Box-office #1
The Empire Strikes Back
1980 · dir. Irvin Kershner
Wide US release on May 23, 1980. Goes on to become the highest-grossing film of the year.
Sci-fiStar Wars $538M worldwide
On this day
November 24 Tuesday, November 24, 2026
A curious almanac of what happened on November 24 across the years — history, birthdays, the songs that ruled the charts, the films that packed cinemas, and the science that nudged the world forward.
12
Events
7
Birthdays
4
Holidays
847
Disaster 1179 years ago
An earthquake hits Syria, causing multiple casualties and damages in Antioch, Damascus and Mosul.
A powerful earthquake strikes Syria, causing casualties and widespread damage across Antioch, Damascus, and Mosul.
History
What happened on November 24
12 verified entries Full timeline
- 380Roman history
Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal entry, into Constantinople.
Theodosius I enters Constantinople in a grand ceremony known as adventus.
- 847Disaster
An earthquake hits Syria, causing multiple casualties and damages in Antioch, Damascus and Mosul.
A powerful earthquake strikes Syria, causing casualties and widespread damage across Antioch, Damascus, and Mosul.
- 1190European history
Conrad of Montferrat becomes King of Jerusalem upon his marriage to Isabella I of Jerusalem.
Conrad of Montferrat becomes King of Jerusalem through his marriage to Isabella I, though he is never formally crowned.
- 1227European history
Gąsawa massacre: At an assembly of Piast dukes at Gąsawa, Polish Prince Leszek the White, Duke Henry the Bearded and others are attacked by assassins while bathing.
Prince Leszek the White and Duke Henry the Bearded are attacked by assassins while bathing at an assembly in Gąsawa.
- 1248Disaster
An overnight landslide on the north side of Mont Granier, one of the largest historical rockslope failures ever recorded in Europe, destroys five villages.
A massive landslide on Mont Granier devastates five villages, ranking as one of Europe's most significant historical rock slope failures.
- 1359Royalty
Peter I of Cyprus ascends the throne of Cyprus after his father, Hugh IV of Cyprus, abdicates.
Peter I ascends to the throne of Cyprus following his father Hugh IV's abdication.
- 1429European history
Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc unsuccessfully besieges La Charité.
Joan of Arc's attempt to relieve the siege at La Charité fails, marking a significant military setback.
- 1542UK history
Battle of Solway Moss: An English army defeats a much larger Scottish force near the River Esk in Dumfries and Galloway.
An English army defeats a much larger Scottish force near the River Esk in Dumfries and Galloway during the Battle of Solway Moss.
- 1642European history
Abel Tasman becomes the first European to discover the island Van Diemen's Land (later renamed Tasmania).
Abel Tasman becomes the first European to sight and chart Van Diemen's Land, later known as Tasmania.
- 1750Politics
Tarabai, regent of the Maratha Empire, imprisons Rajaram II of Satara for refusing to remove Balaji Baji Rao from the post of peshwa.
Tarabai imprisons Rajaram II for refusing to dismiss Balaji Baji Rao as peshwa.
- 1832US history
South Carolina passes the Ordinance of Nullification, declaring that the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were null and void in the state, beginning the Nullification Crisis.
South Carolina declares the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null and void within the state, sparking the Nullification Crisis.
- 1962Cold War
Cold War: The West Berlin branch of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany forms a separate party, the Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin.
The Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin splits from its East German counterpart to form an independent organization.
Born today
Famous birthdays on November 24
7 this date All birthdays
🎂 36
Tom Odell
English singer-songwriter
Tom Odell, English singer-songwriter who won the BRITs Critics' Choice Award and an Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year in 2014, turns 36 today.
Born
1990
Turns 36
today
Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara
Indian police officer
1877 – 1941
Herbert Sutcliffe
English cricketer and businessman
1894 – 1978
Esther Applin
American geologist and paleontologist
1895 – 1972
Larry Siemering
American football player and coach
1910 – 2009
Fred Titmus
English cricketer and coach
1932 – 2011
Stephen Merchant
English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
b. 1974 · 52
Music
The number one songs on November 24
Across the years Full chart history
🇬🇧 #1 on November 24, 1981
"Stand and Deliver"
by Adam and the Ants
The dandy highwayman spent five weeks at the top — a brash, glam-pop coronation.
#1 for 5 weeks
Also #1 on this day
- 1965"Ticket To Ride"— The Beatles
- 1972"Metal Guru"— T. Rex
- 2003"Make Luv"— Room 5 ft. Oliver Cheatham
Film & TV
At the movies
Box office #1 and premieres All releases
🏆 Sport November 24, 1929
The Finnish far-right Lapua Movement officially begins when a group of mainly the former White Guard members, led by Vihtori Kosola, interrupted communism occasion at the Workers' House in Lapua, Finland.
The Lapua Movement starts in Lapua, Finland, as far-right activists disrupt a communist event at the Workers' House.
Read the story
🔬 Science November 24, 1974
Donald Johanson and Tom Gray discover the 40% complete Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, nicknamed "Lucy" (after The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"), in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia's Afar Depression.
Donald Johanson and Tom Gray discover a 40% complete Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, nicknamed "Lucy," in Ethiopia's Awash Valley.
Read the storyToday is also
Holidays & observances
4 celebrated today
Evolution Day (International observance)
International
Evolution Day is a celebration to commemorate the anniversary of the initial publication of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin on 24 November 1859
Lachit Divas (Assam)
International
Lachit Borphukan was an army general, primarily known for commanding the Ahom Army and the victory in the naval Battle of Saraighat (1671) that thwarted an invasion by the vastly superior Mughal Force
Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur (India)
International
Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of ten gurus who founded the Sikh religion and was the leader of Sikhs from 1664 until his beheading in 1675
Teachers' Day (Turkey)
International
Teachers' Day is a special day for the appreciation of teachers
❝
Wrong people are wrong not because of their faults but because of their virtues.
— Tom Odell · born November 24, 1990