A birthday on the globe
24 October on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 24 October, the English Wikipedia lists 70 events and 316 births. 34 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; five 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 October through the years
The Earth on 24 October
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in October 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 24 October the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 11.7° south. In London, the day lasts about 10 hours 10 minutes.
Beyond 78° south the Sun no longer sets; beyond 78° north 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.
Europe · Chartres Cathedral
1260
Chartres Cathedral is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France.
On the map: Chartres Cathedral.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish.
Asia · Hyderabad
2003
The inaugural Afro-Asian Games opened in Hyderabad, with 2,040 athletes from 96 nations competing.
On the map: Hyderabad.
Asia · Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge
2018
The world's longest sea crossing, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, opens for public traffic.
On the map: Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Romanian and Chinese.
Oceania · Tenterfield
1889
Henry Parkes delivers the Tenterfield Oration, effectively starting the federation process in Australia.
On the map: Tenterfield.
North America · Charter of the United Nations
1945
The United Nations Charter comes into effect.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “Charter of the United Nations”.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Romanian and Chinese.
North America · Headquarters of the United Nations
1949
The cornerstone of the United Nations Headquarters is laid.
On the map: Headquarters of the United Nations.
24 October
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 were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Chinese · Taichung Park
1908
The railway running the length of western Taiwan from Keelung to Kaohsiung (at that time with the mountain line, not the coastal line, as the main line) opens to traffic, and the "ceremony for the completion of the trunk railway" is held in Taichung Park, presided over by Prince Kan'in Kotohito, invited by the Taiwan Governor-General's Office.
On the map: Taichung Park.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Chinese.
24 October
Born on 24 October#
The English Wikipedia lists 316 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 October
1632
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch biologist and microbiologist (died 1723)
Place of birth: Delft.
Born on 24 October
1985
Wayne Rooney, English footballer
Place of birth: Liverpool.
Born on 24 October
1804
Wilhelm Eduard Weber, German physicist and academic (died 1891)
Place of birth: Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1997
Raye, British singer-songwriter
Place of birth: Tooting.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1936
Bill Wyman, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
Place of birth: London.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1986
John Ruddy, English footballer
Place of birth: St Ives.
24 October
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 October 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 October
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 31 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.
- 69
In the Second Battle of Bedriacum, troops loyal to Vespasian defeat those of Emperor Vitellius.
Europe · Battle of BedriacumWikipedia: Battle of Bedriacum - 1260
After defeating the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut and assassinating the previous Mamluk sultan, Qutuz, Baybars ascends to the Egyptian throne as the fourth sultan of the Mamluk Sultanate.
Asia · Battle of Ain JalutWikipedia: Battle of Ain Jalut - 1260
Chartres Cathedral is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France.
Europe · Chartres CathedralWikipedia: Chartres Cathedral - 1360
The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War.
Europe · Treaty of BrétignyWikipedia: Treaty of Brétigny - 1590
John White, the governor of the second Roanoke Colony, returns to England after an unsuccessful search for the "lost" colonists.
North America · Roanoke ColonyWikipedia: John White - 1596
The second Spanish armada sets sail to strike against England, but is smashed by storms off Cape Finisterre forcing a retreat to port.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Second Spanish Armada - 1641
Felim O'Neill of Kinard, the leader of the Irish Rebellion, issues his Proclamation of Dungannon, justifying the uprising and declaring continued loyalty to King Charles I of England.
Britain & Ireland · IrelandWikipedia: Irish Rebellion of 1641 - 1648
The Peace of Westphalia is signed, marking the end of the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War.
Europe · Osnabrück Town HallWikipedia: Peace of Westphalia - 1789
The Brabant Revolution, sometimes considered to be the first expression of Belgian nationalism, began with the invasion of the Austrian Netherlands by an émigré army from the Dutch Republic.
Europe · Dutch RepublicWikipedia: Brabant Revolution - 1795
Poland is completely consumed by Russia, Prussia and Austria.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Third Partition of Poland - 1796
War of the First Coalition: The Battle of Schliengen was fought between the French and Austrian armies, who both claimed victory.
Europe · Battle of SchliengenWikipedia: Battle of Schliengen - 1812
Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Maloyaroslavets takes place near Moscow.
