Important Events From This day in History – 24 April

Today in History

• 2013 1129 people die in Bangladesh in the worst building collapse disaster in modern history

  The structure was used by clothing factories producing garments for western markets, highlighting the industry’s deplorable working conditions.

• 2005 Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as Pope Benedict XVI

  The German was considered a particularly conservative Pope – quite unlike his successor, Pope Francis.

• 1990 The Hubble Space Telescope is launched into Earth orbit

  The 2.4 meter (7.9 feet) aperture telescope has delivered some of the most spectacular images of the far reaches of the Universe, unaffected by the impurities and distortions of Earth’s atmosphere.

• 1957 The Suez Canal reopens after the Suez Crisis

  The conflict between Egypt and France, the United Kingdom, and Israel erupted in October 1956, when Egypt declared that the canal would be nationalized.

• 1915 The Ottoman Empire begins its systematic extermination of Armenians

  During and after World War I, an estimated 1 million people were killed in the Armenian Massacres. This is regarded as one of the first genocides in modern history.