May 24:Independence Day in Eritrea (1993); Aldersgate Day(Methodism)
May 24 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:
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 in Dublin, Ireland, with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VIIs reign.
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 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 opposingFrance to the Spanish Empire and the Triple Alliance.
1689 – The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration protecting Protestants. Roman Catholics are intentionally excluded.
1738 – John Wesley is converted, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Dayand a church service is generally held on the preceding Sunday.