May 24 in History

A suicide bombing targeting a shuttle train in Quetta, Balochistan, killed at least 48 people and injured 98 others.

A mass shooting occurs at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, resulting in the deaths of 21 people, including 19 children.

Twenty-two students die in a fire in Surat (India).

Under pressure over her handling of Brexit, British Prime Minister Theresa May announces her resignation as Leader of the Conservative Party, effective as of June 7.

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake occurs in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey, injuring 324 people.

At least three people are killed in a shooting at Brussels' Jewish Museum of Belgium.

Russia and the United States sign the Moscow Treaty.

Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands indicts Slobodan Milošević and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo.

While attempting to return to Leeds Bradford Airport in the United Kingdom, Knight Air Flight 816 crashes in Dunkeswick, North Yorkshire, killing all 12 people on board.

Four men are convicted of bombing the World Trade Center in New York in 1993; each one is sentenced to 240 years in prison.

Eritrea gains its independence from Ethiopia.

Roman Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo and five other people are assassinated in a shootout at Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport in Mexico.

The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigns following pro-democracy protests.

The ethnic cleansing in Kozarac, Bosnia and Herzegovina begins when Serbian militia and police forces enter the town.

Israel conducts Operation Solomon, evacuating Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

Section 28 of the United Kingdom's Local Government Act 1988, a controversial amendment stating that a local authority cannot intentionally promote homosexuality, is enacted.

Liberation of Khorramshahr: Iranians recapture the port city of Khorramshahr from the Iraqis during the Iran–Iraq War.

Ecuadorian president Jaime Roldós Aguilera, his wife, and his presidential committee die in an aircraft accident while travelling from Quito to Zapotillo minutes after the president gave a famous speech regarding the 24 de mayo anniversary of the Battle of Pichincha.

The Judgment of Paris takes place in France, launching California as a worldwide force in the production of quality wine.

Egypt imposes a blockade and siege of the Red Sea coast of Israel.

Belle de Jour, directed by Luis Buñuel, is released.

Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.

American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.

Following the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest ever recorded earthquake, Cordón Caulle begins to erupt.

United Press International is formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.

The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland.

Arab–Israeli War: Egypt captures the Israeli kibbutz of Yad Mordechai, but the five-day effort gives Israeli forces time to prepare enough to stop the Egyptian advance a week later.

Börse Berlin building burns down after being hit in an air raid during World War II.

Congress of Përmet occurs which establishes a provisional government in Albania in areas under partisan control, the first independent Albanian government since 1939. In honor of this the national emblem of Albania inscribed this date from 1946 until 1992.

World War II: Battle of the Atlantic: In the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the German battleship Bismarck sinks the pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, killing all but three crewmen.

Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.

Acting on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, NKVD agent Iosif Grigulevich orchestrates an unsuccessful assassination attempt on exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in Coyoacán, Mexico.

The first night game in Major League Baseball history is played in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Cincinnati Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2–1 at Crosley Field.

Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia (she left on May 5 for the 11,000 mile flight).

Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State.

The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.

Patrick Francis Healy becomes the first black president of a predominantly white university in the United States.

American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia, with Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth becoming the first Union officer to be killed during the war.

John Brown and his men kill five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.

Samuel Morse sends the message "What hath God wrought" (a biblical quotation, Numbers 23:23) from a committee room in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland, to inaugurate a commercial telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington D.C.

The First Kingdom of Greece is declared in the London Conference.

Battle of Pichincha: Antonio José de Sucre secures the independence of the Presidency of Quito.

South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador ("The Liberator").

The Irish Rebellion of 1798 led by the United Irishmen against British rule begins.

John Wesley is converted, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day and a church service is generally held on the preceding Sunday.

The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration protecting dissenting Protestants but excluding Roman Catholics.

The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, opens as the world's first university museum.

The French Royal Army crosses the border into the Spanish Netherlands, starting the War of Devolution opposing France to the Spanish Empire and the Triple Alliance.

Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.

The Protestant Union is formally dissolved.

Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in North America, is founded.

Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.

Erik XIV of Sweden and his guards murder five incarcerated Swedish nobles.

The ten-year-old Lambert Simnel is crowned in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VII's reign.

Magnus Ladulås is crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral.

The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.

The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom.

Saim Ayub, Pakistani cricketer

Emily Austin, journalist and social media influencer

Tarjei Sandvik Moe, Norwegian actor

Shu Uchida, Japanese voice actress

Rodrigo De Paul, Argentine footballer

Jarell Martin, American basketball player

Emily Nicholl, Scottish netball player

Daiya Seto, Japanese swimmer

Emily Temple Wood, American 2016 Wikipedian of the Year award

Marcus Bettinelli, English footballer

Aled Davies, Welsh discus thrower

Cody Eakin, Canadian ice hockey player

Mattias Ekholm, Swedish ice hockey player

Joey Logano, American race car driver

G-Eazy, American rapper

Andrew Jordan, English race car driver

Kalin Lucas, American basketball player

Artem Anisimov, Russian ice hockey player

Monica Lin Brown, American sergeant

Billy Gilman, American musician

Lucian Wintrich, American political artist and White House correspondent

Denis Petrić, Slovenian footballer

Guillaume Latendresse, Canadian ice hockey player

Mark Ballas, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, dancer, and actor

Giannis Kontoes, Greek footballer

Tim Bridgman, English race car driver

Sarah Hagan, American actress

Dmitri Kruglov, Estonian footballer

Masaya Takahashi, Japanese wrestler

Custódio Castro, Portuguese footballer

Pedram Javaheri, Iranian-American meteorologist and journalist

Woo Seung-yeon, South Korean model and actress (died 2009)

Issah Gabriel Ahmed, Ghanaian footballer

Rian Wallace, American football player

Andy Lee, Australian comedian, actor, and screenwriter

Jason Babin, American football player

Anthony Minichiello, Australian rugby league player

Tracy McGrady, American basketball player

Kareem McKenzie, American football player

Elijah Burke, American wrestler

Johan Holmqvist, Swedish ice hockey player

Brad Penny, American baseball player

Rose, French singer, songwriter and composer

Jeet Gannguli, Indian score composer, music director and singer

Alessandro Cortini, Italian-American singer and keyboard player

Catherine Cox, New Zealand-Australian netball player

Silje Vige, Norwegian singer

Will Sasso, Canadian actor and comedian

Marc Gagnon, Canadian speed skater

Giannis Goumas, Greek footballer and coach

Maria Lawson, English singer-songwriter

Sébastien Foucan, French runner and actor

Masahide Kobayashi, Japanese baseball player and coach

Magnus Manske, German biochemist and computer programmer, developed MediaWiki

Rodrigo, Argentinian singer-songwriter (died 2000)

Bartolo Colón, Dominican-American baseball player

Shirish Kunder, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter

Vladimír Šmicer, Czech footballer and manager

Greg Berlanti, American director, producer, and screenwriter

Kris Draper, Canadian ice hockey player and manager

Martin McCague, Northern Irish-English cricketer

Jacob Rees-Mogg, English politician

Rich Robinson, American guitarist and songwriter

Mandar Agashe, Indian music director and businessman

Tamer Karadağlı, Turkish actor

Andrey Borodin, Russian-English economist and businessman

Eric Close, American actor

Heavy D, Jamaican-American rapper, producer, and actor (died 2011)

Carlos Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager

Eric Cantona, French footballer and actor

Ricky Craven, American race car driver and sportscaster

John C. Reilly, American actor

Shinichirō Watanabe, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter

Liz McColgan, Scottish educator and runner

Adrian Moorhouse, English swimmer

Isidro Pérez, Mexican boxer (died 2013)

Pat Verbeek, Canadian ice hockey player and manager

Ivan Capelli, Italian race car driver and sportscaster

Michael Chabon, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter

Joe Dumars, American basketball player

Rich Rodriguez, American football player and coach

Valerie Taylor, American computer scientist and educator

Héctor Camacho, Puerto Rican-American boxer (died 2012)

