Tuesday, 24th February 2026 in Lisbon

24th February in the Stars – Star Sign Pisces

Today, the zodiac sign Pisces celebrates its birthday.

Personality Profile

Personality People born on February 24 blend dreamy sensitivity with transformative depth. Neptune's spiritual force merges with Pluto's psychological intensity, giving them a magnetic, contemplative presence. They navigate between imagination and inner power with quiet magnetism.

Strengths & Weaknesses Their strengths lie in empathy, intuition, and creative profundity. However, they risk drowning in emotional currents or becoming controlling. Balancing dreams with practical grounding remains their central challenge.

Love Those born on this day seek deep, transformative partnerships over surface connections. Their intuitive nature enables profound intimacy, though trust-building takes time. They love unconditionally when genuine soul resonance exists.

Caree & Finance They flourish in creative, therapeutic, or spiritual fields. Numerology 8 fuels financial ambition and leadership capacity. They blend artistic sensibility with business acumen, creating lasting prosperity.

Health Emotional balance is vital to their wellbeing, as psychological strain manifests physically. Meditation, creative expression, and water-based activities stabilize them. Regular boundary-setting protects their sensitive energy.

That night, the moon was in its waning gibbous phase.

Chinese year of the Horse (Fire).

Fun Facts About 24th February

Name Days in Your Language: Maddison, Madison, Madisyn, Madyson, Mateo, Mathew, Mathias, Matt, Mattea, Matthew, Matthias, Mattias, Mattie, Matty, Modesto

Someone born on this day would be just 103 days old today — roughly 2,490 hours, 149,407 minutes, or 8,964,430 seconds spent on Earth so far.

It's the 55. day of the year. In 2026, 24th February falls on a Tuesday.

There are 310 days still to come.

We’re currently in Week 9 — the year marches on.

Famous Birthdays on 23rd February

On this day, 221 notable people were born on 23rd February — spanning from 1103 to 2004. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

24/02/2004

Samuele Vignato, Italian football player

Samuele Vignato is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Rijeka.

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.

24/02/2003

Honey Osrin, British swimmer

Honey Osrin is a British swimmer who competed in swimming at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

24/02/2000

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.

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.

24/02/1997

Đurđina Jauković, Montenegrin handball player

Đurđina Jauković is a Montenegrin handball player for CSM București and the Montenegrin national team.

24/02/1996

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.

24/02/1994

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, achieved in September 2023. Pegula has won 11 singles titles and seven doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including four WTA 1000 titles in singles and two in doubles. She was the runner-up at the 2024 US Open and at the 2023 WTA Finals.

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. He 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.

24/02/1992

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.

24/02/1991

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.

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.

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.

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.

Christian Kabasele, Congolese-born Belgian footballer

Christian Kabasele is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Udinese.

24/02/1990

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.

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.

24/02/1989

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.

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.

Kosta Koufos, Greek-American basketball player

Konstantine Demetrios "Kosta" 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.

24/02/1988

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.

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.

Connie Ramsay, Scottish judoka

Connie Ramsay is a Scottish judoka and politician, who competed at the Commonwealth Games.

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.

24/02/1987

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.

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.

Mario Suárez, Spanish footballer

Mario Suárez Mata is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

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.

24/02/1986

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.

24/02/1985

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).

24/02/1984

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.

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.

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.

24/02/1982

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.

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.

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.

Emanuel Villa, Argentine footballer

Emanuel Alejandro Villa, commonly known as "Tito Villa", is an Argentine former professional footballer. He is a Mexican naturalized citizen.

24/02/1981

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.

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.

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. On 19 November 2001, Hewitt became the youngest man to reach No. 1 in the ATP singles rankings, at the age of 20 years, 268 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.

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.

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.

24/02/1980

Shinsuke Nakamura, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist

Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. As of January 2016, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under his real name.

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.

24/02/1977

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.

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.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., American boxer

Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. is an American professional boxer and boxing promoter. He is undefeated 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.

24/02/1976

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.

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.

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.

24/02/1975

Ashley MacIsaac, Canadian singer-songwriter and fiddler

Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter 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.

24/02/1974

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.

Khadzhimurad Magomedov, Russian freestyle wrestler

Khadzhimurad Magomedov is a Russian wrestler and Olympic champion in Freestyle wrestling.

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.

