On this day in History - Feb. 24

• 0303 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Empire.
• 0616 - Ethelbert, was born, king of Kent and Bretwalda.
• 1208 St. Francis of Assisi, 26, received his vocation in Portiuncula Italy.
• 1463 - Nace Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, filósofo italiano.
• 1500 - Nace en Gante el rey Carlos I de España y emperador Carlos V de Alemania.
• 1500 - Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor was born (d. 1558).
• 1503- Cristóbal Colón funda el que sería el primer asentamiento español en territorio continental americano: Santa María de Belén, en las costas de Veraguas, Panamá.
• 1525 -Carlos V derrota al francés Francisco I en Pavía, y lo hace prisionero.
• 1529 - El alemán Alfonso Alfinger es nombrado primer Gobernador de Venezuela.
• 1530 -Carlos V es coronado emperador por el Papa Clemente VII.
• 1557- Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor was born.
• 1582 - Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar.
• 1619 - Nace Charles Le Brun, pintor y diseñador francés.
• 1663 - Thomas Newcomen was born (d. 5 Aug 1729). Thomas Newcomen, inventor of the atmospheric steam engine. His invention of c.1711 came into use to pump water out of coal mines by 1725.
• 1697 - Bernard Siegfried Albinus was born (d. 9 Sep 1770). German anatomist who was the first to show the connection of the vascular systems of the mother and the fetus. He is best known for the excellent drawings in his Tabulae sceleti et musculorum corporis humani (1747; "Tables of the Skeleton and Muscles of the Human Body").
• 1709 - Jacques de Vaucanson, was born, (d. 21 Nov. 1782) French inventor of automata - robot devices of later significance for modern industry. In 1737-38, he produced a transverse flute player, a pipe and tabor player, and a mechanical duck.
• 1711 - The London premiere of Rinaldo by George Friderich Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage.
• 1774- Prince Adolphus of the United Kingdom, was born, 1st Duke of Cambridge (d. 1850).
• 1777 - Portugal - Morre o rei D. José I e sobe ao trono D. Maria I.
• 1786 - Wilhelm Grimm, was born, philologist, folklorist (d. 1859).
• 1799 - Georg Christoph Lichtenberg dies (b. 1 Jul 1742). German physicist and satirical writer, best known for his aphorisms and his ridicule of metaphysical and romantic excesses .
• 1803 - The Supreme Court of the United States, in Marbury v. Madison, establishes the principle of judicial review.
• 1804 - London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute
• 1804 - Heinrich Lenz was born (d. 10 Feb 1865). Russian physicist who framed Lenz's Law to describe the direction of flow of electric current generated by a wire moving through a magnetic field.
• 1810 - Henry Cavendish, dies (b. 10 Oct 1731). English scientist who calculated Newton's gravitational constant. Researching in his own private laboratory, Cavendish identified hydrogen as a separate gas, studied carbon dioxide, and determined their densities relative to atmospheric air.
• 1815 - Robert Fulton, dies (b. 14 Nov 1765). American inventor, engineer, and artist who brought steamboating from the experimental stage to commercial success. He did not invent the steamboat, which had been built in the early 1700's, but rather applied his engineering skills to their design.
• 1821 - Mexico gains independence from Spain.
• 1822 - Se constituye el Primer Congreso de México.
• 1824 - Sob a influência do imperador Pedro I, o Brasil torna-se numa monarquia constitucional.
• 1825 - Se establece por decreto la bandera y el escudo de Perú y se anula el pabellón impuesto en tiempos del general San Martín.
• 1825 - Thomas Bowdler, dies, physician and editor (b. 1754) .
• 1826 - The signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo marks the end of the First Burmese War.
• 1827 - La escuadra argentina del almirante Guillermo Brown vence a la flota brasileña cerca de Buenos Aires.
• 1831 - The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West.
• 1832 - Nace Juan Clemente Zenea, poeta y periodista cubano.
• 1836 - Winslow Homer, was born, artist (d. 1910) .
• 1836 3,000 Mexicans attack 182 Texans at Alamo, lasts 13 days.
• 1837 - Rosalía de Castro, nace, poetisa gallega.
• 1839 - William Otis receives a patent for the steam shovel for excavating and removing earth from railroads or canals .
• 1840 John Philip Holland was born (d. 12 Aug 1914). Irish inventor, "father of the modern submarine," who designed and built the first underwater vessel accepted by the U.S. Navy.
