24 March History


Month:                           Date:     

  • 1208    -    King John of England opposes Innocent III on his nomination for archbishop of Canterbury.
  • 1603    -    Queen Elizabeth I dies which will bring into power James VI of Scotland.
  • 1663    -    Charles II of England awards lands known as Carolina in North America to eight members of the nobility who assisted in his restoration.
  • 1664    -    In London, Roger Williams is granted a charter to colonize Rhode Island.
  • 1720    -    The banking houses of Paris close in the wake of financial crisis.
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  • 1721    -    In Germany, the supremely talented Johann Sebastian Bach publishes the Six Brandenburg Concertos.
  • 1765    -    Britain passes the Quartering Act, requiring the colonies to house 10,000 British troops in public and private buildings.
  • 1862    -    Abolitionist Wendell Phillips speaks to a crowd about emancipation in Cincinnati, Ohio and is pelted by eggs.
  • 1900    -    Mayor Van Wyck of New York breaks ground for the New York subway tunnel that will link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
  • 1904    -    Vice Admiral Togo sinks seven Russian ships as the Japanese strengthen their blockade of Port Arthur.
  • 1927    -    Chinese Communists seize Nanking and break with Chiang Kai-shek over the Nationalist goals.
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  • 1938    -    The United States asks that all powers help refugees fleeing from the Nazis.
  • 1944    -    The Gestapo rounds up innocent Italians in Rome and shoot them to death in reprisal for a bomb attack that killed 33 German policemen.
  • 1947    -    Congress proposes limiting the presidency to two terms.
  • 1951    -    General Douglas MacArthur threatens the Chinese with an extension of the Korean War if the proposed truce is not accepted.
  • 1954    -    Great Britain opens trade talks with Hungary.
  • 1955    -    Tennessee Williams' play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opens at the Morosco Theatre in New York City.
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  • 1958    -    Elvis Presley trades in his guitar for a rifle and Army fatigues.
  • 1965    -    The Freedom Marchers, citizens for civil rights, reach Montgomery, Alabama.
  • 1967    -    Viet Cong ambush a truck convoy in South Vietnam damaging 82 of the 121 trucks.
  • 1972    -    Great Britain imposes direct rule over Northern Ireland.
  • 1985    -    Thousands demonstrate in Madrid against the NATO presence in Spain.
  • 1989    -    The Exxon Valdez oil tanker spills 240,000 barrels of oil in Alaska's Prince William Sound.
  • 1999    -    NATO planes, including stealth aircraft, attack Serbian forces in Kosovo.

  • 24 March Birthdays

  • 1755    -    Rufus King, framer of the U.S. Constitution.
  • 1834    -    William Morris, English craftsman, poet and socialist.
  • 1855    -    Andrew Mellon, U.S. financier and philanthropist.
  • 1874    -    Harry Houdini, magician, escape artist.
  • 1886    -    Edward Weston, photographer.
  • 1893    -    George Sisler, baseball player.
  • 1895    -    Arthur Murray, American dancer who founded dance schools.
  • 1902    -    Thomas E. Dewey, New York governor.
  • 1903    -    Adolf Butenandt, biochemist.
  • 1919    -    Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 'beat' poet.
  • 1926    -    Dario Fo, Italian actor and playwright.
  • 1941    -    Joseph H. Taylor, Jr., radio astronomer and physicist.