Year 1839
Charles Darwin was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
JANUARY 24
Daily Historical Chronicle
UPSC CSE • State PSC • SSC CGL Matrix
24 January: What Happened On This Day in History
Curated historical timeline of momentous political pacts, freedom struggle uprisings, constitutional developments, scientific breakthroughs, and prominent birthdays recorded on 24 January.
Observances & Special Days
Uttar Pradesh Day (Uttar Pradesh, India): Uttar Pradesh Day is a public holiday in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which is celebrated on January 24. It marks the day that Uttar Pradesh was formed as a state in 1950, after the independence of India from British rule. On this day, various cultural programs and events are held to celebrate the state's rich history and cultural heritage. There are also parades, competitions, and sports events held to mark the occasion.
Year 1848
California Goldrush – A man named James Marshall found a large quantity of gold in a stream at Stutters Mill, California.
Year 1857
The first South Asian University had established in Kolkata.
Year 1862
Bucharest became the capital of Romania.
Year 1916
Income tax invalidated by US Supreme Court for invading civil liberties.
Year 1937
Gandhi announces that he will retire from politics.
Year 1939
30 thousand people died due to an earthquake in Chile.
Year 1942
In World War II, the Allies bombed Bangkok. It forced Thailand to wage war against England and the United States.
Year 1950
Jan Gana Mana got the status of the national anthem of India.
Year 1950
Dr. Rajendra Prasad became the first President of India.
Year 1951
Nehru assails US. demand for UN to name Peking as aggressor in Korea, New Delhi.
Year 1952
The first International Film Festival had held in Bombay.
Year 1957
Kagaz Ke Phool, the first Indian black and white cinemascope film, was made.3
Year 1958
First international Film Festival started in Mumbai.
Year 1966
Air India’s Kanchanganga aircraft crashed on Mont Blanc in Europe’s Alps. Dr. Homi Bhabha, the architect of nuclear science in India, died in this accident.
Year 1966
Gulzarilal Nanda stepped down from the position of acting Prime Minister of India. He held his position till January 11, 1966 (Acting).
Year 1966
Indira Gandhi becomes Prime Minister of India. She continued in this office till March 24, 1977, after winning the General Elections. She became the only second woman in modern history to head a government.
Year 1976
Burma Shell, a British oil company, was nationalized and renamed Bharat Refineries. On 1st August 1977, the company was renamed Bharat Petroleum (BPCL).
Year 1980
J.S. Bawa became the director of Central Bureau of Investigation (till 28/02/85).
Year 1984
Sales of Apple Macintosh computers began.
Year 1990
Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.
Year 1994
India sends six proposals to Pakistan to resolve bilateral problems.
Year 1997
Public holiday in connection with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose birth centenary.
Year 2000
The Indian President approved the 79th amendment of the constitution to extend the reservation of Dalits for ten years in elections.
Year 2000
Supreme Court imposes, with immediate effect, a ban on industries in Delhi and Haryana from discharging untreated industrial effluents into the Yamuna.
Year 2003
Extradition treaty between India and France.
Year 2003
The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
Year 2007
Agreement between Russia and India to build a nuclear reactor.
Year 2009
Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.
Year 2011
At least 35 are killed and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.
Born 1712
Frederick the Great, the King of Prussia.
Born 1826
Gnanendramohan Tagore, the first Bengali, Indian or Asian to be called to the bar in England in 1862.
Born 1870
Muddan, a famous Kannad poet and novelist, was born.
Born 1877
Pulin Behari Das, an Indian revolutionary and the founder-president of the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti.
Born 1921
T. N. Raina, former Army Chief and High Commissioner of Canada, was born.
Born 1924
Karpoori Thakur, an Indian politician from the Bihar state. He was a freedom fighter, teacher and national president of the Samyukta Socialist Party, was born in the village Samastipur, District Bihar.
Born 1935
Shivabalayogi, Indian religious leader (d. 1994)
Born 1945
Subhash Ghai, an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter.
Born 1954
Anil Agarwal, an Indian business person, the founder, and Chairman of Vedanta Resources Limited.
Died 1556
Humayun died at Delhi. Two days earlier he had slipped on the staircase of a library being constructed at the Old Fort.
Died 1965
Sir Winston Churchill, a British statesman, army officer and writer. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 when he led the country to victory in the Second World War.
Died 1966
Homi Bhabha, an Indian nuclear physicist, founding director, and professor of physics. He was chairman of Atomic Research Institute, and passed away near Geneva when Air India Boeing 707 crashed in an accident at Alps Hills, Mont Blanc in Switzerland killing all the 117 persons on board.
Died 1991
P. Padmarajan, an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, and author.
Died 2011
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, an Indian vocalist from Karnataka, in the Hindustani classical tradition