On This Day: February 24

This is the 55th day of the year.

Fact of the Day: postage stamp with perforations

The first postage stamp with perforations was issued on February 24, 1857: the one-cent blue Benjamin Franklin. Originally issued in sheets on July 1, 1851, the stamp bore the inscriptions "U.S. Postage" and "One Cent." The picture on the stamp was modeled on the bust of Franklin by Jean Jacques Caffieri. Previous to that, people had to cut apart sheets of stamps.

Holidays

Feast day of St. Praetextatus and Saints Montanus, Lucius, and their Companions.

Estonia: Independence Day.

Mexico: Flag Day.

Events

1582 - The Gregorian Calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII; it replaced the Julian Calendar.

1803 - The Supreme Court ruled itself the final interpreter of constitutional issues.

1803 - The U.S. Supreme Court voided an Act of Congress in the case of Marbury v. Madison. It was the first time a law passed by Congress was deemed unconstitutional. This established the Supreme Court's power to rule on constitutionality questions.

1821 - Mexico declared its independence from Spain.

1863 - Arizona, formerly part of the Territory of New Mexico, was organized as a separate territory.

1868 - The U.S. House of Representatives voted 11 articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson. The House vote made President Johnson the first to be impeached in U.S. history.

1903 - The United States signed an agreement acquiring a naval station at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

1912 - Hadassah was founded to foster Jewish education in America.

1938 - Nylon toothbrush bristles were first produced in the U.S., the first commercial use of nylon.

1942 - The Voice of America hit the airwaves.

1945 - American soldiers liberated the Philippine capital of Manila from Japanese control during World War II.

1946 - Juan Domingo Perón, the controversial former vice president of Argentina, was elected president.

1968 - The Tet Offensive ended as U.S. and South Vietnamese troops recaptured the ancient capital of Hué from communist forces.

1981 - Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Britain's Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer.

1981 - A jury in White Plains, New York, found Jean Harris guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of "Scarsdale Diet" author Dr. Herman Tarnower.

1987 - The first supernova (explosion of a star) was discovered; it was the first to be observed since 1604.

1991 - After six weeks of intensive bombing against Iraq and its armed forces, US-led coalition forces launched a ground invasion of Kuwait and Iraq in the Gulf War.

2002 - The XIX Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah end.

2006 - South Dakota lawmakers approve a ban on most abortions.

Births

1786 - Wilhelm Grimm, German author of fairy tales, with brother Jacob Grimm.

1836 - Winslow Homer, American artist.

1885 - Chester W. Nimitz, American naval commander.

1947 - Rupert Holmes, American and British songwriter.

1955 - Steven Paul Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer.

Deaths

1990 - Malcolm Forbes, American publisher.

1994 - Dinah Shore (Frances Rose Shore), US pop singer, actress, and television hostess.

1998 - Henny Youngman (born Henry Youngman), British-born, Jewish-American comedian.

2006 - Dennis Weaver, American television actor.

2006 - Don Knotts, Emmy Award-winning American comedic actor, probably best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.