On This Day in History — February 24

Highlights of February 24

• 2015 — At a restaurant in Uherský Brod, Czech Republic, a gunman opened fire in a restaurant, killing eight people before committing suicide. Read more
• 1989 — United Airlines Flight 811 experienced uncontrolled decompression after leaving Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii, blowing seats out of the aircraft and killing nine passengers. Read more
• 1979 — Uganda–Tanzania War: Ugandan government forces fled Masaka as the Tanzania People's Defence Force bombarded and captured the town. Read more
• 1978 — Five men disappeared after attending a college basketball game in Chico, California; the bodies of four of them were discovered months later. Read more
• 1968 — Vietnam War: Led by Ngô Quang Trưởng, South Vietnamese forces recaptured the citadel of Huế. Read more
• 1943 — World War II: The Battle of Kasserine Pass, the first major engagement between American and Axis forces in Africa, ended with the Allied forces suffering heavy losses. Read more
• 1868 — Andrew Johnson became the first U.S. president to be impeached. Read more
• 1826 — The Treaty of Yandabo was signed, ending the First Anglo-Burmese War, the longest and most expensive war in the history of British India. Read more
• 1809 — After standing for only 15 years, the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (pictured), the third building in London of that name, burned down. Read more
• 1809 — Napoleonic Wars: The British invasion of Martinique ended with the unconditional surrender of French admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse (pictured), beginning a five-year occupation of the island. Read more
• 1803 — In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional for the first time, forming the basis of judicial review in the United States. Read more
• 1720 — War of the Quadruple Alliance: Spanish forces began a failed assault on the British settlement of Nassau in the Bahamas. Read more
• 1711 — George Frideric Handel's Rinaldo, the first Italian-language opera written specifically for the London stage, premiered. Read more
• 1607 — Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, considered the first fully developed opera, premiered in Mantua. Read more
• 303 — The Diocletianic Persecution, the last and most severe episode of the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, began with the publication of a first edict by Roman emperor Diocletian. Read more

