February 24 facts for kids

February 24 is a special day in history! Many important events have happened on this date, from ancient battles to modern scientific discoveries and political changes. It's a day when new ideas have emerged, leaders have been born, and significant moments have shaped the world we live in today.

Historical Events on February 24

Early History (Before 1600)

• 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals made changes to religious leaders, replacing some Christian bishops with others and sending some away.
• 1303 – The English army was defeated by the Scots at the Battle of Roslin during the First War of Scottish Independence.
• 1386 – King Charles III of Naples and Hungary was sadly killed in Buda.
• 1525 – A combined Spanish and Austrian army won a big victory against the French army at the Battle of Pavia.
• 1527 – Ferdinand I was crowned king of Bohemia in Prague.
• 1538 – The Treaty of Nagyvárad was signed between Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and King John Zápolya of Hungary and Croatia. This treaty helped settle some disagreements.
• 1582 – Pope Gregory XIII announced the new Gregorian calendar. This is the calendar most of the world uses today!
• 1597 – The final battle of the Cudgel War happened on Santavuori Hill in Ilmajoki, Ostrobothnia.

Important Moments (1601–1900)

• 1607 – L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi was performed for the first time. It's considered one of the very first operas ever created.
• 1711 – Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel premiered. It was the first Italian opera written specifically for the London stage.
• 1739 – At the Battle of Karnal, the army of Iranian ruler Nader Shah defeated the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah.
• 1803 – In a famous case called Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States set up the idea of judicial review. This means the Supreme Court can decide if laws are fair and follow the Constitution.
• 1809 – London's Drury Lane Theatre burned down.
• 1821 – The Mexican War of Independence from Spain reached its final stage with the Plan of Iguala.
• 1822 – The first Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, was officially opened.
• 1826 – The Treaty of Yandabo was signed, ending the First Anglo-Burmese War.
• 1831 – The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was announced. This treaty was part of the Indian Removal Act, where the Choctaw people in Mississippi gave up their land for new land in the West.
• 1848 – King Louis-Philippe of France gave up his throne.
• 1854 – The Penny Red became the first postage stamp to be officially issued with perforations, making it easier to tear off.
• 1863 – Arizona became an official United States territory.
• 1868 – Andrew Johnson became the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He was later found not guilty by the Senate.
• 1875 – The SS Gothenburg ship sank off the Australian coast after hitting the Great Barrier Reef. About 100 people died.
• 1876 – The play Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen, with music by Edvard Grieg, was performed for the first time in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway.
• 1881 – China and Russia signed the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty.
• 1895 – A Revolution started in Baire, Cuba, beginning the Cuban War of Independence. This war later ended with the Spanish–American War in 1898.

Modern Era (1901–present)

