24 MARCH

1897 - Filipino patriot Gen. Artemio Ricarte takes his oath of office as the General-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Army, but not without initial reluctance because he believed that he was not qualified to head the revolutionary forces and because he believed the Tejeros Convention was tainted by fraud; the Tejeros Convention held two days earlier has been declared invalid and marred with fraud by Andres Bonifacio, the founder of the original revolutionary body, Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) .

1603 - Elizabeth I of England, the "Virgin Queen" dies at the age of 69, ending the period referred to as the Elizabethan Age;  Elizabeth's rule has been marked by the rise of England from a state of despair  and financial bankruptcy to the revival of commerce, including the selling of African black slaves in West Indies, the flourishing of literature, support for Protestant faith, and later, the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

1965 - Million watch as NASA's Ranger 9 moon lander directly beams out pictures to Earth while the space probe hurtles to its destruction on the Moon; The pictures show that the Moon's surface is capable of bearing the weight of a manned spacecraft, which  is a key issue for NASA scientists of the period. 

1996 - Former Marxist military rule Mathieu Kerekou wins the presidential runoffs in Benin (formerly Dahomey) and will pledge natinal reconciliation at his inauguration; Kerekou staged a coup in 1967 and has since then ruled the West African country, including the period from 1979 when transition to civilian rule occurred.