February 24th Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1525 Battle of Pavia: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V‘s troops beat the French. French King Francois I captured, 15,000 killed or wounded

1582 Pope Gregory XIII announces New Style (Gregorian) calendar

1739 Battle of Karnal: Army of Iranian ruler Nadir Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah

1821 Agustín de Iturbide and Vicente Guerrero agree to the Plan of Iguala, stating that Mexico will become a constitutional monarchy, Roman Catholicism the official religion and that Peninsulares and Creoles will enjoy equal political and social rights

1868 US House of Representatives vote 126 to 47 to impeach President Andrew Johnson

1946 General Juan Perón first elected President of Argentina

2008 Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba due to ill health after nearly fifty years

2022 Russian leader Vladimir Putin announces the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine to “demilitarize” the country moments before Russia launches a full-scale pre-dawn invasion by land, air and sea, with bombings in several cities amid international condemnation [1] [2]

Today’s Historical Events

1152 English cleric and writer Geoffrey of Monmouth consecrated as Bishop of St Asaph at Lambeth

1208 St Francis of Assisi, 26, received his vocation in Portiuncula Italy

1296 Pope Boniface VIII decree Clericis Iaicos

1387 King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda

1389 Battle at Falköping: Danes defeat King Albert of Sweden

1496 England’s Henry VII ends commercial dispute with Flanders

1510 Pope Julius II excommunicates the republic of Venice

1525 Battle of Pavia: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V‘s troops beat the French. French King Francois I captured, 15,000 killed or wounded

Today’s Historical Events in Flim and TV

1955 12th Golden Globes: “On The Waterfront”, Marlon Brando, & Judy Garland win

1969 “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” film based on novel by Muriel Spark directed by Ronald Neame, starring Maggie Smith (Academy Award Best Actress) premieres in London

1969 26th Golden Globes: “The Lion in Winter”, Peter O’Toole, & Joanne Woodward win

1970 KVDO TV channel 3 in Salem, OR (IND) begins broadcasting

1980 Revival of Brian Clark’s stage drama “Whose Life is it Anyway?” starring Mary Tyler Moore and James Naughton, and directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, opens at the Royale Theatre, NYC; runs for 96 performances

1987 American radio and television personality Larry King suffers a heart attack

1989 Stalker Margaret Ray found in David Letterman‘s home, claims to be his wife

1999 41st Grammy Awards: “My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme From Titanic)” and Lauryn Hill win

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1607 Claudio Monteverdi’s opera “L’Orfeo” premieres in Mantua, oldest opera still regularly performed

1711 George Frideric Handel‘s opera “Rinaldo” premieres at Haymarket theatre in London

1939 Roy Harris‘ 3rd Symphony premieres in Boston

1951 “Bless You All” closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 84 performances

1955 Cole Porter‘s final Broadway musical “Silk Stockings”, loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel’s “Ninotchka”, opens at the Imperial Theatre, NYC; runs for 478 performances

1956 Walter Piston‘s 5th Symphony, commissioned by the Juilliard School of Music for their 50th anniversary, premiere performance by the Juilliard Orchestra, conducted by Jean Morel

1962 “New Faces of ’62” closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 28 performances

1962 “Sail Away” closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 167 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1917 Red Sox sell Smokey Joe Wood, his arm dead at 26, to Cleveland for $15,000

1932 Malcolm Campbell sets world land speed record speed of 253.96 mph driving his famous Blue Bird car at Daytona Beach, Florida

1952 Canada wins 6th Olympic ice hockey title courtesy of a final round 3-3 tie with the US at the Oslo Winter Games; Canadian center Billy Gibson top scores with 19 points

1952 Norway goes 1-2 in the men’s ski jumping event at the Oslo Winter Olympics with Arnfinn Bergmann winning gold ahead of teammate Torbjørn Falkanger

1960 Austria goes 1-2 in the men’s slalom at the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics; Ernst Hintersteer wins gold ahead of teammate Hias Leitner

1963 5th Daytona 500: Tiny Lund driving for Wood Bros Racing, wins on 4 pit stops as first 10 laps run under caution flag because of rain

1968 Gary Unger begins NHL consecutive game record of 914 games

1974 Dutch speed skater Atje Keulen-Deelstra becomes Women’s Allround World Champion at Heerenveen, Netherlands, her third consecutive title and fourth in 5 years