Welcome to Today In History for Tuesday, February 24, 2026.

On this day in history ..

• 0303 - 1st official Roman edict for persecution of Christians issued
• 1208 - St Francis of Assisi, 26, received his vocation in Portiuncula Italy
• 1296 - Pope Boniface VIII degree Clericis Iaicos
• 1389 - Battle at Falk”ping: 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 at Pavia: Emperor Karel V's troops beat French king
• 1525 - Fran‡ois I caught taken/8700 killed
• 1525 - Imperial forces defeat French in battle of Pavia
• 1527 - Ferdinand of Austria crowned as king of Bohemia
• 1528 - Hungarian anti-king J nos Z polyai & Sultan Suleiman signs treaty
• 1530 - 1st imperial coronation by a Pope, Charles V crowned by Clement V
• 1538 - King Ferdinand of Austria & King J nos Z polyai of Hungary sign Peace of Grosswardein
• 1541 - Santiago, Chile founded by Pedro de Valvidia (or 2/12)
• 1552 - Privileges of Hanseatic League in England are abrogated
• 1582 - Pope Gregory XIII announces New Style (Gregorian) calendar
• 1597 - Flemish painter Frederick of Valckenborch becomes porter of Frankfurt-on-Main
• 1607 - Claudio Monteverdi's opera "Orfeo," premieres in Mantua
• 1613 - English princess Elizabeth marries earl Frederik of Palts
• 1708 - Prince Johan Willem Friso sworn in as viceroy of Groningen
• 1711 - Handel's opera "Rinaldo" premieres, London
• 1779 - George Rogers Clark captures Vincennes (Ind) from British
• 1786 - Charles Cornwallis appointed governor-general of India
• 1793 - French troops conquer Breda
• 1803 - Supreme Court 1st rules a law unconstitutional (Marbury v Madison)
• 1807 - 17 die & 15 wounded in a crush to witness execution of Holloway, Heggerty & Elizabeth Godfrey in England
• 1821 - Mexico gains independence from Spain
• 1835 - Siwinowe Kesibwi (Shawnee Sun) is 1st Indian lang monthly mag
• 1836 - 3,000 Mexicans attack 182 Texans at Alamo, 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 forms for cases against govt
• 1857 - 1st perforated US postage stamps delivered to govt
• 1857 - LA Vineyard Society organized
• 1863 - Arizona Territory created
• 1863 - Forrest's raid on Brentwood, Tennessee
• 1864 - -Feb 25] Battle of Tunnel Hill, GA (Buzzard's Roost)
• 1868 - 1st US parade with floats (Mardi Gras-Mobile Alabama)
• 1868 - House of Reps vote 126 to 47, to impeach President Andrew Johnson
• 1876 - Henrik Ibsen's "Peer Gynt," premieres in Oslo
• 1881 - De Lesseps' Co begins work on Panama Canal
• 1888 - Louisville, Ky becomes 1st govt in US to adopt Australian ballot
• 1891 - French troops under capt Archinard occupy Di‚na West Sudan
• 1894 - Nicaragua captures Tegucigalpa, Honduras (National Day, sort of)
• 1895 - Cuban war for independence begins
• 1896 - Victoria all out for 43 vs South Australia, Jones 6-15 Jarvis 4-27
• 1902 - Battle at Yzer Spruit: Boer general De la Rey beats British
• 1903 - US signs agreement acquiring a naval station at Guantanamo Bay Cuba
• 1905 - Simplon tunnel in Switzerland completed
• 1914 - Frank Craven's "Too Many Cooks," premieres in NYC
• 1917 - German plan to get Mexican help in WW I exposed (Zimmerman telegram)
• 1917 - Red Sox sell Smokey Joe Wood, his arm dead at 26, to Cleve for $15,000
• 1917 - Russian revolution breaks out (3/8 NS)
• 1918 - Estonia declares independence from Russia
• 1920 - NSDAP begins at Hofbr„uhaus Mnich
• 1920 - Peace treaty gives Estonia independence
• 1921 - 1st transcontinental flight in 24 hrs flying time arrives Florida
• 1923 - Flying Scotsman goes into service
• 1923 - Mass arrests in US of mafia
• 1924 - Greek parliament proclaims republic
• 1924 - Johnny Weissmuller, swims 100m record (57 2/5 secs)
• 1924 - Mahatma Gandhi released from jail
• 1925 - Thermit explosive 1st used to break up ice jam, Waddington, NY
• 1927 - John Golden Theater (Theatre Masque) opens at 252 W 45th St NYC
• 1932 - Malcolm Campbell drives record speed (253.96 mph) at Daytona
• 1933 - Final demonstration of German communist party in Berlin
• 1933 - League of Nations tells Japanese to pull out of Manchuria
• 1937 - 1st US group hospital-medical cooperative authorized, Wash, DC
• 1938 - Du Pont begins commercial production of nylon toothbrush bristles
• 1939 - Roy Harris' 3rd Symphony, premieres in Boston
• 1940 - Frances Langford records "When You Wish Upon a Star"
• 1941 - 43 Geuzen resistance fighter trial opens in the Hague
• 1941 - Anti nazi meeting at Noordermarkt Amsterdam
• 1942 - Voice of America begins broadcasting (in German)
• 1943 - Gen-major Bradley flies to Algiers
• 1943 - Texas League announces it will quit for the duration of WW II
• 1944 - Argentina coup by Juan Peron minister of war
• 1945 - Egypt & Syria declares war on nazi-Germany
• 1945 - Manila freed from Japanese
• 1945 - Nazi occupiers begin state of siege
• 1946 - Juan Peron elected President of Argentina
• 1948 - Communist Party seizes complete control of Czechoslovakia
• 1949 - Israel & Egypt sign an armistice agreement
• 1949 - V-2/WAC-Corporal 1st rocket to outer space, White Sands, NM, 400 km
• 1950 - Labour wins British parliamentary election
• 1951 - "Bless You All" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 84 perfs
• 1951 - Ice Pairs Championship at Milan won by Ria Baran & Paul Falk of GER
