History of Today in India – 24 February

Explore the history of today 24 February in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 24 February 2026, 04:21 AM

📜 Important Events on 24 February in World History

• 24 Feb 2022: Russo-Ukrainian War: Days after recognising Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, Russian president Vladimir Putin orders the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Read more
• 24 Feb 2020: Mahathir Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia following an attempt to replace the Pakatan Harapan government, which triggered the 2020-2022 Malaysian political crisis. Read more
• 24 Feb 2016: Tara Air Flight 193, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, crashed, with 23 fatalities, in Solighopte, Myagdi District, Dhaulagiri Zone, while en route from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport. Read more
• 24 Feb 2015: A Metrolink train derails in Oxnard, California following a collision with a truck, leaving more than 30 injured. Read more
• 24 Feb 2011: Space Shuttle Discovery launches on its final mission, STS-133. Read more
• 24 Feb 2008: Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba and the Council of Ministers after 32 years. He remained as head of the Communist Party for another three years. Read more
• 24 Feb 2007: Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea. Read more
• 24 Feb 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. Read more
• 24 Feb 2004: The 6.3 Mw Al Hoceima earthquake strikes northern Morocco with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 628 people are killed, 926 are injured, and up to 15,000 are displaced. Read more
• 24 Feb 1999: China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft, crashes in Rui'an, Zhejiang, China. All 61 people on board are killed. Read more
• 24 Feb 1996: Two civilian airplanes operated by the Miami-based group Brothers to the Rescue are shot down in international waters by the Cuban Air Force. Read more
• 24 Feb 1991: Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war. Read more
• 24 Feb 1989: United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, rips open during flight, blowing nine passengers out of the business-class section. Read more
• 24 Feb 1984: Tyrone Mitchell perpetrates the 49th Street Elementary School shooting in Los Angeles, killing two children and injuring 12 more. Read more
• 24 Feb 1983: A special commission of the United States Congress condemns the Japanese American internment during World War II. Read more
• 24 Feb 1981: The 6.7 Ms Gulf of Corinth earthquake affected Central Greece with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Twenty-two people were killed, 400 were injured, and damage totaled $812 million. Read more
• 24 Feb 1978: The Yuba County Five disappear in California. Four of their bodies are found four months later. Read more
• 24 Feb 1976: The 1976 constitution of Cuba is formally proclaimed. Read more
• 24 Feb 1971: The All India Forward Bloc holds an emergency central committee meeting after its chairman, Hemantha Kumar Bose, is killed three days earlier. P.K. Mookiah Thevar is appointed as the new chairman. Read more
• 24 Feb 1968: Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnamese forces led by Ngo Quang Truong recapture the citadel of Hué. Read more
• 24 Feb 1967: Cultural Revolution: Zhang Chunqiao announces the dissolution of the Shanghai People's Commune, replacing its local government with a revolutionary committee. Read more
• 24 Feb 1966: Ghanaian coup d'état by National Liberation Council overthrows Kwame Nkrumah's Government Read more
• 24 Feb 1949: The Armistice Agreements are signed, to formally end the hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Read more
• 24 Feb 1946: Colonel Juan Perón, founder of the political movement that became known as Peronism, is elected to his first term as President of Argentina. Read more
• 24 Feb 1945: Egyptian Premier Ahmad Mahir Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree. Read more
• 24 Feb 1943: World War II: First large-scale protest march resulting in clashes with the Axis occupation forces and collaborationist police in Athens against rumours of forced mobilization of Greek workers for work in Germany. Read more
• 24 Feb 1942: Seven hundred ninety-one Romanian Jewish refugees and crew members are killed after the MV Struma is torpedoed by the Soviet Navy. Read more
• 24 Feb 1942: The Battle of Los Angeles: A false alarm led to an anti-aircraft barrage that lasted into the early hours of February 25. Read more
• 24 Feb 1920: Nancy Astor becomes the first woman to speak in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom following her election as a Member of Parliament (MP) three months earlier. Read more
• 24 Feb 1920: The Nazi Party (NSDAP) was founded by Adolf Hitler in the Hofbräuhaus beer hall in Munich, Germany. Read more
• 24 Feb 1918: Estonian Declaration of Independence. Read more
• 24 Feb 1917: World War I: The U.S. ambassador Walter Hines Page to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if Mexico declares war on the United States. Read more
• 24 Feb 1916: The Governor-General of Korea establishes a clinic called Jahyewon in Sorokdo to segregate Hansen's disease patients. Read more
• 24 Feb 1895: Revolution breaks out in Baire, a town near Santiago de Cuba, beginning the Cuban War of Independence; the war ends along with the Spanish–American War in 1898. Read more
• 24 Feb 1881: China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty. Read more
• 24 Feb 1876: The stage première of Peer Gynt, a play by Henrik Ibsen with incidental music by Edvard Grieg, takes place in Christiania (Oslo), Norway. Read more
• 24 Feb 1875: The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high-profile civil servants and dignitaries. Read more
• 24 Feb 1868: Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate. Read more
• 24 Feb 1863: Arizona is organized as a United States territory. Read more
• 24 Feb 1854: A Penny Red with perforations becomes the first perforated postage stamp to be officially issued for distribution. Read more
• 24 Feb 1848: King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne. Read more
• 24 Feb 1831: The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West. Read more
• 24 Feb 1826: The signing of the Treaty of Yandabo marks the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War. Read more
• 24 Feb 1822: The first Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, is inaugurated. Read more
• 24 Feb 1821: Final stage of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain with Plan of Iguala. Read more
• 24 Feb 1813: Sinking of HMS Peacock by USS Hornet on the Demerara River, Guyana. Read more
• 24 Feb 1812: Treaty of Paris between Napoleon and Frederick William III of Prussia against Russia is signed. Read more
• 24 Feb 1809: London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving its owner, Irish writer and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan, destitute. Read more
• 24 Feb 1809: Britain invades and captures the French colony of Martinique. Read more
• 24 Feb 1803: In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 24 February in World History

• 24 Feb 2004: Samuele Vignato, Italian football player Samuele Vignato is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Rijeka. Read more
• 24 Feb 2004: Rafael Obrador, Spanish footballer Rafael Obrador Burguera is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Serie A club Torino, on loan from Benfica. Read more
• 24 Feb 2003: Honey Osrin, British swimmer Honey Osrin is a British swimmer who competed in swimming at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Read more
• 24 Feb 2000: Antony Matheus dos Santos, Brazilian footballer Antony Matheus dos Santos, known mononymously as Antony, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right winger for La Liga club Real Betis and the Brazil national team. Read more
• 24 Feb 2000: Nichika Yamada, Japanese volleyball player Nichika Yamada is a Japanese volleyball player. She plays for the Japan women's national volleyball team. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Women's volleyball. Read more
• 24 Feb 1997: Đurđina Jauković, Montenegrin handball player Đurđina Jauković is a Montenegrin handball player for CSM București and the Montenegrin national team. Read more
• 24 Feb 1996: Royce Freeman, American football player Royce Deion Freeman is an American professional football running back. He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, earning third-team All-American honors in 2015. Read more
• 24 Feb 1994: Jessica Pegula, American tennis player Jessica Pegula is an American professional tennis player. She has career-high rankings in singles of world No. 3, achieved in October 2022, and in doubles of world No. 1, set in September 2023. Pegula was a finalist at the 2024 US Open and at the 2023 WTA Finals. In doubles, she reached the final of the 2022 French Open, partnering with Coco Gauff, and the mixed doubles final of the 2023 US Open with Austin Krajicek. Read more
• 24 Feb 1994: Earl Sweatshirt, American rapper Thebe Neruda Kgositsile, known professionally as Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper and record producer. Kgositsile was originally known by the moniker Sly Tendencies when he began rapping in 2008, but changed his name when Tyler, the Creator invited him to join his alternative hip-hop collective Odd Future in late 2009. He is the son of South African political poet Keorapetse Kgositsile. Read more
• 24 Feb 1992: Stefan Ashkovski, Macedonian footballer Stefan Ashkovski is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Persian Gulf Pro League club Mes Rafsanjan and the North Macedonia national team. Read more
• 24 Feb 1991: Tim Erixon, American-Swedish ice hockey player Tim Carl Erixon is an American-born Swedish professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing with Timrå IK in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Erixon was selected in the first round—23rd overall—by the Calgary Flames in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Erixon has previously played for Skellefteå AIK in the Elitserien, as well as various NHL teams. As the son of former NHL player Jan Erixon, he has represented Sweden at the World Junior Hockey Championships, winning a silver medal in 2009. Read more
• 24 Feb 1991: Madison Hubbell, American ice dancer Madison Hubbell is an American former ice dancer. She competed with Zachary Donohue from 2011 to 2022. With him, she is a two-time 2022 Winter Olympics medalist, a four-time World medalist, the 2018 Grand Prix Final champion, the 2014 Four Continents champion, and a three-time U.S. national champion. Read more
• 24 Feb 1991: O'Shea Jackson Jr., American actor and rapper O'Shea Jackson Jr. (born February 24, 1991), also known by the stage name OMG, is an American actor, rapper and songwriter. He is the oldest son of Ice Cube and, in his feature film debut, he portrayed his father in the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton. Read more
• 24 Feb 1991: Semih Kaya, Turkish footballer Semih Kaya is a Turkish former professional footballer who played as a centre back, most recently for Galatasaray. On 12 August 2022, he announced on his social media accounts that he was leaving football. Read more
• 24 Feb 1991: Christian Kabasele, Congolese-born Belgian footballer Christian Kabasele is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Udinese. Read more
• 24 Feb 1990: Dwayne Allen, American football player Dwayne Lamont Allen is an American former professional football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, winning the John Mackey Award as a junior. Allen was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts, where spent his first five seasons. During his final two seasons, Allen played for the New England Patriots, making consecutive Super Bowl appearances in each and winning Super Bowl LIII. Read more
• 24 Feb 1990: Derek Wolfe, American football player Derek Wolfe is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats and was selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft, playing his first eight years with them before signing with the Baltimore Ravens in 2020. Wolfe announced his retirement on July 28, 2022. Read more
• 24 Feb 1989: Trace Cyrus, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Trace Dempsey Cyrus is an American musician. The adopted son of country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus and half-brother of recording artists Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus, he was the backing vocalist and guitarist of the band Metro Station. In 2010, he began providing vocals and guitar in the pop rock band Ashland HIGH. He also owned the now defunct clothing company From Backseats to Bedrooms. Read more
• 24 Feb 1989: Daniel Kaluuya, English actor Daniel Kaluuya is a British actor. His work encompasses both screen and stage, and his accolades include an Academy Award, two BAFTAs, an Actor Award, and a Golden Globe, in addition to nominations for a Laurence Olivier Award and an Emmy Award. In 2021, he was named among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. Read more
• 24 Feb 1989: Kosta Koufos, Greek-American basketball player Konstantine Demetrios "Kostas" Koufos is a Greek-American former professional basketball player. He played one season at Ohio State before being selected by the Utah Jazz with the 23rd overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. Read more
• 24 Feb 1988: Rodrigue Beaubois, French basketball player Rodrigue Gabriel "Roddy" Beaubois is a French professional basketball player and the vice-captain for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and the EuroLeague. Read more
• 24 Feb 1988: Alexander Koch, American actor Alexander Koch is an American actor. He played the series regular role of Junior Rennie on the CBS drama series Under the Dome, based on the novel by Stephen King. Alex Koch appears in the fifth season of Lucifer as Ella Lopez's new love interest, Pete Daily. He co-starred in the 2020 meta-thriller Black Bear. Read more
• 24 Feb 1988: Connie Ramsay, Scottish judoka Connie Ramsay is a Scottish judoka and politician, who competed at the Commonwealth Games. Read more
• 24 Feb 1988: Maksym Radziwill, Polish-Canadian mathematician Maksym Radziwill is a Polish-Canadian mathematician specializing in number theory. He is currently a professor of mathematics at the New York University. Read more
