On This Day for April 24 - Installation of Pope Benedict XVI, Barbra Streisand is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. April 24 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY Barbra Streisand READ MORE   FEATURED EVENT 2005 Installation of Pope Benedict XVI READ MORE   Advertisement Advertisement   MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2004: American businesswoman Estée Lauder, who cofounded the hugely profitable fragrance and beauty company that bore her name, died in Manhattan. [Why did we start wearing makeup?] 2003: Officials of North Korea informed U.S. diplomats that it had nuclear weapons and was making bomb-grade plutonium. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Korea.] 1980: U.S. forces launched a mission to rescue American hostages in Iran , but the attempt failed, and eight U.S. service members were killed. 1967: Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov became the first man to die during a space mission when his spacecraft became entangled in its parachute during an attempted landing. [ Test your knowledge of famous astronauts and cosmonauts.] 1949: Communist forces occupied the Chinese capital, Nanking (Nanjing), after crossing the Yangtze River virtually unopposed by adherents to the Nationalist government under President Chiang Kai-shek. [ Take our China quiz.] 1916: Members of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army seized strategic points in Dublin during the Easter Rising, which heralded the end of British power in Ireland . SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1973 Sachin Tendulkar Indian cricketer 1942 Barbra Streisand American actress, singer, director, producer 1982 Kelly Clarkson American singer-songwriter 1934 Shirley MacLaine American actress 1856 Philippe Pétain French general 1930 Richard Donner American director SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   Advertisement   FOLLOW: To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, click here. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2021 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Privacy Policy • Help