February 24
1582 - Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull introducing the Gregorian calendar reform.
1803 - The Supreme Court ruled in Marbury v. Madison that any act of Congress which conflicts with the Constitution is null and void.
1821 - Mexico declared independence from Spain.
1868 - Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, became the first president to have impeachment proceedings brought against him by the House of Representatives; the House brought the charges on a 126-47 vote following Johnson's attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. (Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate.)
1903 - The lease for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was signed.
1920 - Adolf Hitler outlined the basic points of the Nazi party at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich.
1942 - The SS Struma, a charter ship attempting to carry nearly 800 Jewish refugees from Romania to British-mandated Palestine, was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in the Black Sea; all but one of the refugees perished.
1968 - The discovery of a pulsar was announced.
1981 - A jury in White Plains, New York, found Jean Harris guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of “Scarsdale Diet” author Dr. Herman Tarnower. (Sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, Harris was granted clemency by New York Gov. Mario Cuomo in December 1992.)
1986 - The Supreme Court struck down, in a 6-3 decision, an Indianapolis ordinance that would have allowed women injured by someone who had seen or read pornographic material to sue the maker or seller of that material.
1988 - In a ruling that expanded legal protections for parody and satire, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $150,000 award that the Rev. Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine and its publisher, Larry Flynt.
1989 - A state funeral was held in Japan for Emperor Hirohito, who had died the month before at age 87.
1993 - Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney resigned after more than eight years in office.
2008 - Cuba’s parliament named Raul Castro president, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother Fidel.
2011 - Discovery, the world’s most traveled spaceship, thundered into orbit for the final time, heading toward the International Space Station on a journey marking the beginning of the end of the shuttle era.
2013 - Pope Benedict XVI bestowed the final Sunday blessing of his pontificate on a cheering crowd in St. Peter’s Square.
2015 - The Justice Department announced that George Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot Trayvon Martin in a 2012 confrontation, would not face federal charges.
2018 - The U.N. Security Council unanimously demanded a 30-day cease-fire across Syria to deliver humanitarian aid and evacuate the wounded, as the death toll reached 500 from a Syrian bombing campaign in the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus. (The cease-fire failed to take hold.)
2020 - Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted in New York on charges of rape and sexual assault involving two women. (Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in state prison.)
2022 - Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launching airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions. Ukraine’s government pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee the violence. World leaders condemned the attack and many promised sanctions.
2022 - Three former Minneapolis police officers were convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights by depriving Floyd of his right to medical care when Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes as the 46-year-old Black man was handcuffed and facedown on the street.
Birthdays
28 - Brittany Raymond (actress)
30 - Emily Rudd (actress)
32 - O'Shea Jackson Jr. (actor)
34 - Daniel Kaluuya (actor)
35 - Alexander Koch (actor)
39 - Corey Graves (professional wrestler)
39 - Wilson Bethel (actor)
43 - Shinsuke Nakamura (professional wrestler)
46 - Floyd Mayweather Jr. (boxer)
49 - Bonnie Somerville (actress)
57 - Billy Zane (actor)
61 - Michelle Shocked (singer)
62 - Emilio Rivera (actor)
64 - Beth Broderick (actress)
65 - Mark Moses (actor)
65 - Sammy Kershaw (singer)
67 - Eddie Murray (baseball player)
67 - Paula Zahn (news anchor)
72 - Helen Shaver (actress)
72 - Debra Jo Rupp (actress)
76 - Edward James Olmos (actor)
78 - Barry Bostwick (actor)
81 - Jenny O'Hara (actress)
82 - Joanie Sommers (singer)
92 - Dominic Chianese (actor/singer)
==============================
Today in Sports History - February 24
1980 - The U.S. Olympic hockey team, fresh off its "Miracle on Ice" upset of the Soviet Union, defeated Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal at the Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York.
1980 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) became the first player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season before the age of 20.
1982 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) scored his 77th goal of the season to break the NHL record of 76 held by Phil Esposito. Gretzky ended up with 92 goals for the season and 212 points. He was the first player to finish a season with more than 200 points.
1987 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers scores his 36,000th career point.
1993 - Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings, scored his 1,000th career point.
2002 - The Salt Lake City Olympics came to a close, the same day Canada won its first hockey gold in 50 years (the U.S. won silver) and three cross-country skiers were thrown out of the games for using a performance-enhancing drug.
2013 - Jimmie Johnson won his second Daytona 500, beating his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., who made a late move to finish second. Danica Patrick, the first woman to win the pole, finished eighth.
