February 24
Today in America's Present Past
1721 | Politician and physician John McKinly was born.
1779 | War of Independence: George Rogers Clark captures Vincennes from England. Clark led a daring winter march through flooded plains to surprise the British at Fort Sackville. The victory secured the “Old Northwest” (Illinois and Indiana) for the United States.
1781 | War of Independence: Pyle’s Massacre. Also known as Pyle’s Defeat, a Patriot force led by Henry Lee surprised and decimated a group of Loyalists in North Carolina during the Southern Campaign.
1803 | SCOTUS: Court decided Marbury v. Madison. Chief Justice Marshall issued a ruling that created Judicial Review.
1815 | Entrepreneur Robert Fulton died.
1836 | Painter Winslow Homer was born.
1863 | Civil War: Confederate forces raid Brentwood, Tennessee.
1864 | Civil War: The Battle of Tunnel Hill, Georgia.
1868 | First U.S. parade features “floats” in Mobile, Alabama, for Mardi Gras led by the “Order of Myths.”
1868 | POTUS: By a vote of 126 to 47, the House impeached President Johnson for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” primarily centered on his violation of the Tenure of Office Act. He was the first president to be impeached.
1881 | Construction on the Panama Canal began. The French effort led by Ferdinand de Lesseps failed. Later, the U.S. completed the project.
1885 | Admiral Chester Nimitz was born.
1886 | Thomas Edison wed Mina Miller.
1893 | Congress: Established the charter for American University in Washington, D.C.
1899 | Western Washington University was established.
1913 | Economist Richard M. Goodwin was born.
1921 | Actor Abe Vigoda was born.
1930 | SCOTUS: Justice Charles Evans Hughes was sworn in.
1938 | Entrepreneur Phil Knight was born.
1942 | WWII: The Battle of Los Angeles, a literal panic attack of an entire city. Just one day after the Ellwood shelling, a massive anti-aircraft barrage was launched over L.A. in response to a suspected (but likely non-existent) Japanese air raid. The “battle” was caused by war jitters and a stray weather balloon.
1942 | Politician Joe Lieberman was born.
1947 | Actor Edward James Olmos was born.
1955 | Entrepreneur Steve Jobs was born.
1966 | Actor Billy Zane was born.
1968 | Vietnam War: U.S. forces recapture Hue, Vietnam. After weeks of brutal house-to-house fighting following the Tet Offensive.
1972 | Priscilla and Elvis Presley separate.
1977 | POTUS: Democrat President Carter decreed that foreign aid should considered human rights.
1977 | Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
1980 | During the Winter Olympics the U.S. beat the Soviets on the 22nd, but they officially secured the Gold Medal by defeating Finland.
1983 | Congress: A committee report condemns the U.S. policy of Japanese-American internment during WWII. The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) released its report, “Personal Justice Denied,” concluding that the internment of Japanese Americans was a “grave injustice” fueled by “race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership.”
1990 | Publisher Malcolm Forbes died.
1991 | Gulf War: Operation Desert Saber, began. This was the start of the massive ground offensive of the Gulf War. It lasted only 100 hours before Kuwait was liberated and a ceasefire was declared.
1994 | Entertainer Dinah Shore died.
2020 | Author Clive Cussler died.