The Date-A-Base Book 2024: 3,000 historical anniversaries in 2024
Now includes a free Excel spreadsheet
Sort, group and search the
anniversaries however you like!
More than 3,000 historical anniversaries in 2024.
Includes significant historical events, inventions, discoveries, and famous births and deaths.
Fully cross-checked for accuracy.
Perfect for writers, journalists, broadcasters, producers, production companies, and event planners.
Packed with ideas for newspaper and magazine articles, TV and radio features, films and documentaries, and more.
Ideal for “On This Day in History” features and historical anniversary tie-ins.
Size: 11.5″ x 8.5″ (Letter). 242 pages.
E-book: $16.45 (approx.)
PDF format + free Excel spreadsheet.
(View or print with the free Adobe Reader.)
Paperback: $14.99 (approx.)
Product details
This book gives details of more than 3,000 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries in 2024.
Every entry has been fully cross-checked with official sources for complete accuracy.
We only list significant anniversaries (for example 10, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200 years ago) not 17, 54 or 101 years ago.
NOTE:
- If you buy the e-book edition you will receive two volumes: the anniversaries listed in chronological order and sorted by date. (See the sample pages below.)
You will also receive a free Excel spreadsheet so you can sort, group and search the anniversaries however you like. - If you buy the printed edition the anniversaries are only listed in chronological order.
We will be happy to send you the e-book version of the sorted-by-date edition plus the spreadsheet too,
for no extra charge. Just send us a message (mail@ideas4writers.com) with your proof of purchase.
17th annual edition.
Sample pages
(please view on a larger screen)
Sample page (chronological order)
Anniversary | Date | Event |
700 |
Jan 8, 1324 |
Death of Marco Polo, Venetian/Italian merchant, explorer and writer. Best known for his book The Travels of Marco Polo, which details his travels along the Silk Road in Asia. |
400 |
Jan 3, 1624 |
Birth of William Tucker, the first African-American born in America. |
400 |
Jan 9, 1624 |
Birth of Meishō, Empress of Japan (1629–43). |
400 |
Jan 15, 1624 |
The 1624 Tumult of Mexico. Riots broke out in Mexico following a rift between the Viceroy, Carrillo de Mendoza, and the Archbishop of Mexico, Juan Pérez de la Serna. The Viceroy was overthrown, and the Archbishop was assigned to another diocese in Spain in November. |
300 |
Jan 15, 1724 |
Philip V, King of Spain abdicated and was succeeded by his son Louis I. Louis died in August, and Philip resumed the throne in September. |
250 |
Jan 21, 1774 |
Death of Mustapha III, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey)
(1757–74). Succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I. |
200 |
Jan 8, 1824 |
Birth of Wilkie Collins, British novelist and playwright. Best known for
The Woman in White and The Moonstone – which is regarded is the first
modern British detective novel. He also collaborated with Charles Dickens. |
200 |
Jan 10, 1824 |
Death of Victor Emanuel I, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy (1802–21 –
abdicated). |
200 |
Jan 21, 1824 |
Birth of Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson, Confederate general during the
American Civil War. |
200 |
Jan 22, 1824 |
First Anglo–Ashanti War – the Battle of Nsamankow (Ghana).
Ashanti victory. The British troops and their allies, numbering fewer than 500 people, stood little chance against more than 10,000 Ashanti forces. |
175 |
Jan 13, 1849 |
The Colony of Vancouver Island was established. It merged with the Colony of British Colombia in 1866, and became part of Canada in 1871. |
175 |
Jan 18, 1849 |
Birth of Edmund Barton, the first Prime Minister of Australia (1901–03) and
one of the three founding members of the High Court of Australia. |
175 |
Jan 22, 1849 |
Second Anglo–Sikh War – the Siege of Multan ended after nine months.
