1. On April 24, 1960, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. This was one of many speeches King gave throughout the South during the Civil Rights Movement.

2. On April 24, 1974, a tornado outbreak occurred in North Carolina, which resulted in 22 deaths and over 200 injuries. Some of the hardest-hit areas included Alamance, Wilson, and Greene counties.

3. In April of 1984, the first annual North Carolina Azalea Festival took place in Wilmington. This festival celebrates the blooming of the azaleas and features concerts, art shows, and other events.

4. On April 24, 1996, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a bill declaring the sweet potato as the official state vegetable. North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the United States.

5. In April of 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico, which affected the seafood industry in North Carolina. Many seafood restaurants and businesses in the state were forced to find alternative suppliers, as their usual sources were contaminated by the spill.