133 things happened on 24 November, from AD 380 to 2025. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1859 · 167 years ago
Charles Darwin's book On the Origin of Species was published, and the first copies sold out on the very first day. In it, Darwin explained his theory that living things change, or evolve, over many generations through a process called natural selection. He ga…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
A large Scottish army marched into England and was beaten near Solway Moss, by the River Esk, by a much smaller English force. About 1,200 Scots were taken prisoner. The battle followed a quarrel between Henry VIII of England and his nephew James V of Scotland, who would not leave the Catholic Church. James died soon afterwards, and his baby daughter became Mary, Queen of Scots.
UK story
Charles Darwin's book On the Origin of Species was published, and the first copies sold out on the very first day. In it, Darwin explained his theory that living things change, or evolve, over many generations through a process called natural selection. He gave evidence that all kinds of life are related, branching out from shared ancestors like a family tree. The book is seen as the foundation of evolutionary biology.
UK story
Black Beauty, a novel by the English writer Anna Sewell, was published. The story is told by Black Beauty himself, a horse, as if it were his autobiography. It teaches readers to treat animals well, and to treat people with kindness and respect too. It became a best-seller straight away and, with over fifty million copies sold, is one of the best-selling books of all time.
UK story
The comedy programme That Was the Week That Was was shown on BBC Television for the first time. It was a satire, which means it used humour to poke fun at politicians and the news. Presented by David Frost, it became very influential, even though it only ran until 1963. It was often known by the short name TW3.
UK story
Hibiscus Rising (pictured), a sculpture commemorating the life of David Oluwale, was unveiled in Leeds.
The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to reach the island now called Tasmania. Aboriginal people already lived there. It was first named Van Diemen's Land, after the Dutch governor who sponsored Tasman's voyage, and was later renamed in Tasman's honour. Tasman was also the first European to reach New Zealand.
The Apollo 12 spacecraft splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean, ending the second mission to land people on the Moon. Astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean had landed on an area called the Ocean of Storms. They spent just over a day and seven hours on the Moon's surface. Meanwhile, Richard Gordon stayed in orbit around the Moon.
Scientists Donald Johanson and Tom Gray discovered a fossil skeleton in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia, in Africa. About 40 per cent of the skeleton was found. It belonged to a female Australopithecus afarensis, an extinct relative of humans that lived in East Africa over three million years before our time. She was nicknamed Lucy, after the Beatles song 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds'.
After a week of huge protests, Miloš Jakeš and the whole leadership of Czechoslovakia's Communist Party resigned. The protests were part of the Velvet Revolution, a peaceful change of power led by students and older campaigners. It ended 41 years of rule by a single party. Czechoslovakia then became a parliamentary republic, with a government chosen by voters.
The government of Colombia and the rebel group FARC signed a revised peace deal. It brought an end to a civil war that had lasted for more than 50 years. FARC had been fighting the government since the 1960s. The peace talks had begun in 2012 and were mostly held in Havana, the capital of Cuba.
Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal entry, into Constantinople.
Conrad of Montferrat becomes King of Jerusalem upon his marriage to Isabella I of Jerusalem.
Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire: Genghis Khan defeated the renegade Khwarazmian prince Jalal al-Din at the Battle of the Indus.
An overnight landslide on the north side of Mont Granier, one of the largest historical rockslope failures ever recorded in Europe, destroys five villages.
Peter I of Cyprus ascends the throne of Cyprus after his father, Hugh IV of Cyprus, abdicates.
Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc unsuccessfully besieges La Charité.
Thirty Years' War: Holy Roman Empire, Bavarian and Spanish forces led by Franz von Mercy defeated the French army in Germany led by Marshal Josias von Rantzau at the Battle of Tuttlingen.
Tarabai, regent of the Maratha Empire, imprisons Rajaram II of Satara for refusing to remove Balaji Baji Rao from the post of peshwa.
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.
The Texas Provincial Government authorizes the creation of a horse-mounted police force called the Texas Rangers (which is now the Texas Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety).
Danish troops defeat a Schleswig-Holstein force in the town of Lottorf, Schleswig-Holstein.
American Civil War: As part of the Chattanooga campaign in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Union forces captured Lookout Mountain, helping them to begin breaking the Confederate siege of the city.
The second of two games between two Ohio football teams took place, after which accusations were made that players conspired to deliberately lose games.
The Podgorica Assembly convened in Montenegro, with the intention of uniting with the Kingdom of Serbia.
The Eugene O'Neill Theatre (pictured) opened on Broadway, New York, with a production of the musical Mayflowers.
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.
In Washington, D.C., the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory (better known as the FBI Crime Lab) officially opens.
The Senegalese Socialist Party holds its second congress.
World War II: The First Slovak Republic becomes a signatory to the Tripartite Pact, officially joining the Axis powers.
World War II: The United States grants Lend-Lease to the Free French Forces.
The "Great Appalachian Storm", a large extratropical cyclone, struck the east coast of the United States before moving northeast.
Cold War: The West Berlin branch of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany forms a separate party, the Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin.
Joseph-Désiré Mobutu seizes power in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and becomes President; he rules the country (which he renames Zaire in 1971) for over 30 years, until being overthrown by rebels in 1997.
A national speed limit is imposed on the Autobahn in Germany because of the 1973 oil crisis. The speed limit lasts only four months.
Space Shuttle program: Atlantis launches on STS-44.
The Avdhela Project, an Aromanian digital library and cultural initiative, was launched in Bucharest, Romania.
Iran signs an interim agreement with the P5+1 countries, limiting its nuclear program in exchange for reduced sanctions.
Five days after the general elections which resulted in a hung parliament, opposition leader and former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim is officially named as the 10th prime minister of Malaysia.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species is published”?
B: 1859. 1859 — that’s 167 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “England defeats a Scottish army at the Battle of Solway Moss”?
B: 1542. 1542 — that’s 484 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
C: England defeats a Scottish army at the Battle of Solway Moss. 1877: Anna Sewell's novel Black Beauty is published · 1859: Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species is published · 1542: England defeats a Scottish army at the Battle of Solway Moss Find it on the page
“Anna Sewell's novel Black Beauty is published” happened in 1877. How many years ago was that?
B: 149 years. 2026 − 1877 = 149. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 24 November.
UK story
Frances Hodgson Burnett was a British-American writer, born in Cheetham, Manchester. As a teenager she moved with her family to Tennessee in the United States. There, at 19, she began writing stories for magazines to help earn money for her family. She is best known for three children's novels: Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), A Little Princess (1905) and The Secret Garden (1911).
Well-known people who died on 24 November.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 24 November somewhere in the world.
UK story
This is the feast day of St Eanflæd, a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon princess, queen and abbess. She was the daughter of King Edwin of Northumbria and became queen of Northumbria when she married King Oswiu. After Oswiu died in 670, she retired to Whitby Abbey, an important monastery founded by St Hilda. She later became its abbess, the woman in charge.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “November 24” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.