- 919 – The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom.
- 1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.
- 1276 – Magnus Ladulås is crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral.
- 1487 – The ten-year-old Lambert Simnel is crowned in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VII’s reign.
- 1567 – Erik XIV of Sweden and his guards murder five incarcerated Swedish nobles.
- 1595 – Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.
- 1607 – One hundred English settlers disembark in Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in America.
- 1621 – The Protestant Union is formally dissolved.
- 1626 – Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.
- 1667 – The French Royal Army crosses the border into the Spanish Netherlands, starting the War of Devolution opposing France to the Spanish Empire and the Triple Alliance.
- 1683 – The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, opens as the world’s first university museum.
- 1689 – The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration protecting dissenting Protestants but excluding Roman Catholics.
- 1738 – John Wesley is converted, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day and a church service is generally held on the preceding Sunday.
- 1798 – The Irish Rebellion of 1798 led by the United Irishmen against British rule begins.
- 1813 – South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador (“The Liberator”).
- 1822 – Battle of Pichincha: Antonio José de Sucre secures the independence of the Presidency of Quito.
- 1832 – The First Kingdom of Greece is declared in the London Conference.
- 1844 – Samuel Morse sends the message “What hath God wrought” (a biblical quotation, Numbers 23:23) from a committee room in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland, to inaugurate a commercial telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington D.C.
- 1856 – John Brown and his men kill five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.
- 1883 – The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.
- 1900 – Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State.
- 1915 – World War I: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary, joining the conflict on the side of the Allies.
- 1930 – Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia (she left on May 5 for the 11,000 mile flight).
- 1935 – The first night game in Major League Baseball history is played in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Cincinnati Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2–1 at Crosley Field.
- 1940 – Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.
- 1940 – Acting on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, NKVD agent Iosif Grigulevich orchestrates an unsuccessful assassination attempt on exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in Coyoacán, Mexico.
- 1941 – World War II: In the Battle of the Atlantic, the German Battleship Bismarck sinks then-pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, killing all but three crewmen.
- 1948 – Arab–Israeli War: Egypt captures the Israeli kibbutz of Yad Mordechai, but the five-day effort gives Israeli forces time to prepare enough to stop the Egyptian advance a week later.
- 1956 – The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland.
- 1958 – United Press International is formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.
- 1960 – Following the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest ever recorded earthquake, Cordón Caulle begins to erupt.
- 1961 – American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for “disturbing the peace” after disembarking from their bus.
- 1962 – Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
- 1967 – Egypt imposes a blockade and siege of the Red Sea coast of Israel.
- 1976 – The Judgment of Paris takes place in France, launching California as a worldwide force in the production of quality wine.
- 1981 – Ecuadorian president Jaime Roldós Aguilera, his wife, and his presidential committee die in an aircraft accident while travelling from Quito to Zapotillo minutes after the president gave a famous speech regarding the 24 de mayo anniversary of the Battle of Pichincha.
- 1982 – Liberation of Khorramshahr: Iranians recapture of the port city of Khorramshahr from the Iraqis during the Iran–Iraq War.
- 1988 – Section 28 of the United Kingdom’s Local Government Act 1988, a controversial amendment stating that a local authority cannot intentionally promote homosexuality, is enacted.
- 1991 – Israel conducts Operation Solomon, evacuating Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
- 1992 – The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigns following pro-democracy protests.
- 1992 – The ethnic cleansing in Kozarac, Bosnia and Herzegovina begins when Serbian militia and police forces enter the town.
- 1993 – Eritrea gains its independence from Ethiopia.
- 1993 – Roman Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo and five other people are assassinated in a shootout at Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport in Mexico.
- 1994 – Four men convicted of bombing the World Trade Center in New York in 1993 are each sentenced to 240 years in prison.
- 1995 – While attempting to return to Leeds Bradford Airport in the United Kingdom, Knight Air Flight 816 crashes in Harewood, North Yorkshire, killing all 12 people on board.
- 1999 – The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands indicts Slobodan Milošević and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo.
- 2000 – Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.
- 2002 – Russia and the United States sign the Moscow Treaty.
- 2014 – A 6.4 magnitude earthquake occurs in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey, injuring 324 people.
- 2014 – At least three people are killed in a shooting at Brussels’ Jewish Museum of Belgium.
- 2019 – Twenty-two students die in a fire in Surat (India).
- 2019 – Under pressure over her handling of Brexit, British Prime Minister Theresa May announces her resignation as Leader of the Conservative Party, effective as of June 7.
