Vasco da Gama, Portuguese seafarer who discovered a sea route from Europe to Asia around the southern point of Africa, died on his final voyage to India as Portuguese viceroy. He fell ill, probably of malaria, upon his arrival in Goa, India. His body was repatriated to Portugal for burial.
eventREF E-0010806Revised
24 December 1524
Vasco da Gama dies
- Updated
- 12 Dec 2019
How we know this
- 01Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.
- 02BBC,Vasco da Gama (c.1460 - 1524),[Online],Available at:www.bbc.co.uk,[Accessed:02 December 2013]
Last updated · 12 Dec 2019
South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Vasco da Gama dies. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010806
South African History Online (2011) 'Vasco da Gama dies', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010806 (Accessed: 7 November 2026).
South African History Online, Vasco da Gama dies [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010806, (accessed 7 November 2026).
"Vasco da Gama dies." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010806. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.
South African History Online. "Vasco da Gama dies." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010806.
Also on 24 December
- 1871Giuseppe Verdi’s magnificent opera, Aida, has its world premiere in Cairo, Egypt
- 1906Anna Neethling Pohl, South African actress and author, is born
- 1906Mapungubwe is ‘discovered’
- 1923ANC leader Wilton Mkwayi born
- 1926Richard Maponya, one of South Africa’s richest businessmen, is born
- 1951Libya becomes independent
- 1964Macassar Beach, in False Bay, is proclaimed a Coloured group area by the Group Areas Board
- 1979COSAS President is detained
Search events by date
This day in history
What happened on your birthday?
SAHO is free because readers fund it. Donate →