A birthday on the globe
24 May on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 24 May, the English Wikipedia lists 64 events and 194 births. 40 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; three more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 24 May through the years
The Earth on 24 May
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in May 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 24 May the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 20.8° north. In London, the day lasts about 16 hours.
Beyond 69° north the Sun no longer sets; beyond 69° south it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Britain & Ireland · Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
1487
The ten-year-old Lambert Simnel is crowned in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VII's reign.
On the map: Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
Britain & Ireland · Ashmolean Museum
1683
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, opens as the world's first university museum.
On the map: Ashmolean Museum.
Britain & Ireland · London
1832
The First Kingdom of Greece is declared in the London Conference.
On the map: London.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish.
Europe · Lugano
1956
The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland.
On the map: Lugano.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish, Romanian and Chinese.
Europe · Kola Superdeep Borehole
1970
On the Kola Peninsula in Russia, drilling began on the Kola Superdeep Borehole, which eventually reached a depth of 12,262 metres (40,230 ft), making it the deepest borehole ever drilled and the lowest artificial point on Earth.
On the map: Kola Superdeep Borehole.
Europe · Paris
1976
The Judgment of Paris takes place in France, launching California as a worldwide force in the production of quality wine.
On the map: Paris.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
Oceania · Darwin, Northern Territory
1930
Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia (she left on May 5 for the 11,000 mile flight).
On the map: Darwin, Northern Territory.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish.
North America · Manhattan
1626
Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.
On the map: Manhattan.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese.
North America · United States Capitol
1844
Samuel Morse sends the message "What hath God wrought" (a biblical quotation, Numbers 23:23) from a committee room in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland, to inaugurate a commercial telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington D.C.
On the map: United States Capitol.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish, Romanian and Chinese.
North America · New York City
1883
The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.
On the map: New York City.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
24 May
What the other Wikipedias remember#
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Chinese and Spanish and were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Chinese · Hong Kong
1998
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region holds its first Legislative Council election since the handover, electing 60 members.
On the map: Hong Kong.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Chinese.
From Wikipedia in Spanish · Mount Everest
2001
On the border between China and Nepal, the 15-year-old sherpa Temba Tsheri becomes the youngest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
On the map: Mount Everest.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.
24 May
Born on 24 May#
The English Wikipedia lists 194 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 60 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 24 May
1941
Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist, writer, and producer; Nobel Prize laureate
Place of birth: Duluth.
Born on 24 May
1940
Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1996)
Place of birth: Saint Petersburg.
Born on 24 May
1905
Mikhail Sholokhov, Russian novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1984)
Place of birth: Kruzhilin.
Born on 24 May
1686
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Polish-German physicist and engineer, developed the Fahrenheit scale (died 1736)
Place of birth: Gdańsk.
Born on 24 May
1966
Eric Cantona, French footballer and actor
Place of birth: Marseille.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1544
William Gilbert, English physician, physicist, and astronomer (died 1603)
Place of birth: Colchester.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1949
Jim Broadbent, English actor
Place of birth: Holton cum Beckering.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1960
Kristin Scott Thomas, English actress
Place of birth: Redruth.
24 May
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 24 May through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 24 May
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 21 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 919
The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom.
Europe · FritzlarWikipedia: Duchy of Saxony - 1218
The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.
Asia · Acre, IsraelWikipedia: Fifth Crusade - 1276
Magnus Ladulås is crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral.
Europe · Uppsala CathedralWikipedia: Uppsala Cathedral - 1487
The ten-year-old Lambert Simnel is crowned in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VII's reign.
Britain & Ireland · Christ Church Cathedral, DublinWikipedia: Lambert Simnel - 1567
Erik XIV of Sweden and his guards murder five incarcerated Swedish nobles.
Europe · Sture murdersWikipedia: Sture murders - 1595
Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.
Europe · Leiden University LibraryWikipedia: Leiden University Library - 1607
Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in North America, is founded.
North America · JamestownWikipedia: Jamestown - 1621
The Protestant Union is formally dissolved.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Protestant Union - 1626
Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.
North America · ManhattanWikipedia: Peter Minuit - 1667
The French Royal Army crosses the border into the Spanish Netherlands, starting the War of Devolution opposing France to the Spanish Empire and the Triple Alliance.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Triple Alliance - 1683
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, opens as the world's first university museum.
Britain & Ireland · Ashmolean MuseumWikipedia: Ashmolean Museum - 1689
The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration protecting dissenting Protestants but excluding Roman Catholics.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Parliament of England - 1738
John Wesley is converted, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day and a church service is generally held on the preceding Sunday.
no place on the mapWikipedia: John Wesley - 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 led by the United Irishmen against British rule begins.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Irish Rebellion of 1798 - 1813
South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador ("The Liberator").