• 1841 - Carl Graebe was born (d. 19 Jan 1927). German organic chemist who, assisted by Carl Liebermann, synthesized (1868) the orange-red dye alizarin, which in the textile industry quickly supplanted the natural source of the dye from the madder plant root. Alizarin (dihydroscyanthraquinone) was recognized by Graebe and Liebermann, as a derivative of anthracene, a hydrocarbon contained in coal-tar.
• 1842 - Tomada de posse do governo presidido pelo duque da Terceira, mas com o predomínio do ministro do Reino, Costa Cabral. É o começo do "Cabralismo," período que se prolongará até 1846, que tentará reorganizar o estado e reconstruir a economia do País, de um ponto de vista conservador.
• 1843 [Joaquim] Theofilo F Braga, was born. Portuguese poet/author/politician.
• 1846 - Luigi Denza, was born, composer (d. 1922) .
• 1848 - Andrew Inglis Clark, was born, Tasmanian Politician (d. 1907) .
• 1848 -Francia: los revolucionarios asaltan el palacio de las Tullerías en París.
• 1848 - King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne.
• 1849 - Se funda el diario panameño "La Estrella de Panamá".
• 1849 - John Henry Comstock was born (d. 20 Mar 1931). Pioneering American educator and researcher in entomology; his studies of scale insects and butterflies and moths provided the basis for systematic classification of these insects.
• 1852 - George Moore, was born in Ireland (d. 1933) writer/ novelist (Esther Waters)
• 1856 - Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky, dies (b. 1 Dec.1792). Russian mathematician who, with János Bolyai of Hungary, is considered the founder of non-Euclidean geometry.
• 1863 - Arizona is organized as a United States territory.
• 1868 - The first parade to have floats is staged at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• 1868 - Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached y the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted.
• 1871 - Charles Darwin's Descent of Man was published in London.
• 1874 - John Bachman dies (b. 4 Feb 1790). Naturalist and Lutheran minister who published studies of southern animals and works on botany and agriculture.
• 1874 - Honus Wagner, was born, Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1955) .
• 1875 -Marc Séguin, the Elder, dies (b. 20 Apr 1786) . French engineer and inventor of the wire-cable suspension bridge and the tubular steam-engine boiler.
• 1881 - China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty.
• 1883 - El Gobierno chileno expulsa del país al delegado de la Santa Sede.
• 1885 - Chester Nimitz, was born, United States admiral (d. 1966).
• 1885 - Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (a.k.a. “Witkacy”), was born, Polish writer and painter (d. 1939).
• 1887 - Mary Ellen Chase, was born, U.S. linguistic/author (White Gate).
• 1890 - Marjorie Main, was born, actress (d. 1975) .
• 1891 - Se promulga la Constitución de la República de los Estados Unidos de Brasil .
• 1891 - Nascimento do Actor Ernestino Augusto Costa, o Costinha, conhecido sobretudo pelas suas actuações no Teatro de Revista e nas Operetas. Morreu em 1976.
• 1895 - Comienza, con el llamado Grito de Baire, la guerra de la independencia cubana.
• 1897 - Henri Frankfort was born (d. 16 Jul 1954). Dutch-American archaeologist who completed a well-documented reconstruction of ancient Mesopotamian culture, established the relation between Egypt and Mesopotamia, and discovered much new information on both civilizations.
• 1903 - Franz Burda, was born ,German publisher (d. 1986) .
• 1909 - August Derleth, was born ,writer (d. 1971) .
• 1909 - En Brighton (Reino Unido), se presenta al público por primera vez el cine en color.
• 1909 - The Hudson Motor Car Company is founded.
• 1914 - Zachary Scott, was born, actor (d. 1965) .
• 1917- World War I: U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if that country declares war on the United States.
• 1918 - Independencia de Estonia .
• 1920 - Adolf Hitler presenta los 25 puntos del Partido Obrero Alemán.
• 1921 - Abe Vigoda, was born, actor .
• 1922 - Richard Hamilton, was born, pop-art painter .
• 1922 - Steven Hill, was born, actor .
• 1923 - Edward Williams Morley dies (b. 29 Jan 1838). American chemist who is best known for his collaboration with the physicist A.A. Michelson in an attempt to measure the relative motion of the Earth through a hypothetical ether (1887).
• 1924 - Johnny Weissmuller finishes the 100-meter swimming event in 57 2/5 seconds and sets a new world record.
• 1925 - A thermite (magnesium bomb) is used for the first time to break up a 250,000-ton ice jam clogging the St. Lawrence River near Waddington, New York.