24/02/1973

Alexei Kovalev, Russian ice hockey player and pilot

Alexei Vyacheslavovich Kovalev is a Russian professional ice hockey coach, executive and former professional player.

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.

24/02/1972

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.

Manon Rhéaume, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Manon Rhéaume is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender and current general manager for PWHL Detroit. 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.

24/02/1971

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.

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 published in 40 languages, and by 2016, Gone Girl had sold over 15 million copies worldwide.

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.

24/02/1970

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.

Neil Sullivan, Scottish footballer and coach

Neil Sullivan is a former 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.

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.

24/02/1969

Kim Seung-woo, South Korean actor

Kim Seung-woo is a South Korean actor and talk show host.

24/02/1968

Mitch Hedberg, American comedian and actor (died 2005)

Mitchell Lee Hedberg was an American stand-up comedian. He was known for his one-liner comedy, characterized by surreal humor and his distinctive deadpan delivery, as well as his unconventional stage presence.

24/02/1967

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.

24/02/1966

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.

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.

24/02/1965

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.

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.

24/02/1964

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".

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.

24/02/1963

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Indian filmmaker and composer

Sanjay Navin Bhansali, known professionally as Sanjay Leela Bhansali, is an Indian filmmaker 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.

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.

Mike Vernon, Canadian ice hockey player

Michael Vernon is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. As a goaltender, he played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks and Florida Panthers.

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.

24/02/1962

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 U.S. ambassador to the United Nations by the US Senate by a vote of 56–34, and was officially sworn in September 2019.

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.

24/02/1961

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.

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.

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).

24/02/1959

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).

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.

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.

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.

24/02/1958

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".

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).

24/02/1956

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.

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 eight 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.

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.

24/02/1955

Steve Jobs, American businessman, co-founded Apple Computer and Pixar (died 2011)

Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman, inventor, and investor. A pioneer of the personal computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, Jobs co-founded Apple Inc. with his early business partner Steve Wozniak as Apple Computer Company 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.

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.

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).

24/02/1954

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".

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.

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.

Mike Pickering, English DJ and saxophonist

Mike Pickering, is an English musician, DJ, songwriter, A&R Executive from Manchester, UK.

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.

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.

24/02/1953

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.

24/02/1952

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.

24/02/1951

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

24/02/1950

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".

24/02/1949

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.

24/02/1948

Jayalalithaa, Indian actress and politician, 16th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (died 2016)

Jayaram Jayalalithaa, popularly known as Amma, was an Indian politician and actress who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for six terms spanning more than fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. She was the longest-serving General Secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the first female chief minister to die in office in India. Regarded as one of the most influential politicians of post-independence India, she was also a prominent film actress, appearing in around 140 films between 1961 and 1980 in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada cinema, and winning multiple Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and Filmfare Awards South.

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.

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.

24/02/1947

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 television series Remember WENN, and his novel Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide.

Edward James Olmos, American actor and director

Edward James Olmos is an 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), and William Adama in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009).

24/02/1946

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.

24/02/1945

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.

24/02/1944

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.

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.

David Wineland, American physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology

David Jeffery Wineland is an American physicist at the Physical Measurement Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). His most notable contributions include the laser cooling of trapped ions and the use of ions for quantum-computing operations. He received the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with Serge Haroche, for "ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems."

24/02/1943

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.

Gigi Meroni, Italian footballer (died 1967)

Luigi "Gigi" Meroni was an Italian professional footballer who played as a winger. earning the nickname "the George Best that never was."

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.

24/02/1942

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".

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.

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.

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).

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Indian philosopher, theorist, and academic

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak 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.

24/02/1941

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.

24/02/1940

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.

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.

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.

24/02/1939

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.

24/02/1938

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.

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 footwear, 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.

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.

24/02/1936

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.

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.

24/02/1935

Ryhor Baradulin, Belarusian poet, essayist, and translator (died 2014)

Ryhor Janavič Baradulin was a Belarusian poet, essayist and translator.

24/02/1934

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.

Johnny Hills, English footballer (died 2021)

John Raymond Hills was an English professional footballer who played for Gravesend & Northfleet, Tottenham Hotspur and Bristol Rovers.

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.

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.

24/02/1933

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.

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.

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.

24/02/1932

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).

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 2026 to be elected twice as Governor of Georgia.

