January 24
January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 342 days remain until the year's end. It falls in winter (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Aquarius.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On January 24 the Sun's declination is approximately -19.5°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a January 24.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
No widely-observed holidays catalogued for this day in our base set. See the external almanacs above for region-specific observances.
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
41 — Roman Emperor Caligula was assassinated by his Praetorian Guard. ↗(1985 years ago)more
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, also called Gaius and Caligula, was the third Roman emperor, ruling from AD 37 until his assassination in AD 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Agrippina the Elder, members of the first ruling family of the Roman Empire. He was born two years before Tiberius became emperor.
1848 — James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in California, sparking the gold rush. ↗(178 years ago)more
The California gold rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush in California, which began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people from the rest of the United States and abroad to California, which had recently been conquered from Mexico.
1908 — The first Boy Scout troop was organised by Robert Baden-Powell in England. ↗(118 years ago)more
Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the 20th century.
1984 — Apple Computer placed the Macintosh on sale in the United States. ↗(42 years ago)more
The Macintosh, later rebranded as the Macintosh 128K, is the original Macintosh personal computer from Apple. It is the first successful mass-market all-in-one desktop personal computer with a graphical user interface, built-in screen and mouse. It was pivotal in establishing desktop publishing as a general office function.
Notable births
76 — Hadrian, Roman emperor. ↗(1950 years ago)more
Hadrian was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, in the present-day Andalusian province of Seville in southern Spain, an Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his gens Aelia came from the town of Hadria in eastern Italy. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
1862 — Edith Wharton, American novelist. ↗(164 years ago)more
Edith Newbold Wharton was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of upper-class New York society to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gilded Age. In 1921, she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Age of Innocence.
1941 — Neil Diamond, American singer-songwriter. ↗(85 years ago)more
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 56.5 million records in the US alone, making him one of the best-selling musicians in history.
Notable deaths
1965 — Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister. ↗(61 years ago)more
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. For some 62 of the years between 1900 and 1964, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) and represented a total of five constituencies over that time.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (24) | 2^3 × 3 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (342) | 2 × 3^2 × 19 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 24012026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | -19.48° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 35 days |