On March 24, 1989, one of the nation's worst oil spills occurred as the supertanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on a reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound and began leaking 11 million gallons of crude.
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On March 24, 1874, Harry Houdini, the Hungarian-born magician and escape artist, was born. Following his death on Oct. 31, 1926, his obituary appeared in The Times.
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On This Date
| 1765 | Britain enacted the Quartering Act, requiring American colonists to provide temporary housing to British soldiers. |
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| 1882 | German scientist Robert Koch announced in Berlin that he had discovered the bacillus responsible for tuberculosis. |
| 1883 | Long-distance telephone service was inaugurated between Chicago and New York City. |
| 1913 | The home of vaudeville, the Palace Theatre, opened in New York City. |
| 1955 | "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee Williams opened on Broadway. |
| 1958 | Elvis Presley was inducted into the Army in Memphis, Tenn. |
| 1973 | The album "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd was released. |
| 1977 | Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, was named archbishop of Munich and Freising in Germany. |
| 1998 | A 13-year-old boy and his 11-year-old cousin opened fire outside their school in Jonesboro, Ark., killing four students and a teacher and injuring 10. |
| 1999 | NATO launched airstrikes against Yugoslavia - the first time the alliance had attacked a sovereign country. |
| 2001 | Apple Computer Inc.'s operating system Mac OS X went on sale. |
| 2002 | Halle Berry became the first African-American performer to win a best actress Oscar, for "Monster's Ball." |
| 2005 | The U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal from the parents of Terri Schiavo to have a feeding tube reinserted into the severely brain-damaged woman. |
| 2012 | Former Vice President Dick Cheney underwent a heart transplant at a Virginia hospital. |
Historic Birthdays
Harry Houdini
3/24/1874 - 10/31/1926
American magician and escape artist.Go to obituary »
| 61 |
Georgius Agricola 3/24/1494 - 11/21/1555 German scholar and scientist known as the "father of mineralogy" |
|---|---|
| 72 |
Rufus King 3/24/1755 - 4/29/1827 American founding father; helped frame the Constitution |
| 64 |
Thos.Spencer Baynes 3/24/1823 - 5/31/1887 English editor of 9th edition of Encyclopedia Britannica |
| 62 |
William Morris 3/24/1834 - 10/3/1896 English designer, craftsman and poet |
| 82 |
Andrew Mellon 3/24/1855 - 8/26/1937 American financier, philanthropist and secretary of the treasury |
| 86 |
Emile Fabre 3/24/1869 - 9/25/1955 French playwright and administrator of the Comedie-Francaise |
| 71 |
Edward Weston 3/24/1886 - 1/1/1958 American photographer |
| 46 |
Fatty Arbuckle 3/24/1887 - 6/29/1933 American silent film actor |
| 60 |
Wilhelm Reich 3/24/1897 - 11/3/1957 Austrian psychologist |
| 68 |
Thomas E. Dewey 3/24/1902 - 3/16/1971 Governor of New York (1943-55); and unsuccessful presidential contender (1944,48) |
| 25 |
Clyde Barrow 3/24/1909 - 5/23/1934 American small-time robber |