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 dies. King of Kent and Bretwalda.
• 1103 - Emperor Toba of Japan was born (d. 1156).
• 1208 - St. Francis of Assisi, 26, received his vocation in Portiuncula Italy.
• 1304 - Ibn Battuta was born. Explorer.
• 1387 - King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda.
• 1463 - Giovanni Pico della Mirandola was born (d. 1494). Italian humanist.
• 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.
• 1525 - Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet dies. French soldier
• 1529 - El alemán Alfonso Alfinger es nombrado primer Gobernador de Venezuela.
• 1530 - Carlos V es coronado emperador por el Papa Clemente VII.
• 1538 - Treaty of Nagyvarad between Ferdinand I and John Zápolya.
• 1547 - Don John of Austria was born (d. 1578). Military leader.
• 1557 - Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor was born.
• 1563 - Francis, Duke of Guise dies (b. 1519). French soldier and politician.
• 1582 - Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar.
• 1588 - Johann Weyer dies. Dutch physician and occultist.
• 1597 - Vincent Voiture was born (d. 1648). French poet.
• 1619 - Charles Le Brun was born (d. 1690). French artist.
• 1622 - Johannes Clauberg was born (d. 1665). German theologian and philosopher.
• 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.
• 1666 - Nicholas Lanier dies (b. 1588). English composer.
• 1674 - Matthias Weckmann dies (b. 1616). German composer.
• 1684 - Matthias Braun was born (d. 1738). Czech sculptor.
• 1685 - Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle dies (b. 1629). English politician and military leader.
• 1693 - James Quin was born (d. 1766). English actor.
• 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").
• 1704 - Marc-Antoine Charpentier dies (b. 1643). French composer.
• 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.
• 1714 - Edmund Andros dies (b. 1637). English governor in North America.
• 1721 - John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby dies (b. 1648). English statesman and poet.
• 1723 - John Burgoyne was born (d. 1792). British general.
• 1739 - Battle of Karnal: The army of Iranian ruler Nadir Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah.
  
• 1774 - Prince Adolphus of the United Kingdom was born (d. 1850). 1st Duke of Cambridge.
• 1777 - King Joseph I of Portugal dies (b. 1714) / Morre o rei D. José I subindo ao trono D. Maria I.
• 1779 - Paul Daniel Longolius dies (b. 1704). German encylopedist.
• 1781 - Edward Capell dies (b. 1713). English critic.
• 1786 - Wilhelm Grimm was born (d. 1859). German philologist and folklorist.
• 1786 - Martin W. Bates was born (d. 1869). U.S. Senator from Delaware.
• 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.
• 1812 - Etienne-Louis Malus dies (b. 1775). French physicist and mathematician.
• 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 (b. 1754). English physician and editor.
• 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.
• 1831 - Leo von Caprivi was born (d. 1899). Chancellor of Germany.
  
