On This Day

Today in History, March 24th

On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of oil. Plus Koch's TB discovery and NATO's Kosovo strikes.

By Today in History Updated November 10, 2026 3 min read Sources checked

Published March 24, 2026 · Last updated November 10, 2026

March 24 is best known for 1989, when the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Alaska and spilled about 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. The date also saw Robert Koch announce the germ behind tuberculosis in 1882 and NATO begin bombing Yugoslavia in 1999.

The big story: The Exxon Valdez Runs Aground (1989)

Shortly after midnight on March 24, 1989, the supertanker Exxon Valdez hit Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, off southern Alaska. An estimated 11 million gallons of crude poured into the water. Wind and currents did the rest, carrying the oil more than 100 miles and fouling over 700 miles of coastline. Hundreds of thousands of birds and other animals were harmed. The captain, Joseph Hazelwood, had been drinking and had let an uncertified officer steer the ship. He was convicted of a misdemeanor in 1990, though an Alaska court overturned the verdict two years later. Exxon faced years of cleanup, investigations and legal fights. For a generation of Americans, the images of oil-soaked beaches and wildlife became the defining picture of what an oil spill can do.

More events on March 24

Year	What happened
1603	Queen Elizabeth I of England died after 44 years on the throne. King James VI of Scotland succeeded her, becoming king of both England and Scotland (Old Style date).
1882	German scientist Robert Koch announced he had found the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. World TB Day marks the date.
1944	German forces executed 335 Italian civilians at the Ardeatine caves outside Rome in reprisal for a partisan attack the day before.
1958	Elvis Presley, 23 and already a star, was inducted into the U.S. Army in Memphis.
1965	About 200 University of Michigan faculty members held the first teach-in against the Vietnam War, a format soon copied across the country.
1972	Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather opened in theaters across the U.S. It went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture.
1999	NATO began air strikes against Yugoslavia over Serbian attacks on Kosovar Albanians. The bombing lasted 78 days.
2002	Halle Berry became the first Black woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, for Monster’s Ball. Denzel Washington won Best Actor the same night.
2015	The co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525, bound from Barcelona to Düsseldorf, deliberately flew the plane into the French Alps, killing all 150 people aboard.

Born on March 24

1834: William Morris, English designer, poet and leader of the Arts and Crafts movement.
1874: Harry Houdini, born Erik Weisz in Budapest, the escape artist who later debunked fake mediums.
1930: Steve McQueen, actor in The Great Escape and Bullitt.