June 24 in history — What Happened Today in History

Jiang Zemin succeeds Zhao Ziyang to become the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.

"The Jakarta Incident": British Airways Flight 009 flies into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines.

The Humber Bridge opens to traffic, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It remained the world's longest bridge span for 17 years.

Ahmad al-Ghashmi, the president of the Yemen Arab Republic, is killed when a bomb exploded in a suitcase carried by a South Yemeni envoy.

Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 encounters severe wind shear and crashes on final approach to New York's JFK Airport killing 113 of the 124 passengers on board, making it the deadliest U.S. plane crash at the time. This accident led to decades of research into downburst and microburst phenomena and their effects on aircraft.

The UpStairs Lounge arson attack takes place at a gay bar located on the second floor of the three-story building at 141 Chartres Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, US. Thirty-two people die as a result of fire or smoke inhalation.

The United Kingdom grants Zanzibar internal self-government.

Venezuelan President Rómulo Betancourt is injured in an assassination attempt.

In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.

First Indochina War: Battle of Mang Yang Pass: Viet Minh troops belonging to the 803rd Regiment ambush G.M. 100 of France in An Khê.

Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed, formally segregating races.

The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, starring William Boyd, is aired on NBC.

Cold War: Start of the Berlin Blockade: The Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible.

Kenneth Arnold makes the first widely reported UFO sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington.

The first Victory Day Parade takes place on Red Square in Moscow, Soviet Union, symbolizing the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany.

US military police attempt to arrest a black soldier in Bamber Bridge, England, sparking the Battle of Bamber Bridge mutiny that leaves one dead and seven wounded.

World War II: Operation Collar, the first British Commando raid on occupied France, by No 11 Independent Company.

Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Phibunsongkhram, the country's third prime minister.

A bloodless revolution instigated by the People's Party ends the absolute power of King Prajadhipok of Siam (now Thailand).

The American Professional Football Association is renamed the National Football League.

First airmail service in Canada from Montreal to Toronto.

Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million-dollar contract.

Greece and Serbia annul their alliance with Bulgaria.

Assassination of the French President, Sadi Carnot by Sante Caserio during the Ère des attentats (1892–1894).

First performance of O Canada at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français. The song would later become the national anthem of Canada.

Austro-Prussian War: In the Battle of Custoza an Austrian army defeats the Italian army.

Battle of Solferino (Battle of the Three Sovereigns): Sardinia and France defeat Austria in Solferino, northern Italy.

An Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pascha routs an Ottoman army under Hafiz Pasha in the battle of Nezib.

Micah Richards, English footballer

Nichkhun, Thai-American singer and actor

Simona Dobrá, Czech tennis player

Lionel Messi, Argentine footballer

Pierre Vaultier, French snowboarder

Stuart Broad, English cricketer

Phil Hughes, American baseball player

Solange Knowles, American singer-songwriter and actress

Diego Alves Carreira, Brazilian footballer

Tom Kennedy, English footballer

Nate Myles, Australian rugby league player

Vernon Philander, South African cricketer

Yukina Shirakawa, Japanese model

Eli Wallach, American actor (born 1915)

Mick Aston, English archaeologist and academic (born 1946)

Emilio Colombo, Italian politician, 40th Prime Minister of Italy (born 1920)

Joannes Gijsen, Dutch bishop (born 1932)

William Hathaway, American lawyer and politician (born 1924)

James Martin, English-Bermudian computer scientist and author (born 1933)

Alan Myers, American drummer (born 1955)

Darrel Akerfelds, American baseball player and coach (born 1962)

Gad Beck, German author and educator (born 1923)

Gu Chaohao, Chinese mathematician and academic (born 1926)

Miki Roqué, Spanish footballer (born 1988)

Ann C. Scales, American lawyer, educator, and activist (born 1952)

Lonesome George, last known Pinta Island tortoise (hatched c. 1910)