Events

• 2022 — Russo-Ukrainian War: Days after recognising Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, Russian president Vladimir Putin orders the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Read more
• 2020 — Mahathir Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia following an attempt to replace the Pakatan Harapan government, which triggered the 2020-2022 Malaysian political crisis. Read more
• 2016 — Tara Air Flight 193, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, crashes, with 23 fatalities, in Solighopte, Myagdi District, Dhaulagiri Zone, while en route from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport. Read more
• 2015 — A Metrolink train derails in Oxnard, California following a collision with a truck, leaving more than 30 injured. Read more
• 2011 — Space Shuttle Discovery launches on its final mission, STS-133. Read more
• 2008 — Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba and the Council of Ministers after 32 years. He would remain as head of the Communist Party for another three years. Read more
• 2007 — Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea. Read more
• 2006 — Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in an attempt to subdue a possible military coup. Read more
• 2004 — The 6.3 Mw Al Hoceima earthquake strikes northern Morocco with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 628 people are killed, 926 are injured, and up to 15,000 are displaced. Read more
• 2000 — Pope John Paul II arrives in Egypt for a three-day stay as part of the Great Jubilee, marking the first papal visit in modern Egyptian history Read more
• 1999 — China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft, crashes in Rui'an, Zhejiang, China. All 61 people on board are killed. Read more
• 1996 — Two civilian airplanes operated by the Miami-based group Brothers to the Rescue are shot down in international waters by the Cuban Air Force. Read more
• 1991 — Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war. Read more
• 1989 — United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, rips open during flight, blowing nine passengers out of the business-class section. Read more
• 1984 — A child and an adult man are killed and 12 others are injured in the 49th Street Elementary School shooting in Los Angeles. Read more
• 1983 — A special commission of the United States Congress condemns the Japanese American internment during World War II. Read more
• 1981 — The 6.7 Ms Gulf of Corinth earthquake affects Central Greece with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Twenty-two people are killed, 400 are injured, and damage totals $812 million. Read more
• 1978 — The Yuba County Five disappear in California. Four of their bodies are found four months later. Read more
• 1976 — The 1976 constitution of Cuba is formally proclaimed. Read more
• 1971 — The All India Forward Bloc holds an emergency central committee meeting after its chairman, Hemantha Kumar Bose, is killed three days earlier. P. K. Mookiah Thevar is appointed as the new chairman. Read more
• 1968 — Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnamese forces led by Ngô Quang Trưởng recapture the citadel of Hué. Read more
• 1967 — Cultural Revolution: Zhang Chunqiao announces the dissolution of the Shanghai People's Commune, replacing its local government with a revolutionary committee. Read more
• 1966 — Ghanaian coup d'état by National Liberation Council overthrows Kwame Nkrumah's Government Read more
• 1949 — The Armistice Agreements are signed, to formally end the hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Read more
• 1946 — Colonel Juan Perón, founder of the political movement that became known as Peronism, is elected to his first term as President of Argentina. Read more
• 1945 — Egyptian Premier Ahmad Mahir Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree. Read more
• 1943 — World War II: First large-scale protest march resulting in clashes with the Axis occupation forces and collaborationist police in Athens against rumours of forced mobilization of Greek workers for work in Germany. Read more
• 1942 — Seven hundred ninety-one Romanian Jewish refugees and crew members are killed after the MV Struma is torpedoed by the Soviet Navy. Read more
• 1942 — Voice of America makes its first broadcast. Read more
• 1942 — The Battle of Los Angeles: A false alarm leads to an anti-aircraft barrage that lasts into the early hours of February 25. Read more
• 1920 — Nancy Astor becomes the first woman to speak in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom following her election as a Member of Parliament (MP) three months earlier. Read more
• 1920 — The Nazi Party (NSDAP) is founded by Adolf Hitler in the Hofbräuhaus beer hall in Munich, Germany. Read more
• 1918 — Estonian Declaration of Independence. Read more
• 1917 — World War I: The U.S. ambassador Walter Hines Page 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 Mexico declares war on the United States. Read more
• 1916 — The Governor-General of Korea establishes a clinic called Jahyewon in Sorokdo to segregate Hansen's disease patients. Read more
• 1895 — Revolution breaks out in Baire, a town near Santiago de Cuba, beginning the Cuban War of Independence; the war ends along with the Spanish–American War in 1898. Read more
• 1881 — China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty. Read more
• 1876 — The stage première of Peer Gynt, a play by Henrik Ibsen with incidental music by Edvard Grieg, takes place in Christiania (Oslo), Norway. Read more
• 1875 — The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high-profile civil servants and dignitaries. Read more
• 1868 — Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate. Read more
• 1863 — Arizona is organized as a United States territory. Read more
• 1854 — A Penny Red with perforations becomes the first perforated postage stamp to be officially issued for distribution. Read more
• 1848 — King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne. Read more
• 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. Read more
• 1826 — The signing of the Treaty of Yandabo marks the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War. Read more
• 1822 — The first Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, is inaugurated. Read more
• 1821 — Final stage of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain with Plan of Iguala. Read more
• 1813 — Sinking of HMS Peacock by USS Hornet on the Demerara River, Guyana. Read more
• 1812 — Treaty of Paris between Napoleon and Frederick William III of Prussia against Russia is signed. Read more
• 1809 — London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving its owner, Irish writer and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan, destitute. Read more
• 1809 — Britain invades and captures the French colony of Martinique. Read more
• 1803 — In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review. Read more
• 1739 — Battle of Karnal: The army of Iranian ruler Nader Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah. Read more
• 1711 — Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, is premièred. Read more
• 1607 — L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance. Read more
• 1597 — The last battle of the Cudgel War takes place on the Santavuori Hill in Ilmajoki, Ostrobothnia. Read more
• 1582 — With the papal bull Inter gravissimas, Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar. Read more
• 1538 — Treaty of Nagyvárad between Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and King John Zápolya of Hungary and Croatia. Read more
• 1527 — Coronation of Ferdinand I as the king of Bohemia in Prague. Read more
• 1525 — A Spanish-Austrian army defeats a French army at the Battle of Pavia. Read more

Born on February 24

• 2004 — Samuele Vignato, Italian football player Read more
• 2004 — Rafael Obrador, Spanish footballer Read more
• 2003 — Honey Osrin, British swimmer Read more
• 2000 — Antony Matheus dos Santos, Brazilian footballer Read more
• 2000 — Nichika Yamada, Japanese volleyball player Read more
• 1997 — Đurđina Jauković, Montenegrin handball player Read more
• 1996 — Royce Freeman, American football player Read more
• 1995 — Tyler Bertuzzi, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
• 1994 — Jessica Pegula, American tennis player Read more
• 1994 — Earl Sweatshirt, American rapper Read more
• 1992 — Stefan Ashkovski, Macedonian footballer Read more
• 1991 — Tim Erixon, American-Swedish ice hockey player Read more
• 1991 — Madison Hubbell, American ice dancer Read more
• 1991 — O'Shea Jackson Jr., American actor and rapper Read more
• 1991 — Semih Kaya, Turkish footballer Read more
• 1991 — Christian Kabasele, Congolese-born Belgian footballer Read more
• 1990 — Dwayne Allen, American football player Read more
• 1990 — Derek Wolfe, American football player Read more
• 1989 — Trace Cyrus, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Read more
• 1989 — Daniel Kaluuya, English actor Read more
• 1989 — Kosta Koufos, Greek-American basketball player Read more
• 1988 — Rodrigue Beaubois, French basketball player Read more
• 1988 — Alexander Koch, American actor Read more
• 1988 — Connie Ramsay, Scottish judoka Read more
• 1988 — Maksym Radziwill, Polish-Canadian mathematician Read more
• 1987 — Kim Kyu-jong, South Korean singer, dancer, and actor Read more
• 1987 — Ashley Walker, American-Romanian basketball player Read more
• 1987 — Mario Suárez, Spanish footballer Read more
• 1987 — Christopher Trimmel, Austrian footballer Read more
• 1986 — Wojtek Wolski, Polish-Canadian ice hockey player Read more
• 1985 — Nakash Aziz, Indian playback singer and composer Read more
• 1984 — Wilson Bethel, American actor Read more
• 1984 — Corey Graves, American wrestler and sportscaster Read more
• 1984 — Nani, Indian actor and film producer Read more
• 1982 — Nick Blackburn, American baseball player Read more
• 1982 — Fala Chen, Chinese actress and singer Read more
• 1982 — Klára Koukalová, Czech tennis player Read more
• 1982 — Emanuel Villa, Argentine footballer Read more
• 1981 — Jonas Andersson, Swedish ice hockey player Read more
• 1981 — Felipe Baloy, Panamanian footballer Read more