• 1916 – A clinic called Jahyewon was opened in Sorokdo to care for people with Hansen's disease.
• 1917 – World War I: The U.S. ambassador in the United Kingdom received the Zimmermann Telegram. This secret message showed that Germany wanted Mexico to declare war on the United States.
• 1918 – Estonian Declaration of Independence. Estonia declared its independence.
• 1920 – Nancy Astor became the first woman to speak in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom after being elected as a Member of Parliament (MP).
• 1942 – Many Romanian Jewish refugees and crew members died when the MV Struma ship was torpedoed by the Soviet Navy.
• 1942 – The Battle of Los Angeles: A false alarm caused anti-aircraft guns to fire for hours.
• 1945 – Egyptian Premier Ahmad Mahir Pasha was killed in Parliament.
• 1946 – Colonel Juan Perón, who started the political movement known as Peronism, was elected as President of Argentina for his first term.
• 1949 – The Armistice Agreements were signed, officially ending the fighting of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
• 1967 – Cultural Revolution: Zhang Chunqiao announced the end of the Shanghai People's Commune, replacing its local government with a new committee.
• 1968 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive was stopped. South Vietnamese forces, led by Ngo Quang Truong, recaptured the citadel of Hué.
• 1976 – The 1976 constitution of Cuba was officially announced.
• 1981 – A strong earthquake hit Central Greece. Twenty-two people died, and many were injured.
• 1983 – A special group in the United States Congress said that the Japanese American internment during World War II was wrong.
• 1989 – United Airlines Flight 811, flying to New Zealand from Honolulu, had a part of its side rip open during the flight. Nine passengers were sadly lost from the plane.
• 1991 – Gulf War: Ground troops crossed the Saudi Arabian border and entered Iraq, starting the ground part of the war.
• 1996 – Two civilian airplanes from the group Brothers to the Rescue were shot down by the Cuban Air Force in international waters.
• 2004 – A powerful earthquake hit northern Morocco. At least 628 people died, and many more were injured or lost their homes.
• 2006 – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency to stop a possible military takeover.
• 2007 – Japan launched its fourth spy satellite, improving its ability to watch for potential threats.
• 2008 – Fidel Castro stepped down as the President of Cuba after 32 years.
• 2015 – A Metrolink train derailed in Oxnard, California after hitting a truck, injuring over 30 people.
• 2016 – Tara Air Flight 193, an aircraft, crashed in Solighopte, Myagdi District, Dhaulagiri Zone, killing all 23 people on board.
• 2020 – Mahathir Mohamad resigned as Prime Minister of Malaysia, which led to a political crisis.
• 2022 – Russo-Ukrainian War: Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered a full scale invasion of Ukraine.

Famous People Born on February 24

Historical Figures (Before 1600)

• 1103 – Emperor Toba of Japan (died 1156)
• 1304 – Ibn Battuta, a famous Moroccan traveler and scholar.
• 1463 – Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, an Italian philosopher.
• 1500 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, a very powerful ruler in Europe (died 1558).
• 1536 – Pope Clement VIII (died 1605).
• 1545 – John of Austria, a military leader (died 1578).
• 1557 – Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1619).

Notable Individuals (1601–1900)

• 1619 – Charles Le Brun, a French painter and art theorist.
• 1709 – Jacques de Vaucanson, a French engineer known for his amazing mechanical inventions.
• 1743 – Joseph Banks, an English botanist and explorer who traveled with Captain Cook.
• 1774 – Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (died 1850).
• 1786 – Wilhelm Grimm, a German anthropologist and author, famous for collecting fairy tales with his brother.
• 1831 – Leo von Caprivi, a German general and Chancellor of Germany.
• 1836 – Winslow Homer, a famous American painter and illustrator.
• 1842 – Arrigo Boito, an Italian writer and composer.
• 1874 – Honus Wagner, a legendary American baseball player.
• 1885 – Chester W. Nimitz, an American admiral during World War II.

Modern Births (1901–present)

• 1908 – Telford Taylor, an American general and lawyer.
• 1914 – Ralph Erskine, a famous English-Swedish architect.
• 1921 – Abe Vigoda, an American actor.
• 1922 – Richard Hamilton, an English painter.
• 1927 – Emmanuelle Riva, a French actress.
• 1931 – Dominic Chianese, an American actor and singer.
• 1932 – Michel Legrand, a French pianist, composer, and conductor.
• 1938 – Phil Knight, an American businessman who co-founded Nike, Inc..
• 1940 – Denis Law, a famous Scottish footballer.
• 1942 – Joe Lieberman, an American lawyer and politician.
• 1947 – Edward James Olmos, an American actor and director.
• 1948 – Jayalalithaa, an Indian actress and politician.
• 1950 – George Thorogood, an American musician.
• 1951 – Debra Jo Rupp, an American actress.
• 1954 – Sid Meier, a Canadian-American game designer who created the Civilization series of video games.
• 1955 – Steve Jobs, an American businessman who co-founded Apple Computer and Pixar.
• 1955 – Alain Prost, a famous French race car driver.
• 1956 – Paula Zahn, an American journalist.
• 1959 – Beth Broderick, an American actress.
• 1961 – Erna Solberg, a Norwegian politician and former Prime Minister of Norway.
• 1963 – Sanjay Leela Bhansali, an Indian filmmaker and composer.
• 1966 – Billy Zane, an American actor and producer.
• 1967 – Brian Schmidt, an Australian astrophysicist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1968 – Mitch Hedberg, an American comedian.
• 1971 – Gillian Flynn, an American author and screenwriter.
• 1972 – Manon Rhéaume, a Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1977 – Floyd Mayweather Jr., a famous American boxer.
• 1981 – Lleyton Hewitt, an Australian tennis player.
• 1989 – Daniel Kaluuya, an English actor.
• 1991 – O'Shea Jackson Jr., an American actor and rapper.

