24 January 2025 (MIA)

1848 – James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget at Sutter’s Mill in northern California, a discovery that led to the gold rush of ’49.

1857 – The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully-fledged university in South Asia.

1859 – Political and state union of Moldavia and Wallachia; Alexandru Ioan Cuza is elected as Domnitor in both Principalities.

1862 – Bucharest is proclaimed the capital of Romania.

1908 – The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.

1911 – Japanese anarchist Shūsui Kōtoku is hanged for treason in a case now considered a miscarriage of justice.

1918 – The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People’s Commissars effective February 14(NS).

1929 – Vasil Glavinov, who led the socialist movement in Macedonia, died in Sofia. He was born in Veles in 1896.

1939 – The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people.

1942 – World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand, then under Japanese control, 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 – Under a decision of the Ministry of Education, the first Macedonian grammar was approved becoming the official textbook in high schools. It was written by professor Krume Kepeski.

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 – 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.

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.

1991 – The first edition of Macedonian independent weekly magazine Puls was published.

1993 – Turkish journalist and writer Uğur Mumcu is assassinated by a car bomb in Ankara.

1996 – Polish Prime Minister Józef Oleksy resigns amid charges that he spied for Moscow.

2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.

2009 – 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.

2011 – At least 35 die and 180 are injured in a bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport.

2014 – Three bombs explode in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, killing about seven people and injuring over 100 others.

2014 – The Philippines and the Bangsamoro agree to a peace deal that would help end the 45-year conflict.