1902 guatemalas santa maria volcano begins to erupt becoming th 10 24
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1902 124 years ago Historical Events October 24

Guatemala's Santa María volcano begins to erupt, becoming the third-largest eruption of the 20th century.

On October 24, in the year 1902, Guatemala's Santa María volcano begins to erupt, becoming the third-largest eruption of the 20th century. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of October 24, one of 534 recorded events on this date across all of history.

The 1902 eruption of Santa María was one of the largest eruptions of the 20th century, measuring a six on the volcanic explosivity index. The main eruption began on 24 October 1902 and lasted no more than 20 hours. Prior to its catastrophic eruption, Santa María had no record of an eruption. The eruption killed between 5,000 and 8,700 people. Immediate knowledge about the eruption was suppressed by President Manuel Estrada Cabrera due to the occurrence of a propaganda festival at around the same time of the eruption. Aid did not reach the affected areas immediately and only arrived in December.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on October 24, 1902 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 1 Wikipedia article.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 8 September 2026.

On This Date in History 534

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2025 Oct 24 Sirikit, Queen Mother of Thailand (born 1932)
Historical Events 2024 Oct 24 A 14 year old resident from Bosanska Krupa, Bosnia and Herzegovina initiated a terrorist attack on the local police…
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 24 Amir Abdur-Rahim, American basketball player and coach (born 1981)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 24 Abdelaziz Barrada, Moroccan footballer (born 1989)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 24 Jeri Taylor, American screenwriter (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2022 Oct 24 Leslie Jordan, American actor, writer, and singer (born 1955)
Notable Deaths 2021 Oct 24 James Michael Tyler, American actor (born 1962)
Historical Events 2018 Oct 24 The world's longest sea crossing, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, opens for public traffic.
Notable Deaths 2018 Oct 24 Tony Joe White, American singer/songwriter (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2017 Oct 24 Fats Domino, American pianist and singer-songwriter (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2017 Oct 24 Robert Guillaume, American actor (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2017 Oct 24 Girija Devi, Indian classical singer (born 1929)
Historical Events 2016 Oct 24 A French surveillance aircraft flying to Libya crashes on takeoff in Malta, killing all five people on board.
Historical Events 2016 Oct 24 Three heavily armed terrorists from the Islamic State – Khorasan Province open fire on and eventually suicide bomb a…
Notable Deaths 2016 Oct 24 Bobby Vee, American pop singer (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2016 Oct 24 Jorge Batlle Ibáñez, Uruguayan politician, former president (2000-2005) (born 1927)
Historical Events 2015 Oct 24 A driver deliberately crashes into the Oklahoma State Homecoming parade, killing four people and injuring 34.
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 24 Michael Beetham, English commander and pilot (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 24 Alvin Bronstein, American lawyer and academic (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 24 Margarita Khemlin, Ukrainian-Russian author and critic (born 1960)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 24 Ján Chryzostom Korec, Slovak cardinal (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 24 Maureen O'Hara, Irish-American actress and singer (born 1920)
Selected Events 2015 Oct 24 Lam Wing-kee, the owner of Causeway Bay Books in Hong Kong, known for publishing political books banned in mainland…
Historical Events 2014 Oct 24 The China National Space Administration launches an experimental lunar mission, Chang'e 5-T1, which will loop behind…
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 24 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, South African runner (born 1980)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 24 S. S. Rajendran, Indian actor, director, and producer (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 24 Marcia Strassman, American actress and singer (born 1948)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 24 Antonia Bird, English director and producer (born 1951)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 24 Brooke Greenberg, American girl with a rare genetic disorder (born 1993)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 24 Ana Bertha Lepe, Mexican model and actress (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 24 Lew Mayne, American football player and coach (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 24 Peggy Ahern, American actress (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 24 Anita Björk, Swedish actress (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 24 Jeff Blatnick, American wrestler and sportscaster (born 1957)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 24 Bill Dees, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1939)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 24 Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 2011 Oct 24 Sansan Chien, Taiwanese composer and educator (born 1967)
Notable Deaths 2011 Oct 24 John McCarthy, American computer scientist and academic, developed the Lisp programming language (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2010 Oct 24 Mike Esposito, American author and illustrator (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2010 Oct 24 Lamont Johnson, American actor, director, and producer (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2010 Oct 24 Joseph Stein, American author and playwright (born 1912)
Historical Events 2008 Oct 24 "Bloody Friday" saw many of the world's stock exchanges experience the worst declines in their history, with drops of…
Notable Deaths 2008 Oct 24 Moshe Cotel, American pianist and composer (born 1943)
Historical Events 2007 Oct 24 Chang'e 1, the first satellite in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, is launched from Xichang Satellite Launch…
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 24 Petr Eben, Czech organist and composer (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 24 Ian Middleton, New Zealand author (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 24 Alisher Saipov, Kyrgyzstan journalist (born 1981)
Notable Deaths 2007 Oct 24 Anne Weale, English journalist and author (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2006 Oct 24 Enolia McMillan, American educator and activist (born 1904)
Notable Deaths 2006 Oct 24 William Montgomery Watt, Scottish historian and scholar (born 1909)

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

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