1980 eight u.s
990�642
1980 46 years ago Historical Events April 24 2 sources

Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.

On April 24, in the year 1980, Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of April 24, one of 380 recorded events on this date across all of history.

Operation Eagle Claw was a failed United States Department of Defense attempt to rescue 53 embassy staff held captive by Revolutionary Iran on 24 April 1980. It was ordered by U.S. president Jimmy Carter after the staff were seized at the Embassy of the United States, Tehran. The operation, one of Delta Force's first, encountered many obstacles and failures and was subsequently aborted. Eight helicopters were sent to the first staging area in Great Salt Desert called Desert One, but only five arrived in operational condition. One had encountered hydraulic problems, another was caught in a sand storm, and the third showed signs of a cracked rotor blade. During the operational planning, it was decided that the mission would be aborted if fewer than six helicopters remained operational upon arrival at the Desert One site, despite only four being absolutely necessary. The field commanders advised President Carter to abort the mission, which he did.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on April 24, 1980 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 17 April 2026.

On This Date in History 380

Type Year Date Event
Historical Events 2025 Apr 24 A mass stabbing at a school in Nantes, France, leaves one person dead and three others wounded
Notable Deaths 2025 Apr 24 Roy Phillips, British musician (born 1941)
Notable Deaths 2024 Apr 24 Bob Cole, Canadian sports announcer (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2024 Apr 24 Terry Hill, Australian rugby league player (born 1972)
Notable Deaths 2024 Apr 24 Donald Payne Jr
Notable Deaths 2024 Apr 24 Mike Pinder, British musician (born 1941)
Notable Deaths 2023 Apr 24 Wang Xiaolong, Chinese Coast guardsman (born 1995)
Notable Deaths 2022 Apr 24 Andrew Woolfolk, American saxophonist (born 1950)
Notable Deaths 2017 Apr 24 Robert Pirsig, American author and philosopher (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2016 Apr 24 Tommy Kono, American weightlifter and coach (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2015 Apr 24 Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2014 Apr 24 Hans Hollein, Austrian architect, designed Haas House (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2014 Apr 24 Sandy Jardine, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1948)
Notable Deaths 2014 Apr 24 Shobha Nagi Reddy, Indian politician (born 1968)
Notable Deaths 2014 Apr 24 Tadeusz Różewicz, Polish poet and playwright (born 1921)
Historical Events 2013 Apr 24 A building collapses near Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1,134 people and injuring about 2,500 others
Historical Events 2013 Apr 24 Violence in Bachu County, Kashgar Prefecture, of China's Xinjiang results in death of 21 people
Selected Events 2013 Apr 24 A building in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed, killing 1,134 people, making it the deadliest accidenta
Historical Events 2011 Apr 24 WikiLeaks starts publishing the Guantanamo Bay files leak
Notable Deaths 2011 Apr 24 Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru and philanthropist (born 1926)
Selected Events 2011 Apr 24 Secret documents relating to detainees at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camp were released on WikiLeaks an
Notable Deaths 2008 Apr 24 Jimmy Giuffre, American clarinet player, and saxophonist, and composer (born 1921)
Historical Events 2006 Apr 24 Bombings in the Egyptian resort city of Dahab kill 23 people and injure about 80
Notable Deaths 2006 Apr 24 Brian Labone, English footballer (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2006 Apr 24 Moshe Teitelbaum, Romanian-American rabbi and author (born 1914)
Historical Events 2005 Apr 24 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI
Notable Deaths 2005 Apr 24 Ezer Weizman, Israeli general and politician, 7th President of Israel (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2005 Apr 24 Fei Xiaotong, Chinese sociologist and academic (born 1910)
Historical Events 2004 Apr 24 The United States lifts economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years previously, as a reward for its cooperation in elim
Notable Deaths 2004 Apr 24 José Giovanni, French-Swiss director and producer (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2004 Apr 24 Estée Lauder, American businesswoman, co-founded Estée Lauder Companies (born 1906)
Notable Deaths 2003 Apr 24 Nüzhet Gökdoğan, Turkish astronomer and mathematician (born 1910)
Selected Events 2003 Apr 24 A backhoe breached a pipeline in Toronto, Canada, which caused a gas explosion that killed seven people
Notable Births 2002 Apr 24 Olivia Gadecki, Australian tennis player
Notable Deaths 2002 Apr 24 Lucien Wercollier, Luxembourgish sculptor (born 1908)
Notable Deaths 2001 Apr 24 Josef Peters, German racing driver (born 1914)
Notable Deaths 2001 Apr 24 Johnny Valentine, American wrestler (born 1928)
Notable Births 1999 Apr 24 Ziyu He, Chinese violinist
Notable Births 1999 Apr 24 Jerry Jeudy, American football player
Notable Births 1998 Apr 24 Ryan Newman, American actress
Notable Births 1997 Apr 24 Lydia Ko, New Zealand golfer
Notable Births 1997 Apr 24 Veronika Kudermetova, Russian tennis player
Notable Deaths 1997 Apr 24 Allan Francovich, American director and producer (born 1941)
Notable Deaths 1997 Apr 24 Pat Paulsen, American comedian and activist (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 1997 Apr 24 Eugene Stoner, American engineer, designed the AR-15 rifle (born 1922)
Historical Events 1996 Apr 24 In the United States, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is passed into law
Notable Births 1996 Apr 24 Ashleigh Barty, Australian tennis player
Notable Births 1995 Apr 24 Kehlani, American singer-songwriter
Notable Deaths 1995 Apr 24 Lodewijk Bruckman, Dutch painter (born 1903)
Historical Events 1994 Apr 24 A Douglas DC-3 ditches in Botany Bay after takeoff from Sydney Airport

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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