On this day...

1530 First imperial coronation by a Pope-Charles V crowned by Clement V
1581 Pope Gregory approves the results of his calendar reform commission
1803 Supreme Court first rules a law unconstitutional (Marbury v. Madison)
1821 Mexico gains independence from Spain
1836 3,000 Mexicans attack 182 Texans at the Alamo, battle lasts 13 days
1839 Steam shovel patented by William Otis, Philadelphia
1848 King Louis-Philippe abdicates, 2nd French republic declared
1855 US Court of Claims established for cases against the government
1863 Arizona Territory created
1863 Forrest's raid on Brentwood, Tennessee
1868 First US parade with floats, Mobile, Alabama
1868 House of Representatives vote 126 to 47, to impeach President Andrew Johnson
1881 De Lesseps' Co. begins work on Panama Canal
1888 Louisville, Kentucky becomes first government in US to adopt Australian ballot
1894 Nicaragua captures Tegucigalpa, Honduras
1895 Cuban war of independence begins
1917 German plan to get Mexican help in WW I exposed (Zimmerman telegram)
1918 Estonia declares independence from Russia
1920 Peace treaty gives Estonia independence
1921 First transcontinental flight in 24 hrs flying time arrives Florida
1925 Thermite explosive first used to break up ice jam, Waddington, NY
1937 First US group hospital-medical cooperative authorized, Washington, DC
1938 DuPont begins commercial production of nylon toothbrush bristles
1942 Voice of America begins broadcasting (in German)
1946 Juan Peron elected president of Argentina
1948 Communist coup in Czechoslovakia
1949 V-2/WAC-Corporal, first rocket to outer space, White Sands, NM, 400
1964 Cassius Clay beats Sonny Liston for heavyweight championship
1966 Coup ousts President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana
1968 Discovery of first pulsar announced, discovered by Jocelyn Bell
1968 Gary Unger begins NHL consecutive game record of 914 games
1970 29 Swiss Army officers die in avalanche (Reckingen, Switzerland)
1974 Pakistan officially recognizes Bangladesh
1978 Kevin Porter, NJ, sets NBA record with 29 assists in a game
1979 Highest price ever paid for a pig, $42,500, Stamford, Texas
1979 War between North & South Yemen begins
1980 USA Olympic hockey team beats Finland (4-2) & wins gold medal
1981 Jean Harris is convicted of murdering Scarsdale diet doctor Tarnower
1982 Wayne Gretzky scores NHL-record 78th goal of season en route to 92
1985 Jim Kelly (Houston USFL) passes for pro football record 574 yds
1987 Radio personality Larry King suffers a heart attack
1989 Margaret Ray found in David Letterman's home, claims to be his wife
1991 US & allies begin a ground war assault on Iraqi troops (Desert Storm)

Birthdays which occurred on February 24th:

1500 Emperor Charles V, King of Spain (1516-56)
1619 Charles Le Brun, Paris, painter, designer
1766 Samuel Wesley, Bristol, England, composer, organist (Exultate Deo)
1786 Wilhelm Karl Grimm, story teller (Grimm's Fairy Tales)
1836 Winslow Homer, US, painter (Gulfstream)
1852 George Moore, Ireland, novelist (Esther Waters)
1860 Daniel Berkeley Updike, printer/publisher/writer (Printing Types)
1872 John Jarvis, England, swimmer (won 108 titles)
1874 Honus Wagner, Hall of Fame baseball shortstop
1885 Admiral Chester Nimitz, Fredericksburg TX commanded Pacific fleet in WWII
1885 Bert Lytell, NYC, actor (Henry-One Man's Family)
1885 Joseph Sprinzak, Speaker of Israeli Knesset (1949-59)
1885 Juliusz Kaden-Bandrowski, Polish novelist/satirist (Black Wings)
1890 Marjorie Main, Action Indiana, actress (Another Thin Man)
1898 Kurt Tank, German WW II aircraft designer
1909 August William Derleth, Sauk City WI, writer (Judge Peck Mysteries)
1914 Zachary Scott, Austin TX, actor (Spotlight Playhouse, Mildred Pierce)
1917 William Fairbank, Minneapolis, superconductivity physicist
1921 Abe Vigoda, NYC, actor (Barney Miller, Fish)
1922 Steven Hill, Seattle, actor (Goddess, Raw Deal, Yentl)
1924 Douglass Watson, Jackson GA, actor (Another World)
1928 Michael Harrington, St Louis, socialist/author (Fragments of Century)
1929 Richard B. Shull, Evanston IL, actor (Diana, Holmes & Yoyo)
1930 Barbara Lawrence, actress (Joe Dakota)
1932 John Vernon, Canada, actor (Animal House, Chained Heat, Dirty Harry)
1934 Linda Cristal, Buenos Aires Argentina, actress (Victoria-High Chapparal)
1938 James Farentino, Brooklyn, actor (Dead & Buried, Final Countdown)
1940 Jimmy Ellis, WBA heavyweight boxing champ (1968-70)
1944 Barry Bostwick, actor (Rocky Horror Picture Show)
1944 Sheila Larkin, Brooklyn, actress (Deborah-Storefront Lawyer)
1945 Alain Prost, Formula One racer
1945 Barry Bostwick, San Mateo CA, actor (Scruples, Foul Play)
1947 Edward James Olmos, actor (Miami Vice, Stand & Deliver, Triumph)
1947 Lonnie Turner, bassist/vocalist (Steve Miller Band)
1947 Rupert Holmes, Tenafly NJ, singer
1948 Dennis "Minder" Waterman, London England, actor (Fair Exchange)
1951 Helen Shaver, Ontario Canada, actress (WIOU, Praise of Older Women)
1955 Steven Jobs, cofounder of Apple Computer
1956 Eddie Murray, baseball fst baseman/designated hitter
1956 Paula Zahn, Napperville IL, news anchor (ABC, CBS This Morning)
1958 Susan Scannell, Lexington Mass, actress (Nicole-Dynasty)
1971 Julie Gallagher Cummings, Tyler TX, healthcare administrator, #1 sister
1977 Alexis Jose Grullon, NYC, singer (Menudo-Cannonball)

Deaths which occurred on February 24th:

1945 Ahmed Maher Pasha Egypt's Prime Minister, assassinated in parliament
1970 Conrad Nagel actor (Celebrity Time), dies at 73
1976 H. Allen Smith TV host (Armchair Detective), dies at 68
1982 Virginia Bruce actress, dies at 72
1990 Johnnie Ray singer (Cry), dies of liver failure at 61
1990 Malcolm Forbes CEO (Forbes Publishing), dies at 70 from heart attack
1990 Tony Conigliaro Red Sox baseball player, dies in Salem, MA, at 45 of kidney failure