On this day: 24 March

Turco-Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus.

Tokugawa Ieyasu is granted the title of shōgun from Emperor Go-Yōzei, and establishes the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo, Japan.

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.

Johann Sebastian Bach dedicates six concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt, now commonly called the Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046–1051.

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.

President José Gregorio Monagas abolishes slavery in Venezuela.

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.

German physician Robert Koch announced the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen that causes tuberculosis.

The Winton Motor Carriage Company (ad pictured), one of the first American car companies, sold its first unit.

Robert Anderson Van Wyck, mayor of New York City, broke ground for a new underground Rapid Transit Railroad that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Mayor of New York City Robert Anderson Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground "Rapid Transit Railroad" that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Carnegie Steel Company is formed in New Jersey; its capitalization of $160 million is the largest to date.

The inaugural Women's Olympiad (cover pictured), the first international women's sports event, opened at the International Sporting Club of Monaco in Monte Carlo.

The Tydings–McDuffie Act came into effect, which provided for self-government of the Philippines and for Filipino independence from the United States after a period of ten years.

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.

Morarji Desai becomes the prime minister of India, the first prime minister not to belong to Indian National Congress.

Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War ends with the last ship of Indian Peace Keeping Force leaving Sri Lanka.

Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-45.

Dr. Rüdiger Marmulla performs the first computer-assisted Bone Segment Navigation at the University of Regensburg, Germany.

Kosovo War: NATO begins attacks on Yugoslavia without United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approval, marking the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.

At the 74th Academy Awards, Halle Berry became the first African American to win Best Actress, winning for her role as Leticia Musgrove in Monster's Ball.

Hannah Montana, starring Miley Cyrus as an actress whose alter ego is the titular character, premiered.

Led by Jigme Thinley, the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party won 45 of 47 seats in the country's first National Assembly election.

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.

An EF4 tornado strikes the towns of Rolling Fork and Silver City, Mississippi, causing mass destruction.

The 2024 Senegalese presidential election is held following anti-government protests.

OpenAI announces that their flagship Sora app and API are shutting down.