• 24 Feb 1987: Kim Kyu-jong, South Korean singer, dancer, and actor Kim Kyu-jong is a South Korean entertainer, actor, and a member of boyband SS501. He made his musical debut in Goong: Musical, playing the lead role of Lee Shin, and debut as a solo artist in September 2011 with his mini album Turn Me On. Read more
• 24 Feb 1987: Ashley Walker, American-Romanian basketball player Ashley Walker is an American-Romanian professional basketball player. She plays the forward position for the Reyer Venezia in the Italian Serie A1. Read more
• 24 Feb 1987: Mario Suárez, Spanish footballer Mario Suárez Mata is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Read more
• 24 Feb 1987: Christopher Trimmel, Austrian footballer Christopher Trimmel is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a right-back or right wing-back for and captains Bundesliga club Union Berlin. Read more
• 24 Feb 1986: Wojtek Wolski, Polish-Canadian ice hockey player Wojciech "Wojtek" Wolski is a Polish-Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Colorado Avalanche, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals. After leaving the NHL in 2013, Wolski continued his career in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), playing for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Kunlun Red Star. Read more
• 24 Feb 1985: Nakash Aziz, Indian playback singer and composer Nakash Aziz, also known as Nakash, is an Indian singer and assistant composer. He has worked as an assistant to composer A. R. Rahman on films such as Highway, Raanjhanaa, Rockstar, Delhi 6 and I. He is known for playback performances of songs like "Jabra Fan" from Fan, "Sari Ke Fall Sa" and "Gandi Baat" from the film R… Rajkumar (2013) and "Dhating Nach" from film Phata Poster Nikhla Hero (2013). Read more
• 24 Feb 1984: Wilson Bethel, American actor Stephen Wilson Bethel is an American actor and producer. He is known for his roles as Ryder Callahan on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless (2009–2011), Wade Kinsella on Hart of Dixie (2011–2015), Deputy district attorney Mark Callan on the legal drama All Rise (2019–2023), and as Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter / Bullseye in the third season of the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Daredevil (2018) and its revival series Daredevil: Born Again (2025–present). He is also the star and creator of the web series Stupid Hype on the CW's online platform CWD. Read more
• 24 Feb 1984: Corey Graves, American wrestler and sportscaster Matthew Polinsky is an American wrestling color commentator, retired professional wrestler, and university professor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Corey Graves as the color commentator on the Raw brand as well as the English play-by-play commentator in its sister promotion, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. As a former in-ring competitor, he is a one-time NXT Tag Team Champion, and won the WWE 24/7 Champion once even though he had been retired from in-ring competition. Read more
• 24 Feb 1984: Nani, Indian actor and film producer Ghanta Naveen Babu, known professionally as Nani, is an Indian actor and producer who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid and most popular Indian actors, Nani is a recipient of several accolades including two Nandi Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and four SIIMA Awards. Read more
• 24 Feb 1982: Nick Blackburn, American baseball player Robert Nicholas Blackburn is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2007 to 2012. Read more
• 24 Feb 1982: Fala Chen, Chinese actress and singer Fala Chen is a Chinese-American actress and singer. After winning 1st runner-up in the Miss Chinese International Pageant 2005, Chen made her debut as an actress in the Hong Kong cinema. She rose to prominence for her roles in the drama series Heart of Greed (2007) and its sequel Moonlight Resonance (2008). She won Best Supporting Actress twice at the TVB Anniversary Awards for her performances in the romantic series Steps (2007) and in the period drama series No Regrets (2010), and made her feature film debut in the crime thriller Turning Point (2009), earning a nomination for Best New Performer in the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards. She went on to take lead roles in the crime thriller series Lives of Omission (2011), the drama series Triumph in the Skies II, and the horror film Tales from the Dark 2. Read more
• 24 Feb 1982: Klára Koukalová, Czech tennis player Klára Koukalová is a Czech former tennis player. She was born and still lives in Prague. Having turned professional in 1999, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 20, on 15 April 2013. In doubles, she reached a career-high ranking of 31, on 19 May 2014. Koukalová won three WTA singles titles and four doubles titles during her career. Read more
• 24 Feb 1982: Emanuel Villa, Argentine footballer Emanuel Alejandro Villa, commonly known as "Tito Villa", is an Argentine former professional footballer. He is a Mexican naturalized citizen. Read more
• 24 Feb 1981: Jonas Andersson, Swedish ice hockey player Jonas Erik Andersson is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player. Most of his career was spent playing in the SM-liiga, the top league in Finland, though he also briefly played for the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Andersson played internationally for Sweden at both the junior and senior level, including the 2010 World Championship. Read more
• 24 Feb 1981: Felipe Baloy, Panamanian footballer Felipe Abdiel Baloy Ramírez is a Panamanian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He scored Panama’s first ever goal in a FIFA World Cup, against England at the 2018 edition. Read more
• 24 Feb 1981: Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player Lleyton Glynn Hewitt is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 80 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in 2001 and 2002. Hewitt won 30 singles titles and 3 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, including two singles majors at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships, a doubles major at the 2000 US Open, the 2001 and 2002 Tennis Masters Cups in singles, and led Australia to Davis Cup crowns in 1999 and 2003. In November 2001, Hewitt became the youngest man to reach No. 1 in the ATP singles rankings, at the age of 20 years, 8 months and 26 days. He was also the runner-up at the 2004 US Open and 2005 Australian Open. As of the end of 2025, he remains the most recent Australian man to win a singles major. Read more
• 24 Feb 1981: Mohammad Sami, Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Sami is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team between 2001 and 2016. Read more
• 24 Feb 1981: Bob Sanders, American football player Demond "Bob" Sanders is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2004 NFL draft. He was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2007 and also played for the San Diego Chargers in his final season in 2011. Read more
• 24 Feb 1980: Shinsuke Nakamura, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Read more
• 24 Feb 1980: Jorrit Faassen, Dutch businessman Jorrit Joost Faassen is a Dutch businessman. He was allegedly the husband of Maria Vorontsova and the son-in-law of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Read more
• 24 Feb 1977: Jason Akermanis, Australian footballer and coach Jason Dean Akermanis is a former professional Australian rules football player who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a Brownlow Medallist and triple premiership player who played for the Brisbane Bears, Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs. Read more
• 24 Feb 1977: Bronson Arroyo, American baseball player Bronson Anthony Arroyo is an American former professional baseball pitcher and musician. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates between 2000 and 2002, the Boston Red Sox from 2003 to 2005, the Cincinnati Reds from 2006 to 2013, the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014, and the Reds again in 2017. He won the 2004 World Series with Boston. Read more
• 24 Feb 1977: Floyd Mayweather Jr., American boxer Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. is an American professional boxer and boxing promoter. Currently having an undefeated record at 50–0, Mayweather won 15 major world championships spanning five weight classes from super featherweight to light middleweight. This includes the Ring magazine title in three weight classes. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the featherweight division at the 1996 Olympics, three U.S. Golden Gloves championships, and the U.S. national championship at featherweight. After retiring from professional boxing in August 2017, he transitioned to exhibition boxing. Mayweather is set to make a return to professional boxing following his exhibition fight against Mike Tyson in April 2026. Read more
• 24 Feb 1976: Marco Campos, Brazilian race car driver (died 1995) Marco Antônio Ferreira Campos was a Brazilian racing driver. He died in an accident in a Formula 3000 race at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, making him the only driver to be fatally injured in the International Formula 3000 series. Read more
• 24 Feb 1976: Zach Johnson, American golfer Zachary Harris Johnson is an American professional golfer who has 12 victories on the PGA Tour, including two major championships, the 2007 Masters and the 2015 Open Championship. At the 2023 Ryder Cup, Johnson captained the U.S. squad against Europe in Rome, Italy. Read more
• 24 Feb 1976: Bradley McGee, Australian cyclist and coach Bradley John McGee is an Australian former professional racing cyclist. He is currently the head coach of the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS). He started cycling in 1986 at the age of ten. He lives in Sydney and in Nice, France. Read more
• 24 Feb 1975: Ashley MacIsaac, Canadian singer-songwriter and fiddler Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and actor from Cape Breton Island. He has received three Juno Awards, winning for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots & Traditional Album – Solo at the Juno Awards of 1996, and for Best Instrumental Artist at the Juno Awards of 1997. His 1995 album Hi™ How Are You Today? was a double-platinum selling Canadian record. MacIsaac published an autobiography, Fiddling with Disaster in 2003. Read more
• 24 Feb 1974: Mike Lowell, Puerto Rican baseball player Michael Averett Lowell is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball third baseman. During a 13-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Lowell played for the New York Yankees (1998), Florida Marlins (1999–2005), and the Boston Red Sox (2006–2010). With the Red Sox, he was named MVP of the 2007 World Series. He also starred on the Marlins team that won the 2003 World Series, was a four-time MLB All-Star and won a Silver Slugger Award in 2003 and Gold Glove Award in 2005. Read more
• 24 Feb 1974: Khadzhimurad Magomedov, Russian freestyle wrestler Khadzhimurad Magomedov is a Russian wrestler and Olympic champion in Freestyle wrestling. Read more
• 24 Feb 1974: Gila Gamliel, Israeli politician and Minister of Science, Technology and Space Gila Gamliel-Demri is an Israeli politician who currently serves as Minister of Science and Technology and as a member of the Knesset for Likud. She also previously served as Minister for Social Equality, Minister of Environmental Protection and Minister of Intelligence. Read more
• 24 Feb 1973: Alexei Kovalev, Russian ice hockey player and pilot Alexei Vyacheslavovich Kovalev is a Russian professional ice hockey coach, executive and former professional player. Read more
• 24 Feb 1973: Philipp Rösler, German politician Philipp Rösler is a German former politician who served as federal minister of health from 2009 to 2011 and federal minister of economics and technology as well as vice-chancellor of Germany from 2011 to 2013. Read more
• 24 Feb 1972: Teodor Currentzis, Greek conductor and composer Teodor Currentzis is a Greek and Russian conductor, musician and actor. He is artistic director of the ensembles MusicAeterna and Utopia and was chief conductor of the SWR Symphonieorchester from 2018 to 2024. Read more
• 24 Feb 1972: Manon Rhéaume, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Manon Rhéaume is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. An Olympic silver medalist, she achieved a number of historic firsts during her career, including becoming the first woman to play in an exhibition game in any of the major North American pro-sports leagues. Read more
• 24 Feb 1971: Pedro de la Rosa, Spanish race car driver Pedro Martínez de la Rosa is a Spanish former racing driver, motorsport executive and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One between 1999 and 2012. In Japanese motorsport, de la Rosa won the Formula Nippon Championship and the All-Japan GT Championship, both in 1997. Read more
• 24 Feb 1971: Gillian Flynn, American author, screenwriter, and producer Gillian Schieber Flynn is an American author, screenwriter, and producer, best known for her thriller and mystery novels Sharp Objects (2006), Dark Places (2009), and Gone Girl (2012). Her works have been translated into 40 languages, and by 2016, Gone Girl had sold over 15 million copies worldwide. Read more
• 24 Feb 1971: Brian Savage, Canadian ice hockey player Brian Arthur Savage is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers. Read more
• 24 Feb 1970: Jeff Garcia, American football player and coach Jeffrey Jason Garcia is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). After attending high school and junior college in Gilroy, California, Garcia played college football for the San Jose State Spartans. Read more
• 24 Feb 1970: Neil Sullivan, Scottish footballer and coach Neil Sullivan is a professional football player and coach. He played as a goalkeeper from 1988 until 2013, playing in the Premier League for Wimbledon, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and represented Scotland internationally. Read more
• 24 Feb 1970: Jonathan Ward, American actor Jonathan Ward is an American retired actor. He has starred mostly in television series and television films, but has also appeared in a small number of feature films, including the critically maligned 1988 cult film Mac and Me. His acting debut was on Broadway as Michael in Peter Pan. Read more
• 24 Feb 1969: Kim Seung-woo, South Korean actor Kim Seung-woo is a South Korean actor and talk show host. Read more
• 24 Feb 1968: Mitch Hedberg, American comedian and actor (died 2005) Mitchell Lee Hedberg was an American stand-up comedian and filmmaker known for his surreal humor and deadpan delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes mixed with absurd elements and non sequiturs. Read more
• 24 Feb 1967: Brian Schmidt, Australian astrophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Brian Paul Schmidt is an American Australian astrophysicist at the Australian National University's Mount Stromlo Observatory and Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics. He was the Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU) from January 2016 to January 2024. He is known for his research in using supernovae as cosmological probes. He previously held a Federation Fellowship and a Laureate Fellowship from the Australian Research Council, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2012. Schmidt shared both the 2006 Shaw Prize in Astronomy and the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics with Saul Perlmutter and Adam Riess for providing evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Read more
• 24 Feb 1966: Billy Zane, American actor and producer William George Zane Jr. is an American actor. His breakthrough role was in the Australian film Dead Calm (1989), a performance that earned him a nomination for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor. He has since appeared in numerous films and television series, and starred as the main antagonist Caledon Hockley in the epic film Titanic (1997), for which he and the rest of the ensemble cast were nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. Read more
• 24 Feb 1966: Katie Allen, Australian politician and medical researcher Katrina Jane Allen was an Australian medical researcher and politician. She was a member of the House of Representatives from 2019 to 2022, representing the seat of Higgins in Victoria for the Liberal Party. Prior to her political career she was a paediatric allergist and gastroenterologist at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne and served as director of the Centre of Food and Allergy Research at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. Read more
• 24 Feb 1965: Paul Gruber, American football player Paul Blake Gruber is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers. He was selected by the Buccaneers with the fourth overall pick in the 1988 NFL draft. Read more
• 24 Feb 1965: Jane Swift, American businesswoman and politician, Governor of Massachusetts Jane Maria Swift is an American politician and nonprofit executive who served as the 69th lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2003 and, concurrently, as acting governor from April 2001 to January 2003. She was the first woman to perform the duties of governor of Massachusetts. At the time she became acting governor, Swift was 36 years old, making her the youngest female governor in U.S. history. Read more
• 24 Feb 1964: Russell Ingall, British-Australian race car driver and sportscaster Russell Peter Ingall is a former full-time Australian V8 Supercar driver. He won his V8 Supercars title in 2005, and finished second in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2004. Ingall has also won the Bathurst 1000, in 1995 and 1997. His particular driving style earned him the nickname "Enforcer". Read more
• 24 Feb 1964: Elizabeth Wilson, American politician Elizabeth Wilson is an American politician and small business owner who has represented the 73rd district of the Iowa House of Representatives since January 2023, which consists of parts of central Linn County, including most of Marion. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Read more
• 24 Feb 1963: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Indian filmmaker and composer Sanjay Navin Bhansali, professionally known as Sanjay Leela Bhansali, is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, editor and music composer, who works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several awards, including seven National Film Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards, in addition to a BAFTA Award nomination. In 2015, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award. Bhansali is best known for his use of aesthetics and musical vision, particularly in period dramas. Read more
• 24 Feb 1963: Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro Prince Carlo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro is one of two claimants to the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Read more
• 24 Feb 1963: Mike Vernon, Canadian ice hockey player Michael Vernon is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks and Florida Panthers. Read more
• 24 Feb 1963: Mateu Alemany, Spanish lawyer, football director of FC Barcelona Mateu Alemany Font is a Spanish executive and former president of Mallorca during two tenures. Between 2017 and November 2019 was the general director at Valencia. Between March 2021 and September 2023 he was a football director at FC Barcelona. Since October 2025 he is a football director at Atletico Madrid. Read more
• 24 Feb 1962: Kelly Craft, American businesswoman and diplomat Kelly Dawn Craft is an American businesswoman, politician, and former diplomat who served as the 30th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2019 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. She was confirmed as the US ambassador to the United Nations by the US Senate by a vote of 56–34, and was officially sworn in September 2019. Read more
• 24 Feb 1962: Michelle Shocked, American singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked is an American singer-songwriter. Her music has entered the Billboard Hot 100, been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, and received an award for Folk Album of the Year at the CMJ New Music Awards. Read more
• 24 Feb 1961: Emilio Rivera, American actor Emilio Rivera is an American film and television actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known for his portrayal of Marcus Álvarez in Sons of Anarchy and its spin-off, Mayans M.C. He is also known for his depiction of criminals and law enforcement officers. Read more
• 24 Feb 1961: Erna Solberg, Norwegian politician, 35th Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg is a Norwegian politician and was the Leader of the Opposition from 2021 to 2025. She served as the prime minister of Norway from 2013 to 2021, and as the leader of the Conservative Party from 2004 to 2026. Read more
• 24 Feb 1961: John Grogan, British politician John Timothy Grogan is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Selby between 1997 and 2010 and for Keighley between 2017 and 2019. He is currently chair of the Mongolian–British Chamber of Commerce (MBCC). Read more
• 24 Feb 1959: Beth Broderick, American actress and director Elizabeth Alice Broderick is an American actress. She portrayed Zelda Spellman in the ABC/WB television sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996–2003). She also had recurring roles as Diane Janssen in the ABC mystery drama series Lost (2005–2008) and as Rose Twitchell in the CBS science fiction drama series Under the Dome (2013). Read more
• 24 Feb 1959: Mike Whitney, Australian cricketer and television host Michael Roy Whitney is a retired Australian former cricketer, who played in 12 Test matches and 38 One Day Internationals between 1981 and 1993. Read more
• 24 Feb 1959: Abhishek Singhvi, Indian politician Abhishek Manu Singhvi is an Indian senior advocate and politician. As politician, he is a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) and a member of the Parliament of India representing Telangana in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament, since August 2024. He is also a spokesperson for the INC. He is one of the senior advocates of the Supreme Court of India. Read more
• 24 Feb 1959: François Villeroy de Galhau, 30th Governor of the Bank of France François Villeroy de Galhau is a French senior civil servant and banker who has served as Governor of the Bank of France and ex officio President of the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority since 2015. He announced his resignation for June 2026. Read more
• 24 Feb 1958: Sammy Kershaw, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Samuel Paul Cashat, known professionally as Sammy Kershaw, is an American country music singer. He has released 16 studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. More than 25 singles have entered the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including his only number one hit "She Don't Know She's Beautiful" and 10 more Top 10 hits: "Cadillac Style", "Anywhere but Here", "Haunted Heart", "Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer", "I Can't Reach Her Anymore", "National Working Woman's Holiday", "Third Rate Romance", "Meant to Be", "Vidalia", and "Love of My Life". Read more
• 24 Feb 1958: Mark Moses, American actor Mark Moses is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Paul Young in the ABC comedy-drama Desperate Housewives (2004–2011) and as Herman "Duck" Phillips in the AMC period drama Mad Men (2007–2015). Read more
• 24 Feb 1956: Judith Butler, American philosopher, theorist, and author Judith Butler is an American feminist, queer philosopher, and gender studies scholar whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, psychoanalysis, and the fields of feminist and queer theory, academic freedom, and literary theory. Read more
• 24 Feb 1956: Eddie Murray, American baseball player and coach Eddie Clarence Murray, nicknamed "Steady Eddie", is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman, designated hitter, and coach. He spent most of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, and ranks fourth in team history in games played and hits. Though Murray never won a Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, he finished in the top ten in MVP voting several times. Murray has more RBIs than any other MLB switch-hitter; his 996 runs batted in in the 1980s were more than any other player. Read more
• 24 Feb 1956: Paula Zahn, American journalist and producer Paula Ann Zahn is an American journalist and newscaster who has been an anchor at ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, and CNN. She currently produces and hosts the true crime documentary series On the Case with Paula Zahn on the Investigation Discovery channel. Read more
• 24 Feb 1955: Steve Jobs, American businessman, co-founded Apple Computer and Pixar (died 2011) Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman, co-inventor, and investor. A pioneer of the personal computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, Jobs co-founded Apple Inc. with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976. After the company's board of directors fired him in 1985, he founded NeXT the same year and purchased Pixar in 1986, becoming its chairman and majority shareholder until 2007. Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 as CEO, where he was closely involved with the creation and promotion of many of the company's most influential products until his resignation in 2011. Read more
• 24 Feb 1955: Eddie Johnson, American basketball player (died 2020) Edward Lee Johnson Jr. was an American professional basketball player. He played 10 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) – mainly as a member of the Atlanta Hawks – from 1977 to 1987. Johnson was a two-time NBA-All-Star with the Hawks in 1980 and 1981, and earned two nominations to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1979 and 1980. He was nicknamed "Fast Eddie" for his speed and quickness on the court. Read more
• 24 Feb 1955: Alain Prost, French race car driver Alain Marie Pascal Prost is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1980 to 1993. Nicknamed "the Professor", Prost won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and—at the time of his retirement—held the records for most wins (51), fastest laps (41), and podium finishes (106). Read more
• 24 Feb 1954: Plastic Bertrand, Belgian singer-songwriter and producer Roger François Jouret, better known as Plastic Bertrand, is a Belgian musician, songwriter, producer, editor and television presenter, best known for the 1977 international hit single "Ça plane pour moi". Read more
• 24 Feb 1954: Judith Ortiz Cofer, Puerto Rican author (died 2016) Judith Ortiz Cofer was a Puerto Rican author. Her critically acclaimed and award-winning work spans a range of literary genres including poetry, short stories, autobiography, essays, and young-adult fiction. Ortiz Cofer was the Emeritus Regents' and Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Georgia, where she taught undergraduate and graduate creative writing workshops for 26 years. In 2010, Ortiz Cofer was inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame, and in 2013, she won the university's 2014 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award. Read more
• 24 Feb 1954: Sid Meier, Canadian-American game designer and programmer, created the Civilization series Sidney K. Meier is an American businessman and computer programmer. A programmer, designer, and producer of many strategy and simulation video games, including the Civilization series, Meier co-founded MicroProse in 1982 with Bill Stealey and is the Director of Creative Development of Firaxis Games, which he co-founded with Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds in 1996. For his contributions to the video game industry, Meier was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. Read more
• 24 Feb 1954: Mike Pickering, English DJ and saxophonist Mike Pickering, is an English musician, DJ, songwriter, A&R Executive from Manchester, UK. Read more
• 24 Feb 1954: Željko Glasnović, Croatian politician and general Željko Glasnović is a far-right politician and former Croatian military officer. He was a member of Croatian Parliament's club called Independents for Croatia. Read more
• 24 Feb 1954: Constantine Phipps, 5th Marquess of Normanby, British peer, writer, and entrepreneur Constantine Edmund Walter Phipps, 5th Marquess of Normanby, is a British peer, novelist, poet, and entrepreneur. Read more