British victory. (See also: 21st February 1849.) |
175 |
Jan 23, 1849 |
Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in the USA to receive a medical
degree. |
175 |
Jan 26, 1849 |
Death of Thomas Lovell Beddoes, British poet, playwright and doctor. Noted for his obsession with death. (Suicide, aged 45.) |
150 |
Jan 1, 1874 |
The Bronx was annexed by New York City. |
150 |
Jan 5, 1874 |
Birth of Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist. Noted for his work on
neuroscience. Joint winner of the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his study of nerve fibres. |
150 |
Jan 16, 1874 |
Birth of Robert W. Service, (‘the Bard of the Yukon’), British-born Canadian
poet, writer and traveller. Best known for his poems about the Klondike Gold Rush. |
Sample page (sorted by date)
Anniversary |
Date |
Event |
150 |
Jan 1, 1874 |
The Bronx was annexed by New York City. |
100 |
Jan 1, 1924 |
Frank B. Cooney was granted a U.S. patent for ink paste, which is widely
used in the printing industry. (U.S. patent 1,479,533). |
90 |
Jan 1, 1934 |
Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, California, USA became a federal
prison. The prison opened in August 1934 and closed in 1963. |
90 |
Jan 1, 1934 |
The Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring came into
effect in Nazi Germany. Any citizen found to be suffering from a genetic disorder was compulsorily sterilised. Over 400,000 people were sterilised against their will. Many of the disorders were not actually genetic. |
90 |
Jan 1, 1934 |
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) began operating in the
USA. It guarantees the safety of deposits held by member banks. |
90 |
Jan 1, 1934 |
Baseball: the American League and the National League in the USA both
agreed to use a standardised ball. |
80 |
Jan 1, 1944 |
Death of Sir Edward Lutyens, British architect. Best known for his work in
designing the city of New Delhi in India. |
75 |
Jan 1, 1949 |
The British Nationality Act came into effect. It established the status of
‘Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies’, and granted those citizens
the right to enter and live in the United Kingdom. |
75 |
Jan 1, 1949 |
The undeclared war between India and Pakistan ended when the United
Nations negotiated a cease-fire in Kashmir. |
70 |
Jan 1, 1954 |
The first coast-to-coast colour TV broadcast in the USA: the Tournament of
Roses Parade on NBC. The Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl were broadcast later that day and were the first sports events to be broadcast coast-to-coast in colour. |
65 |
Jan 1, 1959 |
Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba, overthrowing
Fulgencio Batista and ending the revolution. This led to a severing of
U.S.–Cuban relations. A trade embargo was imposed against Cuba from
October 1960, extended in 1962, and extended to a total embargo in 2000. |
50 |
Jan 1, 1974 to Mar 6 |
A three-day working week was introduced in the UK to conserve coal
supplies (used by power stations) during a miners’ strike. |
40 |
Jan 1, 1984 |
Brunei gained its independence from the UK. |
40 |
Jan 1, 1984 |
The American communications giant AT&T Bell was broken up into 22
separate companies under the terms of a 1974 antitrust agreement. |
40 |
Jan 1, 1984 |
Death of Alexis Korner, British blues musician and broadcaster. |
30 |
Jan 1, 1994 |
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect.
It eliminated most tariffs and trade barriers on products and services
passing between the USA, Canada and Mexico. |
30 |
Jan 1, 1994 |
Bill Gates, the co-founder and chairman of Microsoft, married Microsoft
executive Melinda French. (They filed for divorce in 2021.) |
30 |
Jan 1, 1994 |
Death of Cesar Romero, American actor. Best known for his role as the
Joker in the 1960s television series Batman. |
25 |
Jan 1, 1999 |
The euro officially became the new currency in 11 European countries. (Coins and banknotes entered circulation in January 2002.) |
Reminder: the e-book edition includes both versions: chronological and sorted by date, plus a free Excel spreadsheet.
Customer reviews
Browse through the dates and names and let your imagination go in to overdrive. These are “must have” lists for you reference library. The allure of these people, places and times are indeed a Pandora’s Box for the enquiring mind of storytellers everywhere. Just the gift for a fellow writer.
Frances Johnson, Gold Coast Writers’ Association, Queensland, Australia.
What a magnificent tool. It’s easy to find out what happened on a particular day or month. Or you can dip straight in and find something to write about and, with your own added research, submit your work well ahead of the game. The information can also be used for quizzes, authenticating historical articles, and a multitude of other formats. Go for it!
Dee Watson, Writer, Editor, Proofreader and Reviewer
Magazines have notoriously long lead-in times, so if you’re an aspiring (or indeed successful) writer of articles you need to be looking well ahead for that all-important “hook” to get the editor interested. That’s where The Date-A-Base Book comes in. Hundreds of notable events, births, deaths, anniversaries of myriad kind from 10 years ago to 1000 years ago. Whatever your area of interest you’ll find something in here to get you started, or to flesh out your background or your characters, or to use in your marketing. The only problem with it is that you might get too engrossed in the who, what, where, and when to actually do any writing.
Lesley Mason
Your guarantee
If the books you buy from us aren’t right for you, tell us within 60 days.
We’ll refund your payment – and you can keep the books!
Related products
THE DATE-A-BASE BOOK 2025
3,600 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries in 2025.
282 pages.
From $16.45 (approx.)