On This Day for January 24 - Opportunity's Mars landing, Winston Churchill is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, [click here to view](. January 24 [Churchill, Winston]( FEATURED BIOGRAPHY 1874 Winston Churchill British statesman, orator, and author [Winston Churchill]( who as [prime minister]( (1940–45, 1951–55) rallied the British people during [World War II]( and led his country from the brink of [defeat to victory]( died this day in 1965. [SEE ALL BORN ON THIS DAY]( [Mars rover: Opportunity]( FEATURED EVENT 2004 Opportunity's Mars landing Launched in mid-2003, the six-wheeled robotic rover [Opportunity]( landed on [Mars]( this day in 2004 and—like its twin rover, Spirit, which had landed on January 3—analyzed rocks and soils and relayed pictures back to [Earth](. [SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY]( Advertisement Advertisement MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY [Ridge, Tom] 2003: The [U.S. Department of Homeland Security]( came into being as [Tom Ridge]( was sworn in as the agency's first secretary. [Neil Diamond, 2006.] 1941: American singer-songwriter [Neil Diamond]( who wrote pop songs for other musicians before launching a successful solo recording career, was born. [Wharton, Edith] 1862: [Edith Wharton]( an American author best known for her stories and novels about upper-class society, was born. [California Gold Rush: Sutter's Mill] 1848: Carpenter James Wilson Marshall found nuggets of gold in California's American River near the site of a sawmill he was building for [John Sutter]( ushering in a [gold rush](. [Robert Baden-Powell.] 1908: The first [Boy Scout]( troop was organized by Lieutenant General [Robert Baden-Powell]( in England. [Shaanxi province, China.] 1556: An [earthquake]( in [Shensi (Shaanxi)]( province, China, killed 830,000 people. [SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY]( ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1712 [Frederick II]( king of Prussia 1941 [Neil Diamond]( American singer-songwriter 76 [Hadrian]( Roman emperor 1862 [Edith Wharton]( American writer 1776 [E.T.A. Hoffmann]( German writer, composer, and painter 1891 [Walther Model]( German military officer [SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY]( Advertisement FOLLOW: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, [click here](. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2019 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. [Privacy Policy]( • [Help](