• 24 Feb 1953: Anatoli Kozhemyakin, Soviet footballer (died 1974) Anatoli Yevgenyevich Kozhemyakin was a Soviet football player. He died in a freak accident: he was stuck in an elevator, but was able to open the elevator doors; as he tried to climb out, the elevator started moving again and crushed him to death. Read more
• 24 Feb 1952: Tommy Burleson, American basketball player Tom Loren Burleson is an American former professional basketball player. A 7′2″ center, Burleson played for North Carolina State University's 1974 NCAA national championship team. Read more
• 24 Feb 1951: David Ford, Northern Irish social worker and politician David Ford is a former Northern Irish politician, who was leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland from October 2001 until October 2016 and was Northern Ireland Minister of Justice from April 2010 until May 2016. He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Antrim from 1998 to 2018. Read more
• 24 Feb 1951: Derek Randall, English cricketer Derek William Randall is an English former cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire and Tests and ODIs for England in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was a part of the English squad that finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World Cup. Read more
• 24 Feb 1951: Debra Jo Rupp, American actress Debra Jo Rupp is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as Kitty Forman in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show (1998–2006) and its Netflix sequel series That '90s Show (2023–2024). Rupp also had roles in the NBC sitcom Friends (1997–1998), the ABC animated series Teacher's Pet (2000–2002) and its 2004 sequel film, the ABC sitcom Better with You (2010–2011), and the Disney+ miniseries WandaVision (2021) and its spin-off Agatha All Along (2024). Read more
• 24 Feb 1951: Helen Shaver, Canadian actress and director Helen Shaver is a Canadian actress and film and television director. After appearing in a number of Canadian movies, she received a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress for her performance in the romantic drama In Praise of Older Women (1978). She later appeared in the films The Amityville Horror (1979), The Osterman Weekend (1983), Desert Hearts (1985), The Color of Money (1986), The Believers (1987), The Craft (1996), Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996) and Down River (2013). She received another Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress nomination for the 1986 drama film Lost!, and won a Best Supporting Actress for We All Fall Down (2000). Shaver also starred in some short-lived television series, including United States (1980) and Jessica Novak (1981), and from 1996 to 1999 starred in the Showtime horror series, Poltergeist: The Legacy, for which she received a Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television nomination. Read more
• 24 Feb 1951: Laimdota Straujuma, Latvian economist and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Latvia Laimdota Straujuma is a Latvian economist who was the prime minister of Latvia from January 2014 to February 2016. Before her tenure as prime minister, she served as the minister of Agriculture from 2011 to 2014. She was the first woman to serve as the head of government of the country. After her resignation on 7 December 2015, she announced her intention to resume a seat in the Saeima. Read more
• 24 Feb 1951: Andrew Leung, Hong Kong politician, 3rd President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen is a Hong Kong politician who was the President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong between 2016 and 2025. Read more
• 24 Feb 1950: George Thorogood, American musician George Lawrence Thorogood is an American musician, singer and songwriter. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s US rock radio, with hits like his original songs "Bad to the Bone" and "I Drink Alone". He has also helped to popularize older songs by American icons, such as "Move It on Over", "Who Do You Love?", and "House Rent Blues/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer". Read more
• 24 Feb 1949: John Lever, English Test cricketer John Kenneth Lever is an English former international cricketer who played Test and One Day International cricket for England. Lever was a left-arm fast-medium bowler who predominantly swung the ball into right-handed batsmen. Read more
• 24 Feb 1948: Jayalalithaa, Indian actress and politician, 16th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (died 2016) Jayaram Jayalalithaa, popularly known as Amma, was an Indian actress, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years between 1991 and 2016 for six terms. She served as chief minister until her death and became the first female chief minister to die in office in the Republic of India. She was the longest-serving and former general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a Dravidian party founded by her mentor and the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R.). Jayalalithaa is regarded as one of the most influential politicians of post-independence India. Apart from politics, as a film personality, she won the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards South. Read more
• 24 Feb 1948: Dennis Waterman, English actor (died 2022) Dennis Waterman was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his tough-guy leading roles in television series including The Sweeney, Minder and New Tricks, singing the theme tunes of the latter two. Read more
• 24 Feb 1948: GM Quader, Bangladeshi politician Ghulam Muhammad Quader is a Bangladeshi politician and the 2nd chairman of Jatiya Party and was the Opposition Leader of Bangladesh Parliament. He is a former Jatiya Sangsad member from the Lalmonirhat-3 constituency. He served as the Minister of Commerce and Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism from 2009 to 2014. Read more
• 24 Feb 1947: Rupert Holmes, English-American singer-songwriter and playwright Rupert Holmes is a British-born American composer, singer-songwriter, dramatist and author. He is widely known for the hit singles "Escape " (1979) and "Him" (1980). He is also known for his musicals The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which earned him two Tony Awards, and Curtains, his AMC television series Remember WENN, and his novel Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide. Read more
• 24 Feb 1947: Edward James Olmos, American actor and director Edward James Olmos is a Mexican-American actor and director. He is best known for his roles as Detective Gaff in Blade Runner (1982) and its sequel Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo in Miami Vice (1984–1989), high school math teacher Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver (1988), Montoya Santana in American Me (1992), William Adama in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009), and the voice of Mito in the 2005 English dub of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Read more
• 24 Feb 1946: Grigory Margulis, Russian mathematician and academic Grigory Aleksandrovich Margulis is a Russian-American mathematician known for his work on lattices in Lie groups, and the introduction of methods from ergodic theory into diophantine approximation. He was awarded a Fields Medal in 1978, a Wolf Prize in Mathematics in 2005, and an Abel Prize in 2020, becoming the fifth mathematician to receive the three prizes. In 1991, he joined the faculty of Yale University, where he is currently the Erastus L. De Forest Professor of Mathematics. Read more
• 24 Feb 1945: Barry Bostwick, American actor and singer Barry Knapp Bostwick is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom Spin City (1996–2002). Bostwick has also had considerable success in musical theatre, winning a Tony Award for his role in The Robber Bridegroom and performing the role of Danny Zuko in the original Broadway production of Grease. Read more
• 24 Feb 1944: Nicky Hopkins, English keyboard player (died 1994) Nicholas Christian Hopkins was an English pianist and organist. He performed on many British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, including on songs recorded by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Kinks, the Steve Miller Band, Jefferson Airplane, Rod Stewart, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, the Hollies, Cat Stevens, Carly Simon, Harry Nilsson, Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton, Jerry Garcia, Jeff Beck, Joe Cocker, Art Garfunkel, Badfinger, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Donovan. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest studio pianists in the history of popular rock music. Read more
• 24 Feb 1944: Ivica Račan, Croatian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Croatia (died 2007) Ivica Račan was a Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2000 to 2003, heading two centre-left coalition governments. Read more
• 24 Feb 1943: Kent Haruf, American novelist (died 2014) Alan Kent Haruf was an American writer born and raised in the US state of Colorado. He wrote six novels and several short stories set on the High Plains, mostly in the fictional town of Holt. Read more
• 24 Feb 1943: Gigi Meroni, Italian footballer (died 1967) Luigi "Gigi" Meroni was an Italian professional footballer who played as a winger. Read more
• 24 Feb 1943: Pablo Milanés, Cuban singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2022) Pablo Milanés Arias was a Cuban guitar player and singer. He was one of the founders of the Cuban nueva trova, along with Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola. His music, originating in the Trova, Son and other traditional styles of early 20th Century Cuban music, set him apart from the style of Silvio Rodríguez. Read more
• 24 Feb 1942: Paul Jones, English singer, harmonica player, and actor Paul Jones is an English singer, actor, harmonicist, radio personality and television presenter. He first came to prominence as the original lead singer and harmonicist of the rock band Manfred Mann (1962–66) with whom he had several hit records including "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and "Pretty Flamingo". Read more
• 24 Feb 1942: Celia Kaye, American actress Celia Kaye is an American actress. She starred in the 1964 film adaptation of Island of the Blue Dolphins which won her a Golden Globe award. Read more
• 24 Feb 1942: Joe Lieberman, American lawyer and politician (died 2024) Joseph Isadore Lieberman was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. Originally a member of the Democratic Party, he was the party's vice presidential nominee in the 2000 presidential election. During his final term in office, he was officially listed as an Independent Democrat and caucused with and chaired committees for the Democratic Party. Read more
• 24 Feb 1942: Jenny O'Hara, American actress Jenny O'Hara is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in My Sister Sam (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in The King of Queens (2001–2007), and Nita in Big Love (2006–2009). Read more
• 24 Feb 1942: Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Indian philosopher, theorist, and academic Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (Bengali pronunciation: [ɡajotri t͡ʃɔkɾoborti spiβak]; is an Indian scholar, literary theorist, and feminist critic. She is a University Professor at Columbia University and a founding member of the establishment's Institute for Comparative Literature and Society. Read more
• 24 Feb 1941: Joanie Sommers, American singer and actress Joanie Sommers is an American singer and actress. Her career has focused on jazz, standards and popular song. Early in her career she was billed as "the Voice of the Sixties"; she also collaborated with prominent arrangers, songwriters and producers. Her most recognized song is "Johnny Get Angry", which although atypical of her work became a popular success. Read more
• 24 Feb 1940: Pete Duel, American actor (died 1971) Peter Ellstrom Deuel, known professionally as Pete Duel, was an American stage, television, and film actor, who starred as outlaw Hannibal Heyes in the television series Alias Smith and Jones. Read more
• 24 Feb 1940: Jimmy Ellis, American boxer (died 2014) James Albert Ellis was an American professional boxer. He won the vacant WBA heavyweight title in 1968 by defeating Jerry Quarry, making one successful title defense in the same year against Floyd Patterson, before losing to Joe Frazier in 1970. Read more
• 24 Feb 1940: Denis Law, Scottish footballer and sportscaster (died 2025) Denis Law was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchester City for an estimated transfer fee of £55,000, which set a new British record. Law spent one year there before Torino bought him for £110,000, this time setting a new record fee for a transfer involving a British player. Although he played well in Italy, he found it difficult to settle there and signed for Manchester United in 1962, setting another British record transfer fee of £115,000. Read more
• 24 Feb 1939: Jamal Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi physicist and cosmologist (died 2013) Jamal Nazrul Islam FRAS was a Bangladeshi mathematical physicist and cosmologist. He was a professor at University of Chittagong, served as a member of the advisory board at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology and member of the syndicate at Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology until his death. He also served as the director of the Research Center for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (RCMPS) at the University of Chittagong. He was awarded Ekushey Padak in 2000 by the Government of Bangladesh. Read more
• 24 Feb 1938: James Farentino, American actor (died 2012) James Farentino was an American actor. He appeared in television, film, and on stage, including The Final Countdown, Jesus of Nazareth, and Dynasty. Read more
• 24 Feb 1938: Phil Knight, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Nike, Inc. Philip Hampson Knight is an American billionaire businessman who is the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike, Inc., a global sports equipment and apparel company. He was previously its chairman and CEO. As of October 2025, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$35.4 billion. He is also the owner of the stop motion film production company Laika. Knight is a graduate of the University of Oregon and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He was part of the track and field club under coach Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon with whom he would later co-found Nike. Read more