John Vernon, Canadian-American actor (died 2005)

John Keith Vernon was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood films after achieving initial television stardom in Canada, and was known for his roles as villainous authority figures.

24/02/1931

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).

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.

24/02/1930

Barbara Lawrence, American model and actress (died 2013)

Barbara Jo Lawrence was an American model, and actress.

24/02/1929

Kintarō Ōki, South Korean wrestler (died 2006)

Kim Tae-sik, better known by the ring names Kintarō Ōki and Kim Il, was a Korean and Japanese professional wrestler and ssireum-kkun. His professional wrestling career spanned from the late-1950s to the early-1980s.

24/02/1927

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).

24/02/1926

Dave Sands, Australian boxer (died 1952)

Dave Sands was an Aboriginal Australian professional boxer.

24/02/1925

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.

24/02/1924

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.

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.

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.

24/02/1922

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.

Steven Hill, American actor (died 2016)

Steven 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.

24/02/1921

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.

24/02/1919

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.

24/02/1915

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.

24/02/1914

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.

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.

24/02/1909

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.

24/02/1908

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.

24/02/1903

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.

24/02/1900

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.

24/02/1898

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).

24/02/1896

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.

24/02/1895

Şehzade Osman Fuad, Ottoman prince (died 1973)

Şehzade Osman Fuad Efendi was an Ottoman prince, a son of Şehzade Mehmed Selaheddin, and 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.

24/02/1890

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, notable 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, known for playing "raucous, rough, and cantankerous women" on-screen, was characterized as "soft-spoken, shy," and "dignified" off-screen.

24/02/1885

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.

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.

24/02/1881

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.

24/02/1877

Rudolph Ganz, Swiss pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1972)

Rudolph Ganz was a Swiss-American pianist, conductor, composer, and teacher.

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.

24/02/1874

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.

24/02/1869

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.

24/02/1868

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.

24/02/1857

Emma Ann Browne, British-born Australian philanthropist (died 1941)

Emma Ann Browne, née Elmes, was a British-born Australian philanthropist.

24/02/1852

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.

24/02/1848

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.

24/02/1842

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.

24/02/1837

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.

24/02/1836

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.

24/02/1835

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.

24/02/1831

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.

24/02/1830

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.

24/02/1829

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.

24/02/1827

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.

24/02/1797

Samuel Lover, Irish composer, writer and painter (died 1868)

Samuel Lover, also known as "Ben Trovato", was an Irish songwriter, composer and novelist, and a portrait painter, chiefly in miniatures. He was the grandfather of Victor Herbert.

24/02/1788

Johan Christian Dahl, Norwegian-German painter (died 1857)

Johan Christian Claussen Dahl, often known as J. C. Dahl or I. C. Dahl, was a Norwegian artist who is considered the first great romantic painter in Norway, the founder of the "golden age" of Norwegian painting. He is often described as "the father of Norwegian landscape painting" and is regarded as the first Norwegian painter to reach a level of artistic accomplishment comparable to that attained by the greatest European artists of his day. He was also the first to acquire genuine fame and cultural renown abroad. As one critic has put it, "J.C. Dahl occupies a central position in Norwegian artistic life of the first half of the 19th century.

24/02/1786

Martin W. Bates, American lawyer and politician (died 1869)

Martin Waltham Bates was a lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, and then the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as U.S. Senator from Delaware.

Wilhelm Grimm, German anthropologist, author, and academic (died 1859)

Wilhelm Carl Grimm was a German writer, philologist and anthropologist. He was the younger brother of Jacob Grimm, of the literary duo the Brothers Grimm.

24/02/1774

Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (died 1850)

Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge was the tenth child and seventh son of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte. He held the title of Duke of Cambridge from 1801 until his death. From 1816 to 1837, he served as Viceroy of the Kingdom of Hanover on behalf of his elder brothers King George IV and King William IV.

24/02/1767

Rama II of Siam (died 1824)

Phutthaloetla Naphalai, also known by his regnal name Rama II, was the second King of Rattanakosin from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 1809 to 1824. In 1809, as Prince Itsarasunthon, he succeeded his father Rama I, the founder of the Chakri dynasty, to become Loetlanaphalai, King of Siam. His reign was largely peaceful, devoid of major conflicts. His reign was known as the "Golden Age of Rattanakosin Literature" as Loetlanaphalai was patron to a number of poets in his court, and the King himself was a renowned poet and artist. The most notable poet in his employ was the illustrious Sunthorn Phu, the author of Phra Aphai Mani. The rapid growth of the number of his descendants was outstanding: he is believed to have had over 240 grandchildren.

