24th March

Events

• 1603 - James I becomes King of England.
• 1765 - American Revolutionary War: Great Britain passes the Quartering Act that requires the 13 American colonies to house British troops.
• 1832 - In Hiram, Ohio a group of men beat, tar and feather Mormon leader Joseph Smith.
• 1868 - Metropolitan Life Insurance Company is formed.
• 1878 - The UK frigate Eurydice sinks killing 300.
• 1882 - Robert Koch announces the discovery of the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis (mycobacterium tuberculosis).
• 1898 - Robert Allison of Port Carbon, Pennsylvania becomes the first person to buy an American-built automobile when he buys a Winton automobile that was advertised in Scientific American.
• 1900 - New York City Mayor Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground "Rapid Transit Railroad" that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
• 1972 - The United Kingdom imposes "Direct Rule" over Northern Ireland.
• 1976 - Argentina military forces depose president Isabel Peron.
• 1980 - Archbishop Oscar Romero is killed by gunmen while celebrating Mass in San Salvador.
• 1989 - Exxon Valdez oil spill: In Alaska's Prince William Sound the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (11 million gallons) of oil after running aground.
• 1994 - At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated. Mario Aburto Martinez is arrested for the crime and confesses on the same day.
• 1998 - In Jonesboro, Arkansas, two young boys (aged 11 and 13 years) fire upon students at Westside Middle School while hidden in woodlands near the school. Four students and one teacher are killed and 10 injured.
• 1999 - NATO launches air strikes in Yugoslavia which was refusing to sign a peace treaty. This marks the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.
• 2001 - Apple Computer releases Mac OS X version 10.0.
• 2003 - The Arab League votes 21-1 in favor of a resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of US and British soldiers from Iraq.

Births

• 1834 - John Wesley Powell, explorer, environmentalist († 1902)
• 1835 - Jožef Stefan, Slovene physicist, mathematician and poet († 1893)
• 1855 - Andrew Mellon, financier († 1937)
• 1874 - Harry Houdini, magician († 1926)
• 1887 - Fatty Arbuckle, actor († 1933)
• 1891 - John Knittel, dramatist († 1970)
• 1897 - Wilhelm Reich, psychotherapist († 1957)
• 1901 - Ub Iwerks, cartoonist († 1971)
• 1902 - Thomas Dewey, politician († 1971)
• 1911 - Joseph Barbera, cartoonist
• 1919 - Lawrence Ferlinghetti, author and publisher
• 1923 - Kermit Schafer, humorist († 1979)
• 1926 - Dario Fo, author, 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature
• 1927 - Martin Walser, author
• 1930 - Steve McQueen, film director and producer († 1980)
• 1935 - Peter Bichsel, writer
• 1936 - David Suzuki, environmentalist
• 1940 - Bob Mackie, costume designer
• 1949 - Nick Lowe, musician
• 1951 - Tommy Hilfiger, fashion designer
• 1970 - Lara Flynn Boyle, actress
• 1974 - Alyson Hannigan, actress
• 1976 - Peyton Manning, NFL star

Deaths

• 809 - Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph
• 1603 - Queen Elizabeth I of England
• 1882 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, author
• 1905 - Jules Verne, author
• 1944 - Orde Wingate, British soldier
• 1946 - Alexander Alekhine, chess champion
• 1953 - Mary of Teck, wife of King George V of the United Kingdom
• 1962 - Auguste Piccard, physicist and explorer
• 1972 - Cristobal Balenciaga, couturier
• 1976 - Bernard Montgomery, British Field Marshal
• 1990 - An Wang, computer pioneer
• 1993 - John Hersey, author

Holidays and observances

• Ancient Latvia - Kazimiras Diena observed
• World Tuberculosis Day

March 23 - March 25 - February 24 - April 24 -- listing of all days

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