Births on May 24
- 15 BC – Germanicus, Roman general (d. 19)
- 1335 – Margaret of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary (d. 1349)
- 1494 – Pontormo, Italian painter (d. 1557)
- 1522 – John Jewel, English bishop (d. 1571)
- 1544 – William Gilbert, English physician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1603)
- 1576 – Elizabeth Carey, Lady Berkeley, English courtier (d. 1635)
- 1616 – John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, Scottish politician, Secretary of State, Scotland (d. 1682)
- 1628 – Marek Sobieski, Polish noble (d. 1652)
- 1669 – Emerentia von Düben, Swedish royal favorite (d. 1743)
- 1671 – Gian Gastone de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1737)
- 1686 – Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Polish-German physicist and engineer, developed the Fahrenheit scale (d. 1736)
- 1689 – Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1769)
- 1743 – Jean-Paul Marat, Swiss-French physician, journalist, and politician (d. 1793)
- 1789 – Cathinka Buchwieser, German operatic singer and actress (d.1828)
- 1794 – William Whewell, English priest and philosopher (d. 1866)
- 1803 – Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist and paleontologist (d. 1866)
- 1810 – Abraham Geiger, German rabbi and scholar (d. 1874)
- 1816 – Emanuel Leutze, German-American painter (d. 1868)
- 1819 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1901)
- 1830 – Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter and academic (d. 1897)
- 1855 – Arthur Wing Pinero, English actor, director, and playwright (d. 1934)
- 1861 – Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland, Maltese lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1940)
- 1863 – George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (d. 1938)
- 1868 – Charlie Taylor, American engineer and mechanic (d. 1956)
- 1870 – Benjamin N. Cardozo, American lawyer and judge (d. 1938)
- 1870 – Jan Smuts, South African lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1950)
- 1874 – Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1878)
- 1875 – Robert Garrett, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1961)
- 1878 – Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American psychologist and engineer (d. 1972)
- 1879 – H. B. Reese, American candy maker, created Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (d. 1956)
- 1886 – Paul Paray, French organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1979)
- 1887 – Mick Mannock, Irish soldier and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)
- 1891 – William F. Albright, American archaeologist, philologist, and scholar (d. 1971)
- 1895 – Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr., American publisher, founded Advance Publications (d. 1979)
- 1899 – Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (d. 1938)
- 1899 – Henri Michaux, Belgian-French poet and painter (d. 1984)
- 1900 – Eduardo De Filippo, Italian actor and screenwriter (d. 1984)
- 1901 – José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer and manager (d. 1968)
- 1902 – Lionel Conacher, Canadian football player and politician (d. 1954)
- 1902 – Sylvia Daoust, Canadian sculptor (d. 2004)
- 1905 – George Nakashima, American woodworker and architect(d. 1990)
- 1905 – Mikhail Sholokhov, Russian novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
- 1909 – Wilbur Mills, American banker and politician (d. 1992)
- 1910 – Jimmy Demaret, American golfer (d. 1983)
- 1913 – Joe Abreu, American baseball player and soldier (d. 1993)
- 1914 – Lilli Palmer, German-American actress (d. 1986)
- 1916 – Roden Cutler, Australian lieutenant and politician, 32nd Governor of New South Wales (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Alan Campbell, Baron Campbell of Alloway, English lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Coleman Young, American politician, 66th Mayor of Detroit (d. 1997)
- 1923 – Siobhán McKenna, Irish actress (d. 1986)
- 1924 – Philip Pearlstein, American soldier and painter
- 1925 – Carmine Infantino, American illustrator and educator (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Mai Zetterling, Swedish actress and director (d. 1994)
- 1926 – Stanley Baxter, Scottish actor and screenwriter
- 1928 – William Trevor, Irish novelist, playwright and short story writer (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Arnold Wesker, English playwright and producer (d. 2016)
- 1933 – Jane Byrne, American lawyer and politician, 50th Mayor of Chicago (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Réal Giguère, Canadian television host and actor
- 1933 – Aharon Lichtenstein, French-Israeli rabbi and author (d. 2015)
- 1935 – Joan Micklin Silver, American director and screenwriter
- 1936 – Harold Budd, American composer and poet
- 1937 – Maryvonne Dupureur, French runner and educator (d. 2008)
- 1937 – Archie Shepp, American saxophonist and composer
- 1938 – Prince Buster, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
- 1938 – Tommy Chong, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1940 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
- 1941 – Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist, writer, and producer; Nobel Prize laureate