24/02/1762

Charles Frederick Horn, German-English composer and educator (died 1830)

Charles Frederick Horn was an English musician and composer. Born in the Holy Roman Empire, he emigrated to London with few possessions and no knowledge of the English language, yet rose to become a music teacher in the Royal Household. As an editor and arranger, he helped introduce the music of Johann Sebastian Bach to England.

24/02/1743

Joseph Banks, English botanist and explorer (died 1820)

Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.

24/02/1736

Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (died 1806)

Christian Frederick Charles Alexander was the last margrave of the two Franconian principalities, Bayreuth and Ansbach, which he sold to the King of Prussia, a fellow member of the House of Hohenzollern.

24/02/1723

John Burgoyne, English general and politician (died 1792)

General John Burgoyne was a British Army officer, playwright and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, most notably during the Spanish invasion of Portugal in 1762.

24/02/1721

John McKinly, Irish-American physician and politician, 1st Governor of Delaware (died 1796)

John McKinly was an American physician and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He was a veteran of the French and Indian War, served in the Delaware General Assembly, was the first elected president of Delaware, and for a time was a member of the Federalist Party.

24/02/1709

Jacques de Vaucanson, French engineer (died 1782)

Jacques de Vaucanson was a French inventor and artist who built the first all-metal lathe. This invention was crucial for the Industrial Revolution. The lathe is known as the mother of machine tools, as it was the first machine tool that led to the invention of other machine tools. He was responsible for the creation of impressive and innovative automata. He also was the first person to design an automatic loom.

24/02/1622

Johannes Clauberg, German theologian and philosopher (died 1665)

Johannes Clauberg was a German philosopher and theologian. Clauberg was the founding Rector of the first University of Duisburg, where he taught from 1655 to 1665. He is known as a "scholastic cartesian".

24/02/1619

Charles Le Brun, French painter and theorist (died 1690)

Charles Le Brun was a French painter, physiognomist, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. He served as a court painter to Louis XIV, who declared him "the greatest French artist of all time". Le Brun was a dominant figure in 17th-century French art and was influenced by Nicolas Poussin.

24/02/1604

Arcangela Tarabotti, Venetian nun and feminist (died 1652)

Arcangela Tarabotti was a Venetian nun and Early Modern Italian writer. Tarabotti wrote texts and corresponded with cultural and political figures for most of her adult life, centering on the issues of forced enclosure, and what she saw as other symptoms and systems of patriarchy and misogyny in her works and discussions. Tarabotti wrote at least seven works, though only five were published during her lifetime. Because of the politics of Tarabotti’s works, many scholars consider her “a protofeminist writer as well as an early political theorist.”

24/02/1595

Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, Polish author and poet (died 1640)

Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, was a Polish poet. He is considered Europe's most prominent Latin poet of the 17th century, and a renowned theoretician of poetics.

24/02/1593

Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford, English soldier and courtier (died 1625)

Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford KB was an English nobleman, courtier, and soldier. He inherited one of England’s oldest earldoms in 1604, joining a prominent aristocratic family with centuries of influence in English politics and society. De Vere served at the court of King James I, participating in ceremonial events, military campaigns, and diplomatic missions, reflecting the close connection between noble and royal service in early modern England. He was created a Knight of the Bath (KB) and married Lady Diana Cecil, though the couple had no children. Upon his death in 1625, the earldom passed to his second cousin, Robert de Vere, as the 19th Earl of Oxford.

24/02/1557

Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1619)

Matthias was Holy Roman Emperor from 1612 to 1619, Archduke of Austria from 1608 to 1619, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1608 to 1618 and King of Bohemia from 1611 to 1617. His personal motto was Concordia lumine maior.

24/02/1553

Cherubino Alberti, Italian engraver and painter (died 1615)

Cherubino Alberti (1553–1615), also called Borghegiano, was an Italian engraver and painter. He is most often remembered for the Roman frescoes completed with his brother Giovanni Alberti during the papacy of Clement VIII. He was most prolific as an engraver of copper plates.

