Fourteen years after his father (Charles I) was executed, Charles II awarded a royal charter to eight noblemen who supported his ascension to the throne in the period known as the Stuart Restoration. This royal charter or Carolina Charter of 1663 was granted on March 24th of that year. The eight noblemen or Lords Proprietors received lands in the Province of Carolina which included lands in the present day states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Harry Houdini was born on March 24, 1874.

Image: Harry Houdini with his wife Beatrice and mother Cecilia Steiner Weiss in 1907 via Library of Congress
No known restrictions

Born March 24, 1944 in Emporia, Kansas, R. Lee Ermey’s 12 years of service in the US Marine Corps brought authenticity to many of his roles in films and on television. A Vietnam veteran, Gunny made numerous visits to American service men and women worldwide. He’s shown (right) in 2005 aboard the USS Belleau Wood.

Image from USN via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

On March 24, 1958 Elvis Presley was inducted into the U.S. Army.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

“Smithsonian rebuilding gigantic animal. Washington, D.C., March 24. One of the largest animals which ever walked the earth has been discovered and is being rebuilt by the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Charles Gilmor, Paleontologist, found in western Utah the bones of a Sauropod,-a species of the dinosaurs which ruled the earth 80,000,000 to 150,000,000 years ago. Dr. Gilmore is pictured fitting the 32-foot tail of the monster together, 3/24/1938”

Image via LOC, no known restrictions

Signer of The United States Constitution Rufus King was born on March 24, 1755 in Scarborough, Massachusetts (now Maine.)

During the American Revolution, Rufus in his early twenties, wrote letters to his brother-in-law and one included the following:

“But America spurns the production of the petty tyrant, and treating it with deserved contempt,
stands firm upon the pillars of liberty, immoveable as Heaven and determined as fate. One kindred spirit catches from man to man. . . . The Continental Congress are unanimous and determined. They have voted to raise 70,000 men and three millions of money.”

From: The life and correspondence of Rufus King; comprising his letters, private and official, his public documents, and his speeches
https://archive.org/details/lifecorrrufus01kingrich/page/8/mode/1up
Source says not in copyright

Image via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions

The Hill Top

– 1914

Painted by American artist Frank Weston Benson who was born on March 24, 1862 in Salem, Massachusetts

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

New York City’s Mayor, Robert Anderson Van Wyck, broke ground on a new underground mass transit rail system on March 24, 1900.

Image of City Hall subway station, New York c. 1900-1904 from LOC via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

American Civil War Veteran John Wesley Powell was born on March 24, 1834 in Mount Morris, New York.

During the Battle of Shiloh he lost most of his right arm.

After the Civil War his fascination with science and geology grew and he led a number of expeditions in the American West including the Grand Canyon.

Image c. 1896 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

A publicity photo of Ben Gazzara, renowned actor and member of the original cast of Tennessee Williams’ Broadway masterpiece “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” which debuted on March 24, 1955. Gazzara later captivated audiences as the villain Brad Wesley in the 1989 cult classic film “Road House”.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain