On This Day in History

February 24

Historical Events

1525 Battle of Pavia: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V's troops defeat the French killing or wounded 5,000 and capturing French King Francis I.

1582 Pope Gregory XIII announces the New Style calendar, commonly known as the Gregorian calendar.

1821 Agustín de Iturbide and Vicente Guerrero agree to the Plan of Iguala. States 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.

Anti-aircraft guns and spotlights comb the sky above Los Angeles during the rumored Japanese attack

1942 The "Battle of Los Angeles" takes place, a series of anti-aircraft engagements over the city in response to a rumored but false Japanese attack. It would last until the morning of the following day.

1946 General Juan Perón first elected President of Argentina.

2022 Russian leader Vladimir Putin announces the start of a three day “special military operation” in Ukraine to "demilitarize" the country moments before Russia launches a full-scale pre-dawn unprovoked invasion by land, air and sea, with bombings in several cities.

More Historical Events

Famous Birthdays

Charles V 1500 - 1558 Chester Nimitz 1885 - 1966

Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011 Floyd Mayweather Jr. 47th Birthday

Also Wilhelm Grimm, George Thorogood (74) and Alain Prost (69).

More Famous Birthdays

Famous Deaths

Tommy Douglas 1904 - 1986 Claude Shannon 1916 - 2001

Also Robert Fulton, Malcolm Forbes and Sridevi Kapoor.

More Famous Deaths

The Man Who Re-wrote 'Offensive' Shakespeare

Thomas Bowdler, the man who re-wrote Shakespeare to remove the "offensive" bits, died on this day and added a new word – bowdlerise – to the language.