Gene Anthony Ray, American actor, dancer, and choreographer (died 2003)

Lorella Cedroni, Italian philosopher and theorist (died 2013)

Alain Lemieux, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach

Guy Fletcher, English keyboard player, guitarist, and producer

Bill Harrigan, Australian rugby league referee and sportscaster

Kristin Scott Thomas, English actress

Pelle Lindbergh, Swedish-American ice hockey player (died 1985)

Barry O'Farrell, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of New South Wales

Chip Ganassi, American race car driver, team owner and businessman

R. B. Bernstein, American constitutional historian (died 2023)

Larry Blackmon, American singer-songwriter and producer

Dominic Grieve, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales

Michael Jackson, Irish archbishop

Rosanne Cash, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Philippe Lafontaine, Belgian singer and songwriter

Rajesh Roshan, Indian composer

Alfred Molina, English actor

Jim Broadbent, English actor

Roger Deakins, English cinematographer

Richard Dembo, French director and screenwriter (died 2004)

Albert Bouchard, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer

Mike De Leon, Filipino director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer

Mike Reid, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and American football player

Waddy Wachtel, American guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer

Martin Winterkorn, German businessman

Tansu Çiller, Turkish politician, Prime Minister of Turkey

Jesualdo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer and manager

Irena Szewińska, Russian-Polish sprinter (died 2018)

Terry Callier, American soul, folk and jazz guitarist and singer-songwriter (died 2012)

Steven Norris, English engineer and politician

Richard Ottaway, English lieutenant and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Priscilla Presley, American actress and businesswoman

Patti LaBelle, American singer-songwriter and actress

Dominique Lavanant, French actress

Gary Burghoff, American actor

Ali Bacher, South African cricketer and manager

Hannu Mikkola, Finnish race car driver (died 2021)

Ichirō Ozawa, Japanese lawyer and politician, Japanese Minister of Home Affairs

Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist, writer, and producer; Nobel Prize laureate

Patricia Hollis, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, English academic and politician (died 2018)

Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1996)

Prince Buster, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (died 2016)

Tommy Chong, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Maryvonne Dupureur, French runner and educator (died 2008)

Archie Shepp, American saxophonist and composer

Harold Budd, American composer and poet (died 2020)

Joan Micklin Silver, American director and screenwriter (died 2020)

Jane Byrne, American lawyer and politician, 50th Mayor of Chicago (died 2014)

Réal Giguère, Canadian television host and actor (died 2019)

Aharon Lichtenstein, French-Israeli rabbi and author (died 2015)

Arnold Wesker, English playwright and producer (died 2016)

Robert Bateman, Canadian naturalist and painter

William Trevor, Irish novelist, playwright and short story writer (died 2016)

Stanley Baxter, Scottish actor and screenwriter (died 2025)

Carmine Infantino, American illustrator and educator (died 2013)

Mai Zetterling, Swedish actress and director (died 1994)

Philip Pearlstein, American soldier and painter (died 2022)

Siobhán McKenna, Irish actress (died 1986)

Gertraud Gruber, German beautician and businesswoman (died 2022)

Coleman Young, American politician, 66th Mayor of Detroit (died 1997)

Alan Campbell, Baron Campbell of Alloway, English lawyer and judge (died 2013)

Roden Cutler, Australian lieutenant and politician, 32nd Governor of New South Wales (died 2002)

Lilli Palmer, German-American actress (died 1986)

Joe Abreu, American baseball player and soldier (died 1993)

Jimmy Demaret, American golfer (died 1983)

Wilbur Mills, American banker and politician (died 1992)

George Nakashima, American woodworker and architect (died 1990)

Mikhail Sholokhov, Russian novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1984)

Chūhei Nambu, Japanese jumper and journalist (died 1997)

Lionel Conacher, Canadian football player and politician (died 1954)

Sylvia Daoust, Canadian sculptor (died 2004)