People Who Died on February 24

Historical Figures (Before 1600)

• 616 – Æthelberht of Kent, an early English king.
• 1386 – Charles III of Naples (born 1345).
• 1496 – Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg (born 1445).
• 1525 – Jacques de La Palice, a French military officer (born 1470).
• 1530 – Properzia de' Rossi, an Italian Renaissance sculptor.
• 1563 – Francis, Duke of Guise, a French nobleman (born 1519).

Notable Individuals (1601–1900)

• 1666 – Nicholas Lanier, an English composer and painter (born 1588).
• 1704 – Marc-Antoine Charpentier, a French composer (born 1643).
• 1777 – Joseph I of Portugal (born 1714).
• 1799 – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, a German physicist and academic (born 1742).
• 1810 – Henry Cavendish, a French-English physicist and chemist (born 1731).
• 1815 – Robert Fulton, an American engineer, known for developing the first successful steamboat (born 1765).
• 1856 – Nikolai Lobachevsky, a Russian mathematician (born 1792).
• 1876 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first President of Liberia (born 1809).

Modern Deaths (1901–present)

• 1910 – Osman Hamdi Bey, a Turkish archaeologist and painter (born 1842).
• 1925 – Hjalmar Branting, a Swedish journalist and politician, and a Nobel Prize winner (born 1860).
• 1953 – Gerd von Rundstedt, a German field marshal (born 1875).
• 1975 – Nikolai Bulganin, a Russian marshal and politician (born 1895).
• 1978 – Alma Thomas, an American painter and educator (born 1891).
• 1986 – Tommy Douglas, a Scottish-Canadian minister and politician (born 1904).
• 1990 – Malcolm Forbes, an American publisher (born 1917).
• 1990 – Sandro Pertini, a former President of Italy (born 1896).
• 1993 – Bobby Moore, a famous English footballer and manager (born 1941).
• 1994 – Dinah Shore, an American actress and singer (born 1916).
• 1998 – Henny Youngman, an English-American comedian (born 1906).
• 2001 – Claude Shannon, an American mathematician and engineer, known as the "father of information theory" (born 1916).
• 2006 – Octavia E. Butler, an American author (born 1947).
• 2006 – Don Knotts, an American actor and comedian (born 1924).
• 2014 – Harold Ramis, an American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1944).
• 2018 – Sridevi, a famous Indian actress (born 1963).
• 2020 – Katherine Johnson, an American physicist and mathematician who worked for NASA (born 1918).

Holidays and Celebrations on February 24

• Christian feast day:
  • Blessed Ascensión Nicol y Goñi
  • Lindel Tsen and Paul Sasaki (Anglican Church of Canada)
  • Modest (bishop of Trier)
  • Sergius of Cappadocia
  • February 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Dragobete (Romania) – A traditional Romanian holiday celebrating love and nature, similar to Valentine's Day.
• Engineer's Day (Iran) – A day to honor engineers and their contributions.
• Flag Day in Mexico – A day to celebrate the national flag of Mexico.
• Independence Day (Estonia) – This day celebrates Estonia's independence from the Russian Empire in 1918.
• National Artist Day (Thailand) – A day to recognize talented artists in Thailand.
• Sweden Finns' Day (Sweden) – A day to celebrate the culture and language of the Swedish Finns.

See also

In Spanish: 24 de febrero para niños