• 1832 - Juan Clemente Zenea was born. Cuban poet and journalist.
• 1836 - Winslow Homer was born (d. 1910). American artist.
• 1836 - 3,000 Mexicans attack 182 Texans at Alamo, lasts 13 days.
• 1837 - Rosalía de Castro was born (d. 1885). Spanish poet.
• 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.
• 1842 - Arrigo Boito was born (d. 1918). Italian composer.
• 1843 [Joaquim] Teófilo Braga was born in Ponta Delgada (d. 28 Jan 1924). Portuguese poet and politician. He was President of Republic completing the mandat of Manuel de Arriaga.
• 1846 - Luigi Denza was born (d. 1922). Italian composer.
• 1848 - Andrew Inglis Clark was born (d. 1907). Tasmanian politician.
• 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 (d. 1933). Irish 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.
• 1866 - Pyotr Nikolaevich Lebedev was born (d. 1912). Russian physicist.
• 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 (d. 1955). American Baseball Hall of Famer.
• 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.
• 1877 - Ettie Rout dies (b. 1936). New Zealand activist.
• 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 (d. 1966). United States admiral.
• 1885 - Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (a.k.a. “Witkacy”) was born (d. 1939). Polish writer and painter.
• 1887 - Mary Ellen Chase was born (d. 28 Jul 1973). American linguistic and author (The White Gate).
• 1890 - Marjorie Main was born (d. 1975). American actress.
• 1891 - Promulgação da Primeira Constituição Republicana do Brasil.
• 1891 - Nascimento do actor português 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.
• 1899 - Western Washington University is established.
• 1903 - Franz Burda was born (d. 1986). German publisher.
• 1909 - August Derleth was born (d. 1971). American writer.
• 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 (d. 1965). Actor.
• 1914 - Ralph Erskine was born (d. 2005). British architect (Byker Wall).
• 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 - Estonia: Declaration of independence from Russia.
• 1919 - Árpád Bigsch was born (d. 2004). Hungarian turned American international civil servant.
• 1920 - The Nazi Party is founded.
• 1921 - Abe Vigoda was born. American actor.
• 1921 - Douglass Watson was born (d. 1989). American actor.
• 1922 - Richard Hamilton was born. English pop-art painter.
• 1922 - Steven Hill was born. American 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).
• 1923 - David Soyer was born. American cellist.
• 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 - Hjalmar Branting dies (b. 1869). Prime Minister of Sweden, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1921.
• 1926 - John Gunther Dean was born. American diplomat.
• 1927 - Emmanuelle Riva was born. French actress.
• 1927 - David Mourão Ferreira was born in Lisbon (d. 16 Jun 1996). Portuguese poet, essayst, dramatist and professor./ David Mourão Ferreira, nasce em Lisboa (m. 1996). Escritor, ensaista e professor universitário português. Assumiu também cargos políticos relacionados com a cultura.
• 1928 - Barbara Lawrence was born. American actress.
• 1930 - Barbara Lawrence was born in Carnegie Oklahoma. American actress (Joe Dakota).
• 1932 - Michel Legrand was born. French composer.
• 1932 - John Vernon was born (d. 2005). Canadian actor.
• 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.
• 1934 - Linda Cristal was born. Argentina-born actress.
• 1935 - Paraguay se retira de la Sociedad de Naciones por no estar de acuerdo con las ropuestas para terminar la guerra del Chaco.
• 1936 or 1937 - Tony Campello was born. Brazilian singer.
• 1938 - A nylon bristle toothbrush becomes the first commercial product (DuPont) to be made with nylon yarn.
• 1938 - Phil Knight was born. American sportswear manufacturer, founder of Nike, Inc.
• 1938 - James Farentino was born. American actor.
• 1938 - Kathleen Margaret Richardson, Baroness Richardson of Calow was born. British Baroness and Methodist reverend.
• 1940 - Claudio Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian actor.
• 1940 - Denis Law was born in Aberdeen. Scottish legendary soccer player.
• 1940 - Pete Duel was born (d. 1971). American actor.
• 1941 - Joanie Sommers was born. American singer and actress.
• 1942 - Paul Jones was born. English singer (Manfred Mann).
• 1942 - Propaganda: The Voice of America begins broadcasting.
• 1942 - Joseph Lieberman was born. American politician, candidate for Vice President of the United States.
• 1942 - John Neumeier was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. American choreographer.
• 1942 - Paul Jones was born. English singer (Manfred Mann).
• 1942 - Colin Bond was born. Australian racing driver.
• 1943 - World War II: North AfricaRommel is appointed as commander-in-chief, Army Group Afrika.
• 1943 - Hristo Prodanov was born. Bulgarian mountaineer.
• 1943 - Terry Semel was born. American business executive.
• 1943 - Pablo Milanés was born. Cuban musician.
• 1944 - Nicky Hopkins was born (d. 1994). British musician.
• 1945 - Egyptian Premier Ahmed Maher Pasha is killed in Parliament following his announcement that Egypt declares war on the Axis.
• 1946 - Juan Perón is elected president of Argentina.
• 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 - Barry Bostwick was born. American actor.
• 1946 - Grigory Margulis was born. Russian mathematician.
• 1947 - Edward James Olmos was born. American actor.
• 1947 - Rupert Holmes was born. English musician.
• 1947 - Tamara Taxman was born. Brazilian actress.
• 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 born. Indian politician.
• 1948 - Walter Smith was born. Scottish football manager.
• 1948 - Dennis Waterman was born. British actor.
• 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.
• 1950 - Pete Duel was born (d. 1971). American actor.
• 1951 - Debra Jo Rupp was born. American actress.
• 1951 - Helen Shaver was born. Canadian actress.
• 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 (b. 1895). Polish general and leader of the resistance.
• 1955 - Steve Jobs was born. American computer pioneer, founder of Apple Computer Co.
• 1955 - Alain Prost was born. French Formula One driver who was 4 times World F1 Champion.
• 1956 - Paula Zahn was born. American journalist.
• 1956 - Eddie Murray was born. Baseball player.
• 1957 - Rafael Gordillo was born. Spanish soccer player ( Real Madrid and Real Betis Balompié).
• 1958 - Sammy Kershaw was born. American musician.
• 1958 - Silvia Pfeifer was born in Porto Alegre. Brazilian actress.
• 1958 - Plastic Bertrand was born. Belgian singer.
• 1960 - Antonio Vallejo Nájera dies. Spanish psychiatrist.
• 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. American musician.
• 1962 - Teri Weigel was born. American actress.
• 1963 - Mike Vernon was born. Canadian ice hockey goalie.
• 1964 - Andy Crane was born. British childrens television presenter.
• 1964 - Todd Field was born. American actor and film director.
• 1966 - René Arocha was born. Cuban baseball player.
• 1966 - Billy Zane was born. American actor.
• 1968 - Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Hué.
• 1968 - Mitch Hedberg was born (d. 2005). American comedian.
• 1970 - National Public Radio is founded.
  
