May 24th is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 221 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

1689 – The Act of Toleration became law in England, granting freedom of worship to nonconformists under certain circumstances, but deliberately excluding Catholics.

1883 – New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge opened – the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time.

1956 – The first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Lugano, Switzerland.

1970 – On the Kola Peninsula in Russia, drilling began on the Kola Superdeep Borehole, eventually reaching 12,262 metres (40,230 ft), making it the deepest hole ever drilled and the deepest artificial point on the earth.

2014 – A gunman opened fire at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four people.

Celebrity Birthdays

Bob Dylan turns 76

Priscilla Presley turns 73

Kristin Scott Thomas turns 58

John C. Reilly turns 53

Eric Cantona turns 52