This Day In History : May 24

1918 Canada

Canada grants women the right to vote in federal elections, though First Nations women still unable to without giving up their status

Canada granted women the right to vote in federal elections on May 24, 1918. However, it is important to note that First Nations women, along with First Nations men, were still unable to vote without giving up their status and treaty rights until much later.

Also on This Day in History May 24

Discover what happened on May 24 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries,
famous births and notable deaths.

Births on This Day, May 24
  • 1819 Queen Victoria

    Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

  • 1945 Priscilla Presley

    American actress, businesswoman, former wife of Elvis Presley

  • 1686 Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit

    Dutch-German-Polish physicist, inventor, and scientific instrument maker, who invented the thermometer and the Fahrenheit scale

  • 1870 Jan Smuts

    Prime Minister of South Africa (1919-24, 1939-48), military leader (Boer War, WWI, Smuts Report that led to the RAF) and internationalist statesman (Commonwealth, League of Nations, United Nations)

  • 1965 Shinichirō Watanabe

    Japanese anime director (Samurai Champloo)

Deaths on This Day, May 24
  • 2002 Antonia Pantoja

    Puerto Rican-American educator and civil rights activist, 1st Puerto Rican woman awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom

  • 1543 Nicolaus Copernicus

    Polish mathematician and astronomer who theorized that planets revolve around the sun (Heliocentric theory)

  • 1959 John Foster Dulles

    US Secretary of State (1953-59)

  • 1964 Louis Alan Hazeltine

    American inventor (neutrodyne circuit, making radio possible)

  • 1955 Harold Wilson

    British Prime Minister (Labour: 1964-70, 1974-76)

1738

John Wesley is converted and launches the Methodist movement

John Wesley experienced his conversion on May 24, 1738. This event is often considered the beginning of the Methodist movement, which Wesley later formally organized with his brother Charles Wesley and fellow preacher George Whitefield.
1930

Amy Johnson becomes the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia after landing in Darwin, Northern Territory

Amy Johnson became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia, landing in Darwin, Northern Territory, on May 24, 1930. Her pioneering flight was a remarkable achievement in aviation history.
1862

Beardslee field telegraph used for 1st time

The Beardslee Telegraph was a portable military telegraph developed by George Beardslee and adopted by Albert J. Myer to provide a mobile field telegraph system.
1830

Sarah Josepha Hale publishes Mary Had a Little Lamb

Sarah Josepha Hale published the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on May 24, 1830.
Holiday
Special day
Discover invention