Latin America · Mérida, MéridaWikipedia: Simón Bolívar - 1822
Battle of Pichincha: Antonio José de Sucre secures the independence of the Presidency of Quito.
Latin America · Battle of PichinchaWikipedia: Battle of Pichincha - 1830
The nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was first published as a poem by Sarah Josepha Hale.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Nursery rhyme - 1832
The First Kingdom of Greece is declared in the London Conference.
Britain & Ireland · LondonWikipedia: London Conference of 1832 - 1844
Samuel Morse sends the message "What hath God wrought" (a biblical quotation, Numbers 23:23) from a committee room in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland, to inaugurate a commercial telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington D.C.
North America · United States CapitolWikipedia: United States Capitol - 1856
John Brown and his men kill five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.
North America · Pottawatomie massacreWikipedia: Pottawatomie massacre - 1861
American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia, with Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth becoming the first Union officer to be killed during the war.
North America · Alexandria, VirginiaWikipedia: American Civil War - 1873
Patrick Francis Healy becomes the first black president of a predominantly white university in the United States.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Patrick Francis Healy - 1883
The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.
North America · New York CityWikipedia: Brooklyn Bridge - 1900
Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State.
Africa · Orange Free StateWikipedia: Second Boer War - 1913
Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia married Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover; the occasion was one of the last great social events of European royalty before World War I began.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia - 1930
Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia (she left on May 5 for the 11,000 mile flight).
Oceania · Darwin, Northern TerritoryWikipedia: Amy Johnson - 1935
The first night game in Major League Baseball history is played in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Cincinnati Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2–1 at Crosley Field.
North America · CincinnatiWikipedia: Night game - 1940
Acting on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, NKVD agent Iosif Grigulevich orchestrates an unsuccessful assassination attempt on exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in Coyoacán, Mexico.
Latin America · CoyoacánWikipedia: Soviet Union - 1940
Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Igor Sikorsky - 1941
World War II: Battle of the Atlantic: In the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the German battleship Bismarck sinks the pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, killing all but three crewmen.
North America · Battle of the Denmark StraitWikipedia: Battle of the Denmark Strait - 1944
Börse Berlin building burns down after being hit in an air raid during World War II.
no place on the mapWikipedia: World War II - 1944
Congress of Përmet occurs which establishes a provisional government in Albania in areas under partisan control, the first independent Albanian government since 1939. In honor of this the national emblem of Albania inscribed this date from 1946 until 1992.
Europe · AlbaniaWikipedia: Italian invasion of Albania - 1948
Arab–Israeli War: Egypt captures the Israeli kibbutz of Yad Mordechai, but the five-day effort gives Israeli forces time to prepare enough to stop the Egyptian advance a week later.
Asia · Battle of Yad MordechaiWikipedia: 1948 Arab–Israeli War - 1956
The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland.
Europe · LuganoWikipedia: Eurovision Song Contest - 1958
United Press International is formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.
no place on the mapWikipedia: United Press International - 1960
Following the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest ever recorded earthquake, Cordón Caulle begins to erupt.
Latin America · 1960 Valdivia earthquakeWikipedia: 1960 Valdivia earthquake - 1961
American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.
North America · Jackson, MississippiWikipedia: Civil rights movement - 1962
Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Project Mercury - 1963
United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy met with African American author James Baldwin in an unsuccessful attempt to improve race relations.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Robert F. Kennedy - 1967
Belle de Jour, directed by Luis Buñuel, is released.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Belle de Jour - 1967
Egypt imposes a blockade and siege of the Red Sea coast of Israel.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Israel - 1970
On the Kola Peninsula in Russia, drilling began on the Kola Superdeep Borehole, which eventually reached a depth of 12,262 metres (40,230 ft), making it the deepest borehole ever drilled and the lowest artificial point on Earth.
Europe · Kola Superdeep BoreholeWikipedia: Kola Superdeep Borehole - 1976
The Judgment of Paris takes place in France, launching California as a worldwide force in the production of quality wine.
Europe · ParisWikipedia: Judgment of Paris - 1981
Ecuadorian president Jaime Roldós Aguilera, his wife, and his presidential committee die in an aircraft accident while travelling from Quito to Zapotillo minutes after the president gave a famous speech regarding the 24 de mayo anniversary of the Battle of Pichincha.
Latin America · Battle of PichinchaWikipedia: Battle of Pichincha - 1982
Liberation of Khorramshahr: Iranians recapture the port city of Khorramshahr from the Iraqis during the Iran–Iraq War.
Asia · Battle of KhorramshahrWikipedia: Battle of Khorramshahr - 1986
A stationary front began over the central Caribbean Sea, leading to severe floods that over two weeks killed dozens of people in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 1986 Jamaica floods - 1988
Section 28 of the United Kingdom's Local Government Act 1988, a controversial amendment stating that a local authority cannot intentionally promote homosexuality, is enacted.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Section 28 - 1991
Israel conducts Operation Solomon, evacuating Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
Africa · Operation SolomonWikipedia: Israel - 1992
The ethnic cleansing in Kozarac, Bosnia and Herzegovina begins when Serbian militia and police forces enter the town.
