What happened on February 24? There are more than 280 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About February 24
February 24 is the 55th day of the year 2024. There are 311 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday. This day falls under the 8th week of the year 2024.
On this day in San Antonio, Texas 78224 sunrise occured at 07:03 AM and sunset occured at 06:31 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Pisces. The modern birthstone for this month is Amethyst while the mystical birthstone is Bloodstone.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 340 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 22 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
February 24: A Day In History
By Roman custom, February 24 is the day added to a leap year in the Julian calendar. The Mensis Intercalaris began on this day or the following day in intercalary years in the pre-Julian calendar. This custom still has some effect around the world; for example, with respect to name days in Hungary.
Historical Events For February 24
- 303Diocletian, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Empire.
- 1303Battle of Roslin, of the First War of Scottish Independence.
- 1387King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda.
- 1538Treaty of Nagyvarad between Ferdinand I and John Zápolya.
- 1582Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar.
- 1607L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance.
- 1711The London première of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage.
- 1803In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review.
- 1809London’s Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute.
- 1822The 1st Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, is inaugurated.
- 1826The signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo marks the end of the First Burmese War.
- 1831The 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.
- 1848King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne.
- 1863Arizona is organized as a United States territory.
- 1868Andrew 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.
- 1875The 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.
- 1881China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty.
- 1895Revolution breaks out in Baire, a town near Santiago de Cuba, beginning the second war for Cuban independence, that ends with the Spanish-American War in 1898.
- 1917World War I: The 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 Mexico declares war on the United States.
- 1918Estonian Declaration of Independence.
- 1920The Nazi Party is founded.
- 1942The Battle of Los Angeles, one of the largest documented UFO sightings in history; the event lasted into the early hours of February 26, 1942.
- 1944Merrill’s Marauders: The Marauders begin their 1,000 mile journey through Japanese occupied Burma.
- 1945Egyptian Premier Ahmed Maher Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree.
- 1968Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Hué.
- 1971The All India Forward Bloc holds an emergency central committee meeting after its chairman, Hemantha Kumar Bose, is killed 3 days earlier. P.K. Mookiah Thevar is appointed as the new chairman.
- 1976Cuba: national Constitution is proclaimed.
- 1980The United States Olympic Hockey team completes their Miracle on Ice by defeating Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal.
- 1981An earthquake registering 6.7 on the Richter scale hits Athens, killing 16 people and destroying buildings in several towns west of the city.
- 1983A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II.
- 1989Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a US$3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.
- 1989United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, Hawaii, rips open during flight, sucking 9 passengers out of the business-class section.
- 1996The last occurrence of February 24 as a leap day in the European Union and for the Roman Catholic Church.
- 1999A China Southern Airlines Tupolev TU-154 airliner crashes on approach to Wenzhou airport in eastern the People’s Republic of China, killing 61.
- 1999The State of Arizona executes Karl LaGrand, a German national convicted of murder during a botched bank robbery, in spite of Germany’s legal action to attempt to save him.
- 2006Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in attempt to subdue a possible military coup.
- 2007Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.
- 2008Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years.
- 2011Final Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103).
Who Were Born On February 24?
