24 March History
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.