – 81 years old (1944) – Singer-songwriter

Kevin Kline – 78 years old (1947) – Actor and singer

Kweisi Mfume – 77 years old (1948) – Lawyer and politician

John Markoff – 76 years old (1949) – Journalist and author

George Tsontakis – 74 years old (1951) – Composer and conductor

Doug Davidson – 71 years old (1954) – Actor

Mike Rounds – 71 years old (1954) – Businessman and politician

Brad Sherman – 71 years old (1954) – Accountant, lawyer, and politician

Cheryl Studer – 70 years old (1955) – Soprano and actress

Jeff Merkley – 69 years old (1956) – Businessman and politician

Ron Gardenhire – 68 years old (1957) – German-American baseball player and manager

John Kassir – 68 years old (1957) – Actor and voice actor

Michelle Lujan Grisham – 66 years old (1959) – Lawyer and politician

BD Wong – 65 years old (1960) – Actor

Mary Bono – 64 years old (1961) – Gymnast and politician

Bruce Castor – 64 years old (1961) – Lawyer and politician

Mark Grant – 62 years old (1963) – Baseball player and sportscaster

Janele Hyer-Spencer – 61 years old (1964) – Lawyer and politician

Ray LeBlanc – 61 years old (1964) – Ice hockey player

Doug Lee – 61 years old (1964) – Basketball player

Zahn McClarnon – 59 years old (1966) – Actor

Mark Walton – 57 years old (1968) – Voice actor and illustrator

Robert Wilonsky – 57 years old (1968) – Journalist and critic

Arthur Rhodes – 56 years old (1969) – Baseball player

Jeff Mangum – 55 years old (1970) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist

Aaron Bailey – 54 years old (1971) – Football player

Zephyr Teachout – 54 years old (1971) – Academic

Caprice Bourret – 54 years old (1971) – Model and actress

Pat Williams – 53 years old (1972) – Football player and coach

Kurt Kuenne – 52 years old (1973) – Filmmaker

Levi Leipheimer – 52 years old (1973) – Cyclist

Laura Veirs – 52 years old (1973) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist

Kalen DeBoer – 51 years old (1974) – Football coach

Corey Dillon – 51 years old (1974) – Football player

Monica – 45 years old (1980) – Singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

Zac Posen – 45 years old (1980) – Fashion designer

Casey Wilson – 45 years old (1980) – Actress and screenwriter

Tila Tequila – 44 years old (1981) – Singaporean-American model, actress, and singer

Macay McBride – 43 years old (1982) – Baseball player

Adrienne Bailon – 42 years old (1983) – Singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress

Chris Colabello – 42 years old (1983) – Baseball player

Brian Vickers – 42 years old (1983) – Race car driver

Jeremy Evans – 38 years old (1987) – Basketball player

Chris Hogan – 38 years old (1987) – Football player

Charlie White – 38 years old (1987) – Figure skater

David Castañeda – 36 years old (1989) – Actor

Eric Hosmer – 36 years old (1989) – Baseball player

Elijah Greer – 35 years old (1990) – Middle-distance runner

R. J. Hunter – 32 years old (1993) – Basketball player

Krystal Jung – 31 years old (1994) – American-South Korean singer, dancer, and actress

Sean O'Malley – 31 years old (1994) – Mixed martial artist

Jalen Ramsey – 31 years old (1994) – Football player

Ashton Sanders – 30 years old (1995) – Actor

Jaylen Brown – 29 years old (1996) – Basketball player

Garrison Mathews – 29 years old (1996) – Basketball player

Kyla Ross – 29 years old (1996) – Gymnast

Bron Breakker – 28 years old (1997) – Wrestler

Daya – 27 years old (1998) – Singer

Amon-Ra St. Brown – 26 years old (1999) – Football player

TODAY IS:

Today's special observances are temporarily unavailable. Please check back soon.

For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.