• 1925 - Karl Hjalmar Branting, morre, político sueco, Premio Nobel de la Paz em 1921.
• 1927 - David Mourão Ferreira, nasce em Lisboa (m. 1996). Escritor, ensaista e professor universitário português. Assumiu também cargos políticos relacionados com a cultura.
• 1930 Barbara Lawrence, was born in, Carnegie OK, actress (Joe Dakota) .
• 1932 - Michel Legrand,was born, composer.
• 1933 - A Empresa Nacional de Publicidade lança o livro Salazar, o Homem e a Obra, prefaciada pelo próprio Salazar, obra que agrupa as entrevistas realizadas por António Ferro para o Diário de Notícias e publicadas em Dezembro de 1932.
• 1933 League of Nations tells Japanese to pull out of Manchuria .
• 1934 - Bettino Craxi, was born (d. 2000). 1st socialist Prime Minister of Italy (1983-87) .
• 1934 - Renata Scotto, was born, Italian soprano .
• 1935 - Paraguay se retira de la Sociedad de Naciones por no estar de acuerdo con las ropuestas para terminar la guerra del Chaco.
• 1938 - A nylon bristle toothbrush becomes the first commercial product (DuPont) to be made with nylon yarn.
• 1938 - Phil Knight, was born, founder of Nike, Inc.
• 1940 - Cláudio Cavalcanti , nascimento de, ator brasileiro .
• 1942 - Propaganda: The Voice of America begins broadcasting.
• 1942 - Joseph Lieberman,was born, politician, candidate for Vice President of the United States .
• 1942 - John Neumeier, was born, choreographer .
• 1943 - George Harrison,was born, member of The Beatles (d. 2001) .
• 1943 - Hristo Prodanov, was born, Bulgarian mountaineer .
• 1943 - World War II: North AfricaRommel is appointed as commander-in-chief, Army Group Afrika.
• 1943 - Nace el cantautor cubano Pablo Milanés.
• 1945 - Egyptian Premier Ahmed Maher Pasha is killed in Parliament following his announcement that Egypt declares war on the Axis.1945 - Alain Prost, formula-1 racer (1985, 86 champ) .
• 1945 - Barry Bostwick, was born, actor .
• 1946 - Gregori Aleksandrovich Margulis was born. Russian mathematician who was awarded the Fields Medal in 1978 for his contributions to the theory of Lie groups, though he was not allowed by the Soviet government to travel to Finland to receive the award.
• 1946 - No Gana, Kwame Nkrumah, o presidente do país desde a sua independência, é deposto em um golpe de estado liderado por militares.
• 1946 - Juan Perón is elected president of Argentina.
• 1947 - Edward James Olmos, was born, actor .
• 1947 - Pierre (-Marie-Félix) Janet dies (b. 30 May 1859) French psychopathologist and neurologist influential in bringing about in France and the United States a connection between academic psychology and the clinical treatment of mental illnesses .
• 1948 - J. Jayalalithaa, was biorn, Indian politician .
• 1948 - Cold War: The Communist Party seizes control of Czechoslovakia.
• 1949 - After 42 days of bitter debate, Egypt and Israel sign an armistice on the island of Rhodes. However, several contentious topics, such as the status of Beersheba in the Negev Desert, were dropped from the final agreement .
• 1953 - Douglas Houghton Campbell dies (b. 16 Dec 1859). American botanist known for his research concerning modes of sexual reproduction in mosses and ferns. His work intensified a controversy surrounding the evolutionary origin of the Tracheophyta (vascular plants). He was an authority on the morphology and life cycles of ferns, mosses, and liverworts and on the geographic distribution of plant life.
• 1953 - August Fieldorf, dies, Polish general and leader of the resistance (b. 1895) .
• 1955 - Steve Jobs, was born, computer pioneer .
• 1955 - Alain Prost, was born, Formula One driver .
• 1956 - Paula Zahn, was born, journalist .
• 1957 - Rafael Gordillo, nace jugador del Real Madrid y Real Betis Balompié .
• 1958 - Sammy Kershaw, was born, musician .
• 1960 -Muere el médico Antonio Vallejo Nájera.
• 1961 - Dr Louis Leakey has discovered human-like bones in the Olduvai Gorge, Tanganyika (now Tanzania) which are believed to be the ancestors of modern man.
• 1962 - Michelle Shocked, was born, musician .
• 1966 - Billy Zane, was born, actor .
• 1968 - Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Hué.