Europe · KozaracWikipedia: Kozarac - 1992
The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigns following pro-democracy protests.
Asia · ThailandWikipedia: Thailand - 1993
Eritrea gains its independence from Ethiopia.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Eritrea - 1993
Roman Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo and five other people are assassinated in a shootout at Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport in Mexico.
Latin America · Guadalajara International AirportWikipedia: Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo - 1994
Four men are convicted of bombing the World Trade Center in New York in 1993; each one is sentenced to 240 years in prison.
North America · 1993 World Trade Center bombingWikipedia: 1993 World Trade Center bombing - 1995
While attempting to return to Leeds Bradford Airport in the United Kingdom, Knight Air Flight 816 crashes in Dunkeswick, North Yorkshire, killing all 12 people on board.
Britain & Ireland · Knight Air Flight 816Wikipedia: Knight Air Flight 816 - 1999
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands indicts Slobodan Milošević and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo.
Europe · International Criminal Tribunal for the former YugoslaviaWikipedia: International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia - 2000
Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Southern Lebanon - 2002
Russia and the United States sign the Moscow Treaty.
Europe · MoscowWikipedia: Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty - 2006
An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary film that has been credited for raising international public awareness of climate change and re-energizing the environmental movement, was released.
no place on the mapWikipedia: An Inconvenient Truth - 2014
A 6.4 magnitude earthquake occurs in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey, injuring 324 people.
Europe · 2014 Aegean Sea earthquakeWikipedia: 2014 Aegean Sea earthquake - 2014
At least three people are killed in a shooting at Brussels' Jewish Museum of Belgium.
Europe · Jewish Museum of Belgium shootingWikipedia: Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting - 2019
Twenty-two students die in a fire in Surat (India).
Asia · 2019 Surat fireWikipedia: 2019 Surat fire - 2019
Under pressure over her handling of Brexit, British Prime Minister Theresa May announces her resignation as Leader of the Conservative Party, effective as of June 7.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Brexit - 2022
A mass shooting occurs at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, resulting in the deaths of 21 people, including 19 children.
North America · Uvalde school shootingWikipedia: Uvalde school shooting - 2026
A suicide bombing targeting a shuttle train in Quetta, Balochistan, killed at least 48 people and injured 98 others.
Asia · 2026 Quetta train bombingWikipedia: 2026 Quetta train bombing
What the other Wikipedias remember
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Chinese and Spanish and were translated for this page.
- 1998
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region holds its first Legislative Council election since the handover, electing 60 members.
- 2001
On the border between China and Nepal, the 15-year-old sherpa Temba Tsheri becomes the youngest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Who was born on 24 May
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 194 are shown.
- 1941
Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist, writer, and producer; Nobel Prize laureate
DuluthWikipedia: Bob Dylan - 1819
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (died 1901)
Kensington PalaceWikipedia: Queen Victoria - 1940
Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1996)
Saint PetersburgWikipedia: Joseph Brodsky - 1905
Mikhail Sholokhov, Russian novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1984)
KruzhilinWikipedia: Mikhail Sholokhov - 1743
Jean-Paul Marat, Swiss-French physician, journalist, and politician (died 1793)
- 1686
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Polish-German physicist and engineer, developed the Fahrenheit scale (died 1736)
- 1946
Tansu Çiller, Turkish politician, Prime Minister of Turkey
IstanbulWikipedia: Tansu Çiller - 1966
Eric Cantona, French footballer and actor
MarseilleWikipedia: Eric Cantona - 1544
William Gilbert, English physician, physicist, and astronomer (died 1603)
ColchesterWikipedia: William Gilbert - 1965
John C. Reilly, American actor
ChicagoWikipedia: John C. Reilly - 15 BC
Germanicus, Roman general (died 19)
- 1893
Walter Baade, German astronomer (died 1960)
SchröttinghausenWikipedia: Walter Baade - 1899
Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (died 1938)
16th arrondissement of ParisWikipedia: Suzanne Lenglen - 1945
Priscilla Presley, American actress and businesswoman
