What happened on 24 November?

8 events from the Ever-When timeline, ranked by how much they mattered.

1. 1859 On the Origin of Species Darwin's book setting out evolution by natural selection.
2. 1632 Born: Baruch Spinoza Dutch rationalist philosopher; pantheist; author of the Ethics and the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus; central to the Radical Enlightenment.
3. 1950 MacArthur's 'home by Christmas' offensive Ignoring signs of Chinese strength, MacArthur launches a final drive to the Yalu, promising the troops will be home by Christmas. Within two days 300,000 Chinese soldiers fall on h
4. 1934 The surname law names him Atatürk Turks had never carried surnames; a 1934 law requires them, part of the drive to a modern registry state. Parliament reserves one for the president alone: Atatürk — 'Father of the
5. 1974 Discovery of Lucy Palaeontologists in Ethiopia unearth the Australopithecus afarensis skeleton 'Lucy', transforming the study of human origins.
6. 1982 Born: Mary Kom Indian boxer; six-time world champion.
7. 1948 Bicycle Thieves De Sica's neorealist film about a poor father and his son in post-war Rome.
8. 1202 Sack of Zara Crusaders sack the Christian city of Zara to pay their Venetian debt; Pope Innocent III excommunicates the army.