Died on February 24

• 2025 — Roberta Flack, American singer and pianist (born 1937) Read more
• 2024 — Kumar Shahani, Indian film director and screenwriter (born 1940) Read more
• 2023 — Edith Roger, Norwegian dancer and choreographer (born 1922) Read more
• 2021 — Ronald Pickup, English actor (born 1940) Read more
• 2020 — Katherine Johnson, American physicist and mathematician (born 1918) Read more
• 2018 — Sridevi, Indian actress (born 1963) Read more
• 2018 — Haukur Hilmarsson, Icelandic political activist and internationalist volunteer fighter (born 1986) Read more
• 2016 — Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (born 1943) Read more
• 2016 — Nabil Maleh, Syrian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1936) Read more
• 2016 — George C. Nichopoulos, American soldier and physician (born 1927) Read more
• 2015 — Mefodiy, Ukrainian metropolitan (born 1949) Read more
• 2015 — Rakhat Aliyev, Kazakh politician and diplomat (born 1962) Read more
• 2014 — Franny Beecher, American guitarist (born 1921) Read more
• 2014 — Alexis Hunter, New Zealand-English painter and photographer (born 1948) Read more
• 2014 — Carlos Páez Vilaró, Uruguayan painter and sculptor (born 1923) Read more
• 2014 — Harold Ramis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1944) Read more
• 2013 — Virgil Johnson, American singer (born 1935) Read more
• 2013 — Con Martin, Irish footballer and manager (born 1923) Read more
• 2012 — Agnes Allen, American baseball player and therapist (born 1930) Read more
• 2012 — Oliver Wrong, English nephrologist and academic (born 1925) Read more
• 2011 — Anant Pai, Indian author and illustrator (born 1929) Read more
• 2010 — Dawn Brancheau, senior animal trainer at SeaWorld (born 1969) Read more
• 2008 — Larry Norman, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1947) Read more
• 2007 — Bruce Bennett, American shot putter and actor (born 1906) Read more
• 2007 — Damien Nash, American football player (born 1982) Read more
• 2006 — Octavia E. Butler, American author and educator (born 1947) Read more
• 2006 — Don Knotts, American actor and comedian (born 1924) Read more
• 2006 — John Martin, Canadian broadcaster, co-founded MuchMusic (born 1947) Read more
• 2006 — Dennis Weaver, American actor, director, and producer (born 1924) Read more
• 2005 — Coşkun Kırca, Turkish diplomat, journalist and politician (born 1927) Read more
• 2004 — John Randolph, American actor (born 1915) Read more
• 2002 — Leo Ornstein, Ukrainian-American pianist and composer (born 1893) Read more
• 2001 — Theodore Marier, American composer and educator, founded the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (born 1912) Read more
• 2001 — Claude Shannon, American mathematician, cryptographer, and engineer (born 1916) Read more
• 2000 — Betty Lou Beets, American murderer (born 1937) Read more
• 1999 — Andre Dubus, American short story writer, essayist, and memoirist (born 1936) Read more
• 1998 — Antonio Prohías, Cuban-American cartoonist (born 1921) Read more
• 1998 — Henny Youngman, English-American comedian and violinist (born 1906) Read more
• 1994 — Jean Sablon, French singer and actor (born 1906) Read more
• 1994 — Dinah Shore, American actress and singer (born 1916) Read more

Holidays & observances

Christian feast day: Blessed Ascensión Nicol y Goñi; Christian feast day: Blessed Josefa Naval Girbés; Christian feast day: Lindel Tsen and Paul Sasaki (Anglican Church of Canada); Christian feast day: Modest (bishop of Trier); Christian feast day: Sergius of Cappadocia; Christian feast day: February 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Dragobete (Romania); Engineer's Day (Iran); Flag Day in Mexico; Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Estonia from the Russian Empire in 1918; the Soviet period is considered to have been an illegal annexation.; National Artist Day (Thailand); Sweden Finns' Day (Sweden)

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