On This Day: What happened on 24 May?

Here’s a look at what happened on this day, 24 May, throughout history. We remember the news, events, and people that influenced the course of history forever.

1921 | Bulhoek massacre – More than 180 people were killed in a battle between the police and the Israelites who gathered to celebrate Passover at the holy village of Ntabelanga, Bulhoek in Queenstown. 

1993 | Eritrea gains independence from Ethiopia.

1940 | South African Airways (SAA) Boeing 727 tri-jet was hijacked by two men armed with gelignite sticks en route from Durban to Johannesburg and Salisbury. 

1994 | In Nelson Mandela’s first State of the Nation Address to Parliament he announced that South Africa will subscribe to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and endorse the human rights conventions of the United Nations (UN).

READ: On This Day: What happened on 23 May?

DEATHS

2016 |  Kenyan MP from Malava, Soita Shitanda (56)

2016 | Cameroonian singer, Anne-Marie Nzié (84) 

2019 | Kenyan-born British-American writer and biographer, Edmund Morris (78)

BIRTHDAYS

1942 | South African cricketer and manager, Ali Bacher  

1982 | Ghanaian football player, Issah Gabriel Ahmed 

1985 | South African-American volleyball player, and beauty pageant titleholder, Nana Meriwether 

1993 | South African model, Ntandoyenkosi Kunene

SPORT

1921 | First comrades marathon took place and was won by Bill Rowan.

2008 | Rugby Super 14 Semi-finals – The Sharks lost to the Waratahs 13-28 in Sydney. 

2009 | IPL Cricket Final in Johannesburg – Deccan Chargers defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 6 runs and Herschelle Gibbs was the top scorer, 53 (48).

ENTERTAINMENT

2019 | ‘What If’, an American thriller miniseries starring Renée Zelwegger was released. 

2020 | ‘Betaal’, an Indian Zombie series starring Aahana Kumra and Vineet Kumar Singh was released on Netflix.

AFRICA FACT

The Second War in Congo (1998-2006), claimed the second-highest number of casualties (5.4 million lives) since World War II.