24 April 1558: 15-year-old Mary Queen of Scots marries 14-year-old Francoise, Dauphin of France in Paris. As part of the marriage contract, Mary agreed to bequeath Scotland to France if she should die without a son.
24 April 1882: The birth in Moffat of Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding, best remembered as commander of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and for the “Dowding system” – the first integrated air defence system.