Europe · Battle of MaloyaroslavetsWikipedia: Battle of Maloyaroslavets - 1813
Treaty of Gulistan: The Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813 comes to a close with the signing of the Treaty of Gulistan, under which terms Qajar Iran agrees to cede the bulk of its Caucasian territories, which comprise much of modern Dagestan, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, to the Russian Empire.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Treaty of Gulistan - 1851
William Lassell discovers the moons Umbriel and Ariel orbiting Uranus.
no place on the mapWikipedia: William Lassell - 1857
Sheffield F.C., the world's oldest association football club still in operation, is founded in England.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Sheffield F.C. - 1860
Convention of Peking: The Second Opium War formally comes to a close, with Qing China ceding Kowloon in perpetuity to the victorious British Empire.
Asia · BeijingWikipedia: Convention of Peking - 1861
The first transcontinental telegraph line across the United States is completed.
no place on the mapWikipedia: First transcontinental telegraph - 1871
An estimated 17 to 22 Chinese immigrants are lynched in Los Angeles, California.
North America · Los Angeles Chinese massacre of 1871Wikipedia: Los Angeles Chinese massacre of 1871 - 1876
Shinpūren rebellion: Upset at the Westernisation of Meiji Japan and the abolition of the Tokugawa feudal hierarchy, the Keishintō, a group of extremist Shinto former samurai, launch a surprise attack against the Meiji government in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Asia · KumamotoWikipedia: Shinpūren rebellion - 1885
The Russian ship Dmitry ran aground in Whitby, an incident that inspired the arrival of Count Dracula to England in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Russian ship Dmitry - 1886
Normanton incident: As the British merchant vessel Normanton sinks off the coast of Japan, her European officers appear to commandeer the ship's lifeboats for themselves, leaving her Asian crew and passengers to die and conjuring significant political outrage in Japan.
Asia · Normanton incidentWikipedia: Normanton incident - 1889
Henry Parkes delivers the Tenterfield Oration, effectively starting the federation process in Australia.
Oceania · TenterfieldWikipedia: Tenterfield Oration - 1894
First Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Jiuliancheng: Under the command of General Yamagata Aritomo, the Imperial Japanese Army covertly crosses the Yalu River into Qing territory and launches an assault on the fortifications at Hushan.
Asia · Battle of JiulianchengWikipedia: Battle of Jiuliancheng - 1900
U.S. Government announces plans to buy Danish West Indies for $7 million.
Latin America · Danish West IndiesWikipedia: Danish West Indies - 1901
Annie Edson Taylor becomes the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Annie Edson Taylor - 1902
Guatemala's Santa María volcano begins to erupt, becoming the third-largest eruption of the 20th century.
Latin America · 1902 eruption of Santa MaríaWikipedia: 1902 eruption of Santa María - 1911
Orville Wright remains in the air for nine minutes and 45 seconds in a glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Wright brothers - 1912
First Balkan War: The Battle of Kirk Kilisse concludes with a Bulgarian victory against the Ottoman Empire.
Asia · Battle of Kirk KilisseWikipedia: Battle of Kirk Kilisse - 1912
First Balkan War: The Battle of Kumanovo concludes with the Serbian victory against the Ottoman Empire.
Europe · Battle of KumanovoWikipedia: Battle of Kumanovo - 1917
World War I: Italy suffers a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Caporetto on the Austro-Italian front.
Europe · Battle of CaporettoWikipedia: World War I - 1918
World War I: Italian victory in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto.
Europe · Battle of Vittorio VenetoWikipedia: Battle of Vittorio Veneto - 1926
Harry Houdini's last performance takes place at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Harry Houdini - 1929
"Black Thursday" on the New York Stock Exchange, the first day of the panic in the markets that contributes to the Great Depression.
North America · Wall Street crash of 1929Wikipedia: Wall Street crash of 1929 - 1930
A bloodless coup d'état in Brazil ends the First Republic, replacing it with the Vargas Era.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Revolution of 1930 - 1931
The George Washington Bridge opens to public traffic over the Hudson River.
no place on the mapWikipedia: George Washington Bridge - 1944
World War II: Japan's center force is temporarily repulsed in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Asia · Battle of Leyte GulfWikipedia: World War II - 1944
World War II: The USS Shark (SS-314) was lost with all 87 hands in the Bashi Straits after torpedoing the Japanese freighter Arisan Maru.
no place on the mapWikipedia: USS Shark - 1944
World War II: The USS Tang (SS-306) sank in the Formosa Strait after being struck by its own torpedo, with 78 of its crew lost.
no place on the mapWikipedia: USS Tang - 1945
The United Nations Charter comes into effect.
