February 24th in History

This Day in History

  • Pope Gregory XIII announces his new Gregorian calendar (1582)
  • The Supreme Court decides Marbury vs. Madison, establishing judicial review (1803)
  • Arizona becomes a territory (1868)
  • Andrew Johnson is impeached by the US House of Representatives (1868)
  • The Zimmerman Telegram, in which Germany pledges to return the US Southwest to Mexico if Mexico declares war on the US, is delivered to the American ambassador to the UK (1917)
  • The Nazi Party is founded (1920)
  • The Great Los Angeles Air Raid, the basis for Spielberg’s film 1941, takes place (1942)
  • The US Olympic Hockey team completes the “Miracle on Ice” by defeating Finland to win the gold (1980)
  • Ayatollah Khomeni offers a $3 million bounty for the death of Salman Rushdie (1989)
  • The roof of United Flight 811 tears open during flight, blowing nine passengers out of business class (1989)
  • Fidel Castro retires as president of Cuba (2008)

Birthdays

  • Wilhelm Grimm, folklore brother (1788)
  • Winslow Homer, American artist (1836)
  • Honus Wagner, baseball card icon (1874)
  • Chester Nimitz, American admiral
  • Marjorie Main, actress (1890)
  • August Derleth, author and publisher (1909)
  • Abe Vigoda, actor (1921)
  • Michel Legrand, composer (1932)
  • James Farentino, actor (1938)
  • Joe Lieberman, politician (1942)
  • Barry Bostwick, actor (1945)
  • Mike Fratello, coach (1947)
  • Edward James Olmos, actor (1947)
  • George Thorogood, destroyer (1950)
  • Sid Meier, computer game designer (1954)
  • Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder (1955)
  • Paula Zahn, journalist (1956)

Deaths

  • Henry Cavendish, scientist (1810)
  • Robert Fulton, inventor (1815)
  • Thomas Bowdler, bowdlerizer (1825)
  • Joshua Chamberlain, Little Round Top defender (1914)
  • Malcolm Forbes, magazine publisher (1990)
  • Dinah Shore, singer (1994)
  • Henny Youngman, “take my wife” pleaser (1998)
  • Octavia Butler, science fiction author (2006)
  • Don Knotts, Mayberry deputy (2006)
  • Dennis Weaver, Gunsmoke deputy (2006)
  • Lamar Lundy, football player (2007)
  • Jan Berenstain, Bear author (2012)

Holidays

  • Dragobete (Romania)
  • Flag Day (Mexico)
  • Independence Day (Estonia)
  • National Artist Day (Thailand)
  • Regifugium (Ancient Rome)