March 24 facts for kids

March 24 is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 282 days remain until the end of the year.

March 24 is a special day in history, filled with many important events, the births of famous people, and the passing of others. From ancient times to today, this date has seen kings crowned, new inventions, and big changes around the world. Let's explore some of the most interesting moments that happened on March 24!

Important Events in History

Events Before the 1600s

• 1199 – King Richard I of England, also known as Richard the Lionheart, was badly hurt by a crossbow arrow while fighting in France. He sadly passed away a few days later on April 6.
• 1387 – The English navy won a big battle against a combined fleet from France, Spain, and Flanders near Margate.
• 1401 – The powerful Turco-Mongol leader Timur attacked and took over the city of Damascus.

Events from 1601 to 1900

• 1603 – After Queen Elizabeth I died, James VI of Scotland became King James I of England and Ireland.
• 1603 – In Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu was given the special title of shōgun by the Emperor. He then started the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo (which is now Tokyo), a powerful government that lasted for a long time.
• 1663 – The land that would become the Province of Carolina in America was given to eight wealthy owners. This was a reward for helping King Charles II of England get his throne back.
• 1721 – The famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach finished writing six amazing pieces of music, now known as the Brandenburg Concertos. He gave them to a German prince.
• 1765 – Great Britain passed the Quartering Act. This law made the American colonies provide housing and supplies for British soldiers.
• 1794 – In Kraków, Tadeusz Kościuszko announced a major uprising against Russia and Prussia to fight for Poland's freedom. He became the leader of all Polish troops.
• 1829 – The British Parliament passed a law called the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829. This law allowed Catholics to become members of Parliament, which they couldn't do before.
• 1854 – President José Gregorio Monagas made a huge change by ending slavery in Venezuela.
• 1860 – In Japan, a powerful leader named Ii Naosuke was attacked and killed by a group of masterless samurai outside Edo Castle. This event is known as the Sakuradamon Incident.
• 1869 – The last of Tītokowaru's fighters gave up to the New Zealand government, ending his uprising.
• 1870 – Silver was discovered in the Atacama Desert, leading to a rush for silver in Chile and a disagreement between Chile and Bolivia.
• 1878 – The British ship HMS Eurydice sank, and more than 300 people lost their lives.
• 1882 – Scientist Robert Koch announced that he had discovered Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the tiny bacterium that causes the disease tuberculosis.
• 1900 – New York City started building its famous underground train system, the Rapid Transit Railroad, to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Events from 1901 to Today

• 1921 – The first international sports event for women, the 1921 Women's Olympiad, began in Monte Carlo.
• 1927 – Foreign warships fired on Nanjing, China, to protect foreign citizens living there.
• 1934 – The United States Congress passed the Tydings–McDuffie Act, which allowed the Philippines to become a self-governing country.
• 1939 – A group in Liechtenstein tried to overthrow the government and join Germany, but their plan failed.
• 1944 – During World War II, German troops tragically killed 335 Italian civilians in Rome.
• 1944 – Also during World War II, 76 Allied prisoners of war began a daring escape from the German camp Stalag Luft III. This event was later shown in the movie The Great Escape.
• 1946 – A British group arrived in India to discuss how to transfer power from the British Raj to Indian leaders, leading to India's independence.
• 1972 – The British government took direct control over Northern Ireland.
• 1976 – In Argentina, the armed forces took over the government from President Isabel Perón, starting a seven-year period of military rule.
• 1977 – Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister of India, the first time someone from outside the main political party held this position.
• 1980 – Salvadoran Archbishop Óscar Romero was sadly killed while celebrating a church service in San Salvador.
• 1982 – The President of Bangladesh was removed from power in a peaceful takeover by the army chief, who then put the country under military rule.
• 1989 – The Exxon Valdez oil tanker hit ground in Alaska, spilling a huge amount of crude oil into Prince William Sound. This caused a major environmental disaster.
• 1993 – Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 was discovered by three astronomers at the Palomar Observatory in California. This comet later famously crashed into Jupiter.
• 1998 – A powerful tornado swept through Dantan in India, killing 250 people and injuring many more.
• 1999 – During the Kosovo War, NATO began air attacks on Yugoslavia without approval from the United Nations Security Council. This was the first time NATO attacked a country that hadn't attacked them first.
• 1999 – A fire started by a lorry in the Mont Blanc Tunnel caused a huge blaze that killed 38 people.
• 2003 – The Arab League voted to demand an end to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
• 2008 – Bhutan officially became a democracy by holding its first ever general election.
• 2019 – Jakarta MRT, a new fast train system, started running in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Famous Births

Born Before the 1600s

• 1103 – Yue Fei, a brave Chinese military general.
• 1494 – Georgius Agricola, a German scholar who studied minerals and rocks.

Born from 1601 to 1900

• 1607 – Michiel de Ruyter, a famous Dutch admiral.
• 1693 – John Harrison, an English clock-maker who invented the Marine chronometer, a very important tool for sailors to find their longitude at sea.
• 1755 – Rufus King, an American lawyer and politician who served as an ambassador.
• 1820 – Fanny Crosby, an American poet and composer who wrote many hymns.
• 1834 – William Morris, an English designer, poet, and writer, known for his beautiful patterns and books.
• 1874 – Luigi Einaudi, an Italian economist who later became the second President of Italy.
• 1874 – Harry Houdini, the incredible Hungarian-American magician and escape artist.
• 1884 – Peter Debye, a Dutch-American physicist and chemist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1887 – Roscoe Arbuckle, an American actor and director from the early days of Hollywood.