North America · Charter of the United NationsWikipedia: Charter of the United Nations - 1946
A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket takes the first photograph of earth from outer space.
no place on the mapWikipedia: V-2 No. 13 - 1947
Famed animator Walt Disney testifies before the House Un-American Activities Committee, naming Disney employees he believes to be communists.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Walt Disney - 1947
United Air Lines Flight 608 crashes in the Bryce Canyon National Park in Garfield County, Utah, while attempting an emergency landing at Bryce Canyon Airport, killing 52 people.
North America · United Air Lines Flight 608Wikipedia: United Air Lines Flight 608 - 1949
The cornerstone of the United Nations Headquarters is laid.
North America · Headquarters of the United NationsWikipedia: Headquarters of the United Nations - 1950
Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China: The People's Liberation Army ceases all military operations in Tibet, ending the Battle of Chamdo.
Asia · 1951 Chinese annexation of TibetWikipedia: 1951 Chinese annexation of Tibet - 1954
US President Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam.
Asia · South VietnamWikipedia: Dwight D. Eisenhower - 1957
The United States Air Force starts the X-20 Dyna-Soar crewed space program.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar - 1960
Nedelin catastrophe: An R-16 ballistic missile explodes on the launch pad at the Soviet Union's Baikonur Cosmodrome space facility, killing over 100 people, including Field Marshal Mitrofan Nedelin.
Asia · Nedelin catastropheWikipedia: Nedelin catastrophe - 1963
An oxygen leak from an R-9 Desna missile at the Baikonur Cosmodrome triggers a fire that kills seven people.
no place on the mapWikipedia: R-9 Desna - 1964
Charges in a military court against generals Dương Văn Đức and Lâm Văn Phát of leading a coup attempt against South Vietnamese leader Nguyễn Khánh, were dropped..
Asia · Ho Chi Minh CityWikipedia: September 1964 South Vietnamese coup attempt - 1964
Northern Rhodesia gains independence from the United Kingdom and becomes Zambia.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Northern Rhodesia - 1972
Three people were killed when falsework collapsed during the construction of the Loddon Bridge in Berkshire, leading to reform of construction practices in the UK.
Britain & Ireland · Loddon Viaduct collapseWikipedia: Loddon Viaduct collapse - 1975
In Iceland, 90% of women take part in a national strike, refusing to work in protest of gender inequality.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 1975 Icelandic women's strike - 1980
The government of Poland legalizes the Solidarity trade union.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Solidarity - 1986
Nezar Hindawi is sentenced to 45 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down by a British court, for the attempted bombing of an El Al flight at Heathrow Airport.
Britain & Ireland · Hindawi affairWikipedia: Hindawi affair - 1990
Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti reveals to the Italian parliament the existence of Gladio, the Italian NATO force formed in 1956, intended to be activated in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Operation Gladio - 1992
The Toronto Blue Jays become the first Major League Baseball team based outside the United States to win the World Series.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Toronto Blue Jays - 1998
Deep Space 1 is launched to explore the asteroid belt and test new spacecraft technologies.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Deep Space 1 - 2003
Concorde makes its last commercial flight.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Concorde - 2003
The inaugural Afro-Asian Games opened in Hyderabad, with 2,040 athletes from 96 nations competing.
Asia · HyderabadWikipedia: 2003 Afro-Asian Games - 2004
Arsenal Football Club loses to Manchester United, ending a row of unbeaten matches at 49 matches, which is the record in the Premier League.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Arsenal F.C. - 2005
Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in Florida, resulting in 35 direct and 26 indirect fatalities and causing $20.6B USD in damage.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Hurricane Wilma - 2007
Chang'e 1, the first satellite in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, is launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Chang'e 1 - 2008
"Bloody Friday" saw many of the world's stock exchanges experience the worst declines in their history, with drops of around 10% in most indices.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Stock market crash - 2014
The China National Space Administration launches an experimental lunar mission, Chang'e 5-T1, which will loop behind the Moon and return to Earth.
no place on the mapWikipedia: China National Space Administration - 2015
A driver deliberately crashes into the Oklahoma State Homecoming parade, killing four people and injuring 34.
