Did you know
In 1854, President José Gregorio Monagas abolishes slavery in Venezuela. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
March 24 in History
1854 — President José Gregorio Monagas abolishes slavery in Venezuela
March 24 spans 50 recorded events across recorded history, from 1199 to 2026. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
50 events
1199 – 2026
Today in history
More major events on March 24
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1982 Bangladeshi President Abdus Sattar is deposed in a bloodless coup led by Army Chief Lieutenant general Hussain Muhammad Ershad, who suspends the Constitution and imposes martial law. Source
- 2008 Bhutan officially becomes a democracy, with its first ever general election. Source
- 1990 Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War ends with the last ship of Indian Peace Keeping Force leaving Sri Lanka. Source
Did you know
José Gregorio Monagas was the president of Venezuela from 1851 to 1855, and brother of José Tadeo Monagas. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
In 1854, President José Gregorio Monagas abolishes slavery in Venezuela had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
Did you know
In 1854, President José Gregorio Monagas abolishes slavery in Venezuela had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
Did you know
In 1854, President José Gregorio Monagas abolishes slavery in Venezuela had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
1199
King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6.
King of England from 1189 to 1199
1387
English victory over a Franco-Castilian-Flemish fleet in the Battle of Margate off the coast of Margate.
Sovereign state in Europe before 1707
1401
Turco-Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus.
14th-century ethnocultural synthesis in Asia
1603
James VI of Scotland is proclaimed King James I of England and Ireland, upon the death of Elizabeth I.
King of Scotland from 1567 to 1625, King of England and Ireland from 1603
1603
Tokugawa Ieyasu is granted the title of shōgun from Emperor Go-Yōzei, and establishes the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo, Japan.
Japanese Samurai, Daimyo and Military ruler of Japan from 1603 to 1605
1663
The Province of Carolina is granted by charter to eight Lords Proprietor in reward for their assistance in restoring Charles II of England to the throne.
British province in North America and the Caribbean (1663–1712)
1720
Count Frederick of Hesse-Kassel is elected King of Sweden by the Riksdag of the Estates, after his consort Ulrika Eleonora abdicated the throne on 29 February.
King of Sweden from 1720 to 1751
1721
Johann Sebastian Bach dedicates six concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt, now commonly called the Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046–1051.
German composer (1685–1750)
1765
Great Britain passes the Quartering Act, which requires the Thirteen Colonies to house British troops.
Sovereign state in Western Europe (1707–1801)
1794
In Kraków, Tadeusz Kościuszko announces a general uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia, and assumes the powers of the Commander in Chief of all of the Polish forces.
City in Poland
1829
The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, allowing Catholics to serve in Parliament.
Supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom
1832
In Hiram, Ohio, a group of men beat and tar and feather Mormon leader Joseph Smith.
Village in Ohio, United States
1860
Sakuradamon Incident: Japanese chief minister (Tairō) Ii Naosuke is assassinated by rōnin samurai outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle.
Japanese assassination of a Tokugawa official
1869
The last of Tītokowaru's forces surrender to the New Zealand government, ending his uprising.
19th-century Māori leader; opponent of British colonisation of New Zealand
1870
A Chilean prospecting party led by José Díaz Gana discovers the silver ores of Caracoles in the Bolivian portion of Atacama Desert, leading to the last of the Chilean silver rushes and a diplomatic dispute over its taxation between Chile and Bolivia.
Mining town in the Atacama desert
1878
The British frigate HMS Eurydice sinks, killing more than 300.
Royal Navy ship, sank 1878
1882
Robert Koch announces the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis.
German physician and bacteriologist (1843–1910)
1900
Mayor of New York City Robert Anderson Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground "Rapid Transit Railroad" that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Chief executive of New York City
1900
Carnegie Steel Company is formed in New Jersey; its capitalization of $160 million is the largest to date.
19th-century steel production company in Pennsylvania, US
1921
The 1921 Women's Olympiad begins in Monte Carlo, becoming the first international women's sports event.
First international women's sports event
1922
The McMahon killings take place in Belfast.
