November 24: What Happened on This Day in History (Elementary Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 1642 - Abel Tasman becomes the first European to discover the island Van Diemen's Land (later renamed Tasmania).
2. 1835 - The Texas Provincial Government authorizes the creation of a horse-mounted police force called the Texas Rangers (which is now the Texas Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety).
3. 1859 - Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species, the anniversary of which is sometimes called "Evolution Day"
4. 1969 - Apollo program: The Apollo 12 command module splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean, ending the second manned mission to the Moon.
5. 1974 - Donald Johanson and Tom Gray discover the 40% complete Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, nicknamed "Lucy" (after The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"), in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia'sAfar Depression.
6. Famous Birthdays: Charles Theodore Pachelbel (German composer), Charles-Michel de l'épée (French educator), Zachary Taylor (American general and politician, 12th President of the United States), William Webb Ellis (English clergyman, created Rugby football), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French painter)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: November 23

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: November 25

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.