Summary of the Day ✨ 24 March (24/03)
OpenAI announced the shutdown of their Sora app and API while students across the United States staged the March for Our Lives protest demanding gun control. In international news, the 2024 Senegalese presidential election followed anti-government protests, Turkish and Syrian forces gained control of Afrin District in Syria, and a devastating EF4 tornado caused mass destruction in Mississippi.
Historical Events 📜
- 2026: OpenAI announces that their flagship Sora app and API are shutting down.
- 2024: The 2024 Senegalese presidential election is held following anti-government protests.
- 2023: An EF4 tornado strikes the towns of Rolling Fork and Silver City, Mississippi, causing mass destruction.
- 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.
- 2018: Students across the United States stage the March for Our Lives demanding gun control in response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
- 2015: Germanwings Flight 9525 crashes in the French Alps in an apparent pilot mass murder-suicide, killing all 150 people on board.
- 2008: Bhutan officially becomes a democracy, with its first ever general election.
- 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.
- 1999: A lorry carrying margarine and flour catches fire inside the Mont Blanc Tunnel, creating an inferno that kills 39 people.
- 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: A tornado sweeps through Dantan in India, killing 250 people and injuring 3,000 others.
- 1998: Dr. Rüdiger Marmulla performs the first computer-assisted Bone Segment Navigation at the University of Regensburg, Germany.
- 1992: Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-45.
- 1990: Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War ends with the last ship of Indian Peace Keeping Force leaving Sri Lanka.
- 1989: In Prince William Sound in Alaska, the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of crude oil after running aground.
Famous Births 👶
- 2004: Gonzalo García, Spanish footballer
- 2001: Clara Burel, French tennis player
- 1999: Katie Swan, English tennis player
- 1998: Christopher Briney, American actor
- 1998: Ethel Cain, American singer-songwriter, record producer, and model
- 1998: Damar Hamlin, American football player
- 1997: Mina, Japanese singer and dancer
- 1996: Myles Turner, American basketball player
- 1995: Enzo Zidane, French-Spanish footballer
- 1993: Daniel Sazonov, Finnish politician
- 1991: Nick Browne, English cricketer
- 1991: Dalila Jakupovic, Slovenian tennis player
- 1990: Aljur Abrenica, Filipino actor
- 1990: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Australian-New Zealand actress
- 1990: Starlin Castro, American baseball player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2026: Biruté Galdikas, Canadian primatologist and conservationist (born 1946)
- 2026: Tracy Kidder, American writer (born 1945)
- 2026: Mel Schilling, Australian TV personality and coach (born 1972)
- 2025: Dick Carlson, American journalist and diplomat (born 1941)
- 2024: Lou Whittaker, American mountaineer, mountain guide, and businessman (born 1929)
- 2023: Gordon Moore, American businessman, engineer and co-founder of Intel Corporation (born 1929)
- 2023: Pradeep Sarkar, Indian writer and director (born 1955)
- 2022: Dagny Carlsson, Swedish blogger and influencer (born 1912)
- 2021: Jessica Walter, American actress and voice artist (born 1941)
- 2020: Albert Uderzo, French comic book artist (born 1927)
- 2020: Manu Dibango, Cameroonian musician and songwriter (born 1933)
- 2019: Joseph Pilato, American film and voice actor (born 1949)
- 2018: Lys Assia, Swiss singer and First Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest (born 1924)
- 2018: Rim Banna, Palestinian singer, composer, arranger and activist (born 1966)
- 2016: Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer (born 1947)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Catherine of Vadstena - Christian feast day:
Hildelith of Barking - Christian feast day:
Mac Cairthinn of Clogher - Christian feast day:
Maria Karłowska - Christian feast day:
Óscar Romero (Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism) - Christian feast day:
Paul Couturier (Church of England) - Christian feast day:
Walter Hilton (Church of England) - Christian feast day:
March 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice (Argentina)
- International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims
- National Tree Planting Day (Uganda)
- World Tuberculosis Day (International)