TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Friday, Feb. 24, the 55th day of 2023. There are 310 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight in history
On Feb. 24, 1942, the 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.
On this date:
In 1803, in its Marbury v. Madison decision, the U.S. Supreme Court established judicial review of the constitutionality of statutes.
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 1981, a jury in White Plains, N.Y., found Jean Harris guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of “Scarsdale Diet” author Dr. Herman Tarnower. (Sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, Harris was granted clemency by New York Gov. Mario Cuomo in
December 1992.)
In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down, 6-3, an Indianapolis ordinance that would have allowed women injured by someone who had seen or read pornographic material to sue the maker or seller of that material.
In 1988, in a ruling that expanded legal protections for parody and satire, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $150,000 award that the Rev. Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine and its publisher, Larry Flynt.
In 1989,
a state funeral was held in Japan for Emperor Hirohito, who had died the month before at age 87.
In 1993, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney resigned after more than eight
years in office.
In 2002, the Salt Lake City Olympics came to a close, the same day Canada won its first hockey gold in 50 years (the U.S. won silver) and three cross-country skiers were thrown out of the games for using a performance-enhancing drug.
In 2008,
Cuba’s parliament named Raul Castro president, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother Fidel.
In 2011, Discovery, the world’s most traveled spaceship, went into orbit for the final time, heading toward the International Space Station on a journey marking the beginning of the end of the shuttle era.
In 2020, former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted in New York on charges of rape and sexual assault involving two women. (Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in state prison.)
One year ago: Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launching airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions. Ukraine’s government pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee the violence. World leaders condemned the attack and many promised sanctions. Three former Minneapolis police officers were convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights by depriving Floyd of his right to medical care when Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck as the 46-yearold Black man was handcuffed and face down on the street.
Today’s birthdays
Former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., is 81. Actor Barry Bostwick is 78. Actor Edward James Olmos is 76. Singer-writer-producer Rupert Holmes is 76. Musician George Thorogood is 73. News anchor Paula Zahn is 67. Baseball Hall of Famer Eddie Murray is 67. Singer Michelle Shocked is 61. Actor Billy Zane is 57. Former boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is 46. Actor Daniel Kaluuya (“Get Out”) is 34.