North America · 2015 Oklahoma State University homecoming parade attackWikipedia: 2015 Oklahoma State University homecoming parade attack - 2015
Lam Wing-kee, the owner of Causeway Bay Books in Hong Kong, known for publishing political books banned in mainland China, was abducted by Chinese authorities.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Causeway Bay Books - 2016
A French surveillance aircraft flying to Libya crashes on takeoff in Malta, killing all five people on board.
Europe · 2016 CAE Aviation Fairchild Merlin crashWikipedia: 2016 CAE Aviation Fairchild Merlin crash - 2016
Three heavily armed terrorists from the Islamic State – Khorasan Province open fire on and eventually suicide bomb a police training centre in Balochistan, Pakistan, killing at least 59 cadets and injuring more than 165 others.
Asia · 2016 Quetta police training college attackWikipedia: 2016 Quetta police training college attack - 2018
The world's longest sea crossing, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, opens for public traffic.
Asia · Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau BridgeWikipedia: Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge - 2024
A 14 year old resident from Bosanska Krupa, Bosnia and Herzegovina initiated a terrorist attack on the local police station, killing one police officer and injuring another.
Europe · Bosanska KrupaWikipedia: Bosanska Krupa
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 were translated for this page.
- 1908
The railway running the length of western Taiwan from Keelung to Kaohsiung (at that time with the mountain line, not the coastal line, as the main line) opens to traffic, and the "ceremony for the completion of the trunk railway" is held in Taichung Park, presided over by Prince Kan'in Kotohito, invited by the Taiwan Governor-General's Office.
Who was born on 24 October
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 316 are shown.
- 1632
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch biologist and microbiologist (died 1723)
- 1985
Wayne Rooney, English footballer
LiverpoolWikipedia: Wayne Rooney - 51
Domitian, Roman emperor (died 96)
- 1986
Drake, Canadian rapper and actor
TorontoWikipedia: Drake - 1989
PewDiePie, Swedish YouTuber
GothenburgWikipedia: PewDiePie - 1954
Malcolm Turnbull, Australian journalist and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Australia
- 1804
Wilhelm Eduard Weber, German physicist and academic (died 1891)
Lutherstadt WittenbergWikipedia: Wilhelm Eduard Weber - 1932
Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2007)
16th arrondissement of ParisWikipedia: Pierre-Gilles de Gennes - 1939
F. Murray Abraham, American actor
PittsburghWikipedia: F. Murray Abraham - 1947
Kevin Kline, American actor and singer
St. LouisWikipedia: Kevin Kline - 1990
İlkay Gündoğan, German footballer
GelsenkirchenWikipedia: İlkay Gündoğan - 1966
Roman Abramovich, Russian businessman and politician
SaratovWikipedia: Roman Abramovich - 1992
Ding Liren, Chinese chess grandmaster
WenzhouWikipedia: Ding Liren - 1891
Rafael Trujillo, Dominican soldier and politician, 36th President of the Dominican Republic (died 1961)
San CristóbalWikipedia: Rafael Trujillo - 1932
Stephen Covey, American author and educator (died 2012)
Salt Lake CityWikipedia: Stephen Covey - 1932
Robert Mundell, Canadian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2021)
KingstonWikipedia: Robert Mundell - 1503
Isabella of Portugal (died 1539)
- 1931
Sofia Gubaidulina, Russian-German pianist and composer (died 2025)
ChistopolWikipedia: Sofia Gubaidulina - 1855
James S. Sherman, American lawyer and politician, 27th Vice President of the United States (died 1912)
- 1868
Alexandra David-Néel, Belgian-French explorer and author (died 1969)
Saint-MandéWikipedia: Alexandra David-Néel - 1925
Luciano Berio, Italian composer and educator (died 2003)
OnegliaWikipedia: Luciano Berio - 1915
Bob Kane, American author and illustrator (died 1998)
New York CityWikipedia: Bob Kane - 1930
Johan Galtung, Norwegian sociologist and mathematician (died 2024)
Oslo MunicipalityWikipedia: Johan Galtung - 1898
