April 24: Genocide Remembrance Day in Armenia, Republic Day in the Gambia.
- 1800 - The U.S. Library of Congress was founded.
- 1916 - Easter Rising, a rebellion led by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, broke out in Ireland.
- 1967 - The Soyuz 1 spacecraft crashed in Siberia, killing cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov.
- 1980 - Eight U.S. servicemen died in Operation Eagle Claw, a failed attempt to rescue the hostages in the Iran hostage crisis.
- 1990 - The Hubble Space Telescope (pictured) was launched by the Space Shuttle Discovery in mission STS-31.