- 1103Emperor Toba of Japan (d. 1156)
- 1304Ibn Battuta, Arabian explorer (d. c.1368)
- 1463Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Italian humanist (d. 1494)
- 1500Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1558)
- 1545Don John of Austria, Spanish military leader (d. 1578)
- 1557Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1619)
- 1595Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, Polish author and Latin Poet (d. 1640)
- 1597Vincent Voiture, French poet (d. 1648)
- 1619Charles Le Brun, French artist (d. 1690)
- 1622Johannes Clauberg, German theologian and philosopher (d. 1665)
- 1684Matthias Braun, Czech sculptor (d. 1738)
- 1693James Quin, English actor (d. 1766)
- 1709Jacques de Vaucanson, French inventor (d. 1782)
- 1723John Burgoyne, British general (d. 1792)
- 1767Buddha Loetla Nabhalai, King of Siam (d. 1824)
- 1774Prince Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge (d. 1850)
- 1786Martin W. Bates. U.S. Senator from Delaware (d. 1869)
- 1786Wilhelm Grimm, German philologist and folklorist (d. 1859)
- 1831Leo von Caprivi, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1899)
- 1836Winslow Homer, American artist (d. 1910)
- 1842Arrigo Boito, Italian composer (d. 1918)
- 1846Luigi Denza, Italian composer (d. 1922)
- 1848Andrew Inglis Clark, Tasmanian politician (d. 1907)
- 1852George A. Moore, Irish writer (d. 1933)
- 1866Hubert Van Innis, Belgian archer (d. 1961)
- 1866Pyotr Nikolaevich Lebedev, Russian physicist (d. 1912)
- 1874Honus Wagner, American baseball player (d. 1955)
- 1877Ettie Rout, New Zealand activist (d. 1936)
- 1877Rudolph Ganz, Swiss pianist, conductor and composer (d. 1972)
- 1885Chester Nimitz, U.S. admiral (d. 1966)
- 1885Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish writer and painter (d. 1939)
- 1890Marjorie Main, American actress (d. 1975)
- 1898Kurt Tank, German aeronautical engineer and test pilot (d. 1983)
- 1903Vladimir Bartol, Slovene writer (d. 1967)
- 1909August Derleth, American writer (d. 1971)
- 1912Jiří Trnka, Czech puppet maker, illustrator, motion-picture animator and film director (d. 1969)
- 1914Ralph Erskine, British architect (Byker Wall) (d. 2005)
- 1914Weldon Kees, American poet, musician, painter (d. 1955)
- 1914Zachary Scott, American actor (d. 1965)
- 1919Árpád Bogsch, Hungarian turned American international civil servant (d. 2004)
- 1919Betty Marsden, English comedy actress (d. 1998)
- 1920Ernst Reiss, Swiss mountaineer (d. 2010)
- 1921Abe Vigoda, American actor
- 1921Douglass Watson, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1921Gaston Reiff, Belgian athlete (d. 1992)
- 1922Richard Hamilton, English painter
- 1922Steven Hill, American actor
- 1923David Soyer, American cellist (d. 2010)
- 1924Erik Nielsen, Canadian politician (d. 2008)
- 1926Jean Alexander, English actress
- 1926John Gunther Dean, American diplomat
- 1927Emmanuelle Riva, French actress
- 1928Barbara Lawrence, American actress
- 1931Dominic Chianese, American actor
- 1932John Vernon, Canadian actor (d. 2005)
- 1932Michel Legrand, French composer
- 1933Judah Folkman, American cancer researcher (d. 2008)
- 1934Bettino Craxi, Prime Minister of Italy (d. 2000)
- 1934Linda Cristal, Argentina-born actress
- 1934Renata Scotto, Italian soprano
- 1938James Farentino, American actor
- 1938Kathleen Margaret Richardson, Baroness Richardson of Calow, British Baroness and Methodist reverend
- 1938Phil Knight, American sportswear manufacturer
- 1940Denis Law, Scottish footballer
- 1940Pete Duel, American actor (d. 1971)
- 1941Joanie Sommers, American singer and actress
- 1942Colin Bond, Australian racing driver
- 1942Joe Lieberman, American politician
- 1942Paul Jones, English singer (Manfred Mann)
- 1943Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian mountaineer (d. 1984)
- 1943Kent Haruf, American novelist
- 1943Pablo Milanés, Cuban musician
- 1943Terry Semel, American business executive
- 1944Nicky Hopkins, British musician (d. 1994)
- 1945Barry Bostwick, American actor
- 1946Grigory Margulis, Russian mathematician
- 1946John Stapleton, English television presenter
- 1947Edward James Olmos, American actor
- 1947Mike Fratello, American basketball head coach
- 1947Rupert Holmes, English musician
- 1948Dennis Waterman, British actor
- 1948J. Jayalalithaa, Indian politician