Peng Dehuai, Chinese general, 1st Minister of National Defense of the People's Republic of China (died 1974)
Xiangtan CountyWikipedia: Peng Dehuai - 1927
Gilbert Bécaud, French singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (died 2001)
- 1997
Raye, British singer-songwriter
TootingWikipedia: Raye - 1887
Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Queen Consort of King Alfonso XIII of Spain (died 1969)
Balmoral CastleWikipedia: Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg - 1936
Bill Wyman, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
LondonWikipedia: Bill Wyman - 1798
Massimo d'Azeglio, Piedmontese-Italian statesman, novelist and painter (died 1866)
- 1927
Jean-Claude Pascal, French actor and singer (died 1992)
7th arrondissement of ParisWikipedia: Jean-Claude Pascal - 1959
Michelle Lujan Grisham, American lawyer and politician
Los AlamosWikipedia: Michelle Lujan Grisham - 1989
Eliza Taylor, Australian actress
MelbourneWikipedia: Eliza Taylor - 1914
Lakshmi Sahgal, Indian Independence movement revolutionary and Officer of Indian National Army (died 2012)
ChennaiWikipedia: Lakshmi Sahgal - 1940
Martin Campbell, New Zealand director and producer
HastingsWikipedia: Martin Campbell - 1994
Krystal Jung, American-South Korean singer, dancer, and actress
San FranciscoWikipedia: Krystal Jung - 1913
Tito Gobbi, Italian actor and singer (died 1984)
Bassano del GrappaWikipedia: Tito Gobbi - 1925
Ieng Sary, Vietnamese-Cambodian politician co-founded the Khmer Rouge (died 2013)
Mekong DeltaWikipedia: Ieng Sary - 1960
BD Wong, American actor
San FranciscoWikipedia: BD Wong - 1996
Jaylen Brown, American basketball player
MariettaWikipedia: Jaylen Brown - 1981
Tila Tequila, Singaporean-American model, actress, and singer
SingaporeWikipedia: Tila Tequila - 1989
Shenae Grimes, Canadian actress
- 1949
Keith Rowley, Trinidadian volcanologist and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
TobagoWikipedia: Keith Rowley - 1980
Monica, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
College ParkWikipedia: Monica - 1987
Anthony Vanden Borre, Belgian footballer
- 1986
John Ruddy, English footballer
St IvesWikipedia: John Ruddy - 1998
Daya, American singer
PittsburghWikipedia: Daya - 1830
Marianne North, English biologist and painter (died 1890)
HastingsWikipedia: Marianne North - 1923
Denise Levertov, British-born American poet (died 1997)
- 1953
Christoph Daum, German footballer and manager (died 2024)
ZwickauWikipedia: Christoph Daum - 1975
Juan Pablo Ángel, Colombian footballer
MedellínWikipedia: Juan Pablo Ángel - 1977
Iván Kaviedes, Ecuadoran footballer
CuraçaoWikipedia: Iván Kaviedes - 1990
Nikola Vučević, Montenegrin basketball player
- 1811
Ferdinand Hiller, German composer and conductor (died 1885)
FrankfurtWikipedia: Ferdinand Hiller - 1956
Jeff Merkley, American businessman and politician
Myrtle CreekWikipedia: Jeff Merkley - 1980
Matthew Amoah, Ghanaian footballer
- 1784
Moses Montefiore, British philanthropist, sheriff and banker (died 1885)
LivornoWikipedia: Moses Montefiore - 1887
Octave Lapize, French cyclist and pilot (died 1917)
14th arrondissement of ParisWikipedia: Octave Lapize - 1908
John Tuzo Wilson, Canadian geologist and geophysicist (died 1993)
- 1969
Emma Donoghue, Irish-Canadian author
DublinWikipedia: Emma Donoghue - 1973
Levi Leipheimer, American cyclist
What is celebrated on 24 October
- Christian feast day: Anthony Mary Claret
- Christian feast day: Arethas of Najran
- Christian feast day: Eberigisil (Evergitus)
- Christian feast day: Five Martyrs of Carthage (Felix and Companions)
- Christian feast day: Luigi Guanella
- Christian feast day: Magloire of Dol
- Christian feast day: Martin of Vertou
- Christian feast day: Proclus of Constantinople
- Christian feast day: Rafael Guízar y Valencia
- Christian feast day: Senoch
- Christian feast day: October 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Food Day (United States)
- International Day of Diplomats
- United Nations Day, the anniversary of the 1945 Charter of the United Nations (International)
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.