Today is January 24, the 24th day of the year.There are 341 days left in the year, on this day in 1908, The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.
41 – Roman Emperor Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism, is assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards. The Guard then proclaims Caligula's uncle Claudius as Emperor
1438 – The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV.
1458 – Matthias I Corvinus becomes king of Hungary.
1624 – Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa.
1679 – King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament.
1742 – Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
1939 – The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán.
1942 – World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom.
1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.
1946 – The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
1947 – Greek banker Dimitrios Maximos becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
1960 – Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as the "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
1961 – 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.
1972 – Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.
1977 – Massacre of Atocha in Madrid, during the Spanish transition to democracy.
1978 – Soviet satellite Cosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.
1984 – The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.
Ten Years Ago: The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
Four years Ago: The storm Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France. It subsequently would cause 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.
Two years Ago: At least 35 died and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo airport.
Notable Births:
1679 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher
1705 – Farinelli, Italian castrato
1709 – Dom Bédos de Celles, Benedictine monk best known for being a master pipe organ builder
1712 – King Frederick II of Prussia
1724 – Frances Brooke, English writer
1886 – Henry King, American film director
1888 – Vicki Baum, Austrian writer
1888 – Ernst Heinkel, German aircraft designer
1891 – Walter Model, German field marshal
1895 – Eugen Roth, German writer
1927 – Sir Patrick Macnaghten, 11th Baronet, British aristocrat
1928 – Desmond Morris, British anthropologist
1928 – Michel Serrault, French actor
1930 – Bernard Matthews, British poultry industry figure
1978 – Kristen Schaal, American actress, writer and comedian
1979 – Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
1979 – Leandro Desábato, Argentine footballer
1979 – Tom Kostopoulos, Canadian ice hockey player
1990 – Mao Abe, Japanese singer-songwriter
1990 – Zuzana Zlochová, Slovak tennis player
1995 – Callan McAuliffe, Australian actor
1997 – Dylan Riley Snyder, American film, television and theatre actor
2012 – Princess Athena of Denmark
Thought for the day:"You must be the change you wish to see in the world".
Mahatma Gandhi