Six Catholic civilians are shot dead, two others wounded and a female family member assaulted. Police were suspected as being responsible, but no one was prosecuted.
1927
Nanking Incident: Foreign warships bombard Nanjing, China, in defence of the foreign citizens within the city.
1927 anti-foreigner riots in Nanjing
1934
The Tydings–McDuffie Act is passed by the United States Congress, allowing the Philippines to become a self-governing commonwealth.
1934 U.S. federal law providing the Philippines with a process for independence
1939
The 1939 Liechtenstein putsch takes place; approximately 40 members of the VBDL starting from Nendeln march towards Vaduz with the intention of overthrowing the government and provoking Liechtenstein's annexation into Germany.
Failed coup attempt
1944
German troops massacre 335 Italian civilians in Rome.
German state from 1933 to 1945
1944
World War II: In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape, 76 Allied prisoners of war begin breaking out of the German camp Stalag Luft III.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1946
A British Cabinet Mission arrives in India to discuss and plan for the transfer of power from the British Raj to Indian leadership.
Talks on a British transfer of power to India and Pakistan
1949
Hanns Albin Rauter, a chief SS and Police Leader in the Netherlands, is convicted and executed for crimes against humanity.
Austrian-born Higher SS and Police Leader, SS-Obergruppenführer
1972
Direct rule is imposed on Northern Ireland by the Government of the United Kingdom under Edward Heath.
Periods of direct administration of Northern Ireland by the government of the UK
1976
In Argentina, the armed forces overthrow the constitutional government of President Isabel Perón and start a seven-year dictatorial period self-styled the National Reorganization Process.
Country in South America
1977
Morarji Desai becomes the prime minister of India, the first prime minister not to belong to Indian National Congress.
Prime Minister of India from 1977 to 1979
1980
El Salvadorian Archbishop Óscar Romero is assassinated while celebrating Mass in San Salvador.
Country in Central America
1982
Bangladeshi President Abdus Sattar is deposed in a bloodless coup led by Army Chief Lieutenant general Hussain Muhammad Ershad, who suspends the Constitution and imposes martial law.
President of Bangladesh from 1981 to 1982
1986
The Loscoe gas explosion leads to new UK laws on landfill gas migration and gas protection on landfill sites.
Former mining village in Derbyshire, England
1989
In Prince William Sound in Alaska, the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of crude oil after running aground.
Sound of the Gulf of Alaska
1990
Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War ends with the last ship of Indian Peace Keeping Force leaving Sri Lanka.
1998
Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden, aged 11 and 13 respectively, open fire upon teachers and students at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas; five people are killed and ten are wounded.
1998 mass shooting in Jonesboro, Arkansas, US
1998
A tornado sweeps through Dantan in India, killing 250 people and injuring 3,000 others.
Violently rotating column of air
1998
Dr.
Rüdiger Marmulla performs the first computer-assisted Bone Segment Navigation at the University of Regensburg, Germany.
1999
Kosovo War: NATO begins attacks on Yugoslavia without United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approval, marking the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.
1998–1999 armed conflict in the Balkans
1999
A lorry carrying margarine and flour catches fire inside the Mont Blanc Tunnel, creating an inferno that kills 39 people.
Transport truck fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel
2008
Bhutan officially becomes a democracy, with its first ever general election.
Country in South Asia
2015
Germanwings Flight 9525 crashes in the French Alps in an apparent pilot mass murder-suicide, killing all 150 people on board.
2015 deliberate aircraft crash in France
2018
Syrian civil war: The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and Syrian National Army (SNA) take full control of Afrin District, marking the end of the Afrin offensive.
2011–2024 armed conflict in Syria
2018
Students across the United States stage the March for Our Lives demanding gun control in response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
Country primarily in North America
2023
An EF4 tornado strikes the towns of Rolling Fork and Silver City, Mississippi, causing mass destruction.
EF4 tornado in Mississippi, US
2024
The 2024 Senegalese presidential election is held following anti-government protests.
2026
OpenAI announces that their flagship Sora app and API are shutting down.
American artificial intelligence company