• 24 Feb 1938: Kathleen Richardson, Baroness Richardson of Calow, British life peer Kathleen Margaret Richardson, Baroness Richardson of Calow, is a British Methodist minister who was the first woman to serve as president of the Methodist Conference. Created a life peer in 1998, she served as a crossbench member of the House of Lords until 2018. Read more
• 24 Feb 1936: Carol D'Onofrio, American public health researcher (died 2020) Carol D'Onofrio was an American public health researcher who was Emeritus Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health. Her career focused on improving the health of underserved communities, in particular through curtailing the use of tobacco and alcohol. Read more
• 24 Feb 1936: Guillermo O'Donnell, Argentine political scientist (died 2011) Guillermo Alberto O'Donnell Ure was a prominent Argentine political scientist who specialized in comparative politics and Latin American politics. He spent most of his career working in Argentina and the United States, and who made lasting contributions to theorizing on authoritarianism and democratization, democracy and the state, and the politics of Latin America. His brother is Pacho O'Donnell. Read more
• 24 Feb 1935: Ryhor Baradulin, Belarusian poet, essayist, and translator (died 2014) Ryhor Janavič Baradulin was a Belarusian poet, essayist and translator. Read more
• 24 Feb 1934: Bettino Craxi, Italian lawyer and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Italy (died 2000) Benedetto "Bettino" Craxi was an Italian politician and statesman, leader of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) from 1976 to 1993, and the 45th prime minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987. He was the first PSI member to become prime minister and the second from a socialist party to hold the office. He led the fourth-longest government in the Italian Republic and he is considered one of the most influential politicians of the First Italian Republic. Read more
• 24 Feb 1934: Johnny Hills, English footballer (died 2021) John Raymond Hills was an English professional footballer who played for Gravesend & Northfleet, Tottenham Hotspur and Bristol Rovers. Read more
• 24 Feb 1934: George Ryan, American politician, 39th Governor of Illinois (died 2025) George Homer Ryan was an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Secretary of State of Illinois from 1991 to 1999 and as lieutenant governor from 1983 to 1991. He was later convicted of federal racketeering, bribery, extortion, money laundering, and tax fraud stemming from his time in office. Read more
• 24 Feb 1934: Renata Scotto, Italian soprano (died 2023) Renata Scotto was an Italian soprano, opera director, and voice teacher. Recognised for her sense of style, her musicality, and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered to have been one of the preeminent opera singers of her generation. Read more
• 24 Feb 1933: Judah Folkman, American physician and biologist (died 2008) Moses Judah Folkman was an American biologist and pediatric surgeon best known for his research on tumor angiogenesis, the process by which a tumor attracts blood vessels to nourish itself and sustain its existence. He founded the field of angiogenesis research, which has led to the discovery of a number of therapies based on inhibiting or stimulating neovascularization. Read more
• 24 Feb 1933: Ali Mazrui, Kenyan-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (died 2014) Ali Al'amin Mazrui, was a Kenyan-born American academic, professor, and political writer on African and Islamic studies, and North-South relations. He was born in Mombasa, Kenya. His positions included Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York, and Director of the Center for Afro-American and African Studies at the University of Michigan. He produced the 1980s television documentary series The Africans: A Triple Heritage. Read more
• 24 Feb 1933: David "Fathead" Newman, American saxophonist and composer (died 2009) David "Fathead" Newman was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s and early 1960s recordings by Ray Charles. Read more
• 24 Feb 1932: Michel Legrand, French pianist, composer, and conductor (died 2019) Michel Jean Legrand was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, jazz pianist, and singer. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written more than 200 film and television scores, in addition to many songs. His scores for two of the films of French New Wave director Jacques Demy, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), earned Legrand his first Academy Award nominations. Legrand won his first Oscar for the song "The Windmills of Your Mind" from The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), and additional Oscars for Summer of '42 (1971) and Barbra Streisand's Yentl (1983). Read more
• 24 Feb 1932: Zell Miller, American sergeant and politician, 79th Governor of Georgia (died 2018) Zell Bryan Miller was an American politician who served as the 79th governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999 and as a United States senator representing the state from 2000 to 2005. He was a member of the Democratic Party and before 2021 was the last Democratic senator from Georgia. He is also the last Democrat as of 2025 to be elected twice as Governor of Georgia. Read more
• 24 Feb 1932: John Vernon, Canadian-American actor (died 2005) John Keith Vernon was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada. He was best known for playing Dean Wormer in Animal House, the Mayor in Dirty Harry, and Fletcher in The Outlaw Josey Wales. Read more
• 24 Feb 1931: Dominic Chianese, American actor and singer Dominic Chianese is an American actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Corrado "Junior" Soprano on the HBO series The Sopranos (1999–2007), Johnny Ola in The Godfather Part II (1974), and Leander Whitlock in Boardwalk Empire (2011–2013). Read more
• 24 Feb 1931: Brian Close, English cricketer and coach (died 2015) Dennis Brian Close, was an English first-class cricketer. He was picked to play against New Zealand in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England, captaining them seven times to six wins and one drawn test. Close also captained Yorkshire to four county championship titles – the main domestic trophy in English cricket. He later went on to captain Somerset, where he is widely credited with developing the county into a hard-playing team, and helping to mould Viv Richards and Ian Botham into the successful players they became. Read more
• 24 Feb 1930: Barbara Lawrence, American model and actress (died 2013) Barbara Jo Lawrence was an American model, and actress. Read more
• 24 Feb 1929: Kintarō Ōki, South Korean wrestler (died 2006) Kim Tae-sik was a South Korean professional wrestler and ssireum player, better known by the ring names Kintarō Ōki and Kim Il. His professional wrestling career spanned from the late-1950s to the early-1980s. Read more
• 24 Feb 1927: Emmanuelle Riva, French actress (died 2017) Emmanuelle Riva was a French actress, best known for her roles in the films Hiroshima mon amour (1959) and Amour (2012). Read more
• 24 Feb 1926: Dave Sands, Australian boxer (died 1952) Dave Sands was an Australian professional boxer. Read more
• 24 Feb 1925: Bud Day, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (died 2013) George Everette "Bud" Day was a United States Air Force officer, aviator, and veteran of World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. He was also a prisoner of war, and recipient of the Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross. As of 2025, he is the only person to be awarded both the Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross. He was posthumously advanced to the rank of brigadier general effective March 27, 2018, as directed by the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. Read more
• 24 Feb 1924: Hal Herring, American football player and coach (died 2014) Harold Moreland Herring was an American professional football player and coach. He played college football at Auburn University and professionally as a center and linebacker for the Buffalo Bills in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL). He later was a defensive coach at Auburn and for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and San Diego Chargers. Read more
• 24 Feb 1924: Erik Nielsen, Canadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (died 2008) Erik Hersholt Nielsen was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the longtime Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Yukon, and was Leader of the Opposition and the third deputy prime minister of Canada. He was the elder brother of actor Leslie Nielsen. Read more
• 24 Feb 1924: F. G. Bailey, British-American anthropologist (died 2020) Frederick George Bailey, who published professionally as F. G. Bailey, was a British social anthropologist who spent the second half of his career in the United States at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He received his Ph.D. in social anthropology from Manchester University, working under Max Gluckman, and is closely associated with the Manchester School of social anthropology. A prolific writer of some sixteen books in anthropology, he is probably best known for his studies of local and organizational politics. He conducted fieldwork in Bisipāra, Odisha, India, and has also written on political functions, particularly the ways that social structure arises out of and is used by the interactions of individuals. Read more
• 24 Feb 1922: Richard Hamilton, English painter and academic (died 2011) Richard William Hamilton was an English painter and collage artist. His 1955 exhibition Man, Machine and Motion and his 1956 collage Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?, produced for the This Is Tomorrow exhibition of the Independent Group in London, are considered by critics and historians to be among the earliest works of pop art. A major retrospective of his work was at Tate Modern in 2014. Read more
• 24 Feb 1922: Steven Hill, American actor (died 2016) Steven Hill, also known as Steve Hill, was an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as district attorney Adam Schiff on the NBC television drama series Law & Order (1990–2000) and Dan Briggs on the CBS action television series Mission: Impossible (1966–1967). For the former, he received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Read more
• 24 Feb 1921: Abe Vigoda, American actor (died 2016) Abraham Vigoda was an American actor, known for his portrayals of Salvatore Tessio in The Godfather (1972) and Phil Fish in both Barney Miller and Fish (1977–1978). His career as an actor began in 1947 performing with the American Theatre Wing and continued in Broadway productions throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Read more
• 24 Feb 1919: John Carl Warnecke, American architect (died 2010) John Carl "Jack" Warnecke was an American architect based in who designed numerous monuments and structures in the Modernist, Bauhaus, and other similar styles. He was an early proponent of contextual architecture. Among his more notable buildings and projects are the Hawaii State Capitol building, the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame memorial gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery, and the master plan for Lafayette Square. Read more
• 24 Feb 1915: Jim Ferrier, Australian golfer (died 1986) James Bennett Elliott Ferrier was an Australian professional golfer. After compiling a fine record as an amateur golfer in Australia during the 1930s, he moved to the United States in 1940, turned professional in 1941, and joined the PGA Tour. He won the 1947 PGA Championship among his 18 tour titles and was the first Australian to win a major championship. Read more
• 24 Feb 1914: Ralph Erskine, English-Swedish architect, designed The Ark and Byker Wall (died 2005) Ralph Erskine ARIBA was a British architect and planner who lived and worked in Sweden for most of his life. Read more
• 24 Feb 1914: Weldon Kees, American author, poet, painter, and pianist (died 1955) Harry Weldon Kees was an American poet, librarian, painter, literary critic, novelist, playwright, jazz pianist, short story writer, and filmmaker. Despite his brief career, Kees is considered an important mid-twentieth-century poet of the Beat generation, and peer of John Berryman, Elizabeth Bishop, and Robert Lowell. His work has been immensely influential on subsequent generations of poets writing in English and other languages and his collected poems have been included in many anthologies. Harold Bloom lists the publication of Kees's first book The Last Man (1943) as an important event in the chronology of his textbook Modern American Poetry as well as a book worthy of his Western Canon. Read more
• 24 Feb 1909: August Derleth, American anthologist and author (died 1971) August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. He was the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft. He made contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the cosmic horror genre and helped found Arkham House, a publishing company which did much to introduce hardcover prints of United Kingdom supernatural fiction works to the United States. Derleth was also a leading American regional writer of his day, as well as prolific in several other genres, including historical fiction, poetry, detective fiction, science fiction, and biography. Notably, he created the fictional detective Solar Pons, a pastiche of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Read more
• 24 Feb 1908: Telford Taylor, American general, lawyer, and historian (died 1998) Telford Taylor was an American lawyer and professor. Taylor was known for his role as lead counsel in the prosecution of war criminals after World War II, his opposition to McCarthyism in the 1950s, and his outspoken criticism of American actions during the Vietnam War. Read more
• 24 Feb 1903: Vladimir Bartol, Italian-Slovene author and playwright (died 1967) Vladimir Bartol was a writer from the Slovene minority in Italy. He is best known for his 1938 novel Alamut, the most popular work of Slovene literature around the world, which has been translated into numerous languages. Read more
