24 April It Happened Today

1731  Death of British novelist Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe.

1934  Birth of American actress Shirley MacLaine.

1942  Birth of American actress and singer Barbra Streisand.

1949 Sweet rationing ends in Great Britain, although it is re-introduced later the same year due to the demand.

1967  Russian spacecraft Soyuz 1 crashes, killing one cosmonaut.

1980  An American rescue mission to rescue the hostages held in Tehran ends in disaster when one of the helicopters collides with one of the transport planes, killing eight.