• 1970 - Jeff Garcia was born. American football quarterback.
• 1970 - Jonathan Ward was born. American television and movie actor.
• 1970 - Conrad Nagel dies (b. 1897). American actor.
• 1971 - The All India Forward Bloc holds an emergency central committee meeting after its chairman, Hemantha Kumar Bose, was killed 3 days earlier. P.K. Mookiah Thevar appointed as the new chairman.
• 1971 - Algeria nationalizes French oil companies.
• 1971 - Pedro de la Rosa was born. Spanish Formula One driver.
• 1971 - Brian Savage was born. Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1972 - Manon Rhéaume was born. Canadian female ice hockey player.
• 1972 - Stewart Isbell was born. American photographer.
• 1973 - Chris Fehn was born. American percussionist (Slipknot).
• 1973 - Richard Clapp was born. Canadian baseball player.
• 1973 - Jordan Jovtchev was born. Bulgarian gymnast.
• 1973 - Alexei Kovalev was born. Russian ice hockey player.
• 1973 - Manuel Ortega Juarez (Manolo Caracol) dies in a car accident (b. 9 Jul 1910). Spanish singer.
• 1974 - Chad Hugo was born. American musician and producer (The Neptunes).
• 1974 - Karim Bagheri was born. Iranian footballer.
• 1974 - Pakistan officially recognizes Bangladesh.
• 1975 - Hard rock band Led Zeppelin release the classic double album Physical Graffiti.
• 1975 - Ashley MacIsaac was born. Canadian (Cape Breton) fiddler.
• 1975 - Nikolai Bulganin dies (b. 1895). Premier of the Soviet Union.
• 1976 - Cuba: national Constitution proclaimed.
• 1976 - Zuzana Belohorcova was born. Slovak actress.
• 1976 - Matt Skiba was born. American singer/guitarist/songwriter (Alkaline Trio, Heavens).
• 1976 - Eric Griffin was born. American rock guitarist.
• 1976 - Bradley McGee was born. Australian cyclist.
• 1976 - Crista Flanagan was born. American television and stand-up comedian.
• 1977 - Floyd Mayweather Jr was born. American boxer.
• 1977 - Bronson Arroyo was born. American baseball player.
• 1977 - Jason Akermanis was born. Australian rulles footballer.
• 1978 - John Nolan was born. Straylight Run.
  