• 1970 - National Public Radio is founded. .
• 1970 - Jeff Garcia, was born, American football quarterback .
• 1971 - Algeria nationalizes French oil companies .
• 1973 - Muere en accidente de automóvil el cantaor Manolo Caracol.
• 1973 - Jordan Jovtchev,was born, Bulgarian gymnast .
• 1973 - Alexei Kovalev, was born, ice hockey player.
• 1974 - Chad Hugo, was born, musician and producer (The Neptunes) .
• 1974 - Pakistan officially recognizes Bangladesh
• 1975 - Ashley MacIsaac, was born, Cape Breton fiddler .
• 1975 - Nikolai Bulganin, dies, Premier of the Soviet Union .
• 1975 - Hard rock band Led Zeppelin release the classic double album Physical Graffiti.
• 1976 - Cuba adopts its constitution .
• 1976 - Zuzana Belohorcova, was born, slovak actress .
• 1981 - Lleyton Hewitt, was born, tennis player .
• 1981 - Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.
• 1981 - Jean Harris is convicted of murdering Dr. Herman Tarnower, the author of the bestselling The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet.
• 1982 - 24th Grammy Awards: Betty Davis Eyes, Double Fantasy wins .
• 1983 - A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II.
• 1983 - Tennessee Williams, U.S. playwright (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), dies at 71
• 1987 - 29th Grammy Awards: Higher Love, Graceland, Bruce Hornsby wins
• 1988 - The Supreme Court of the United States sides with Larry Flynt's Hustler magazine by overturning a lower court decision to award Jerry Falwell USD $200,000 for defamation.
• 1989 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a USD $3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.
• 1989 - A United Airlines Boeing 747 bound to New Zealand from Honolulu, Hawaii rips open during flight, sucking 9 passengers and crew out of the first-class section.
• 1990 - Sandro Pertini, dies at 93. President of Italy (1978, 85).
• 1990 - Lech Falandysz, dies, Polish politician .
• 1990 - Malcolm Forbes, dies, publisher (b. 1917) .
• 1991- John Daly (journalist), dies game show host .
• 1991 - George Gobel, dies comedian (b. 1919) .
• 1991 - Os Estados Unidos iniciam sua ofensiva terrestre contra o Iraque devido à invasão do Kuwait.
• 1991 - Atentado frustrado contra o ex-presidente argentino Raúl Alfonsín .
• 1992 - A maior perda de uma companhia americana ($4,45 bilhões em 1991) é anunciada pela maior companhia industrial do mundo, a fabricante de automóveis General Motors.
• 1994 - El Gobierno de Nicaragua y los jefes de la "recontra" acuerdan el desarme de los rebeldes.
• 1993 35th Grammy Awards: Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton wins .
• 1993 - Bobby Moore, dies (b. 1941); English footballer soccer team capt (World champs 1966).
• 1993O primeiro-ministro do Canadá, Brian Mulroney anuncia sua renúncia como líder do Partido Conservador.
• 1994 - Dinah Shore, dies, actress, singer (b. 1916) .
• 1995 - The Corona reconnaissance satellite program, in existence from 1959 to 1972, is declassified.
• 1996 - The last occurrence of February 24 as a leap day in the European Union and for the Roman Catholic Church.
• 1997 - Deng Xiaoping, leader of China, cremated (died Feb 19th) .
• 1998 - Elton John knighted .
• 1998 - Henny Youngman, dies, comedian (b. 1906) .
• 1999 - Andre Dubus, dies, writer .
• 1999 - Anthony Bain, was born, actor .
• 1999 - Michael Bain, was born, actor .
• 1999 - The State of Arizona executes Karl LaGrand, a German national involved in an armed robbery, in spite of Germany's legal action to attempt to save him.
• 1999 - A China Southern Airlines Tupolev TU-154 airliner crashes on approach to Wenzhou airport in eastern China killing 61.
• 2001 - Claude E. Shannon, dies, "father of information theory" (b. 1916) .
• 2002 - Leo Ornstein, dies, composer and pianist (b. 1912) .
• 2002 - XIX Winter Olympics closes in Salt Lake City Utah/Quebec City .
• 2003 - Christopher Hill, dies, historian (b. 1912) .
• 2003 - Bernard Loiseau, dies, chef .
• 2003 - Terremoto de 6 graus na escala Richter atinge a província chinesa de Xinjiang.
• 2004 - A Parmalat USA Corp. pede concordata.
• 2004 - John Randolph, dies, American actor (b. 1915).