Today in History: March 24, Exxon Valdez crashes in Alaska, creates massive oil spill
Today is Monday, March 24, the 83rd day of 2025. There are 282 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On March 24, 1989, the supertanker Exxon Valdez (vahl-DEEZ’) ran aground on a reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound and began leaking an estimated 11 million gallons of crude oil.
Also on this date:
In 1882, German scientist Robert Koch announced in Berlin that he discovered the bacillus responsible for tuberculosis.
In 1921, the Women’s Olympiad, the first international women’s sporting event, began in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
In 1980, Catholic Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero of El Salvador was shot to death by a sniper as he celebrated Mass in San Salvador.
In 1999, NATO launched airstrikes against Yugoslavia, marking the first time in its 50-year existence that it attacked a sovereign country.
In 2015, Germanwings Flight 9525, an Airbus A320, crashed into the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board; investigators said the jetliner was deliberately downed by the 27-year-old co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz.
In 2016, a U.N. war crimes court convicted former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić of genocide and nine other charges for orchestrating a campaign of terror that left 100,000 people dead during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia; Karadžić received a sentence of 40 years in prison, later increased to life.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Chef and TV presenter Mary Berry is 90.
- Musician Carol Kaye is 90.
- Fashion and costume designer Bob Mackie is 86.
- Singer Nick Lowe is 76.
- Golf Hall of Famer Pat Bradley is 74.
- Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger is 74.
- Actor Kelly LeBrock is 65.
- TV personality Star Jones is 63.
- Actor Lara Flynn Boyle is 55.
- Actor Jim Parsons is 52.
- Actor Alyson Hannigan is 51.
- Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning is 49.
- Actor Jessica Chastain is 48.
- Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Bosh is 41.
- Dancer Val Chmerkovskiy is 39.