History of the Day for:
February 24
- 1803: In its Marbury vs. Madison decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was the final interpreter of constitutional issues.
- 1821: Mexico declared its independence from Spain.
- 1863: Arizona was organized as a territory.
- 1868: The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate; the first U.S. parade with floats took place in Mobile, Ala.
- 1903: The United States signed an agreement acquiring a naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
- 1918: Estonia declared its independence from Russia.
- 1942: The Voice of America went on the air for the first time.
- 1945: U.S. servicemen liberated Manila, Philippine from the control of the Japanese.
- 1980: The U.S. hockey team defeated Finland, 4-2, to clinch the gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.
- 1981: Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Britain's Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer.
- 1988: In a ruling that expanded legal protections for parody and satire, the Supreme Court overturned a $200,000 award that the Reverend Jerry Falwell had won against "Hustler" magazine and publisher Larry Flynt.
- 1989: A 150-million-year-old fossil egg containing the oldest dinosaur embryo was discovered in Utah.
- 2006: Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in attempt to subdue a possible military coup.
- 2007: Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.
- 2008: Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years.