- 1941 – Patricia Hollis, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, English academic and politician
- 1942 – Ali Bacher, South African cricketer and manager
- 1942 – Hannu Mikkola, Finnish race car driver
- 1942 – Ichirō Ozawa, Japanese lawyer and politician, Japanese Minister of Home Affairs
- 1943 – Gary Burghoff, American actor
- 1944 – Patti LaBelle, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1944 – Dominique Lavanant, French actress
- 1945 – Terry Callier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
- 1945 – Steven Norris, English engineer and politician
- 1945 – Richard Ottaway, English lieutenant and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- 1945 – Priscilla Presley, American actress and businesswoman
- 1946 – Tansu Çiller, Turkish economist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Turkey
- 1946 – Jesualdo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer and manager
- 1946 – Irena Szewińska, Russian-Polish sprinter
- 1947 – Albert Bouchard, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer
- 1947 – Mike De Leon, Filipino director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer
- 1947 – Mike Reid, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and American football player
- 1947 – Waddy Wachtel, American guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer
- 1947 – Martin Winterkorn, German businessman
- 1948 – Richard Dembo, French director and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1949 – Jim Broadbent, English actor
- 1949 – Roger Deakins , English cinematographer
- 1953 – Alfred Molina, English actor
- 1955 – Rosanne Cash, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1955 – Philippe Lafontaine, Belgian singer and songwriter
- 1955 – Rajesh Roshan, Indian composer
- 1956 – R. B. Bernstein, American constitutional historian
- 1956 – Larry Blackmon, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1956 – Dominic Grieve, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales
- 1956 – Michael Jackson, Irish archbishop
- 1958 – Chip Ganassi, American race car driver, team owner and businessman
- 1959 – Pelle Lindbergh, Swedish-American ice hockey player (d. 1985)
- 1959 – Barry O’Farrell, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of New South Wales
- 1960 – Guy Fletcher, English keyboard player, guitarist, and producer
- 1960 – Bill Harrigan, Australian rugby league referee and sportscaster
- 1960 – Kristin Scott Thomas, English actress
- 1961 – Lorella Cedroni, Italian philosopher and theorist (d. 2013)
- 1961 – Alain Lemieux, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
- 1962 – Héctor Camacho, Puerto Rican-American boxer (d. 2012)
- 1962 – Gene Anthony Ray, American actor, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2003)
- 1963 – Ivan Capelli, Italian race car driver and sportscaster
- 1963 – Michael Chabon, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter
- 1963 – Joe Dumars, American basketball player
- 1963 – Rich Rodriguez, American football player and coach
- 1963 – Valerie Taylor, American computer scientist and educator
- 1964 – Liz McColgan, Scottish educator and runner
- 1964 – Adrian Moorhouse, English swimmer
- 1964 – Isidro Pérez, Mexican boxer (d. 2013)
- 1964 – Pat Verbeek, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1965 – John C. Reilly, American actor
- 1965 – Shinichirō Watanabe, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1966 – Éric Cantona, French footballer, manager, and actor
- 1966 – Ricky Craven, American race car driver and sportscaster
- 1967 – Tamer Karadağlı, Turkish actor
- 1967 – Andrey Borodin, Russian-English economist and businessman
- 1967 – Eric Close, American actor
- 1967 – Heavy D, Jamaican-American rapper, producer, and actor (d. 2011)
- 1967 – Carlos Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager
- 1969 – Martin McCague, Northern Irish-English cricketer
- 1969 – Jacob Rees-Mogg, English politician
- 1969 – Rich Robinson, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1971 – Kris Draper, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1972 – Greg Berlanti, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Rodrigo, Argentinian singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
- 1973 – Bartolo Colón, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1973 – Shirish Kunder, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Vladimír Šmicer, Czech footballer and manager
- 1974 – Sébastien Foucan, French runner and actor
- 1974 – Masahide Kobayashi, Japanese baseball player and coach
- 1974 – Magnus Manske, German biochemist and computer programmer, developed MediaWiki
- 1975 – Will Sasso, Canadian actor and comedian
- 1975 – Marc Gagnon, Canadian speed skater
- 1975 – Giannis Goumas, Greek footballer and coach
- 1975 – Maria Lawson, English singer-songwriter
- 1976 – Alessandro Cortini, Italian-American singer and keyboard player
- 1976 – Catherine Cox, New Zealand-Australian netball player
- 1976 – Silje Vige, Norwegian singer
- 1977 – Jeet Gannguli, Indian score composer, music director and singer
- 1978 – Elijah Burke, American wrestler
- 1978 – Johan Holmqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1978 – Brad Penny, American baseball player