• 24 Feb 1900: Irmgard Bartenieff, German-American dancer and physical therapist, leading pioneer of dance therapy (died 1981) Irmgard Bartenieff was a German-born American dance theorist, dancer, choreographer, physical therapist, and a leading pioneer of dance therapy. A student of Rudolf Laban, she pursued cross-cultural dance analysis, and generated a new vision of possibilities for human movement and movement training. From her experiences applying Laban’s concepts of dynamism, three-dimensional movement and mobilization to the rehabilitation of people affected by polio in the 1940s, she went on to develop her own set of movement methods and exercises, known as Bartenieff Fundamentals. Read more
• 24 Feb 1898: Kurt Tank, German pilot and engineer (died 1983) Kurt Waldemar Tank was a German aeronautical engineer and test pilot who led the design department at Focke-Wulf from 1931 to 1945. He was responsible for the creation of several important Luftwaffe aircraft of World War II, including the Fw 190 fighter aircraft, the Ta 152 fighter-interceptor and the Fw 200 Condor airliner. After the war, Tank spent two decades designing aircraft abroad, working first in Argentina and then in India, before returning to West Germany in the late 1960s to work as a consultant for Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB). Read more
• 24 Feb 1896: Richard Thorpe, American director and screenwriter (died 1991) Richard Thorpe was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Read more
• 24 Feb 1895: Şehzade Osman Fuad, Ottoman prince (died 1973) Şehzade Osman Fuad Efendi was an Ottoman prince, the son of Şehzade Mehmed Selaheddin, and the grandson of Sultan Murad V, who reigned briefly in 1876. He was the 39th head of the Imperial House of Osman from 1954 to 1973. Read more
• 24 Feb 1890: Marjorie Main, American actress (died 1975) Mary Tomlinson, professionally known as Marjorie Main, was an American character actress and singer of the Classical Hollywood period, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s and 1950s, and for her role as Ma Kettle in 10 Ma and Pa Kettle movies. Main started her career in vaudeville and theatre, and appeared in film classics, such as Dead End (1937), The Women (1939), Dark Command (1940), The Shepherd of the Hills (1941), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), and Friendly Persuasion (1956). Main, best known for playing "raucous, rough, and cantankerous women" on-screen, was characterized as "soft-spoken, shy," and "dignified" off-screen. Read more
• 24 Feb 1885: Chester W. Nimitz, American admiral (died 1966) Chester William Nimitz was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, commanding Allied air, land, and sea forces during World War II. Read more
• 24 Feb 1885: Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish author, poet, and painter (died 1939) Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, commonly known as Witkacy, was a Polish writer, painter, philosopher, theorist, playwright, novelist, and photographer active before World War I and during the interwar period. Read more
• 24 Feb 1881: Moulay Abd al-Aziz bin Hassan, Sultan of Morocco (died 1943) Moulay Abd al-Aziz bin Hassan was sultan of Morocco from 9 June 1894 to 21 August 1908, as a ruler of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was proclaimed sultan at the age of sixteen after the death of his father Hassan I. Read more
• 24 Feb 1877: Rudolph Ganz, Swiss pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1972) Rudolph Ganz was a Swiss-American pianist, conductor, composer, and teacher. Read more
• 24 Feb 1877: Ettie Rout, Australian-New Zealand educator and activist (died 1936) Ettie Annie Rout was a Tasmanian-born New Zealander whose work among servicemen in Paris and the Somme during World War I made her a war hero among the French, yet through the same events she became persona non grata in New Zealand. She married Frederick Hornibrook on 3 May 1920, after which she was Ettie Hornibrook. They had no children and later separated. She died in 1936, and was buried in the Cook Islands. Read more
• 24 Feb 1874: Honus Wagner, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 1955) Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner was an American professional baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1897 to 1917, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman" due to his superb speed and German heritage, Wagner was a prototypical five-tool player, known for being a versatile defender who could combine a strong throwing arm with the ability to play almost any defensive position as well as being capable of hitting for average and for power. He is widely regarded as the greatest shortstop of all time. In 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Wagner as one of the first five members. Read more
• 24 Feb 1869: Zara DuPont, American suffragist (died 1946) Zara "Zadie" DuPont (1869–1946) was an American suffragist, serving as the first Vice President of the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association. Read more
• 24 Feb 1868: Édouard Alphonse James de Rothschild, French financier and polo player (died 1949) Édouard Alphonse James de Rothschild, also known as Baron Édouard de Rothschild was an aristocrat, French financier and a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of France. Read more
• 24 Feb 1857: Emma Ann Browne, British-born Australian philanthropist (died 1941) Emma Ann Browne, née Elmes, was a British-born Australian philanthropist. Read more
• 24 Feb 1852: George Moore, Irish author, poet, and playwright (died 1933) George Augustus Moore was an Irish novelist, short-story writer, poet, art critic, memoirist and dramatist. Moore came from a landed family of Catholics who lived at Moore Hall in Carra, County Mayo. He originally wanted to be a painter, and studied art in Paris during the 1870s. There, he befriended many of the leading French artists and writers of the day. Read more
• 24 Feb 1848: Andrew Inglis Clark, Australian engineer, lawyer, and politician (died 1907) Andrew Inglis Clark was an Australian founding father and co-author of the Australian Constitution; he was also an engineer, barrister, politician, electoral reformer and jurist. He initially qualified as an engineer, but he re-trained as a barrister to effectively fight for social causes which deeply concerned him. After a long political career, mostly spent as Attorney-General and briefly as Opposition Leader, he was appointed a Senior Justice of the Supreme Court of Tasmania. Despite being acknowledged as the leading expert on the Australian Constitution, he was never appointed to the High Court of Australia. Read more
• 24 Feb 1842: Arrigo Boito, Italian journalist, author, and composer (died 1918) Arrigo Boito was an Italian librettist, composer, poet and critic whose only completed opera was Mefistofele. Among the operas for which he wrote the libretti are Giuseppe Verdi's monumental last two operas Otello and Falstaff as well as Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda. Read more
• 24 Feb 1837: Rosalía de Castro, Spanish poet (died 1885) María Rosalía Rita de Castro, was a Galician poet and novelist, considered one of the most important figures of the 19th-century Spanish literature and modern lyricism. Widely regarded as the greatest Galician cultural icon, she was a leading figure in the emergence of the literary Galician language. Through her work, she projected multiple emotions, including the yearning for the celebration of Galician identity and culture, and female empowerment. She is credited with challenging the traditional female writer archetype. Read more
• 24 Feb 1836: Winslow Homer, American painter and illustrator (died 1910) Winslow Homer was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters of 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in American art in general. Read more
• 24 Feb 1835: Julius Vogel, English-New Zealand journalist and politician, 8th Prime Minister of New Zealand (died 1899) Sir Julius Vogel was the eighth premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works. He was the first Jewish prime minister of New Zealand. Historian Warwick R. Armstrong assesses Vogel's strengths and weaknesses:Vogel's politics were like his nature, imaginative – and occasionally brilliant – but reckless and speculative. He was an excellent policymaker but he needed a strong leader to restrain him….Yet Vogel had vision. He saw New Zealand as a potential 'Britain of the South Seas', strong both in agriculture and in industry, and inhabited by a large and flourishing population. Read more
• 24 Feb 1831: Leo von Caprivi, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (died 1899) Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprara de Montecuccoli was a German general and statesman. He served as the imperial chancellor of the German Empire from March 1890 to October 1894, succeeding longtime chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Read more
• 24 Feb 1830: Karolina Světlá, Czech female author Karolina Světlá was a Czech writer and feminist. She is among the most important Czech female writers of the 19th century. Read more
• 24 Feb 1829: Friedrich Spielhagen, German novelist, literary theorist and translator Friedrich Spielhagen was a German novelist, literary theorist and translator. He tried a number of careers in his early 20s, but at 25 began writing and translating. His best known novel is Sturmflut and his novel In Reih' und Glied was quite successful in Russia. Read more
• 24 Feb 1827: Lydia Becker, English-French activist (died 1890) Lydia Ernestine Becker was a leader in the early British suffrage movement, as well as an amateur scientist with interests in biology and astronomy. She established Manchester as a centre for the suffrage movement and with Richard Pankhurst she arranged for the first woman to vote in a British election and a court case was unsuccessfully brought to exploit the precedent. Becker is also remembered for founding and publishing the Women's Suffrage Journal between 1870 and 1890. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 24 February in World History

• 24 Feb 2025: Roberta Flack, American singer and pianist (born 1937) Roberta Cleopatra Flack was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm radio format. Her commercial success included the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", and "Feel Like Makin' Love". She became the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in consecutive years. Read more
• 24 Feb 2024: Kumar Shahani, Indian film director and screenwriter (born 1940) Kumar Shahani was an Indian film director and screenwriter, best known for his parallel cinema films Maya Darpan (1972), Tarang (1984), Khayal Gatha (1989) and Kasba (1990). His films won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film in 1972, 1990 and 1991. Due to his dedication to formalism, and with the reputation of his first feature—Maya Darpan being considered among Indian cinema's first formalist films—critics and film enthusiasts often associated him with filmmakers such as Pier Paolo Pasolini, Andrei Tarkovsky and Jacques Rivette. He was also known as a teacher at his alma mater, the Film and Television Institute of India, and as a theorist of cinema. His book of 51 essays Kumar Shahani: The Shock of Desire and Other Essays, was edited by Ashish Rajadhyaksha and published by Tulika Books in 2015. Read more
• 24 Feb 2023: Edith Roger, Norwegian dancer and choreographer (born 1922) Edith Roger was a Norwegian dancer, choreographer, and stage director. Read more
• 24 Feb 2021: Ronald Pickup, English actor (born 1940) Ronald Alfred Pickup was an English actor. He was active in television, film, and theatre, beginning with a 1964 appearance in Doctor Who. Theatre critic Michael Billington described him as "a terrific stage star and an essential member of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre company". His major screen roles included the title role in The Life of Verdi and Prince Yakimov in Fortunes of War (1987). Read more
• 24 Feb 2020: Katherine Johnson, American physicist and mathematician (born 1918) Creola Katherine Johnson was an American human computer whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. During her 33-year career at NASA and its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform tasks previously requiring humans. The space agency noted her "historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist". Read more
• 24 Feb 2018: Sridevi, Indian actress (born 1963) Sridevi Kapoor, known mononymously as Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "first female superstar" of Indian cinema, she was the recipient of various accolades, including a National Film Award, Seven Filmfare Awards, Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, a Kerala State Film Award, and a Nandi Award. Sridevi's career spanned over 50 years in a wide range of genres. She was known for her reticent and introverted off-screen personality, but headstrong and outspoken on-screen persona, often playing strong-willed women. In 2013, Sridevi was honoured with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian honour. Read more
• 24 Feb 2018: Haukur Hilmarsson, Icelandic political activist and internationalist volunteer fighter (born 1986) Haukur Hilmarsson was an Icelandic political activist. He played a crucial role in initiating a movement for the rights of refugees in Iceland. He rose to prominence during the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests after climbing to the roof of the house of the Icelandic parliament, Alþingishúsið, and hoisting the flag of the Bónus supermarket chain on the building's flagpole. His arrest two weeks later resulted in an attempt by a crowd of protesters to storm the Icelandic Police headquarters in downtown Reykjavík where Haukur was held and from where he was subsequently released. Read more
• 24 Feb 2016: Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (born 1943) Sir Peter Kenilorea was a Solomon Islander politician, officially styled The Rt Hon. Sir Peter Kenilorea as a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. He was the first prime minister of an independent Solomon Islands, from 1978–1981, and also served a second term from 1984–1986. Read more
• 24 Feb 2016: Nabil Maleh, Syrian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1936) Nabil Maleh was a Syrian film director, screenwriter, producer, painter and poet; he is thought to be a father of Syrian cinema.
