| 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. |
Born on March 24 |
| 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. |