- 1978 – Rose, French singer, songwriter and composer
- 1979 – Tracy McGrady, American basketball player
- 1979 – Kareem McKenzie, American football player
- 1980 – Jason Babin, American football player
- 1980 – Anthony Minichiello, Australian rugby league player
- 1981 – Andy Lee, Australian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
- 1982 – Issah Gabriel Ahmed, Ghanaian footballer
- 1982 – Rian Wallace, American football player
- 1983 – Custódio Castro, Portuguese footballer
- 1983 – Pedram Javaheri, Iranian-American meteorologist and journalist
- 1983 – Woo Seung-yeon, South Korean model and actress (d. 2009)
- 1984 – Sarah Hagan, American actress
- 1984 – Dmitri Kruglov, Estonian footballer
- 1985 – Tim Bridgman, English race car driver
- 1986 – Mark Ballas, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, dancer, and actor
- 1986 – Giannis Kontoes, Greek footballer
- 1987 – Guillaume Latendresse, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Artem Anisimov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Monica Lin Brown, American sergeant
- 1988 – Billy Gilman, American musician
- 1988 – Lucian Wintrich, American political artist and White House correspondent
- 1989 – G-Eazy, American rapper
- 1989 – Andrew Jordan, English race car driver
- 1990 – Mattias Ekholm, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1991 – Aled Davies, Welsh discus thrower
- 1991 – Cody Eakin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1992 – Marcus Bettinelli, English footballer, goalkeeper
- 1994 – Daiya Seto, Japanese swimmer
- 1994 – Emily Nicholl, Scottish netball player
- 1994 – Daiya Seto, Japanese swimmer
- 1994 – Emily Temple Wood, American 2016 Wikipedian of the Year award
- 1999 – Tarjei Sandvik Moe, Norwegian actor
Deaths on May 24
- 688 – Ségéne, bishop of Armagh (b. c. 610)
- 1089 – Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1136 – Hugues de Payens, first Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b. c. 1070)
- 1153 – David I of Scotland (b. 1083)
- 1201 – Theobald III, Count of Champagne (b. 1179)
- 1351 – Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman, Moroccan sultan (b. 1297)
- 1408 – Taejo of Joseon (b. 1335)
- 1425 – Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, Scottish politician (b. 1362)
- 1456 – Ambroise de Loré, French commander (b. 1396)
- 1543 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (b. 1473)
- 1612 – Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1563)
- 1627 – Luis de Góngora, Spanish poet and cleric (b. 1561)
- 1632 – Robert Hues, English mathematician and geographer (b. 1553)
- 1665 – Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, Spanish Franciscan abbess and mystic (b. 1602)
- 1734 – Georg Ernst Stahl, German physician and chemist (b. 1660)
- 1792 – George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, English admiral and politician, 16th Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1718)
- 1806 – John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, Scottish field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Argyllshire (b. 1723)
- 1843 – Sylvestre François Lacroix, French mathematician and academic (b. 1765)
- 1848 – Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, German author and composer (b. 1797)
- 1861 – Elmer E. Ellsworth, American colonel (b. 1837)
- 1872 – Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter and illustrator (b. 1794)
- 1879 – William Lloyd Garrison, American journalist and activist (b. 1805)
- 1881 – Samuel Palmer, English painter and illustrator (b. 1805)
- 1901 – Louis-Zéphirin Moreau, Canadian bishop (b. 1824)
- 1908 – Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer and architect (b. 1821)
- 1915 – John Condon, Irish-English soldier (b. 1896)
- 1919 – Amado Nervo, Mexican poet, journalist, and educator (b. 1870)
- 1929 – Nikolai von Meck, Russian engineer (b. 1863)
- 1941 – Lancelot Holland, English admiral (b. 1887)
- 1945 – Robert Ritter von Greim, German field marshal and pilot (b. 1892)
- 1948 – Jacques Feyder, Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
- 1949 – Alexey Shchusev, Russian architect, designed Lenin’s Mausoleum and Moscow Kazanskaya railway station (b. 1873)
- 1950 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English field marshal and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (b. 1883)
- 1951 – Thomas N. Heffron, American actor, director, screenwriter (b. 1872)
- 1956 – Martha Annie Whiteley, English chemist and mathematician (b. 1866)
- 1958 – Frank Rowe, Australian public servant (b. 1895)
- 1959 – John Foster Dulles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 52nd United States Secretary of State (b. 1888)
- 1963 – Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1918)
- 1965 – Sonny Boy Williamson II, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (b. 1908)
- 1974 – Duke Ellington, American pianist and composer (b. 1899)
- 1976 – Denise Pelletier, Canadian actress (b. 1923)
- 1979 – Ernest Bullock, English organist, composer, and educator (b. 1890)
- 1981 – Herbert Müller, Swiss race car driver (b. 1940)
- 1984 – Vince McMahon Sr., American wrestling promoter and businessman, founded WWE (b. 1914)