- 1948Tim Staffell, English singer
- 1948Walter Smith, Scottish football manager
- 1950George Thorogood, American singer and guitarist
- 1950Steve McCurry, American photojournalist
- 1951Debra Jo Rupp, American actress
- 1951Helen Shaver, Canadian actress
- 1951Tony Holiday, German singer (d. 1990)
- 1954Ann Bell, American Teacher, Entrepreneur and Children’s Book Author
- 1955Alain Prost, French race car driver
- 1955Eddie L. Johnson, retired American professional basketball player and sex offender
- 1955Steve Jobs, American computer pioneer (d. 2011)
- 1956Eddie Murray, American baseball player
- 1956Judith Butler, American philosopher
- 1956Paula Zahn, American journalist
- 1956Peter Pagel, German footballer (d. 2010)
- 1958Mark Moses, American actor
- 1958Plastic Bertrand, Belgian singer
- 1958Sammy Kershaw, American musician
- 1959Beth Broderick, American actress
- 1959Owen Gleiberman, American film critic
- 1960Nick Esasky, American baseball player
- 1962Michelle Shocked, American musician
- 1962Outi Mäenpää, Finnish actress
- 1962Teri Weigel, American pornographic actress
- 1963Mike Vernon, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1964Andy Crane, British children’s television presenter
- 1964Russell Ingall, Australian racing driver
- 1964Todd Field, American actor and film director
- 1965Jane Swift, American politician
- 1965Lloyd McGrath, former English footballer
- 1966Ben Miller, English comedian, director and actor
- 1966Billy Zane, American actor
- 1966René Arocha, Cuban baseball player
- 1968Mitch Hedberg, American comedian (d. 2005)
- 1970Jeff Garcia, American football player
- 1970Jonathan Ward, American television and movie actor
- 1970Kienast quintuplets, American quintuplets
- 1971Brian Savage, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1971Josh Bernstein, American explorer and television host
- 1971Pedro de la Rosa, Spanish Formula One driver
- 1972Manon Rhéaume, Canadian female ice hockey player
- 1973Alexei Kovalev, Russian ice hockey player
- 1973Chris Fehn, American percussionist (Slipknot)
- 1973Christína Papadáki, Greek tennis player
- 1973Richard Clapp, Canadian baseball player
- 1973Yordan Yovchev, Bulgarian gymnast
- 1974Bonnie Somerville, American actress and singer
- 1974Chad Hugo, American musician (N*E*R*D) and producer (The Neptunes)
- 1974Karim Bagheri, Iranian footballer
- 1974Mike Lowell, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1975Ashley MacIsaac, Canadian fiddler
- 1975Maurizio Giuliano, writer and traveller
- 1976Bradley McGee, Australian cyclist
- 1976Crista Flanagan, American comedian
- 1976Eric Griffin, American rock guitarist
- 1976Marco Campos, Brazilian racing driver (d. 1995)
- 1976Matt Skiba, American musician (Alkaline Trio, Heavens)
- 1976Zach Johnson, American golfer
- 1977Bronson Arroyo, American baseball player
- 1977Floyd Mayweather Jr, American boxer
- 1977Jason Akermanis, Australian footballer
- 1977Jay Kenneth Johnson, American actor
- 1978John Nolan, American musician (Straylight Run)
- 1978Shinya, Japanese musician (Dir en grey)
- 1979Claire Cooper, English actress
- 1979Jesse Billauer, American quadriplegic surfer
- 1980Anton Maiden, Swedish rock music fan (d. 2003)
- 1980Roman Sloudnov, Russian swimmer
- 1980Shinsuke Nakamura, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1981Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player
- 1981Mauro Rosales, Argentinian footballer
- 1981Mohammad Sami, Pakistani cricketer
- 1982Emanuel Villa, Argentine footballer
- 1982Fala Chen, Chinese-American actress and beauty pageant titleholder
- 1982Kevin O'Neill, New Zealand rugby player
- 1982Klára Zakopalová, Czech tennis player
- 1982Nick Blackburn, American baseball player
- 1984Clivio Piccione, Monegasque racing driver
- 1984Sterling James Keenan, American professional wrestler
- 1985Britney Stevens, American pornographic actress
- 1986Wojtek Wolski, Polish/Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987Chieko Kawabe, Japanese singer, model and actress
- 1987Kim Kyu Jong, Korean singer (SS501)
- 1987Mayuko Iwasa, Japanese entertainer and model
- 1989Kosta Koufos, American basketball player
- 1989Trace Cyrus, American musician
- 1991Madison Hubbell, American ice dancer
- 1994Earl Sweatshirt, American rapper part of the collective OFWGKTA
Who Died On February 24?
