November 24

On November 24, 1859, Charles Darwin released the first edition of On the Origin of Species, presenting the theory of evolution by natural selection. The book challenged prevailing views on creation and sparked widespread scientific and religious debate. Darwin meticulously gathered evidence from his voyages aboard the HMS Beagle and observations of species variation. His work laid the foundation for modern evolutionary biology and influenced diverse fields from genetics to ecology. Despite initial controversy, Darwin’s ideas became central to scientific understanding of life on Earth.

On November 24, 1932, the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory in Washington, D.C. officially opened under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover. It represented one of the first centralized forensic laboratories in the United States, bringing scientific methods such as fingerprint analysis, ballistics, and chemical examinations to criminal investigations. The facility allowed the FBI to process evidence with unprecedented speed and accuracy. This innovation laid the groundwork for modern forensic science and contributed to the resolution of high-profile cases. Over the decades, the Crime Lab has grown into a world-renowned institution, influencing forensic standards around the globe.

On November 24, 1969, NASA’s Apollo 12 mission culminated in the safe splashdown of the Yankee Clipper command module in the Pacific Ocean. Astronauts Charles “Pete” Conrad, Richard F. Gordon Jr., and Alan L. Bean returned from the second successful lunar landing expedition. The crew had deployed scientific instruments and collected lunar samples from the Ocean of Storms. Precision recovery by the USS Hornet showcased advances in reentry and recovery techniques. Apollo 12 overcame early challenges, including lightning strikes at launch, cementing NASA’s lunar exploration achievements.

On November 24, 1974, paleoanthropologists Donald Johanson and Tom Gray made a landmark discovery in Ethiopia’s Afar Depression by uncovering a 40 percent complete skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis. The fossil, nicknamed “Lucy” after the Beatles song played at camp, proved to be over 3 million years old. Lucy’s pelvic structure revealed that early hominins walked upright, reshaping theories of human evolution. This discovery provided crucial evidence on the development of bipedalism in our ancestors. Lucy’s remains remain one of the most studied and celebrated finds in paleoanthropology.

On November 24, 1991, NASA’s Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-44. The flight’s primary objective was to deploy a Milstar communications satellite for the U.S. Department of Defense. Atlantis carried a crew of five astronauts and conducted supplementary experiments in microgravity. The mission demonstrated the shuttle’s capability to handle classified payloads and showcased enhancements in guidance and control systems. After five days in orbit, Atlantis returned safely to Earth, reaffirming the reliability of the Space Shuttle fleet.