THE DAY IN HISTORY · APRIL 24

April 24 in history

What happened on April 24: 2 moments from the Maps of History atlases, in 1861 and 1969, each linked to the map that shows it.

1861 — Bezdna unrest

12/24 Apr 1861 — Anton Petrov tells peasants that the emancipation statutes promise them land that officials are concealing. Thousands gather around him at Bezdna. Troops fire on the unarmed crowd; their general reports 51 dead, while other counts reach 70–100 or more. Petrov is court-martialled and shot a week later. This memorial marks the reform's first victims.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION MAP → · THE FULL STORY →

1969 — 9th National Congress of the CCP

1–24 Apr 1969 — The Ninth Party Congress brings the Cultural Revolution’s first phase to a close. It names Lin Biao in the Party constitution as Mao’s “close comrade-in-arms and successor”. Nearly half the new Central Committee wears uniform: the army had become the government.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC UNDER MAO MAP → · THE FULL STORY →