  Nabil has published more than 1,000 articles, short stories, essays and poems. He is the writer and director of 120 short, experimental and documentary works and 12 feature-length films including The Extras and The Leopard. He has more than 60 awards at international film festivals, including several lifetime achievement awards. Several of his films are in the curriculum of international film schools, and he has taught film direction, acting, writing and aesthetics at many universities, centers and associations, including the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California in Los Angeles. Read more
• 24 Feb 2016: George C. Nichopoulos, American soldier and physician (born 1927) George Constantine Nichopoulos, also known as Dr. Nick, was an American physician of Greek descent. He was Elvis Presley's personal physician and was controversial due to the singer's abuse of prescription drugs. The Tennessee Medical Board permanently revoked Nichopoulos's license for years of overprescribing medications. Read more
• 24 Feb 2015: Mefodiy, Ukrainian metropolitan (born 1949) Metropolitan Mefodiy was the Primate of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine. Read more
• 24 Feb 2015: Rakhat Aliyev, Kazakh politician and diplomat (born 1962) Rakhat Mukhtaruly Aliyev was a Kazakh politician and diplomat, who died in an Austrian prison awaiting trial on charges of murder. His trial was planned to start in Vienna in first half of year 2015. Austrian legal circles were giving much attention to this high-profile criminal case in which a former diplomat was facing murder charges. Read more
• 24 Feb 2014: Franny Beecher, American guitarist (born 1921) Francis Eugene Beecher was the lead guitarist for Bill Haley & His Comets from 1954 to 1962, and is best remembered for his innovative guitar solos that incorporated elements of jazz. He composed the classics "Blue Comet Blues", "Goofin' Around", "Week End", "The Catwalk", and "Shaky" when he was the lead guitarist for Bill Haley and the Comets. He continued to perform with surviving members of the Comets into 2006. In 2012, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Beecher as a member of the Comets by a special committee, aimed at correcting the previous mistake of not inducting the Comets with Bill Haley. Read more
• 24 Feb 2014: Alexis Hunter, New Zealand-English painter and photographer (born 1948) Alexis Jan Atthill Hunter was a New Zealand painter and photographer, who used feminist theory in her work. She lived and worked in London UK, and Beaurainville France. Hunter was also a member of the Stuckism collective.
  Her archive and artistic legacy is now administered by the Alexis Hunter Trust. Read more
• 24 Feb 2014: Carlos Páez Vilaró, Uruguayan painter and sculptor (born 1923) Carlos Páez Vilaró was a Uruguayan abstract artist, painter, potter, sculptor, muralist, writer, composer and constructor. He took an active role in the search for survivors of the 1972 crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in the Andes, as his son Carlos Páez Rodríguez was a passenger. Read more
• 24 Feb 2014: Harold Ramis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1944) Harold Allen Ramis was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His film acting roles include Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989), and as Russell Ziskey in Stripes (1981); he also co-wrote those films. As a director, his films include the comedies Caddyshack (1980), National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Groundhog Day (1993), Analyze This (1999) and Analyze That (2002). Ramis was the original head writer of the television series SCTV, on which he also performed, as well as a co-writer of Groundhog Day and National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). The final film that he wrote, produced, directed, and acted in was Year One (2009). Read more
• 24 Feb 2013: Virgil Johnson, American singer (born 1935) The Velvets were an American doo-wop group from Odessa, Texas, United States. They were formed in 1959 by Virgil Johnson, a high-school English teacher, with four of his students. Roy Orbison heard the group and signed them to Monument Records in 1960. They recorded in Nashville in Studio B, with the A Team as their backup band. Their first release was a tune called "That Lucky Old Sun". Their biggest hit single was "Tonight ", which hit #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961. The follow-up, "Laugh", peaked at #90, and after a half-dozen further singles the group disbanded. Read more
• 24 Feb 2013: Con Martin, Irish footballer and manager (born 1923) Cornelius Joseph Martin was an Irish footballer. Martin initially played Gaelic football for the Dublin county team before switching codes and embarking on a successful soccer career, playing for, among others, Drumcondra, Glentoran, Leeds United and Aston Villa. Read more
• 24 Feb 2012: Agnes Allen, American baseball player and therapist (born 1930) Agnes Lorraine "Aggie" Allen was a pitcher and outfielder who played from 1950 through 1953 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m), 120 lb, she batted and threw right-handed. Read more
• 24 Feb 2012: Oliver Wrong, English nephrologist and academic (born 1925)

  Professor Oliver Murray Wrong was an eminent academic nephrologist and one of the founders of the speciality in the United Kingdom. From a background as a "salt and water" physician, he made detailed clinical observations and scientifically imaginative connections which were the basis of numerous advances in the molecular biology of the human kidney. Wrong himself contributed to much of the molecular work after his own "retirement". He dictated amendments to his final paper during his final illness in his own teaching hospital, University College Hospital (UCH), London. Though academic in his leanings, he was a compassionate physician who established a warm rapport with patients, a link he regarded as the keystone of his research. He belonged to a generation of idealistic young doctors responsible for the establishment of the UK's National Health Service in the post-War years. Read more

• 24 Feb 2011: Anant Pai, Indian author and illustrator (born 1929) Anant Pai, popularly known as Uncle Pai, was an Indian educationalist and a pioneer in Indian comics. He is most famous as the creator of two comic book series viz. Amar Chitra Katha, which retold traditional Indian folk tales, mythological stories, and biographies of historical characters; and Tinkle, a children's anthology. Read more
• 24 Feb 2010: Dawn Brancheau, senior animal trainer at SeaWorld (born 1969) Dawn Therese Brancheau was an American animal trainer at SeaWorld. She worked with orcas at SeaWorld Orlando for fifteen years, including a leading role in revamping the Shamu show, and was SeaWorld's poster girl. She was killed by an orca, Tilikum, who was also involved in the deaths of Keltie Byrne and Daniel P. Dukes. Read more
• 24 Feb 2008: Larry Norman, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1947) Larry David Norman was an American musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Christian rock music and released more than 100 albums. Read more
• 24 Feb 2007: Bruce Bennett, American shot putter and actor (born 1906) Bruce Bennett was an American film and television actor who was a college athlete in football and in intercollegiate and international track-and-field competitions. In 1928, he won the silver medal for the shot put at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam. His acting career in film and television spanned more than 40 years. Read more
• 24 Feb 2007: Damien Nash, American football player (born 1982) Damien Darnell Nash was an American professional football running back who played for the Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He died after the 2006 season, his only season with the Broncos. Read more
• 24 Feb 2006: Octavia E. Butler, American author and educator (born 1947) Octavia Estelle Butler was an American science fiction and speculative fiction writer who won several awards for her works, including Hugo, Locus, and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. Read more
• 24 Feb 2006: Don Knotts, American actor and comedian (born 1924) Jesse Donald Knotts was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He also played Ralph Furley on the sitcom Three's Company from 1979 to 1984. He starred in multiple comedic films, including leading roles in The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964) and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966). In 2004, TV Guide ranked him number 27 on its "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time" list. Read more
• 24 Feb 2006: John Martin, Canadian broadcaster, co-founded MuchMusic (born 1947) John Martin was a Canadian broadcaster, credited with "almost single-handedly" creating music television in Canada. Read more
• 24 Feb 2006: Dennis Weaver, American actor, director, and producer (born 1924) Billy Dennis Weaver was an American actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weaver's two most famous roles were as Marshal Matt Dillon's deputy Chester Goode on the western Gunsmoke and as Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud on the police drama McCloud. He starred in the 1971 television film Duel, the first film of director Steven Spielberg. He is also remembered for his role as the twitchy motel attendant in Orson Welles's film Touch of Evil (1958). Read more
• 24 Feb 2005: Coşkun Kırca, Turkish diplomat, journalist and politician (born 1927) Coşkun Kırca was a Turkish diplomat, journalist and politician. He served as the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1995. He was at first a member of the Republican People's Party (CHP), then of the Republican Reliance Party (CGP), then of the True Path Party (DYP). Read more
• 24 Feb 2004: John Randolph, American actor (born 1915) Emanuel Hirsch Cohen, better known by the stage name John Randolph, was an American film, television and stage actor. Read more
• 24 Feb 2002: Leo Ornstein, Ukrainian-American pianist and composer (born 1893) Leo Ornstein was an American experimental composer and pianist of the early twentieth century. His performances of works by avant-garde composers and his own innovative and even shocking pieces made him a cause célèbre on both sides of the Atlantic. The bulk of his experimental works were written for piano. Read more
• 24 Feb 2001: Theodore Marier, American composer and educator, founded the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (born 1912) Theodore Norbert Marier was a church musician, educator, arranger and scholar of Gregorian Chant. He founded St. Paul's Choir School in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1963, and served as the second president of the Church Music Association of America. Read more
• 24 Feb 2001: Claude Shannon, American mathematician, cryptographer, and engineer (born 1916) Claude Elwood Shannon was an American polymath who was a mathematician, electrical engineer, computer scientist, cryptographer and inventor known as the "father of information theory" and the man who laid the foundations of the Information Age. Read more
• 24 Feb 1999: Andre Dubus, American short story writer, essayist, and memoirist (born 1936) Andre Jules Dubus II was an American writer of short stories, novels, and essays. Read more
• 24 Feb 1998: Antonio Prohías, Cuban-American cartoonist (born 1921) Antonio Prohías was a Cuban-American cartoonist. He was the creator of the satirical comic strip Spy vs. Spy, which he illustrated for Mad magazine from 1961 to 1987. Read more
• 24 Feb 1998: Henny Youngman, English-American comedian and violinist (born 1906) Henry "Henny" Youngman was an American comedian and musician famous for his mastery of the "one-liner", his best known being "Take my wife… please". Read more
• 24 Feb 1994: Jean Sablon, French singer and actor (born 1906) Jean Sablon was a French singer, songwriter, composer and actor. He was one of the first French singers to immerse himself in jazz. The man behind several songs by big French and American names, he was the first to use a microphone on a French stage in 1936. Star of vinyl records and the radio, he left France in 1937 to take a contract with NBC in the United States. His radio and later televised shows made him a huge star in America. Henceforth the most international of French singers among his contemporaries, he became an ambassador of French songwriting and dedicated his career to touring internationally, occasionally returning to France to appear on stage. His sixty-one year career came to an end in 1984. Read more
• 24 Feb 1994: Dinah Shore, American actress and singer (born 1916) Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, television personality, author, and talk show host. Born in Winchester, Tennessee and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, She rose to prominence as a recording artist during the Big Band era. She achieved even greater success a decade later in television, mainly as the host of a series of variety programs sponsored by Chevrolet. After failing singing auditions for the bands of Benny Goodman, and both Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Shore struck out on her own. She became the first singer of her era to achieve huge solo success. She had a string of eighty charted popular hits, spanning from 1940 to 1957, and after appearing in a handful of feature films, she went on to a four-decade career in American television. She starred in her own music and variety shows from 1951 through 1963 and hosted two talk shows in the 1970s. TV Guide ranked her at number 16 on their list of the top 50 television stars of all time. Stylistically, Shore was compared to two singers who followed her in the mid-to-late 1940s and early 1950s, Jo Stafford and Patti Page. Read more
• 24 Feb 1993: Danny Gallivan, Canadian sportscaster (born 1917) Daniel Leo Gallivan was a Canadian radio and television broadcaster and sportscaster. Read more
• 24 Feb 1993: Bobby Moore, English footballer and manager (born 1941) Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore was an English professional footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders in the history of football, and was cited by Pelé as the greatest defender he had ever played against. Moore is considered one of the greatest players of all time. Read more