Born from 1901 to Today

• 1901 – Ub Iwerks, an American animator who helped create Mickey Mouse!
• 1903 – Adolf Butenandt, a German biochemist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1911 – Joseph Barbera, an American animator who co-founded Hanna-Barbera, famous for cartoons like Tom and Jerry and The Flintstones.
• 1912 – Dorothy Height, an American educator and important activist for civil rights.
• 1919 – Lawrence Ferlinghetti, an American poet and publisher.
• 1926 – Dario Fo, an Italian playwright and actor who won a Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1930 – Steve McQueen, a very popular American actor and producer.
• 1935 – Mary Berry, a beloved English writer, chef, and TV presenter.
• 1944 – R. Lee Ermey, an American sergeant and actor, famous for his military roles.
• 1949 – Tabitha King, an American author and poet.
• 1949 – Nick Lowe, an English singer-songwriter and musician.
• 1949 – Ranil Wickremesinghe, a lawyer and politician who became the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.
• 1951 – Tommy Hilfiger, a famous American fashion designer.
• 1953 – Louie Anderson, an American actor and comedian.
• 1954 – Robert Carradine, an American actor.
• 1956 – Steve Ballmer, a well-known American businessman.
• 1960 – Nena, a German singer-songwriter and actress, famous for her song "99 Red Balloons."
• 1960 – Kelly Le Brock, an English-American actress and model.
• 1961 – Dean Jones, a popular Australian cricketer.
• 1965 – The Undertaker, a legendary American professional wrestler.
• 1970 – Lara Flynn Boyle, an American actress.
• 1970 – Sharon Corr, an Irish singer and violinist from the band The Corrs.
• 1973 – Jim Parsons, an American actor, best known for his role in "The Big Bang Theory."
• 1974 – Alyson Hannigan, an American actress, known for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "How I Met Your Mother."
• 1976 – Peyton Manning, one of the greatest American football players of all time.
• 1977 – Jessica Chastain, a talented American actress.
• 1979 – Lake Bell, an American actress, director, and screenwriter.
• 1984 – Chris Bosh, a successful American basketball player.
• 1985 – Haruka Ayase, a popular Japanese actress and singer.
• 1987 – Shakib Al Hasan, a famous Bangladeshi cricketer.
• 1988 – Finn Jones, an English actor.
• 1990 – Keisha Castle-Hughes, an Australian-New Zealand actress.
• 1990 – Alyssa Healy, an Australian cricketer.
• 1996 – Myles Turner, an American basketball player.
• 1998 – Damar Hamlin, an American football player.

Notable Deaths

Passed Away Before the 1600s

• 809 – Harun al-Rashid, a famous Arab caliph.
• 1284 – Hugh III of Cyprus, a king of Cyprus and Jerusalem.
• 1455 – Pope Nicholas V, a leader of the Catholic Church.

Passed Away from 1601 to 1900

• 1603 – Elizabeth I of England, the powerful Queen of England for over 40 years.
• 1684 – Pieter de Hooch, a Dutch painter.
• 1776 – John Harrison, the English clockmaker mentioned earlier, who invented the marine chronometer.
• 1882 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a very famous American poet.

Passed Away from 1901 to Today

• 1905 – Jules Verne, the French novelist who wrote amazing adventure stories like "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas" and "Around the World in Eighty Days."
• 1909 – John Millington Synge, an Irish playwright and poet.
• 1946 – Alexander Alekhine, a Russian chess grandmaster and world champion.
• 1953 – Mary of Teck, the Queen consort of the United Kingdom and Empress of India.
• 1962 – Auguste Piccard, a Swiss physicist and explorer known for his balloon flights and deep-sea dives.
• 1968 – Alice Guy-Blaché, an American director and producer, one of the first female filmmakers.
• 1971 – Arne Jacobsen, a famous Danish architect and designer.
• 1976 – Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, a highly respected English field marshal during World War II.
• 1980 – Óscar Romero, the Salvadoran archbishop who was killed while celebrating Mass.
• 1993 – John Hersey, an American journalist and author.
• 2002 – César Milstein, an Argentinian-English biochemist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 2008 – Richard Widmark, a well-known American actor.
• 2010 – Robert Culp, an American actor.
• 2016 – Johan Cruyff, a legendary Dutch footballer.
• 2016 – Garry Shandling, an American comedian and actor.
• 2020 – Albert Uderzo, a French comic book artist, co-creator of Asterix.
• 2020 – Manu Dibango, a famous Cameroonian musician.
• 2021 – Jessica Walter, an American actress and voice artist.
• 2023 – Gordon Moore, an American businessman and engineer who co-founded Intel Corporation.

Holidays and Observances

• Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice (Argentina)
• International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims
• National Tree Planting Day (Uganda)
• World Tuberculosis Day (International)

See also

In Spanish: 24 de marzo para niños