José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer and manager (died 1968)

Eduardo De Filippo, Italian actor and screenwriter (died 1984)

Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (died 1938)

Henri Michaux, Belgian-French poet and painter (died 1984)

Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr., American publisher, founded Advance Publications (died 1979)

Walter Baade, German astronomer (died 1960)

Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, American author and educator (died 1958)

William F. Albright, American archaeologist, philologist, and scholar (died 1971)

Mick Mannock, Irish soldier and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1918)

Paul Paray, French organist, composer, and conductor (died 1979)

H. B. Reese, American candy maker, created Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (died 1956)

Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American psychologist and engineer (died 1972)

Robert Garrett, American discus thrower and shot putter (died 1961)

Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (died 1878)

Benjamin N. Cardozo, American lawyer and judge (died 1938)

Jan Smuts, South African lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of South Africa (died 1950)

Charlie Taylor, American engineer and mechanic (died 1956)

George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (died 1938)

Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland, Maltese lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Malta (died 1940)

Arthur Wing Pinero, English actor, director, and playwright (died 1934)

Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter and academic (died 1897)

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (died 1901)

Emanuel Leutze, German-American painter (died 1868)

Abraham Geiger, German rabbi and scholar (died 1874)

Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist and paleontologist (died 1866)

William Whewell, English priest and philosopher (died 1866)

Cathinka Buchwieser, German operatic singer and actress (died 1828)

Jean-Paul Marat, Swiss-French physician, journalist, and politician (died 1793)

Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, English politician, Lord President of the Council (died 1769)

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Polish-German physicist and engineer, developed the Fahrenheit scale (died 1736)

Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (died 1737)

Emerentia von Düben, Swedish royal favorite (died 1743)

Marek Sobieski, Polish noble (died 1652)

John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, Scottish politician, Secretary of State, Scotland (died 1682)

Elizabeth Carey, Lady Berkeley, English courtier (died 1635)

William Gilbert, English physician, physicist, and astronomer (died 1603)

John Jewel, English bishop (died 1571)

Pontormo, Italian painter (died 1557)

Margaret of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary (died 1349)

Germanicus, Roman general (died 19)

Gary Pierce, English footballer (born 1951)

Doug Ingle, American musician (born 1945)

Kabosu, Japanese dog and Internet meme celebrity (born 2005)

Tina Turner, American-Swiss rock and pop singer, dancer, actress and author (born 1939)

John "TotalBiscuit" Bain, English gaming commentator and critic (born 1984)

Gudrun Burwitz, daughter of Margarete Himmler and Heinrich Himmler (born 1929)

Dean Carroll, English rugby player (born 1962)

Kenneth Jacobs, Australian lawyer and judge (born 1917)

Tanith Lee, English author (born 1947)

David Allen, English cricketer (born 1935)

Stormé DeLarverie, known as the "Rosa Parks of the lesbian community" (born 1920)

Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, Iranian businessman (born 1969)

Knowlton Nash, Canadian journalist and author (born 1927)

John Vasconcellos, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (born 1932)

Helmut Braunlich, German-American violinist and composer (born 1929)

Ron Davies, Welsh footballer (born 1942)

Gotthard Graubner, German painter (born 1930)

Haynes Johnson, American journalist and author (born 1931)

Pyotr Todorovsky, Ukrainian-Russian director and screenwriter (born 1925)

Klaas Carel Faber, Dutch-German SS officer (born 1922)

Kathi Kamen Goldmark, American journalist and author (born 1948)

Jacqueline Harpman, Belgian psychoanalyst and author (born 1929)

Juan Francisco Lombardo, Argentinian footballer (born 1925)

Lee Rich, American production manager and producer (born 1918)

Huguette Clark, American heiress, painter, and philanthropist (born 1906)

Hakim Ali Zardari, Indian-Pakistani businessman and politician (born 1930)

Ray Alan, English ventriloquist, actor, and screenwriter (born 1930)

Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (born 1972)

Raymond V. Haysbert, American businessman and activist (born 1920)