24/02/1545

John of Austria (died 1578)

John of Austria was the illegitimate son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and a military leader in the service of the Spanish Empire under his half-brother, King Philip II of Spain. He is best known for his role as the admiral of the Holy League fleet at the Battle of Lepanto and as Governor of the Spanish Netherlands.

24/02/1536

Pope Clement VIII (died 1605)

Pope Clement VIII, born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605.

24/02/1500

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1558)

Charles V was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain from 1516 to 1556, King of Sicily and Naples from 1516 to 1554, and also Lord of the Netherlands and titular Duke of Burgundy from 1506 to 1555. He was heir to and then head of the rising House of Habsburg. His dominions in Europe included the Holy Roman Empire, extending from Germany to northern Italy with rule over the Austrian hereditary lands and Burgundian Low Countries, and Spain with its possessions of the southern Italian kingdoms of Sicily, Naples, and Sardinia. In the Americas, he oversaw the continuation of Spanish colonization and a short-lived German colonization. The personal union of the European and American territories he ruled was the first collection of realms labelled "the empire on which the sun never sets".

24/02/1494

Johan Friis, Danish statesman (died 1570)

Johan Friis was a Danish statesman. He served as Chancellor under King Christian III of Denmark.

24/02/1463

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Italian philosopher (died 1494)

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola was an Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher. He is famed for the events of 1486, when, at the age of 23, he proposed to defend 900 theses on religion, philosophy, natural philosophy, and magic against all comers, for which he wrote the Oration on the Dignity of Man, which has been called the "Manifesto of the Renaissance", and a key text of Renaissance humanism and of what has been called the "Hermetic Reformation". He was the founder of the tradition of Christian Kabbalah, a key tenet of early modern Western esotericism. The 900 Theses was the first printed book to be universally banned by the Church. Pico is sometimes seen as a proto-Protestant, because his 900 theses anticipated many Protestant views.

24/02/1413

Louis, Duke of Savoy (died 1465)

Louis I was Duke of Savoy from 1440 until his death in 1465.

24/02/1360

Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy

Amadeus VII, known as the Red Count, was Count of Savoy from 1383 to 1391.

24/02/1304

Ibn Battuta, Moroccan explorer

Ibn Battuta was a Maghrebi Muslim traveller, explorer and scholar from Tangier. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, Asia, and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn Battuta dictated an account of his journeys, titled A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling, commonly known as The Rihla. Ibn Battuta travelled more than any other explorer in pre-modern history, totalling around 117,000 km (73,000 mi), surpassing Zheng He with about 50,000 km (31,000 mi) and Marco Polo with 24,000 km (15,000 mi).

24/02/1103

Emperor Toba of Japan (died 1156)

Emperor Toba was the 74th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

Lives Remembered on 23rd February

On 23rd February, 95 remarkable people passed away — from 616 to 2025. Remember the lives and legacies of those we lost on this day.

24/02/2025

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.

24/02/2024

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.

24/02/2023

Edith Roger, Norwegian dancer and choreographer (born 1922)

Edith Roger was a Norwegian dancer, choreographer, and stage director.

24/02/2021

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 (1982) and Prince Yakimov in Fortunes of War (1987).

24/02/2020

Katherine Johnson, American physicist and mathematician (born 1918)

Creola Katherine Johnson was an American mathematician and 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".

24/02/2018

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.

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.

24/02/2016

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 to 1981, and also served a second term from 1984 to 1986.

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.

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.

24/02/2015

Mefodiy, Ukrainian metropolitan (born 1949)

Metropolitan Mefodiy was the Primate of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine.

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.

24/02/2014

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.

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.

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.

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).

24/02/2013

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.

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.

24/02/2012

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.

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.

24/02/2011

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.

24/02/2010

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.

24/02/2008

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.

24/02/2007

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.

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.

24/02/2006

Octavia E. Butler, American author and educator (born 1947)

Octavia Estelle Butler was an American science fiction and speculative fiction author 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.

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.

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.

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).

24/02/2005

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).

24/02/2004

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.

24/02/2002

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.

24/02/2001

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.

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.

24/02/1999

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.

24/02/1998

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.

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".

24/02/1994

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.

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.

24/02/1993

Danny Gallivan, Canadian sportscaster (born 1917)

Daniel Leo Gallivan was a Canadian radio and television broadcaster and sportscaster.

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.

24/02/1991

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?

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.

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.

24/02/1990

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.

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.

