Important Events From This day in History – 24 May

Today in History

• 2001 23 die in the Jerusalem wedding hall disaster

  When a portion of the third floor collapsed, hundreds of wedding guests fell two stories. It was Israel’s worst civil disaster.

• 1970 Engineers begin drilling the world’s deepest hole

  The Kola Superdeep Borehole had reached an unrivaled depth of 12,262 meters (40,230 feet) before being abandoned due to a lack of funding.

• 1956 The first Eurovision Song Contest is held

  Lys Assia of Switzerland won the first edition. The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is a major song contest in Europe and one of the world’s longest-running television programs. Each year, it is held in a different country.

• 1930 Amy Johnson flies solo from England to Australia

  The first woman to accomplish this feat was the English aviatrix. Her 18,000 km (11,000 mi) flight from Croydon, UK to Darwin, Australia took 19 days.

• 1830 Mary Had a little lamb is published

  Sarah Josepha Hale’s poem is one of the best-known English language nursery rhymes.