On November 24, 1807, Mohawk Chief Thayendanegea, also known by his English name, Joseph Brant, dies at his home in Burlington, Ontario. Before dying, he reportedly said, “Have pity on the poor Indians. If you have any influence with the great, endeavour to use it for their good.” Thayendanegea ranked among Britain’s best commanders during the […]

On November 24, 1863, Union troops capture Lookout Mountain southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee, as they begin to break the Confederate siege of the city. In the “battle above the clouds,” the Yankees scaled the slopes of the mountain on the periphery of the Chattanooga lines. For nearly two months following the Battle of Chickamauga, the […]

The crime lab that is now referred to as the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory officially opens in Washington, D.C., on November 24, 1932. The lab was initially operated out of a single room and had only one full-time employee, Agent Charles Appel. Agent Appel began with a borrowed microscope and a pseudo-scientific device called […]

The House of Representatives votes 346 to 17 to approve citations of contempt against 10 Hollywood writers, directors, and producers. These men had refused to cooperate at hearings dealing with communism in the movie industry held by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). The “Hollywood Ten,” as the men were known, are sentenced to one year in […]

At 12:20 p.m. EST, in the basement of the Dallas police station, Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy, is shot to death by Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner. On November 22, President Kennedy was fatally shot while riding in an open-car motorcade through the streets of downtown Dallas. Less […]

On November 24, 1974, the fossils of an early human ancestor are discovered in northeastern Ethiopia. Soon nicknamed “Lucy,” the remains showed that human species were walking upright over three millions years ago.  The groundbreaking discovery was made by anthropology professor Donald Johanson and his research assistant Tom Gray at the Hadar paleontological site in northeastern […]

On November 24, 1991, Freddie Mercury, British rock superstar and frontman for the band Queen, died from bronchial pneumonia caused by AIDS.  A virtuoso vocalist known for his flamboyant style and remarkable four-octave vocal range, Mercury announced his AIDS diagnosis to the public just one day before his death, despite knowing his status—and fending off […]

On November 24, 2017, a bomb ripped through a mosque in Egypt’s northern Sinai region as terrorists opened fire on those finishing Friday prayer at the al-Rawdah mosque. The attack killed 305 people—including 27 children—and wounded 120, in what was the deadliest terrorist strike in the country’s recent history. The bloody attack was a cruel […]