BrooklynWikipedia: Priscilla Presley - 1949
Jim Broadbent, English actor
Holton cum BeckeringWikipedia: Jim Broadbent - 1960
Kristin Scott Thomas, English actress
- 1953
Alfred Molina, English actor
PaddingtonWikipedia: Alfred Molina - 1994
Rodrigo De Paul, Argentine footballer
SarandíWikipedia: Rodrigo De Paul - 1494
Pontormo, Italian painter (died 1557)
EmpoliWikipedia: Pontormo - 1870
Jan Smuts, South African lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of South Africa (died 1950)
Riebeek WestWikipedia: Jan Smuts - 1963
Michael Chabon, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter
Washington, D.C.Wikipedia: Michael Chabon - 1901
José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer and manager (died 1968)
MontevideoWikipedia: José Nasazzi - 1946
Irena Szewińska, Russian-Polish sprinter (died 2018)
Saint PetersburgWikipedia: Irena Szewińska - 1794
William Whewell, English priest and philosopher (died 1866)
LancasterWikipedia: William Whewell - 1979
Tracy McGrady, American basketball player
BartowWikipedia: Tracy McGrady - 1899
Henri Michaux, Belgian-French poet and painter (died 1984)
- 1900
Eduardo De Filippo, Italian actor and screenwriter (died 1984)
- 1830
Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter and academic (died 1897)
- 1973
Vladimír Šmicer, Czech footballer and manager
- 1878
Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American psychologist and engineer (died 1972)
- 1914
Lilli Palmer, German-American actress (died 1986)
- 1949
Roger Deakins, English cinematographer
TorquayWikipedia: Roger Deakins - 1932
Arnold Wesker, English playwright and producer (died 2016)
StepneyWikipedia: Arnold Wesker - 1944
Patti LaBelle, American singer-songwriter and actress
PhiladelphiaWikipedia: Patti LaBelle - 1875
Robert Garrett, American discus thrower and shot putter (died 1961)
Baltimore CountyWikipedia: Robert Garrett - 1925
Mai Zetterling, Swedish actress and director (died 1994)
VästeråsWikipedia: Mai Zetterling - 1989
G-Eazy, American rapper
OaklandWikipedia: G-Eazy - 1994
Emma McKeon, Australian swimmer
WollongongWikipedia: Emma McKeon - 1969
Jacob Rees-Mogg, English politician
HammersmithWikipedia: Jacob Rees-Mogg - 1975
Will Sasso, Canadian actor and comedian
LadnerWikipedia: Will Sasso - 1974
Magnus Manske, German biochemist and computer programmer, developed MediaWiki
CologneWikipedia: Magnus Manske - 1671
Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (died 1737)
- 1928
William Trevor, Irish novelist, playwright and short story writer (died 2016)
MitchelstownWikipedia: William Trevor - 1963
Joe Dumars, American basketball player
ShreveportWikipedia: Joe Dumars - 1891
William F. Albright, American archaeologist, philologist, and scholar (died 1971)
CoquimboWikipedia: William F. Albright - 1938
Tommy Chong, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
EdmontonWikipedia: Tommy Chong - 1942
Hannu Mikkola, Finnish race car driver (died 2021)
JoensuuWikipedia: Hannu Mikkola - 1816
Emanuel Leutze, German-American painter (died 1868)
Schwäbisch GmündWikipedia: Emanuel Leutze - 1937
Archie Shepp, American saxophonist and composer
Fort LauderdaleWikipedia: Archie Shepp - 1983
Custódio Castro, Portuguese footballer
GuimarãesWikipedia: Custódio Castro - 1992
Marcus Bettinelli, English footballer
CamberwellWikipedia: Marcus Bettinelli - 1967
Eric Close, American actor
Staten IslandWikipedia: Eric Close - 1963
Ivan Capelli, Italian race car driver and sportscaster
- 1972
Greg Berlanti, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1975
Giannis Goumas, Greek footballer and coach
LarissaWikipedia: Giannis Goumas - 1855
Arthur Wing Pinero, English actor, director, and playwright (died 1934)
- 1870
Benjamin N. Cardozo, American lawyer and judge (died 1938)
New York CityWikipedia: Benjamin N. Cardozo - 1938
Prince Buster, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (died 2016)
KingstonWikipedia: Prince Buster - 1967
Heavy D, Jamaican-American rapper, producer, and actor (died 2011)
MandevilleWikipedia: Heavy D - 1994
Emily Temple Wood, American 2016 Wikipedian of the Year award
ChicagoWikipedia: Emily Temple-Wood
What is celebrated on 24 May
- Aldersgate Day/Wesley Day (Methodism)
- Battle of Pichincha Day (Ecuador)
- Bermuda Day (Bermuda), celebrated on the nearest weekday if May 24 falls on the weekend.
- Christian feast day: Anna Pak Agi (one of The Korean Martyrs)
- Christian feast day: Donatian and Rogatian
- Christian feast day: Jackson Kemper (Episcopal Church)
- Christian feast day: Joanna
- Christian feast day: Juan de Prado
- Christian feast day: Blessed Louis-Zéphirin Moreau
- Christian feast day: Mary, Help of Christians
- Christian feast day: Sarah (celebrated by the Romani people of Camargue)
- Christian feast day: Simeon Stylites the Younger
- Christian feast day: Vincent of Lérins
- Christian feast day: May 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.