• 1978 - Shinya was born. Japanese musician (Dir en grey).
• 1980 - Anton Gustafsson, better known as Anton Maiden, was born (d. 2003). Infamous Swedish Iron Maiden fan.
• 1980 - Shinsuke Nakamura was born. Japanese professional wrestler.
• 1981 - Lleyton Hewitt was born. Australian tennis player.
• 1981 - Mohammad Sami was born. Pakistani cricketer.
• 1981 - Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.
• 1981 - An earthquake registering 6.7 on the Richter scale hits Athens, killing 16 people and destroying buildings in several towns west of the city.
• 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.
• 1982 - Klára Koukalová was born. Czech tennis player.
• 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 dies (b. 26 Mar 1911). American playwright (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof).
• 1984 - Helmut Schelsky dies (b. 1912). German sociologist.
• 1987 - 29th Grammy Awards: Higher Love, Graceland, Bruce Hornsby wins.
• 1987 - Daniel Reilly was born. British entrepreneur.
• 1987 - Mayuko Iwasa was born. Japanese entertainer and model.
• 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 - Hiro Hito dies (b. 29 Apr 1901). Emperor of Japan.
• 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 - Lech Falandysz dies. Polish politician.
• 1990 - Malcolm Forbes dies (b. 1917). American publisher.
• 1990 - Tony Conigliaro dies (b. 1945). Baseball player.
• 1990 - Malcolm Forbes dies (b. 1917). American publisher.
• 1990 - Sandro Pertini dies (b. 1896). President of Italy.
• 1990 - Johnnie Ray dies (b. 1927). American singer.
• 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.
• 1991 - John Daly dies (b. 1914). South African game show host.
• 1991 - George Gobel dies (b. 1919). American comedian.
• 1991 - Webb Pierce dies (b. 1921). American music singer.
• 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.
• 1992 - Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain marries Courtney Love.
• 1993 - 35th Grammy Awards: Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton wins.
• 1993 - O primeiro-ministro do Canadá, Brian Mulroney anuncia sua renúncia como líder do Partido Conservador.
• 1993 - Danny Gallivan dies (b. 1917). Canadian radio and television sportscaster.
• 1993 - Bobby Moore dies (b. 1941). English footballer. National team capt (World Champs 1966).
• 1994 - Jean Sablon dies (b. 1906). French singer.
• 1994 - Dinah Shore dies (b. 1916). American actress and singer.
• 1995 - The Corona reconnaissance satellite program, in existence from 1959 to 1972, is declassified.
• 1995 - Inácio Pereira Garcia dies. Secretary of the Córrego Danta City Hall.
• 1996 - The last occurrence of February 24 as a leap day in the European Union and for the Roman Catholic Church.
• 1997 - Ester de Abreu dies in Rio de Janeiro (b. 25 Oct 1921). Portuguese singer.
• 1997 - Deng Xiaoping, leader of China, is cremated (died Feb 19th).
• 1998 - Elton John knighted.
• 1998 - Antonio Prohias dies (b. 1921). Cuban-born cartoonist.
• 1998 - Henny Youngman dies (b. 1906). English-born comedian.
• 1999 - Anthony Bain and Michael Bain, brothers, were born. Actors.
• 1999 - Andre Dubus dies (b. 1936). American writer.
• 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 (b. 1916). American information theorist.
• 2002 - Leo Ornstein dies (b. 1912). Russian-born composer and pianist.
• 2002 - (XIX) 2002 Winter Olympic Games closes in Salt Lake City Utah/Quebec City.
• 2003 - Bassist Robert Trujillo joins Metallica after Jason Newsted left January 17, 2001.
  
• 2003 - Christopher Hill dies (b. 1912). English historian.
• 2003 - Bernard Loiseau dies (b. 1951). French chef.
• 2003 - John Edward Christopher Hill dies (b. 1912). English historian.
• 2003 - An earthcake registering 6º on Richter scale hits the Chinese province of Xinjiang.
• 2004 - A Parmalat USA Corp. pede concordata.
• 2004 - John Randolph dies (b. 1915). American actor.
• 2006 - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in attempt to subdue a possible military coup.
• 2006 - Octavia Butler dies (b. 1947). American author and MacArthur Foundation Fellow
• 2006 - Don Knotts dies (b. 1924). American actor.
• 2006 - John Martin dies (b. 1947). Canadian broadcaster.
• 2006 - Cléa Simões dies (b. 1927). Brazilian actress.
• 2006 - Denis Twitchett dies (b. 1925). Cambridge scholar, and Chinese historian.
• 2006 - Dennis Weaver dies (b. 1924). American actor.
• 2007 - Bruce Bennett dies (b. 1906). American actor.
• 2007 - Leroy Jenkins dies (b. 1932). American composer and violinist.
• 2007 - Lamar Lundy dies (b. 1935). American football player.
• 2007 - Damien Nash dies (b. 1982). American football player.
• 2008 - OSCAR.com - 80th Annual Academy Awards.
  
• Independence Day in Estonia (1918).
• Flag Day in México.
  
• Regifugium, in the Roman calendar.
• Dragobete in Romania.
• National Artist Day in Thailand.