Historical Events
- 1525 Battle of Pavia: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V's troops defeat the French killing or wounded 5,000 and capturing French King Francis I
- 1582 Pope Gregory XIII announces the New Style calendar, commonly known as the Gregorian calendar
- 1739 Battle of Karnal: Army of Iranian ruler Nadir Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah
- 1821 Agustín de Iturbide and Vicente Guerrero agree to the Plan of Iguala, stating that Mexico will become a constitutional monarchy, Roman Catholicism the official religion and that Peninsulares and Creoles will enjoy equal political and social rights
- 1868 US House of Representatives vote 126 to 47 to impeach President Andrew Johnson
- 1942 The "Battle of Los Angeles" takes place, a series of anti-aircraft engagements over the city in response to a rumored but false Japanese attack. It would last until the morning of the following day.
- 1946 General Juan Perón first elected President of Argentina
- 2008 Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba due to ill health after nearly fifty years
- 2022 Russian leader Vladimir Putin announces the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine to "demilitarize" the country moments before Russia launches a full-scale pre-dawn invasion by land, air and sea, with bombings in several cities amid international condemnation [1] [2]
- More Historical Events
Feb 24 in Film & TV
- 1969 "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" film based on novel by Muriel Spark directed by Ronald Neame, starring Maggie Smith (Academy Award Best Actress) premieres in London
Feb 24 in Music
- 1607 Claudio Monteverdi's opera "L'Orfeo" premieres in Mantua, oldest opera still regularly performed
Feb 24 in Sport
- 2010 Sachin Tendulkar scores the first double century in One Day International cricket
Did You Know?
Scientists identify the first animal that doesn't need oxygen to breathe - a tiny parasite living in salmon tissue, reported in journal PNAS
On February 24, 2020
Would You Believe?
A 4.4 billion-year-old Crystal is discovered to be the oldest known fragment from the earth's crust
On February 24, 2014
Famous Weddings
- 1613 English princess Elizabeth marries Earl Frederik of Palts
- 1662 English Poet and author of "Paradise Lost" John Milton marries 3rd wife Elizabeth Mynshull, 31 years his junior.
- 1886 Inventor Thomas Edison (38) marries 2nd wife Mina Miller (20) in Akron, Ohio
More Weddings
Articles, Photos and Quiz
The Man Who Re-wrote 'Offensive' Shakespeare
Thomas Bowdler, the man who re-wrote Shakespeare to remove the "offensive" bits, died on this day and added a new word – bowdlerise – to the language.
February 24, 1825Battle of Los Angeles
Anti-aircraft guns and spotlights comb the sky above Los Angeles during the rumored Japanese attack
February 24, 1942Weekly Quiz for February 24 - March 1
Under what name did Muhammad Ali win his 1st heavyweight world title this week in 1964? What was the world's first national park, created in 1872?