March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in Leap years). There are 282 days remaining.

Events

up to 19th century

• 1603 - James I becomes King of England.
• 1765 - American Revolutionary War: The Kingdom of 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, Jr..
• 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.

20th century

• 1900 - New York City Mayor Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground "Rapid Transit Railroad" that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
• 1944 - Tragedy in the Polish village Markowa.
• 1944 - In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape, 76 prisoners begin to break out of Stalag Luft III.
• 1972 - The United Kingdom imposes "Direct Rule" over Northern Ireland.
• 1973 - Kenyan track runner Kip Keino defeats Jim Ryun at the first-ever professional track meet in Los Angeles, sanctioned by the International Track Association.
• 1973 - Rock band Pink Floyd releases Dark Side of the Moon, which will go on to become one of the most influencial and commercially successful albums of all-time.
• 1976 - Argentina's military forces depose president Isabel Perón.
• 1980 - Archbishop Óscar 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 (42,000 m³) of oil after running aground.
• 1998 - Jonesboro massacre: In Jonesboro, Arkansas, two boys (aged 11 and 13 years) fire upon students at Westside Middle School. Four students and one teacher are killed and 10 injured.
• 1999 - Kosovo War: NATO commences air bombardment against Yugoslavia. This marks the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.

21st century

• 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.
• 2005 - Lord's Memorial of Jehovah's Witnesses - meeting for celebrating Jesus' death after sunset.
• 2005 - American Release of Sony Playstation Portable

Births

up to 19th century

• 1494 - Georg Agricola, scientist ("The Father of Mineralogy") (d. 1555)
• 1657 - Arai Hakuseki, Japanese Confucianist, poet, politician, and writer (d. 1725)
• 1834 - John Wesley Powell, explorer, environmentalist, (d. 1902)
• 1835 - Jožef Stefan, Slovene physicist, mathematician and poet, (d. 1893)
• 1855 - Andrew Mellon, financier, (d. 1937)
• 1855 - Olive Schreiner, writer (d. 1920)
• 1874 - Harry Houdini, magician, (d. 1926)
• 1886 - Edward Weston, photographer (d. 1958)
• 1887 - Fatty Arbuckle, actor, (d. 1933)
• 1889 - Albert Hill, British athlete (d. 1969)
• 1891 - John Knittel, dramatist, (d. 1970)
• 1893 - Walter Baade, astronomer (d. 1960)
• 1897 - Wilhelm Reich, psychotherapist, (d. 1957)

20th century

• 1901 - Ub Iwerks, cartoonist, (d. 1971)
• 1902 - Thomas Dewey, politician, (d. 1971)
• 1911 - Joseph Barbera, cartoonist
• 1919 - Lawrence Ferlinghetti, author and publisher
• 1923 - Kermit Schafer, humorist, (d. 1979)
• 1924 - Norman Fell, actor (d. 1998)
• 1926 - Dario Fo, author, 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature
• 1927 - Martin Walser, author
• 1928 - Byron Janis, American pianist
• 1930 - Steve McQueen, film director and producer, (d. 1980)
• 1935 - Peter Bichsel, writer
• 1936 - David Suzuki, environmentalist
• 1940 - Bob Mackie, costume designer
• 1949 - Nick Lowe, musician
• 1951 - Tommy Hilfiger, fashion designer
• 1954 - Robert Carradine, actor (Revenge of the Nerds, Lizzie McGuire)
• 1970 - Lara Flynn Boyle, actress (The Practice)
• 1970 - Sharon Corr, musician ("The Corrs")
• 1974 - Alyson Hannigan, actress
• 1976 - Peyton Manning, NFL star
• 1990 - Keisha Castle-Hughes, actress

Deaths

• 809 - Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph (b. 763)
• 1455 - Pope Nicholas V, the first Renaissance pope (b. 1397)
• 1603 - Queen Elizabeth I of England (b. 1533)
• 1869 - Antoine-Henri Jomini, General (b. 1779)
• 1882 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, author (b. 1807)
• 1905 - Jules Verne, author (b. 1828)
• 1909 - John Millington Synge, playwright (b. 1871)
• 1944 - Orde Wingate, British soldier (b. 1903)
• 1946 - Alexander Alekhine, chess champion (b. 1892)
• 1953 - Mary of Teck, wife of King George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1867)
• 1962 - Jean Goldkette, jazz musician (b. 1899)
• 1962 - Auguste Piccard, physicist and explorer (b. 1884)
• 1972 - Cristobal Balenciaga, couturier
• 1975 - Ivo Andric, Croatian writer (b. 1892)
• 1976 - Bernard Montgomery, British Field Marshal (b. 1887)
• 1980 - Óscar Romero, Archbishop of El Salvador (b. 1917)
• 1984 - Sam Jaffe, actor (b. 1891)
• 1990 - An Wang, computer pioneer (b. 1920)
• 1993 - John Hersey, author (b. 1914)
• 1999 - Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, German Women's leader during Germany's Third Reich. (b. 1902)
• 1999 - Birdie Tebbetts, Major League Baseball catcher and manager (b. 1912)
• 2003 - Hans Hermann Groër, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vienna (1986 - 1995)

Holidays and observances

• Ancient Latvia - Kazimiras Diena observed
• World Tuberculosis Day

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