• 24 Feb 1991: John Daly, American journalist and game show host (born 1914) John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly was an American journalist, host, CBS radio and television personality, ABC News executive, TV anchor, and game show host, best known for his work on the CBS panel game show What's My Line? Read more
• 24 Feb 1991: George Gobel, American actor (born 1919) George Leslie Goebel was an American humorist, actor, and comedian. He was best known as the star of his own weekly comedy variety television series, The George Gobel Show, on NBC from 1954 to 1959 and on CBS from 1959 to 1960. He was also a familiar panelist on the NBC game show Hollywood Squares. Read more
• 24 Feb 1991: Webb Pierce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1921) Michael Webb Pierce was an American country music vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist of the 1950s, one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number-one hits than any other country and western performer during the decade. Read more
• 24 Feb 1990: Tony Conigliaro, American baseball player (born 1945) Anthony Richard Conigliaro, nicknamed "Tony C" and "Conig", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox and California Angels (1971). Born in Revere, Massachusetts, he was a 1962 graduate of St. Mary's High School in Lynn, Massachusetts. Conigliaro started his MLB career as a teenager, hitting a home run in his first at-bat during his home field debut in 1964, and reaching 100 career home runs faster than any player in American League history. Read more
• 24 Feb 1990: Malcolm Forbes, American sergeant and publisher (born 1917) Malcolm Stevenson Forbes was an American businessman and politician most prominently known as the publisher of Forbes magazine, which was founded by his father B. C. Forbes. He represented Somerset County in the New Jersey Senate from 1952 to 1958 and ran two campaigns for Governor of New Jersey. In 1953, he lost the Republican nomination to Paul L. Troast, who had the support of most of the party establishment. In 1957, he won the Republican nomination but lost the general election to incumbent Governor Robert Meyner. He was known as an avid promoter of capitalism and free market economics and for an extravagant lifestyle, spending on parties, travel, and his collection of homes, yachts, aircraft, art, motorcycles, and Fabergé eggs. Read more
• 24 Feb 1990: Sandro Pertini, Italian journalist and politician, 7th President of Italy (born 1896) Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio "Sandro" Pertini was an Italian socialist politician and statesman who served as the
  president of Italy from 1978 to 1985. Read more
• 24 Feb 1990: Johnnie Ray, American singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1927) John Alvin Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music, and his animated stage personality. Tony Bennett called Ray the "father of rock and roll", and historians have noted him as a pioneering figure in the development of the genre. Read more
• 24 Feb 1986: Rukmini Devi Arundale, Indian Bharatnatyam dancer (born 1904) Rukmini Devi Arundale was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam, and an activist for animal welfare. Read more
• 24 Feb 1986: Tommy Douglas, Scottish-Canadian minister and politician, 7th Premier of Saskatchewan (born 1904) Thomas Clement Douglas was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as the seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Baptist minister, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1935 as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). He left federal politics to become leader of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and then the seventh Premier of Saskatchewan. His government introduced the continent's first single-payer, universal health care program. Read more
• 24 Feb 1982: Virginia Bruce, American actress (born 1910) Virginia Bruce was an American actress and singer. Read more
• 24 Feb 1978: Alma Thomas, American painter and educator (born1891) Alma Woodsey Thomas was an African-American artist and art teacher who lived and worked in Washington, D.C., and is now recognized as a major American painter of the 20th century. She is the first African-American woman to be included in the White House's permanent art collection. Thomas is best known for the "exuberant", colorful, abstract paintings that she created after she retired from a 35-year career teaching art at Washington's Shaw Junior High School. Read more
• 24 Feb 1975: Hans Bellmer, German artist (born 1902) Hans Bellmer was a German artist, best known for his drawings, etchings that illustrates the 1940 edition of Histoire de l’œil, and the life-sized female dolls he produced in the mid-1930s. Historians of art and photography also consider him a Surrealist photographer. Read more
• 24 Feb 1975: Nikolai Bulganin, Russian marshal and politician, 6th Premier of the Soviet Union (born 1895) Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1955 to 1958. He also served as Minister of Defense, following service in the Red Army during World War II. Read more
• 24 Feb 1974: Margaret Leech, American historian and author (born 1895) Margaret Kernochan Leech, also known as Margaret Pulitzer, was an American historian and fiction writer. She won the Pulitzer Prize for History both in 1942 and in 1960. Read more
• 24 Feb 1970: Conrad Nagel, American actor (born 1897) John Conrad Nagel was an American film, stage, television and radio actor. He was considered a famous matinée idol and leading man of the 1920s and 1930s. He was given an Honorary Academy Award in 1940, and three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Read more
• 24 Feb 1967: Mir Osman Ali Khan, Last Nizam of Hyderabad State (born 1886) Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII was the last Nizam (ruler) of Hyderabad State, the largest state in the erstwhile Indian Empire. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of 25 and ruled the State of Hyderabad until 1948, when the Indian Union annexed it. He was styled as His Exalted Highness (H.E.H) the Nizam of Hyderabad, and was widely considered one of the world's wealthiest people of all time. With some estimates placing his wealth at 2% of U.S. GDP, his portrait was on the cover of Time magazine in 1937. As a semi-autonomous monarch, he had his mint, printing his currency, the Hyderabadi rupee, and had a private treasury that was said to contain £100 million in gold and silver bullion, and a further £400 million of jewels. The major source of his wealth was the Golconda mines, the only supplier of diamonds in the world at that time. Among them was the Jacob Diamond, valued at some £50 million, and used by the Nizam as a paperweight. Read more
• 24 Feb 1953: Robert La Follette Jr., American politician, senator of Wisconsin (born 1895) Robert Marion La Follette Jr. was an American politician who served as United States senator from Wisconsin from 1925 to 1947. A member of the La Follette family, he was often referred to by the nickname "Young Bob" to distinguish him from his father, Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette, who had served as a U.S. senator and governor of Wisconsin. Robert Jr., along with his brother Philip La Follette, carried on their father's legacy of progressive politics and founded the Wisconsin Progressive Party. Robert Jr. was the last major Progressive Party politician in the U.S. Senate, ending in 1946 when the party disbanded. La Follette was defeated in the 1946 Republican Senate primary by Joseph McCarthy. Read more
• 24 Feb 1953: Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal (born 1875) Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was a German Generalfeldmarschall in the Heer (Army) of Nazi Germany and Oberbefehlshaber West during World War II. At the end of the war, aged 69, with over 52 years of service, he was the Army's most senior officer. Read more
• 24 Feb 1930: Hermann von Ihering, German-Brazilian zoologist (born 1850) Hermann Friedrich Albert von Ihering was a German-Brazilian zoologist. He was the oldest son of Rudolf von Jhering. Read more
• 24 Feb 1929: André Messager, French pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1853) André Charles Prosper Messager was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage works, among which his ballet Les Deux Pigeons (1886) and opéra comique Véronique (1898) have had lasting success; Les p'tites Michu (1897) and Monsieur Beaucaire (1919) were also popular internationally. Read more
• 24 Feb 1927: Edward Marshall Hall, English lawyer and politician (born 1858) Sir Edward Marshall Hall, was an English barrister who had a formidable reputation as an orator. He successfully defended many people accused of notorious murders and became known as "The Great Defender". Read more
• 24 Feb 1925: Hjalmar Branting, Swedish journalist and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Sweden, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1860) Karl Hjalmar Branting was a Swedish statesman and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Sweden on three occasions from 1920 to 1925. From 1907 until his death in 1925, Branting led the Social Democratic Party (SAP), playing a major role in advocating universal suffrage, an eight-hour workday, and other labor rights. He was also instrumental in foreign policy, including his support for the League of Nations. Read more
• 24 Feb 1914: Joshua Chamberlain, American general and politician, 32nd Governor of Maine (born 1828) Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was an American college professor and politician from Maine who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army. He became a highly respected and decorated Union officer, reaching the rank of brigadier general. He is best known for his gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg, leading a bayonet charge, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Read more
• 24 Feb 1910: Osman Hamdi Bey, Turkish archaeologist and painter (born 1842) Osman Hamdi Bey was an Ottoman Turkish administrator, intellectual, art expert and also a prominent and pioneering painter. He was the Ottoman Empire's first modern archaeologist, and is regarded as the founding father of both archaeology and the museum curator's professions in Turkey. He was the founder of Istanbul Archaeology Museums and of the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts known today as the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. He was also the first mayor of Kadıköy. Read more
• 24 Feb 1879: Shiranui Kōemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 11th Yokozuna (born 1825) Shiranui Kōemon was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kikuchi, Higo Province. He was the sport's 11th yokozuna. He gives his name to one of the two styles for the yokozuna's in-ring ceremony, although the question of whether he himself practiced this style is highly debated. Read more
• 24 Feb 1876: Joseph Jenkins Roberts, American-Liberian politician, 1st President of Liberia (born 1809) Joseph Jenkins Roberts was an African American merchant who emigrated to Liberia in 1829, where he became a politician. Elected as the first (1848–1856) and seventh (1872–1876) president of Liberia after independence, he was the first man of African descent to govern the country, serving previously as governor from 1841 to 1848. He later returned to office in the 1871 general election following the 1871 Liberian coup d'état. Born free in Norfolk, Virginia, Roberts emigrated as a young man with his mother, siblings, wife, and child to the young West African colony. He opened a trading firm in Monrovia and later engaged in politics. Read more
• 24 Feb 1856: Nikolai Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician and academic (born 1792) Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky was a Russian mathematician and geometer, known primarily for his work on hyperbolic geometry, otherwise known as Lobachevskian geometry, and also for his fundamental study on Dirichlet integrals, known as the Lobachevsky integral formula. Read more
• 24 Feb 1825: Thomas Bowdler, English physician and philanthropist (born 1754) Thomas Bowdler was an English physician known for publishing The Family Shakespeare, an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's plays edited by his sister Henrietta Maria Bowdler. The two sought a version they saw as more appropriate than the original for 19th-century women and children. Bowdler also published works reflecting an interested knowledge of continental Europe. His last work was an expurgation of Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, published posthumously in 1826 under the supervision of his nephew and biographer, Thomas Bowdler the Younger. From his name derives the eponym verb bowdlerise or bowdlerize, meaning to expurgate or to censor something through the omission of elements deemed unsuited to children in literature and films and on television. Read more
• 24 Feb 1815: Robert Fulton, American engineer (born 1765) Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the North River Steamboat. In 1807, that steamboat traveled on the Hudson River with passengers from New York City to Albany and back again, a round trip of 300 nautical miles, in 62 hours. The success of his steamboat changed river traffic and trade on major American rivers. Read more
• 24 Feb 1812: Étienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (born 1775) Étienne-Louis Malus was a French officer, engineer, physicist, and mathematician. Read more
• 24 Feb 1810: Henry Cavendish, French-English physicist and chemist (born 1731) Henry Cavendish was an English experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist. He is noted for his discovery of hydrogen, which he termed "inflammable air". He described the density of inflammable air, which formed water on combustion, in a 1766 paper, On Factitious Airs. Antoine Lavoisier later reproduced Cavendish's experiment and gave the element its name. Read more

Why is 24 February Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 24 February, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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What happened on 24 February in World history?

On 24 February, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

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