Sandro Pertini, Italian journalist and politician, 7th President of Italy (born 1896)

Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio "Sandro" Pertini was an Italian politician, socialist, partisan and journalist who served as the president of Italy from 1978 to 1985.

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.

24/02/1986

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.

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.

24/02/1982

Virginia Bruce, American actress (born 1910)

Virginia Bruce was an American actress and singer.

24/02/1978

Alma Thomas, American painter and educator (born 1891)

Alma Woodsey Thomas was an 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.

24/02/1975

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.

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.

24/02/1974

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.

24/02/1970

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.

24/02/1967

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.

24/02/1953

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.

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.

24/02/1930

Hermann von Ihering, German-Brazilian zoologist (born 1850)

Hermann Friedrich Albert von Ihering was a German Brazilian doctor, professor and ornithologist. He was the oldest son of Rudolf von Jhering.

24/02/1929

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.

24/02/1927

Edward Marshall Hall, English lawyer and politician (born 1858)

Sir Edward Marshall Hall, was an English barrister and politician who had a formidable reputation as an orator. He successfully defended many people accused of notorious murders and became known as "The Great Defender".

24/02/1925

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.

24/02/1914

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.

24/02/1910

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.

24/02/1879

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.

24/02/1876

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.

24/02/1856

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.

24/02/1825

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, and for publishing other editions edited by himself. The two sought a version they considered more appropriate than the original for 19th-century women and children. Bowdler also published works representing 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 with 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, movies, and television.

24/02/1815

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.

24/02/1812

Étienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (born 1775)

Étienne-Louis Malus was a French officer, engineer, physicist, and mathematician.

24/02/1810

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.

24/02/1799

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German physicist and academic (born 1742)

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg was a German physicist, satirist, and Anglophile. He was the first person in Germany to hold a professorship explicitly dedicated to experimental physics. He is remembered for his posthumously published notebooks, which he himself called Sudelbücher, a description modelled on the English bookkeeping term "waste books" or "scrapbooks", and for his discovery of the tree-like electrical discharge patterns now called Lichtenberg figures.

24/02/1785

Carlo Buonaparte, Corsican lawyer and politician (born 1746)

Carlo Maria Buonaparte, also known as Carlo Maria di Buonaparte and Charles-Marie Bonaparte, was a Corsican attorney, nobleman, and official, best known as the father of Napoleon Bonaparte and grandfather of Napoleon III.

24/02/1777

Joseph I of Portugal (born 1714)

Dom Joseph I, known as the Reformer, was King of Portugal from 31 July 1750 until his death in 1777. Among other activities, he was devoted to hunting and the opera. His government was controlled by Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, who implemented new laws, modernized the economy and Portuguese society, marking Joseph's reign as a time of modernization of Portugal.

24/02/1732

Francis Charteris, Scottish soldier (born 1675)

Colonel Francis Charteris, nicknamed "The Rape-Master General", was a Scottish soldier and adventurer who earned a substantial sum of money through gambling and the South Sea Bubble. He was also a serial rapist who was convicted of raping a servant in 1730 and sentenced to death, but subsequently pardoned, before dying of natural causes shortly afterwards.

24/02/1721

John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English poet and politician, Lord President of the Council (born 1648)

John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby was a British military officer, writer and Tory politician who served as Lord Privy Seal and Lord President of the Council. He was also known by his original title, Lord Mulgrave.

24/02/1714

Edmund Andros, English courtier and politician, 4th Colonial Governor of New York (born 1637)

Sir Edmund Andros was an English army officer and colonial administrator. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other times, Andros served as governor of the provinces of New York, East and West Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland.

24/02/1704

Marc-Antoine Charpentier, French composer (born 1643)

Marc-Antoine Charpentier was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the prelude of his Te Deum H.146, Marche en rondeau, which has been used as the theme song fanfare before television broadcasts of the Eurovision Network since the inception of the European Broadcasting Union in 1954.

24/02/1685

Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland (born 1629)

Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle was an English military leader and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1653 and 1660 and was created Earl of Carlisle in 1661.

24/02/1674

Prataprao Gujar, 3rd Commander-in-chief of Maratha Confederacy

Prataprao Gujar was a Maratha general who served as the 3rd Senapati of the Maratha Empire during the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He commander the Maratha Army until 1674.

