July 24 is:
Amelia Earhart Day
Cousins Day
National Tequila Day
National Jellybeans Day
Pioneer Day, celebrated in Utah. A legal holiday celebrating the entry of Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers into the valley of the Salt Lake in 1847. After 17 months of travel, Brigham Young led 148 Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, resulting in the establishment of Salt Lake City.
July 24, 1534 – French explorer Jacques Cartier planted a cross on the Gaspé Peninsula and took possession of the territory in the name of Francis I of France.
Death of Martin Van Buren, eighth President of the United States, on July 24, 1862. He was 79 and died at Kinderhook, New York. He died of bronchial asthma and heart failure following a case of pneumonia. Van Buren was the first president who was born an American (rather than a British) citizen. The term “O.K.” was popularized because of Van Buren. He was from Kinderhook, New York, sometimes referred to as “Old Kinderhook” in speeches and print. O.K. Clubs soon formed to support Van Buren’s campaign. “O.K.” later came to mean all right.
Birthday of Amelia Earhart (Putnam) (July 24, 1898), American aviatrix, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic.
Explorer Hiram Bingham re-discovered the remains of Machu Picchu in Peru on July 24, 1911.
1967 – During an official state visit to Canada, French President Charles de Gaulle declared to a crowd of over 100,000 in Montreal: “Vive le Québec libre!” (“Long live free Quebec!”). The statement, interpreted as support for Quebec independence, delighted many Québécois but angered the Canadian government and many English Canadians.
July 24, 1998, Russell Eugene Weston Jr. burst into the United States Capitol and opened fire killing two police officers. He was later ruled to be incompetent to stand trial.
July 24, 2002, James Traficant was expelled from the United States House of Representatives on a vote of 420 to 1 after being convicted of 10 felony counts including taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his Congressional staff to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and houseboat in Washington, D.C