- 616King Ethelbert of Kent
- 1525Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet, French soldier
- 1563Francis, Duke of Guise, French soldier and politician (b. 1519)
- 1588Johann Weyer, Dutch physician and occultist
- 1666Nicholas Lanier, English composer (b. 1588)
- 1674Matthias Weckmann, German composer (b. 1616)
- 1685Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle, English politician and military leader (b. 1629)
- 1704Marc-Antoine Charpentier, French composer (b. 1643)
- 1714Edmund Andros, English governor in North America (b. 1637)
- 1721John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English statesman and poet (b. 1648)
- 1732Colonel Francis Charteris, known as “The Rape-Master General”. (b. 1675)
- 1777King Joseph I of Portugal (b. 1714)
- 1779Paul Daniel Longolius, German encyclopedist (b. 1704)
- 1781Edward Capell, English critic (b. 1713)
- 1799Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German physicist (b. 1742)
- 1810Henry Cavendish, English scientist (b. 1731)
- 1812Etienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (b. 1775)
- 1815Robert Fulton, American inventor (b. 1765)
- 1824Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, Royal Navy admiral (b. 1755)
- 1825Thomas Bowdler, English physician and editor (b. 1754)
- 1856Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1792)
- 1876Joseph Jenkins Roberts, first President of Liberia (b. 1809)
- 1879Shiranui Kōemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 11th Yokozuna (b. 1825)
- 1914Joshua Chamberlain, Civil War hero for the Union on Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg (b. 1828)
- 1925Hjalmar Branting, Prime Minister of Sweden, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1860)
- 1927Sir Edward Marshall Hall, English barrister (b. 1858)
- 1929André Messager, French composer and conductor (b. 1853)
- 1953Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal (b. 1875)
- 1970Conrad Nagel, American actor (b. 1897)
- 1975Nikolai Bulganin, Premier of the Soviet Union (b. 1895)
- 1982Virginia Bruce, American actress and singer (b. 1910)
- 1984Helmut Schelsky, German sociologist (b. 1912)
- 1986Tommy Douglas, Canadian politician (b. 1904)
- 1987Jim Connors, American radio personality (b. 1940)
- 1989Sparky Adams, American baseball player (b. 1894)
- 1990Johnnie Ray, American singer (b. 1927)
- 1990Malcolm Forbes, American publisher (b. 1917)
- 1990Sandro Pertini, Italian politician (b. 1896)
- 1990Tony Conigliaro, American baseball player (b. 1945)
- 1991George Gobel, American comedian (b. 1919)
- 1991John Daly, South African game show host (b. 1914)
- 1991Webb Pierce, American music singer (b. 1921)
- 1993Bobby Moore, English footballer (b. 1941)
- 1993Danny Gallivan, Canadian radio and television sportscaster (b. 1917)
- 1994Dinah Shore, American actress and singer (b. 1916)
- 1994Jean Sablon, French singer (b. 1906)
- 1998Antonio Prohías, Cuban-born cartoonist (b. 1921)
- 1998Clara Fraser, American feminist and activist (b. 1923)
- 1998Henny Youngman, English-born comedian (b. 1906)
- 1999Andre Dubus, American writer (b. 1936)
- 1999David Eccles, 1st Viscount Eccles, British politician and peer (b. 1904)
- 1999Frank Leslie Walcott, Barbadian labour leader (b. 1916)
- 2001Claude E. Shannon, American information theorist (b. 1916)
- 2001Theodore Marier, KCSG, American composer, founder of the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (b. 1912)
- 2002Arthur Lyman, American jazz vibraphone and marimba player (b. 1932)
- 2002Leo Ornstein, Russian-born composer and pianist (b. 1912)
- 2003Bernard Loiseau, French chef (b. 1951)
- 2003John Edward Christopher Hill, English historian (b. 1912)
- 2004John Randolph, American actor (b. 1915)
- 2006Denis Twitchett, Cambridge scholar, and Chinese historian (b. 1925)
- 2006Dennis Weaver, American actor (b. 1924)
- 2006Don Knotts, American actor (b. 1924)
- 2006John Martin, Canadian broadcaster (b. 1947)
- 2006Octavia Butler, American author and MacArthur Foundation Fellow (b. 1947)
- 2007Bruce Bennett, American actor (b. 1906)
- 2007Damien Nash, American football player (b. 1982)
- 2007Lamar Lundy, American football player (b. 1935)
- 2007Leroy Jenkins, American composer and violinist (b. 1932)
- 2008Larry Norman, American musician, singer, songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
- 2009C. R. Johnson, American freestyle skier (b. 1983)
- 2011Anant Pai, Indian educationalist and creator of comics (b. 1929)
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