24/02/1666

Nicholas Lanier, English composer and painter (born 1588)

Nicholas Lanier, sometimes Laniere was an English composer and musician; the first to hold the title of Master of the King's Music from 1625 to 1666, an honour given to musicians of great distinction. He was the court musician, a composer and performer and Groom of the Chamber in the service of King Charles I and Charles II. He was also a singer, lutenist, scenographer and painter.

24/02/1588

Johann Weyer, Dutch physician and occultist (born 1515)

Johannes Wier was a Dutch physician who was among the first to publish a thorough treatise against the trials and persecution of people accused of witchcraft. His most influential work is De Praestigiis Daemonum et Incantationibus ac Venificiis.

24/02/1580

Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel, English nobleman (born 1511)

Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel was an English nobleman, who over his long life assumed a prominent place at the court of all the later Tudor sovereigns.

24/02/1563

Francis, Duke of Guise (born 1519)

François de Lorraine, 2nd Duke of Guise, 1st Prince of Joinville, and 1st Duke of Aumale, was a French general and statesman. A prominent leader during the Italian War of 1551–1559 and French Wars of Religion, he was assassinated during the siege of Orleans in 1563.

24/02/1530

Properzia de' Rossi, Italian Renaissance sculptor

Properzia de' Rossi was a female Italian Renaissance sculptor and one of only four women to receive a biography in Vasari's Lives of the Artists.

24/02/1525

Jacques de La Palice, French nobleman and military officer (born 1470)

Jacques de La Palice was a French nobleman and military officer. He was the lord of Chabannes, La Palice, Pacy, Chauverothe, Bort-le-Comte and Héron. In 1511, he received the title of Grand Master of France.

Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet, French soldier (born c. 1488)

Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet was a French soldier.

Richard de la Pole, last Yorkist claimant to the English throne (born 1480)

Richard de la Pole was a pretender to the English crown. Commonly nicknamed "White Rose", he was the last Yorkist claimant to actively and openly seek the crown of England. He lived in exile after many of his relatives were executed, becoming allied with Louis XII of France in the War of the League of Cambrai. Louis saw him as a more favourable ally and prospect for an English king than Henry VIII.

24/02/1496

Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg (born 1445)

Eberhard I of Württemberg also known as Eberhard im Bart was the first Duke of Württemberg. After the death of his older brother in 1459 he became the Count of Württemberg-Urach as Eberhard V. In 1482 he signed the Treaty of Münsingen with his cousin Eberhard VI of Württemberg-Stuttgart reuniting Württemberg-Urach with Württemberg-Stuttgart under his rule. In exchange his cousin was designated as his heir. He moved the capital to Stuttgart and in July 1495 he was elevated to Duke of Württemberg by Emperor Maximilian I.

24/02/1386

Charles III of Naples (born 1345)

Charles III of Naples, also called Charles the Small or Charles of Durazzo, was King of Naples and the titular King of Jerusalem from 1382 to 1386 as Charles III, and also King of Hungary from 1385 to 1386 as Charles II. In 1381, Charles created the chivalric Order of the Ship. In 1383, he succeeded to the Principality of Achaea on the death of James of Baux.

24/02/1114

Thomas, archbishop of York

Thomas II was a medieval archbishop of York.

24/02/1018

Borrell, bishop of Vic

Borrell was the bishop of Vic from 1010 until 1017. He was elected to replace Arnulf, who had died in battle against the Córdobans, and his episcopate coincided with the renewed colonisation of the west of Catalonia.

24/02/0951

Liu Yun, Chinese governor (jiedushi)

Liu Yun, probably known as Liu Chengyun before 949, referred to in historical sources as the Duke of Xiangyin (湘陰公), was a military governor of the Later Han dynasty during the Five Dynasties period. He was an ethnic Shatuo.

24/02/0616

Æthelberht of Kent

Æthelberht was King of Kent from about 589 until his death. The eighth-century monk Bede, in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, lists him as the third king to hold imperium over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In the late-ninth-century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he is referred to as a bretwalda, or "Britain-ruler". He was the first Anglo-Saxon king to convert to Christianity.

Celebrations & Special Days Worldwide on 23rd February

Christian feast day: Blessed Ascensión Nicol y Goñi

Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. Beati is the plural form, referring to those who have undergone the process of beatification; they possess the title of "Blessed" before their names and are often referred to in English as "a Blessed" or, plurally, "Blesseds".