- 1988 – Freddie Frith, English motorcycle road racer (b. 1909)
- 1990 – Arthur Villeneuve, Canadian painter (b. 1910)
- 1991 – Gene Clark, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944)
- 1992 – Hitoshi Ogawa, Japanese race car driver (b. 1956)
- 1995 – Harold Wilson, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)
- 1996 – Enrique Álvarez Félix, Mexican actor (b. 1934)
- 1996 – Joseph Mitchell, American journalist and author (b. 1908)
- 1997 – Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (b. 1923)
- 2000 – Kurt Schork, American journalist and scholar (b. 1947)
- 2000 – Majrooh Sultanpuri, Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1919)
- 2002 – Wallace Markfield, American author (b. 1926)
- 2003 – Rachel Kempson, English actress (b. 1910)
- 2004 – Henry Ries, German-American photographer (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Milton Shulman, Canadian author and critic (b. 1913)
- 2004 – Edward Wagenknecht, American critic and educator (b. 1900)
- 2005 – Carl Amery, German activist and author (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Arthur Haulot, Belgian journalist and poet (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Guy Tardif, Canadian academic and politician (b. 1935)
- 2006 – Henry Bumstead, American art director and production designer (b. 1915)
- 2006 – Claude Piéplu, French actor (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician and educator (b. 1930)
- 2008 – Dick Martin, American actor, comedian, and director (b. 1922)
- 2008 – Jimmy McGriff, American organist and bandleader (b. 1936)
- 2009 – Jay Bennett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1963)
- 2010 – Ray Alan, English ventriloquist, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
- 2010 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1972)
- 2010 – Raymond V. Haysbert, American businessman and activist (b. 1920)
- 2010 – Petr Muk, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1965)
- 2010 – Anneliese Rothenberger, German soprano and actress (b. 1926)
- 2011 – Huguette Clark, American heiress, painter, and philanthropist (b. 1906)
- 2011 – Hakim Ali Zardari, Indian-Pakistani businessman and politician (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Klaas Carel Faber, Dutch-German SS officer (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Kathi Kamen Goldmark, American journalist and author (b. 1948)
- 2012 – Jacqueline Harpman, Belgian psychoanalyst and author (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Juan Francisco Lombardo, Argentinian footballer (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Lee Rich, American production manager and producer (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Helmut Braunlich, German-American violinist and composer (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Ron Davies, Welsh footballer (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Gotthard Graubner, German painter (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Haynes Johnson, American journalist and author (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Pyotr Todorovsky, Ukrainian-Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1925)
- 2014 – David Allen, English cricketer (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Stormé DeLarverie, known as the “Rosa Parks of the lesbian community” (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, Iranian businessman (b. 1969)
- 2014 – Knowlton Nash, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1927)
- 2014 – John Vasconcellos, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Dean Carroll, English rugby player (b. 1962)
- 2015 – Kenneth Jacobs, Australian lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
- 2015 – Tanith Lee, English author (b. 1947)
- 2018 – Gudrun Burwitz, daughter of Margarete Himmler and Heinrich Himmler (b. 1929)
- 2018 – John Bain (TotalBiscuit), English gaming commentator and critic (b. 1984)
Holidays and observances on May 24
- Aldersgate Day/Wesley Day (Methodism)
- Battle of Pichincha Day (Ecuador)
- Bermuda Day (Bermuda), celebrated on the nearest weekday if May 24 falls on the weekend.
- Christian feast day:
- Anna Pak Agi (one of The Korean Martyrs)
- Donatian and Rogatian
- Jackson Kemper (Episcopal Church)
- Joanna
- Mary, Help of Christians
- Sarah (celebrated by the Romani people of Camargue)
- Vincent of Lérins
- May 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Commonwealth Day (Belize)
- Earliest day on which El Colacho tradition can fall, while June 27 is the latest; celebrated on Sunday after Corpus Christi. (Castrillo de Murcia, near Burgos)
- Independence Day (Eritrea), celebrates the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia in 1993.
- Lubiri Memorial Day (Buganda)
- Saints Cyril and Methodius Day (Eastern Orthodox Church, Julian Calendar) and its related observance:
- Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavonic Literature Day (Bulgaria)
- Saints Cyril and Methodius, Slavonic Enlighteners’ Day (North Macedonia)
- Victoria Day; celebrated on Monday on or before May 24. (Canada), and its related observance:
- National Patriots’ Day or Journée nationale des patriotes (Quebec)