TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SATURDAY, FEB. 24, the 55th day of 2018. There are 310 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1868, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson by a vote of 126-47 following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate.
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII issued an edict outlining his calendar reforms. The Gregorian Calendar is the calendar in general use today.
In 1761, Boston lawyer James Otis Jr. went to court to argue against “writs of assistance” that allowed British customs officers to arbitrarily search people’s premises, declaring: “A man’s house is his castle.” Although Otis lost the case, his statement provided early inspiration for American independence.
In 1920, the German Workers Party, which later became the Nazi Party, met in Munich to adopt its platform.
In 1937, Mexico observed the first holiday honoring its national flag.
In 1942, the SS Struma, a charter ship attempting to carry nearly 800 Jewish refugees from Romania to British-mandated Palestine, was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in the Black Sea; all but one of the refugees perished.
In 1968, “Fleetwood Mac,” the group’s debut album, was released in the
United Kingdom on the Blue Horizon label.
In 1975, the Congressional Budget Office, charged with providing independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues, began operating under its first director, Alice Rivlin.
In 1988, in a ruling that expanded legal protections for parody and satire, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $150,000 award that the Rev. Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine and its publisher, Larry Flynt.
In 1996, Cuba downed two small American planes operated by the group Brothers to the Rescue that it claimed were violating Cuban airspace; all four pilots were killed.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor-singer Dominic Chianese is 87. Singer Joanie Sommers is 77. Actor Barry Bostwick is 73. Actor Edward James Olmos and singer-writer-producer Rupert Holmes are 71. Rock singer-musician George Thorogood is 68. Actresses Debra Jo Rupp and Helen Shaver are 67. Country singer Sammy Kershaw and actor Mark Moses are 60. Singer Michelle Shocked is 56. Movie director Todd Field is 54. Actor Billy Zane is 52. Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is 41. Rhythm-andblues singer Brandon Brown (Mista) and rock musician Matt McGinley (Gym Class Heroes) are 35. Actor Daniel Kaluuya (Film: “Get Out”) is 29.