1993 - Ayrton Senna won the Japanese Grand Prix with a superb exhibition of masterful driving, but tarnished his performance by punching British driver Eddie Irvine in a fight after the race. Incensed by the Briton’s “unprofessional” driving in difficult, wet conditions on his Grand Prix debut, Senna charged into the office of Irvine’s Jordan team an hour after the race ended. After a brief slanging match and a torrent of insults, Senna threw a punch with his left fist, knocking Irvine to the floor, before he was restrained and pulled away by McLaren team officials. Senna, almost beyond control with rage, was escorted away after the incident without making any comment.
Other major events on October 24
1882 Dr Robert Koch discovers germ that causes tuberculosis.
1935 Italy invades Ethiopia.
1945 The United Nations is formally established, replacing the League of Nations.
1949 The cornerstone of the United Nations Headquarters is laid in New York City.
1968 Iran and Saudi Arabia sign agreement delineating Gulf territorial claims.
1997 Russia signs a landmark border deal with Lithuania.
2002 Bahrain becomes the second Gulf state to have a directly elected legislature.
2003 British Airways Concorde makes its last commercial flight, landing at Heathrow Airport, London.
2004 A Russian-US crew returns safely to Earth from the international space station.
2007 China launches its first lunar probe.
2008 The world’s stock exchanges suffer one of the worst declines at start of the financial crisis.
2009 At least 15 people are killed after passenger trains collide in the Giza, Egypt.
2017 Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Fats Domino dies at the age of 89.