• 1951 - Ladies Figure Skating Champion in Milan won by Jeanette Altwegg of GRB
• 1951 - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Milan won by Richard Button USA
• 1952 - Betty MacKinnon & Sam Snead wins LPGA Orlando Mixed Golf Tournament
• 1955 - "Silk Stockings" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 461 performances
• 1955 - Pact of Baghdad between Iraq & Turkey signed
• 1960 - Italian govt of Segni falls
• 1960 - US beats Germany in Olympic hockey finals round, 9-1
• 1961 - Explorer (10) fails to reach Earth orbit
• 1962 - "New Faces of '62" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 28 performances
• 1962 - "Sail Away" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 167 performances
• 1962 - General mobilization in Indonesia over New-Guinea
• 1962 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1964 - Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston for the heavyweight boxing title
• 1965 - Beatles begin filming "Help" in Bahamas
• 1965 - East German president Ulbricht visits Egypt
• 1966 - Coup ousts Pres Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana
• 1966 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1968 - "Darling of the Day" closes at George Abbott NYC after 31 perfs
• 1968 - 1st pulsar discovered (CP 1919 by Jocelyn Burnell at Cambridge)
• 1968 - Discovery of 1st pulsar announced
• 1968 - Gary Unger begins NHL consecutive game record of 914 games
• 1968 - Jocelyn Bell discovers 1st pulsar
• 1968 - US troops reconquer Hue Vietnam
• 1969 - Mariner 6 launched for Mars flyby
• 1970 - 29 Swiss Army officers die in avalanche (Reckingen, Switzerland)
• 1970 - Heintje Simons (14) wins 7 gold records
• 1970 - KVDO TV channel 3 in Salem, OR (IND) begins broadcasting
• 1971 - Algeria nationalizes French oil companies
• 1974 - Atje Keulen-Deelstra becomes world champ all-round skater
• 1974 - Pakistan officially recognizes Bangladesh
• 1976 - Cuba adopts its constitution
• 1976 - Jules Feiffer's "Knock Knock," premieres in NYC
• 1976 - Leonid Brezhnev opens 25th congress of CPSU
• 1977 - Pres Carter announces US foreign aid will consider human rights
• 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 - "Canterbury Tales" closes at Rialto Theater NYC after 16 performances
• 1980 - Joanne Carner Ladies wins LPGA Bent Tree Golf Classic
• 1980 - Rangers score 5 power-play goals against Islanders
• 1980 - USA Olympic hockey team defeated Finland, 4-2, to win the gold medal
• 1981 - Boston Celtics begin 18 NBA game win streak
• 1981 - Britain's Prince Charles announces engagement to Lady Diana Spencer
• 1981 - Jean Harris is convicted of murdering Scarsdale diet doctor Tarnower
• 1982 - 24th Grammy Awards: Betty Davis Eyes, Double Fantasy wins
• 1982 - Wayne Gretzky scores NHL-record 78th goal of season en route to 92
• 1983 - Dow Jones closes above 1100 mark for 1st time
• 1983 - USSR performs underground nuclear test
• 1984 - Iraq resumes air attack on Iran
• 1985 - Amy Alcott wins LPGA Circle K Golf Open Tucson
• 1985 - Birendra, Bir Bikram Shah Dev crowned King of Nepal
• 1985 - Jim Kelly (Houston USFL) passes for pro football record 574 yds
• 1985 - Yul Brynner reprised his role in "The King & I"
• 1986 - Texas Air buys Eastern Airlines for $676 million
• 1986 - Voyager 2, 1st Uranus flyby
• 1987 - 29th Grammy Awards: Higher Love, Graceland, Bruce Hornsby wins
• 1987 - LA Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scores his 36,000th NBA point
• 1987 - Radio personality Larry King suffers a heart attack
• 1988 - Matti Nykanen becomes winter olympics 1st triple gold medalist
• 1988 - South African apartheid regime bans the UDF
• 1988 - Supreme Ct votes 8-0 Jerry Falwell cannot collect for Hustler parody
• 1989 - 150-million-year-old fossil egg (oldest dinosaur embryo) found
• 1989 - Harold E Ballard sells CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats to David Braley
• 1989 - Margaret Ray found in David Letterman's home, claims to be his wife
• 1989 - US Boeing 747 loses parts of roof over Pacific, 9 die
• 1989 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1989 - Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers $1M-$3M bounty on Salman Rushdie's death due to his novel, "Satanic Verses"
• 1990 - Beth Daniel wins LPGA Orix Hawaiia Ladies Golf Open
• 1991 - "Those Were The Days" closes at Edison Theater NYC after 126 perfs
• 1991 - End of World League of American Football's (WLAF) 1st draft
• 1991 - US & allies begin a ground war assault on Iraqi troops
• 1993 - 35th Grammy Awards: Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton wins
• 1994 - Scoreboard is unveiled at new Cleve Indians' park (Jacobs Field)
• 1995 - Dow-Jones hits record 4011.74
• 1996 - Cuba downs 2 US planes
• 1996 - Meg Mallon wins LPGA Cup o' Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Golf Open
• 1997 - Deng Xiaoping, leader of China, cremated (died Feb 19th)
• 1997 - South Africa announces it is constructing largest modern day blimp
• 1998 - Elton John knighted
• 1998 - NHL resumes season since Feb 8th to accomodate the Olympics
• 2002 - XIX winter olympics closes in Salt Lake City Utah/Quebec City