MARCH 24

Events

• 1401 – Turko-Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus.
• 1603 – James VI of Scotland also becomes James I King of England.
• 1731 – Naturalization of Hieronimus de Salis Parliamentary Act is passed.
• 1765 – American Revolutionary War: The Kingdom of Great Britain passes the Quartering Act that requires the Thirteen Colonies to house British troops.
• 1832 – In Hiram, Ohio a group of men beat, tar and feather Mormon leader Joseph Smith, Jr..
• 1837 – Canada gives African men the right to vote.
• 1878 – The British frigate HMS Eurydice sinks, killing more than 300.
• 1882 – Robert Koch announces the discovery of the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis (mycobacterium tuberculosis).
• 1900 – New York City Mayor Robert Anderson Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground "Rapid Transit Railroad" that would link Manhattan andBrooklyn.
• 1907 – The first issue of the Georgian Bolshevik newspaper Dro is published.
• 1923 – Greece becomes a republic.
• 1934 – U.S. Congress passes the Tydings-McDuffie Act allowing the Philippines to become a self-governing commonwealth.
• 1936 – The longest game in NHL history is played between Detroit and Montreal. Detroit scored at 16:30 of the sixth overtime and won the game 1-0.
• 1944 – Ardeatine Massacre: German troops kill 335 Italian civilians in Rome.
• 1944 – World War II: In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape, 76 prisoners begin breaking out of Stalag Luft III.
• 1959 – The Party of the African Federation (PFA) is launched by Léopold Sédar Senghor and Modibo Keita.
• 1965 – NASA spacecraft Ranger 9, equipped to convert its signals into a form suitable for showing on domestic television, brings images of the Moon into ordinary homes before crash landing.
• 1972 – The United Kingdom imposes "Direct Rule" over Northern Ireland.
• 1973 – Kenyan athlete Kip Keino defeats Jim Ryun at the first-ever professional track meet in Los Angeles, California.
• 1976 – In Argentina, the armed forces overthrow the constitutional government of President Isabel Perón and start a 7-year dictatorial period self-styled National Reorganization Process. Since 2006, a public holiday known as Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice is held on this day.
• 1976 – A general strike takes place in the People's Republic of Congo
• 1980 – Archbishop Óscar Romero is killed while celebrating Mass in San Salvador.
• 1986 – The Loscoe gas explosion leads to new UK laws on landfill gas migration and gas protection on landfill sites.
• 1989 – Exxon Valdez oil spill: In Prince William Sound in Alaska, the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (42,000 m³) of petroleum after running aground.
• 1998 – Jonesboro massacre: two students, ages 11 and 13, fire upon teachers and students at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas; five people are killed and ten are wounded.
• 1998 – A tornado sweeps through Dantan in India killing 250 people and injuring 3000 others.
• 1999 – Kosovo War: NATO commences air bombardment against Yugoslavia, marking the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.
• 1999 – Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire: 39 people die when a Belgian transport truck carrying flour and margarine catches fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel.
• 2003 – The Arab League votes 21-1 in favor of a resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of U.S. and British soldiers from Iraq.
• 2008 – Bhutan officially becomes a democracy, with its first ever general election.