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September 24
in history

Birth of F. Scott Fitzgerald, American novelist (1896), and Guinea-Bissau declares independence from Portugal (1973). Born on this day: Ruhollah Khomeini, F. Scott Fitzgerald and İsmet İnönü. Died: Pippin III, Liberius and Pedro I.

35 events, 53 births and 42 deaths on this date.

1896

Birth of F. Scott Fitzgerald, American novelist

Fitzgerald was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and became the chronicler of the Jazz Age, a term he popularised in his story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. His novels, including The Great Gatsby, capture the glamour and excess of 1920s America.

Nickolas Muray · Public domain

Events

  1. 1973

    Guinea-Bissau declares independence from Portugal

    After a long and bloody war against Portuguese colonial rule, Guinea-Bissau proclaimed itself an independent state. The declaration came from the PAIGC, the party that had led the fight, and it marked the start of the country's own government.

  2. 1932

    Gandhi and Ambedkar agree the Poona Pact

    Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar reached an agreement that reserved seats in provincial legislatures for the Depressed Classes, later known as Dalits. Gandhi had opposed separate electorates, and the deal was a compromise that shaped how Untouchables were represented in India.

  3. 2023

    NASA's OSIRIS-REx capsule lands on Earth with asteroid samples

    A capsule returned to Utah's desert carrying dust collected from the asteroid Bennu, which NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft had gathered years earlier. Scientists hope the material will reveal clues about the early solar system and the chemistry that may have helped make life possible.

  4. 1948

    Honda Motor Company is established

    Founded by Soichiro Honda, the firm grew into the world's largest motorcycle maker, a title it has held since 1959. Its Super Cub is the most produced motor vehicle in history.

  5. 1674

    Shivaji holds a second coronation as Chhatrapati at Raigad

    Shivaji, the Maratha ruler, was crowned again in a formal ceremony at Raigad Fort, this time as king. The second rite was staged to reinforce his claim to sovereignty after some Brahmins had opposed his first coronation.

    Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
  6. 1934

    Babe Ruth plays his final game for the Yankees

    In the app
  7. 787

    Second Council of Nicaea opens in Nicaea

    In the app
  8. 867

    Byzantine emperor Michael III is murdered by Basil I

    In the app

29 more events on September 24

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  • Ruhollah Khomeini
    1902 – 1989 · Ulema

    Ruhollah Khomeini

    Ruhollah Khomeini was a Shia cleric who led the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Shah and turned Iran into an Islamic republic. He then served as the country's first supreme leader until his death in 1989.

    Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald
    1896 – 1940 · Writer

    F. Scott Fitzgerald

    An American novelist and short story writer whose work captured the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age. He popularised that term in his story collection Tales of the Jazz Age, and critics only warmed to him after he died.

    Nickolas Muray · Public domain
  • İsmet İnönü
    1884 – 1973 · Politician

    İsmet İnönü

    İnönü was Atatürk's closest collaborator and the chief negotiator at Lausanne, where he won Allied recognition of the new Turkish republic. He went on to serve as Turkey's second president from 1938 to 1950.

    Unknown. Official photo of President. · Public domain

Died on September 24

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  • Pippin III
    715 – 768 · Monarch

    Pippin III

    Pepin the Short, the first Carolingian king of the Franks, died in 768 after ruling for seventeen years. He had seized sole power after his brother retired to a monastery, and he later took the Lombard lands in Italy for the papacy.

    Louis-Félix Amiel · Public domain
  • Liberius
    310 – 366 · Catholic priest

    Liberius

    Liberius led the Church in Rome from 352 until his death. He is remembered as the earliest pope the Catholic Church never venerated as a saint, a distinction he shares only with Anastasius II among early pontiffs.

    Matthias Grünewald · Public domain
  • Pedro I
    1798 – 1834 · Politician

    Pedro I

    Pedro I founded the Empire of Brazil after declaring independence from Portugal in 1822, and was known as the Liberator. He abdicated the Brazilian throne in 1831 and died in Lisbon aged thirty-five.

    Simplício Rodrigues de Sá · Public domain

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