1582 - Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull introducing the Gregorian calendar reform.
1803 - The Supreme Court ruled in Marbury v. Madison that any act of Congress which conflicts with the Constitution is null and void.
1821 - Mexico declared independence from Spain.
1868 - Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, became the first president to have impeachment proceedings brought against him by the House of Representatives; the House brought the charges on a 126-47 vote following Johnson's attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. (Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate.)
1903 - The lease for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was signed.
1920 - Adolf Hitler outlined the basic points of the Nazi party at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich.
1942 - The SS Struma, a charter ship attempting to carry nearly 800 Jewish refugees from Romania to British-mandated Palestine, was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in the Black Sea; all but one of the refugees perished.
1968 - The discovery of a pulsar was announced.
1981 - A jury in White Plains, New York, found Jean Harris guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of “Scarsdale Diet” author Dr. Herman Tarnower. (Sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, Harris was granted clemency by New York Gov. Mario Cuomo in December 1992.)
1986 - The Supreme Court struck down, in a 6-3 decision, an Indianapolis ordinance that would have allowed women injured by someone who had seen or read pornographic material to sue the maker or seller of that material.
1988 - In a ruling that expanded legal protections for parody and satire, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $150,000 award that the Rev. Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine and its publisher, Larry Flynt.
1989 - A state funeral was held in Japan for Emperor Hirohito, who had died the month before at age 87.
1993 - Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney resigned after more than eight years in office.
2008 - Cuba’s parliament named Raul Castro president, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother Fidel.
2011 - Discovery, the world’s most traveled spaceship, thundered into orbit for the final time, heading toward the International Space Station on a journey marking the beginning of the end of the shuttle era.
2013 - Pope Benedict XVI bestowed the final Sunday blessing of his pontificate on a cheering crowd in St. Peter’s Square.
2015 - The Justice Department announced that George Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot Trayvon Martin in a 2012 confrontation, would not face federal charges.
2018 - The U.N. Security Council unanimously demanded a 30-day cease-fire across Syria to deliver humanitarian aid and evacuate the wounded, as the death toll reached 500 from a Syrian bombing campaign in the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus. (The cease-fire failed to take hold.)
2020 - Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted in New York on charges of rape and sexual assault involving two women. (Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in state prison.)
2022 - Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launching airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions. Ukraine’s government pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee the violence. World leaders condemned the attack and many promised sanctions.
2022 - Three former Minneapolis police officers were convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights by depriving Floyd of his right to medical care when Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes as the 46-year-old Black man was handcuffed and facedown on the street.
Birthdays
28 - Brittany Raymond (actress)
30 - Emily Rudd (actress)
32 - O'Shea Jackson Jr. (actor)
34 - Daniel Kaluuya (actor)
35 - Alexander Koch (actor)
39 - Corey Graves (professional wrestler)
39 - Wilson Bethel (actor)
43 - Shinsuke Nakamura (professional wrestler)
46 - Floyd Mayweather Jr. (boxer)
49 - Bonnie Somerville (actress)
57 - Billy Zane (actor)
61 - Michelle Shocked (singer)
62 - Emilio Rivera (actor)
64 - Beth Broderick (actress)
65 - Mark Moses (actor)
65 - Sammy Kershaw (singer)
67 - Eddie Murray (baseball player)
67 - Paula Zahn (news anchor)
72 - Helen Shaver (actress)
72 - Debra Jo Rupp (actress)
76 - Edward James Olmos (actor)
78 - Barry Bostwick (actor)
81 - Jenny O'Hara (actress)
82 - Joanie Sommers (singer)
92 - Dominic Chianese (actor/singer)
==============================
Today in Sports History - February 24
1980 - The U.S. Olympic hockey team, fresh off its "Miracle on Ice" upset of the Soviet Union, defeated Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal at the Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York.
1980 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) became the first player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season before the age of 20.
1982 - Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) scored his 77th goal of the season to break the NHL record of 76 held by Phil Esposito. Gretzky ended up with 92 goals for the season and 212 points. He was the first player to finish a season with more than 200 points.
1987 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers scores his 36,000th career point.
1993 - Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings, scored his 1,000th career point.
2002 - The Salt Lake City Olympics came to a close, the same day Canada won its first hockey gold in 50 years (the U.S. won silver) and three cross-country skiers were thrown out of the games for using a performance-enhancing drug.
2013 - Jimmie Johnson won his second Daytona 500, beating his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., who made a late move to finish second. Danica Patrick, the first woman to win the pole, finished eighth.
