Operation Eagle Claw

The following is your daily snapshot of what happened on this day in history: April 24th. This day in history is marked by Operation Eagle Claw on April 24, 1980, a failed attempt by the Jimmy Carter administration to put an end to the Iran hostage crisis by rescuing 52 Americans held captive at the U.S. The public, humiliating debacle that ensued damaged American prestige worldwide and is believed by many, including Carter himself, to have played a major role in his defeat in the 1980 presidential election.

BORN APRIL 24TH:
April 24, 1533 – William I of Orange (d. 1584)
April 24, 1581 – Vincent de Paul, French saint (d. 1660)
April 24, 1620 – John Graunt, English statistician and founder of the science of demography (d. 1674)
April 24, 1706 – Giovanni Battista Martini, Italian musician (d. 1780)
April 24, 1718 – Nathaniel Hone, Irish-born painter (d. 1784)
April 24, 1743 – Edmund Cartwright, British inventor (d. 1823)
April 24, 1784 – Peter Vivian Daniel, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1860)
April 24, 1815 – Anthony Trollope, English novelist (d. 1882)
April 24, 1845 – Carl Spitteler, Nobel laureate (d. 1924)
April 24, 1856 – Henri Philippe Pétain, French soldier and statesman (d. 1951)
April 24, 1876 – Erich Raeder, German naval commander (d. 1960)
April 24, 1876 – Ioannis Georgiadis, Greek fencer (d. 1960)
April 24, 1878 – Jean Crotti, Swiss artist (d. 1958)
April 24, 1882 – Sir Hugh Dowding, commander of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain (d. 1970)
April 24, 1887 – Denys Finch Hatton, English big-game hunter (d. 1931)
April 24, 1889 – Stafford Cripps, British politician (d. 1952)
April 24, 1889 – Lyubov Popova, Russian painter (d. 1924)
April 24, 1896 – Benjamin Whorf, American linguist (d. 1941)
April 24, 1897 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, President of Mexico (d. 1955)
April 24, 1899 – Oscar Zariski, Russian-born mathematician (d. 1986)
April 24, 1903 – José Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of the Falange (d. 1936)
April 24, 1904 – Willem de Kooning, Dutch painter (d. 1997)
April 24, 1905 – Robert Penn Warren, American poet (d. 1989)
April 24, 1906 – William Joyce, Irish fascist (d. 1946)
April 24, 1907 – William Sargant, British psychiatrist (d. 1988)
April 24, 1908 – Marceline Day, American actor (d. 2000)
April 24, 1908 – Józef Gosławski, Polish sculptor and medallic artist (d. 1963)
April 24, 1914 – William Castle, American film director and producer (d. 1977)
April 24, 1914 – Justin Wilson, American Cajun chef and humorist (d. 2001)
April 24, 1916 – Lou Thesz, American professional wrestler (d. 2002)
April 24, 1919 – Glafkos Klerides, Cypriot president 1993–2003
April 24, 1922 – J.D. Cannon, American actor (d. 2005)
April 24, 1923 – Doris Burn, American children’s books author and illustrator
April 24, 1924 – Sir Clement Freud, British writer, radio personality, and politician (d. 2009)
April 24, 1924 – Ruth Kobart, American actor and singer (d. 2002)
April 24, 1926 – Thorbjörn Fälldin, Prime Minister of Sweden
April 24, 1929 – Dr. Rajkumar, Kannada actor (d. 2006)
April 24, 1930 – Jerome Callet, American musician
April 24, 1930 – Richard Donner, American film director and producer
April 24, 1930 – José Sarney, Brazilian president
April 24, 1933 – Patricia Bosworth, American actress, journalist, writer and biographer
April 24, 1933 – Claire Davenport, British actress (d. 2002)
April 24, 1933 – Alan Eagleson, Canadian ice hockey agent and promoter
April 24, 1933 – Helmuth Lohner, Austrian actor
April 24, 1933 – Freddie Scott, American singer (d. 2007)
April 24, 1934 – Shirley MacLaine, American actor and author
April 24, 1935 – Tucker Smith, American actor, dancer, and singer (d. 1988)
April 24, 1936 – Glen Hobbie, American baseball player
April 24, 1936 – Jill Ireland, British actress (d. 1990)
April 24, 1937 – Joe Henderson, American jazz saxophonist (d. 2001)
April 24, 1940 – Sue Grafton, American author
April 24, 1941 – Richard Holbrooke, American diplomat (d. 2010)
April 24, 1941 – John Williams, Australian guitarist
April 24, 1942 – Richard M. Daley, American politician
April 24, 1942 – Barbra Streisand, American singer and actor
April 24, 1943 – Richard Sterban, American singer
April 24, 1944 – Tony Visconti, American record producer
April 24, 1945 – Doug Clifford, American drummer
April 24, 1945 – Robert Knight, American singer
April 24, 1945 – Doug Riley, Canadian musician (d. 2007)
April 24, 1945 – Dick Rivers, French singer and actor
April 24, 1947 – Claude Dubois, Canadian singer and songwriter
April 24, 1947 – Josep Borrell Fontelles, Former President of the European Parliament
April 24, 1947 – Roger D. Kornberg, American chemist, Nobel-prized
April 24, 1948 – Paul Cellucci, 69th Governor of Massachusetts and former United States Ambassador to Canada
April 24, 1949 – Véronique Sanson, French singer and songwriter
April 24, 1951 – Enda Kenny, Taoiseach of Ireland
April 24, 1952 – Jean-Paul Gaultier, French fashion designer
April 24, 1953 – Eric Bogosian, American actor and writer
April 24, 1954 – Jack Blades, American musician, bassist for Night Ranger, Rubicon (1970s band) and others
April 24, 1954 – Mumia Abu-Jamal, American Civil Rights activist, journalist of The Black Panthers
April 24, 1954 – Captain Sensible, British guitarist (The Damned)
April 24, 1955 – Marion Caspers-Merk, German politician
April 24, 1955 – John de Mol, Dutch media businessman
April 24, 1955 – Michael O’Keefe, American actor
April 24, 1957 – David J, British musician
April 24, 1957 – Boris Williams, British musician (The Cure)
April 24, 1958 – Valery Lantratov, Russian ballet dancer
April 24, 1958 – Brian Paddick, British former deputy assistant commissioner and most senior openly gay police officer
April 24, 1959 – Malcolm Oastler, Australian engineer
April 24, 1959 – Dave Ridgway, Canadian football player
April 24, 1959 – Paula Yates, British television presenter (d. 2000)

