On this day: 24 January

Selected events and births on 24 January, from Wikipedia’s “On this day”.

Events

• 771 – Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat dedicated a 65-ton stele, the largest stone known to be quarried by the Maya civilization, at his city of Quiriguá. Read more: Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat Stele Maya civilization
• 1458 – The Estates unanimously proclaimed 14-year-old Matthias Corvinus King of Hungary after being persuaded to do so by his uncle Michael Szilágyi. Read more: Estates of the realm Matthias Corvinus King of Hungary
• 1848 – James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill (reconstruction pictured) in Coloma, California, leading to the California gold rush. Read more: James W. Marshall Sutter's Mill Coloma, California
• 1857 – The University of Calcutta was established as the first modern university in the Indian subcontinent. Read more: University of Calcutta Indian subcontinent
• 1987 – About 20,000 protestors marched in a civil rights demonstration in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States. Read more: 1987 Forsyth County protests Forsyth County, Georgia
• 1990 – Japan launched the Hiten spacecraft, the first lunar probe launched by a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States. Read more: Hiten (spacecraft) Exploration of the Moon

Born on this day

• 1940 – Joachim Gauck, German pastor and politician, 11th President of Germany Read more: Joachim Gauck President of Germany
• 1941 – Dan Shechtman, Israeli chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Read more: Dan Shechtman Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• 1945 – John Garamendi, American football player and politician, 1st United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior Read more: John Garamendi United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
• 1953 – Moon Jae-in, South Korean politician, 19th President of South Korea Read more: Moon Jae-in President of South Korea
• 1956 – Agus Martowardojo, governor of Bank Indonesia Read more: Agus Martowardojo Bank Indonesia
• 1991 – Zhan Beleniuk, Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler Read more: Zhan Beleniuk
• 1991 – Tatiana Kashirina, Russian weightlifter Read more: Tatiana Kashirina
• 1999 – Vitalie Damașcan, Moldovan footballer Read more: Vitalie Damașcan
• 1999 – Niki, Indonesian singer and songwriter Read more: Niki (singer)
• 1999 – Tristan Wirfs, American football player Read more: Tristan Wirfs
• 2003 – Johnny Orlando, Canadian singer and songwriter Read more: Johnny Orlando
• 2012 – Princess Athena of Denmark Read more: Countess Athena of Monpezat

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / January 24 and the linked articles, via the Wikimedia “On this day” feed, under CC BY-SA 4.0. We leave out entries about wars, violence and disasters to keep this page family-friendly.