This Day in History: March 24

Here’s a brief look back in time for this day, March 24.

In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I dies and King James VI becomes king. It is believed that Elizabeth had died from blood poisoning due to her high usage of lead-based makeup. The Protestant queen repealed her predecessor’s pro-Catholic legislation, which angered Pope Pius V since the Church aimed to regain its supremacy in England. Elizabeth also encouraged and actively funded voyages to chart the world, with Sir Walter Raleigh’s venture to the Americas being one of them.

In 1989, a supertanker operated by Exxon runs aground near Alaska’s southern coast, spilling more than 10 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. Called the Valdez, it was bound to Long Beach, CA, when it struck a reef due to human navigation error. While no human deaths were caused, thousands of natural wildlife were killed. The cleanup crew also reported kidney, liver, and blood disorders as efforts got underway. It’d take 4 years to fully clean the spill. Exxon was criticized heavily by the city of Valdez for its slow response to the spill, in which the majority of its citizens volunteered the help clean the area themselves. The disaster is currently ranked second for the worst oil spill to occur within U.S. waters, with BP’s Deepwater Horizon being first.