April 24, 1962 – Clemens Binninger, German politician
April 24, 1962 – Stuart Pearce, English footballer and manager
April 24, 1962 – Steve Roach, Australian rugby league footballer
April 24, 1963 – Paula Frazer, American singer/songwriter
April 24, 1963 – Billy Gould, American musician (Faith No More)
April 24, 1963 – Mano Solo, French singer
April 24, 1963 – Tõnu Trubetsky, Estonian musician
April 24, 1964 – Witold Smorawiński, Polish musician, composer
April 24, 1964 – Cedric the Entertainer, American comedian and actor
April 24, 1964 – Djimon Hounsou, Beninese actor
April 24, 1965 – Son Chang Min, South Korean actor
April 24, 1966 – Pierre Brassard, Canadian humorist and actor
April 24, 1966 – Alessandro Costacurta, Italian footballer
April 24, 1967 – Omar Vizquel, Venezuelan baseball player
April 24, 1968 – Stacy Haiduk, American actress
April 24, 1968 – Todd Jones, American baseball player
April 24, 1968 – Yuji Nagata, Japanese professional wrestler
April 24, 1968 – Hashim Thaci, Kosovan politician
April 24, 1968 – Aidan Gillen, Irish actor
April 24, 1968 – Mark Vanderloo, Dutch model
April 24, 1969 – Elias Atmatsidis, Greek footballer
April 24, 1969 – Melinda Clarke, American actress
April 24, 1969 – Viveca Paulin, Swedish actress
April 24, 1970 – Damien Fleming, Australian cricketer
April 24, 1971 – Alejandro Fernández, Mexican singer
April 24, 1971 – Mauro Pawlowski, Belgian guitarist and singer
April 24, 1972 – Rab Douglas, Scottish footballer
April 24, 1972 – Nicolas Gill, Canadian judoka
April 24, 1972 – Chipper Jones, American baseball player
April 24, 1972 – Jure Košir, Slovenian skier
April 24, 1973 – Eric Snow, American basketball player
April 24, 1973 – Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
April 24, 1973 – Gabby Logan, British television presenter
April 24, 1973 – Damon Lindelof, American television writer
April 24, 1973 – Lee Westwood, British golfer
April 24, 1974 – Eric Kripke, American television writer, director and producer
April 24, 1974 – Derek Luke, American actor
April 24, 1974 – Brian Marshall, American bassist (Creed, Alter Bridge)
April 24, 1974 – Dave Vitty, British radio personality
April 24, 1974 – Stephen Wiltshire, British artist, autistic savant
April 24, 1975 – Sam Doumit, American actress
April 24, 1975 – Thad Luckinbill, American actor
April 24, 1976 – Steve Finnan, Irish footballer
April 24, 1977 – Siarhey Balakhonau, Belarusian writer
April 24, 1977 – Carlos Beltrán, Puerto Rican baseball player
April 24, 1978 – Eric Balfour, American actor
April 24, 1978 – Kim Hyun-ju, Korean actress
April 24, 1978 – Stella Damasus Aboderin, Nigerian actress
April 24, 1979 – Laurentia Tan, Singaporean Paralympic equestrienne
April 24, 1980 – Fernando Arce, Mexican footballer
April 24, 1980 – Austin Nichols, American actor
April 24, 1980 – Danny Gokey, American singer
April 24, 1980 – Karen Asrian, Armenian chess Grandmaster (d. 2008)
April 24, 1981 – Taylor Dent, American tennis player
April 24, 1981 – Dusty Anderson, American pro wrestler
April 24, 1981 – Yuko Nakanishi, Japanese swimmer
April 24, 1982 – Kelly Clarkson, American singer
April 24, 1983 – Princess Iman bint Al Hussein of Jordan
April 24, 1984 – Tyson Ritter, American musician
April 24, 1986 – Aaron Cunningham, American baseball player
April 24, 1987 – Kristopher Letang, Canadian hockey player
April 24, 1987 – Jan Vertonghen, Belgian footballer
April 24, 1989 – David Boudia, American diver
April 24, 1992 – Doc Shaw, American child actor
April 24, 1994 – Austin Rogers, American actor
April 24, 1998 – Ryan Newman, American actress

DIED APRIL 24TH:
April 24, 624 – Mellitus, Archbishop of Canterbury
April 24, 709 – Wilfrid, English archbishop and saint
April 24, 1185 – Emperor Antoku of Japan (b. 1178)
April 24, 1338 – Theodore I of Montferrat (b. 1291)
April 24, 1342 – Pope Benedict XII (b. 1285)
April 24, 1622 – Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Swiss friar and saint (b. 1577)
April 24, 1656 – Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (b. 1561)
April 24, 1731 – Daniel Defoe, English writer (b. 1660)
April 24, 1736 – Prince Eugene of Savoy, French-born Austrian general (b. 1663)
April 24, 1779 – Eleazar Wheelock, American founder of Dartmouth College (b. 1711)
April 24, 1794 – Axel von Fersen the Elder, Swedish statesman and soldier; father of Axel von Fersen the Younger (b. 1719)
April 24, 1852 – Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet (b. 1783)
April 24, 1891 – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian field marshal (b. 1800)
April 24, 1924 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist (b. 1844)
April 24, 1931 – David Kldiashvili, Georgian writer (b. 1862)
April 24, 1938 – George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (b. 1863)
April 24, 1939 – Louis Trousselier, French cyclist (b. 1881)
April 24, 1942 – Karin Boye, Swedish author (b. 1900)
April 24, 1942 – Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian author (b. 1874)
April 24, 1944 – William Stephens, American politician (b. 1859)
April 24, 1944 – Charles Jordan, American magician (b. 1888)
April 24, 1945 – Ernst-Robert Grawitz, German physician (b. 1899)
April 24, 1947 – Willa Cather, American writer (b. 1873)
April 24, 1947 – Hans Biebow, German WWII figure (b. 1902)
April 24, 1957 – Harry McClintock, American country singer and hobo (b. 1882)
April 24, 1960 – Max von Laue, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
April 24, 1962 – Milt Franklyn, American musician (b. 1897)
April 24, 1964 – Gerhard Domagk, German bacteriologist (b. 1895)
April 24, 1965 – Louise Dresser, American actress (b. 1878)
April 24, 1966 – Simon Chikovani, Georgian poet (b. 1902)
April 24, 1967 – Vladimir Komarov, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1927)
April 24, 1970 – Otis Spann, American blues pianist (b. 1930)
April 24, 1974 – Bud Abbott, American actor and comedian (b. 1895)
April 24, 1975 – Pete Ham, Welsh musician (Badfinger) (b. 1947)
April 24, 1980 – Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer (b. 1904)
April 24, 1982 – Ville Ritola, Finnish athlete (b. 1896)
April 24, 1983 – Rolf Stommelen, German race car driver (b. 1943)
April 24, 1986 – Wallis Simpson, wife of Edward, Duke of Windsor (b. 1896)
April 24, 1993 – Oliver Tambo, South African politician (b. 1917)
April 24, 1997 – Pat Paulsen, American comedian and politician (b. 1927)
April 24, 1997 – Eugene Stoner, American engineer and weapons designer (b. 1922)
April 24, 2000 – William Moore, English actor (b. 1916)
April 24, 2001 – Al Hibbler, American singer (b. 1915)
April 24, 2001 – Leon Sullivan, African-American civil rights leader and pastor (b. 1922)
April 24, 2002 – Lucien Wercollier, Luxembourgian sculptor (b. 1908)
April 24, 2004 – Estée Lauder, American cosmetics entrepreneur (b. 1906)
April 24, 2005 – Ezer Weizman, Israeli politician (b. 1924)
April 24, 2005 – Fei Xiaotong, Chinese sociologist (b. 1910)
April 24, 2006 – Steve Stavro, Canadian businessman and sports team owner (b. 1927)
April 24, 2006 – Moshe Teitelbaum, Hassidic rabbi (b. 1914)
April 24, 2006 – Brian Labone, English footballer (b. 1940)
April 24, 2007 – Roy Jenson, American actor (b. 1927)
April 24, 2009 – John Michell, British writer (b. 1933)

