April 24 Birthday
On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, approximately 1,200 Irish rebels seized key buildings in Dublin and proclaimed the Irish Republic. The Easter Rising, led by Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, lasted six days. British artillery destroyed much of the city center. 450 people were killed, including 254 civilians. The rebels were initially unpopular — Dubliners cursed them in the streets — but the British execution of sixteen rebel leaders changed public opinion. Pearse and Connolly were shot by firing squad. Connolly, who was dying of gangrene, was tied to a chair because he could not stand. The executions turned the rebels from troublemakers into martyrs. The Easter Rising set in motion the Irish War of Independence, which led to the partition of Ireland in 1921. The Library of Congress was established on April 24, 1800, when President John Adams signed a bill appropriating $5,000 "for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress." The first catalog listed 740 books and three maps. The British burned the library in 1814, during the War of 1812, destroying 3,000 volumes. Thomas Jefferson offered his personal library of 6,487 books as a replacement, which Congress purchased for $23,950. The Library of Congress is now the largest library in the world, with 173 million items on 838 miles of shelves. It holds a Gutenberg Bible, a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, and the world's largest collection of comic books. Operation Eagle Claw, the attempt to rescue fifty-two American hostages in Iran, was launched on April 24, 1980. Eight helicopters were to fly from the carrier USS Nimitz to a desert staging area called Desert One. Two helicopters experienced mechanical failures and one turned back. The mission required a minimum of six helicopters; with only five remaining, the mission was aborted. During refueling at Desert One, a helicopter collided with a C-130 transport plane. Eight servicemen were killed. The failure was a humiliation for the Carter administration and contributed to his reelection defeat. The hostages were released on January 20, 1981, the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated — minutes after Reagan took the oath. Barbra Streisand, born this day in 1942, has sold 150 million records. She is one of the few performers to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). She directed, produced, wrote, and starred in Yentl (1983) — the first film by a major studio that was directed, written, and produced by a woman. Shirley MacLaine, born the same year, has been nominated for six Oscars and won for Terms of Endearment. She believes in reincarnation. People born on April 24 fall under the zodiac sign of Taurus. The birthstone is Diamond and the birth flower is Daisy. Historical events on April 24 include 1800: Library of Congress established, 1916: Easter Rising begins in Dublin, Ireland, 1980: Operation Eagle Claw fails — Iran hostage rescue mission ends in disaster. Famous people born on April 24 include Shirley MacLaine (1934), Barbra Streisand (1942), Cedric the Entertainer (1964).