Petr Muk, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1965)

Anneliese Rothenberger, German soprano and actress (born 1926)

Jay Bennett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1963)

Dick Martin, American actor, comedian, and director (born 1922)

Jimmy McGriff, American organist and bandleader (born 1936)

Andrew Stephen Wilson, British-American astronomer (born 1947)

Henry Bumstead, American art director and production designer (born 1915)

Claude Piéplu, French actor (born 1923)

Carl Amery, German activist and author (born 1922)

Arthur Haulot, Belgian journalist and poet (born 1913)

Guy Tardif, Canadian academic and politician (born 1935)

Henry Ries, German-American photographer (born 1917)

Milton Shulman, Canadian author and critic (born 1913)

Edward Wagenknecht, American critic and educator (born 1900)

Rachel Kempson, English actress (born 1910)

Wallace Markfield, American author (born 1926)

Kurt Schork, American journalist and scholar (born 1947)

Majrooh Sultanpuri, Indian poet and songwriter (born 1919)

Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (born 1923)

Thomas F. Connolly, American admiral (born 1909)

Enrique Álvarez Félix, Mexican actor (born 1934)

Joseph Mitchell, American journalist and author (born 1908)

Harold Wilson, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1916)

Hitoshi Ogawa, Japanese race car driver (born 1956)

Gene Clark, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1944)

Arthur Villeneuve, Canadian painter (born 1910)

Freddie Frith, English motorcycle road racer (born 1909)

Vince McMahon Sr., American wrestling promoter and businessman, founded WWE (born 1914)

Herbert Müller, Swiss race car driver (born 1940)

Ernest Bullock, English organist, composer, and educator (born 1890)

Denise Pelletier, Canadian actress (born 1923)

Duke Ellington, American pianist and composer (born 1899)

Sonny Boy Williamson II, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (born 1908)

Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1918)

John Foster Dulles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 52nd United States Secretary of State (born 1888)

Frank Rowe, Australian public servant (born 1895)

Martha Annie Whiteley, English chemist and mathematician (born 1866)

Thomas N. Heffron, American actor, director, screenwriter (born 1872)

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English field marshal and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (born 1883)

Alexey Shchusev, Russian architect, designed Lenin's Mausoleum and Moscow Kazanskaya railway station (born 1873)

Jacques Feyder, Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1885)

Robert Ritter von Greim, German field marshal and pilot (born 1892)

Lancelot Holland, English admiral (born 1887)

Fanny Searls, American biologist (born 1851)

Nikolai von Meck, Russian engineer (born 1863)

Rolf Skår, Norwegian engineer (born 1941)

Amado Nervo, Mexican poet, journalist, and educator (born 1870)

John Condon, Irish-English soldier (born 1896)

Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer and architect (born 1821)

Louis-Zéphirin Moreau, Canadian bishop (born 1824)

Samuel Palmer, English painter and illustrator (born 1805)

William Lloyd Garrison, American journalist and activist (born 1805)

Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter and illustrator (born 1794)

Elmer E. Ellsworth, American colonel (born 1837)

Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, German author and composer (born 1797)

Sylvestre François Lacroix, French mathematician and academic (born 1765)

John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, Scottish field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Argyllshire (born 1723)

George Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, English admiral and politician, 16th Governor of Newfoundland (born 1718)

Georg Ernst Stahl, German physician and chemist (born 1660)

Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, Spanish Franciscan abbess and mystic (born 1602)

Robert Hues, English mathematician and geographer (born 1553)

Luis de Góngora, Spanish poet and cleric (born 1561)

Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (born 1563)

Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (born 1473)

Ambroise de Loré, French commander (born 1396)

Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, Scottish politician (born 1362)

Taejo of Joseon (born 1335)

Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman, Moroccan sultan (born 1297)

Theobald III, Count of Champagne (born 1179)

David I of Scotland (born 1083)

Hugues de Payens, first Grand Master of the Knights Templar (born c. 1070)

Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury

Ségéne, bishop of Armagh (born c. 610)