24 May It Happened Today

1686  Birth of German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit, inventor of the mercury thermometer.

1809  Dartmoor prison in England is officially opened.

1833  The Brooklyn Bridge in New York is officially opened.

1862  Westminster Bridge in London is officially opened.

1870  Birth of South African statesman Jan Smuts.

1941  HMS Hood is sunk by the German battleship Bismark.

1941  Birth of American singer and songwriter Bob Dylan.