Today in History
Today is Wednesday, Feb. 24, the 55th day of 2016. There are 311 days
left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Feb. 24, 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. On this date: In 1582, Pope
Gregory XIII issued an edict outlining his calendar reforms. (The
Gregorian Calendar is the calendar in general use today.) In 1803, in
its Marbury v. Madison decision, the Supreme Court established judicial
review of the constitutionality of statutes. In 1912, the American
Jewish women's organization Hadassah was founded in New York City. In
1920, the German Workers Party, which later became the Nazi Party, met
in Munich to adopt its platform. In 1938, the first nylon bristle
toothbrush, manufactured by DuPont under the name "Dr. West's Miracle
Toothbrush," went on sale. In 1946, Argentinian men went to the polls
to elect Juan D. Peron their president. In 1955, the Cole Porter
musical "Silk Stockings" opened at the Imperial Theater on Broadway. In
1966, Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, was overthrown in a
military coup while he was visiting Beijing; he was replaced by Joseph
Arthur Ankrah. 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 1986, the 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
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. Ten years ago: Suicide bombers
attempted to drive explosive-packed cars into the world's largest oil
processing facility in Saudi Arabia, but were foiled by guards who
opened fire, detonating both vehicles; al-Qaida claimed responsibility.
Julia Mancuso won gold in the women's giant slalom at the Turin
Olympics. Death claimed actors Don Knotts in Los Angeles and Dennis
Weaver in Ridgway, Colorado; both were 81. Five years ago: Discovery,
the world's most traveled spaceship, thundered 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. One year ago:
President Barack Obama, defying a Republican-led Congress, rejected a
bill to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The
Justice Department announced that George Zimmerman, the former
neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot Trayvon Martin in a 2012
confrontation, would not face federal charges. A Texas jury rejected
the insanity defense of Eddie Ray Routh, convicting him of murdering
famed "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield. A
Metrolink passenger train collided with a truck at a crossing in
Oxnard, California, killing the engineer and injuring 29 other people.
Alaska became the third U.S. state to legalize the recreational use of
marijuana. Today's Birthdays: Actor Steven Hill is 94. Actress
Emmanuelle Riva is 89. Actor-singer Dominic Chianese (kee-uh-NAY'-see)
is 85. Movie composer Michel Legrand is 84. Opera singer-director
Renata Scotto is 82. Singer Joanie Sommers is 75. Former Sen. Joseph
Lieberman, I-Conn., is 74. Actor Barry Bostwick is 71. Actor Edward
James Olmos is 69. Singer-writer-producer Rupert Holmes is 69. Rock
singer-musician George Thorogood is 66. Actress Debra Jo Rupp is 65.
Actress Helen Shaver is 65. News anchor Paula Zahn is 60. Baseball Hall
of Famer Eddie Murray is 60. Country singer Sammy Kershaw is 58. Actor
Mark Moses is 58. Actress Beth Broderick is 57. Singer Michelle Shocked
is 54. Movie director Todd Field is 52. Actor Billy Zane is 50. Actress
Bonnie Somerville is 42. Jazz musician Jimmy Greene is 41.
Rhythm-and-blues singer Brandon Brown (Mista) is 33. Rock musician Matt
McGinley (Gym Class Heroes) is 33. Actor Wilson Bethel is 32. Actor
Alexander Koch is 28. Rapper-actor O'Shea Jackson Jr. (Film: "Straight
Outta Compton") is 25. Thought for Today: "It is my feeling that Time
ripens all things; with Time all things are revealed; Time is the
father of truth. Francois Rabelais, 16th century French writer and
physician.
