May 24: Aldersgate Day (Methodism) Eric XIV of Sweden 1567 – The mentally ill King Erik XIV of Sweden (pictured) and his guards murdered five incarcerated nobles, including some members of the influential Sture family. 1689 – The Act of Toleration became law, granting freedom of worship to English nonconformists under certain circumstances, but deliberately excluding Catholics. 1798 – The Irish Rebellion of 1798 began, with battles beginning in County Kildare and fighting later spreading across the country. 1963 – United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy met with African American author James Baldwin in an unsuccessful attempt to improve race relations. 2014 – A gunman involved in Islamic extremism opened fire at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four people. Robert Hues (d. 1632)Philip Pearlstein (b. 1924)Magnus Manske (b. 1974)Stormé DeLarverie (d. 2014) More anniversaries: May 23 May 24 May 25 Archive By email List of days of the year About