1997 Notable Deaths April 24 2 sources

Eugene Stoner, American engineer, designed the AR-15 rifle (born 1922)

Name: Eugene Stoner, American engineer, designed the AR-15 rifle (born 1922)
Start: 1997

On April 24, in the year 1997, Eugene Stoner, American engineer, designed the AR-15 rifle (born 1922). This event is recorded as a Notable Deaths event in the history of April 24, a notable event in this corner of history.

1 notable person is associated with this event, including Eugene Stoner. Learn more below.

Eugene Morrison Stoner was an American machinist and firearms designer who is most associated with the development of the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle that was redesigned and modified by Colt's Patent Firearm Company for the United States military as the M16 rifle.

Key Facts

This event took place on April 24, 1997 (AD era).
It is categorised as a Notable Deaths event in recorded history.
Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
1 notable person is recorded as involved in or associated with this event.
Wikipedia source last updated on 6 April 2026.

On This Date in History

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)
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
Notable Births	1994	Apr 24	Jordan Fisher, American singer, dancer, and actor