June 24, 64: Roman Emperor Nero begins persecuting Christians (see issue 27: Persecution in the Early Church).

June 24, 1178: Five Canterbury monks report something exploding on the moon, the only recorded time an asteroidal impact has been observed with the naked eye.

June 24, 1519: Theodore Beza, one of the great statesmen of the Reformation and John Calvin's successor at Geneva, is born in Vezelay, France (see issue 12: John Calvin).

June 24, 1542: Roman Catholic reformer, mystic, and poet John ...