APRIL 24TH MEMORABLE EVENTS:
April 24, 1479 BC – Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty).
April 24, 1558 – Mary, Queen of Scots, marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris.
April 24, 1704 – The first regular newspaper in the United States, the News-Letter, is published in Boston, Massachusetts.
April 24, 1800 – The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 USD to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress”.
April 24, 1862 – American Civil War: A flotilla commanded by Union Admiral David Farragut passes two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River on its way to capture New Orleans, Louisiana.
April 24, 1877 – Russo-Turkish War: Russian Empire declares war on Ottoman Empire.
April 24, 1898 – The Spanish-American War: The United States declares war on Spain.
April 24, 1904 – The Lithuanian press ban is lifted after almost 40 years.
April 24, 1907 – Hersheypark, founded by Milton S. Hershey for the exclusive use of his employees, is opened.
April 24, 1913 – The Woolworth Building skyscraper in New York City is opened.
April 24, 1915 – The arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Istanbul marks the beginning of the Armenian Genocide.
April 24, 1916 – Easter Rising: The Irish Republican Brotherhood led by nationalists Patrick Pearse, James Connolly, and Joseph Plunkett starts a rebellion in Ireland.
April 24, 1916 – Ernest Shackleton and five men of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition launch a lifeboat from uninhabited Elephant Island in the Southern Ocean to organise a rescue for the ice-trapped ship Endurance.
April 24, 1918 – First tank-to-tank combat, at Villers-Bretonneux, France, when three British Mark IVs met three German A7Vs.
April 24, 1922 – The first segment of the Imperial Wireless Chain providing wireless telegraphy between Leafield in Oxfordshire, England, and Cairo, Egypt, comes into operation.
April 24, 1926 – The Treaty of Berlin is signed. Germany and the Soviet Union each pledge neutrality in the event of an attack on the other by a third party for the next five years.
April 24, 1932 – Benny Rothman leads the mass trespass of Kinder Scout, leading to substantial legal reforms in the United Kingdom.
April 24, 1953 – Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
April 24, 1955 – The Bandung Conference ends: 29 non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemns colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.
April 24, 1957 – Suez Crisis: The Suez Canal is reopened following the introduction of UNEF peacekeepers to the region.
April 24, 1961 – The 17th century Swedish ship Vasa is salvaged.
April 24, 1963 – Marriage of Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Kent to Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London.
April 24, 1965 – Civil war breaks out in the Dominican Republic when Colonel Francisco Caamaño, overthrows the triumvirate that had been in power since the coup d’état against Juan Bosch.
April 24, 1967 – Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when its parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission.
April 24, 1967 – Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland says in a news conference that the enemy had “gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily.”
April 24, 1968 – Mauritius becomes a member state of the United Nations.
April 24, 1970 – The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, is launched.
April 24, 1970 – The Gambia becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as the first President.
April 24, 1971 – Soyuz 10 docks with Salyut 1.
April 24, 1980 – Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.
April 24, 1990 – STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery.
April 24, 1990 – Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine.
April 24, 1993 – An IRA bomb devastates the Bishopsgate area of London.
April 24, 1996 – In the United States, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is introduced.
April 24, 2004 – The United States lifts economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years previously, as a reward for its cooperation in eliminating weapons of mass destruction.
April 24, 2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.
April 24, 2005 – Snuppy, the world’s first cloned dog is born in South Korea.
April 24, 2006 – King Gyanendra of Nepal gives into the demands of protesters and restores the parliament that he dissolved in 2002.
April 24, 2007 – Iceland announces that Norway will shoulder the defense of Iceland during peacetime.

MEMORABLE QUOTE:

“Aggression unopposed becomes a contagious disease.” (Jimmy Carter)