Christian feast day: Blessed Josefa Naval Girbés

Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. Beati is the plural form, referring to those who have undergone the process of beatification; they possess the title of "Blessed" before their names and are often referred to in English as "a Blessed" or, plurally, "Blesseds".

Christian feast day: Lindel Tsen and Paul Sasaki (Anglican Church of Canada)

The Rt. Rev. Philip Lindel Tsen was a bishop of the Anglican Church in China. Tsen was the first Chinese Presiding Bishop of the Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui and was succeeded by Bishop Robin Chen of the Diocese of Anhui province.

Christian feast day: Modest (bishop of Trier)

Modestus was bishop of Trier when the Franks gained control over the city of Trier and he is considered a Pre-Congregational Saint. His feast day is 24 February.

Christian feast day: Sergius of Cappadocia

Saint Sergius was a Cappadocian monk who was martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian. His feast day is 24 February.

Christian feast day: February 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

February 23 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - February 25

Dragobete (Romania)

Dragobete is a traditional Romanian holiday celebrated on February 24. Dragobete was the son of Baba Dochia, which stands for the main person in the myth related to spring arrival and the end of the harsh winter. Due to his endless kindness he was chosen – according to some sources, by Virgin Mary – to be the Guardian of Love.

Engineer's Day (Iran)

Engineer's Day is observed in several countries on various dates of the year.

Flag Day in Mexico

Día de la Bandera is a national holiday in Mexico dedicated to the flag of Mexico. Flag Day is celebrated every year on February 24 since its implementation in 1934. It was established by the President of Mexico, General Lázaro Cárdenas, in front of the monument to General Vicente Guerrero; Guerrero was the first to pledge allegiance to the Mexican flag, on March 12, 1821.

Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Estonia from the Russian Empire in 1918; the Soviet period is considered to have been an illegal annexation.

Independence Day, formally the Anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, is a national holiday in Estonia commemorating the Estonian Declaration of Independence which was published in the capital city Tallinn (Reval) on 24 February 1918, establishing the Republic of Estonia. Since then, it has been the National Day of Estonia.

National Artist Day (Thailand)

The National Artist is a title given annually by the Office of the National Culture Commission of Thailand, recognizing notable Thai artists in the area of intangible cultural heritage such as literature, fine arts, visual arts, applied arts and performing arts.

Sweden Finns' Day (Sweden)

Sweden Finns' Day is an anniversary celebrated in Sweden on 24 February. The anniversary was approved by the Swedish Academy in 2010, and was held for the first time in 2011. 24 February was chosen as the date of the anniversary, as this was also the birthday of Carl Axel Gottlund, a collector of folk poetry and a defender of the status of the Finnish language. The purpose of the day is to celebrate the Sweden Finns and to recognize their history, language and culture as a part of Sweden's cultural heritage.

What Happened on 23rd February?

61 significant events took place on Wednesday, 23rd February — stretching from 484 to 2022. Explore the moments that shaped history on this day.

24/02/2022

Russo-Ukrainian War: Days after recognising Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, Russian president Vladimir Putin orders the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Russo-Ukrainian war began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied Crimea and annexed it from Ukraine. It then supported Russian separatist armed groups who started a war in the eastern Donbas region against Ukraine's military. In 2018, Ukraine declared the region to be occupied by Russia. The first eight years of conflict also involved naval incidents and cyberwarfare. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and began occupying more of the country, starting the current phase of the war, the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. The war has resulted in a refugee crisis and hundreds of thousands of deaths.

24/02/2020

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.

Mahathir bin Mohamad is a Malaysian politician, physician and author who served as the fourth and seventh prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020. He was the country's longest-serving prime minister, serving for a cumulative total of 24 years. His political career has spanned more than 75 years, from joining protests opposing citizenship policies for non-Malays in the Malayan Union in the 1940s to forming the Gerakan Tanah Air coalition in 2022. During his premiership, Mahathir was granted the title "Father of Modernisation" for his pivotal role in transforming the country's economy and infrastructure. At 100 years old, he is the second-oldest living former state leader in the world and the first Malaysian prime minister to reach that age.

24/02/2016

Tara Air Flight 193, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, crashes, with 23 fatalities, in Solighopte, Myagdi District, Dhaulagiri Zone, while en route from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport.

Tara Air Flight 193 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Pokhara to Jomsom, Nepal. On 24 February 2016, eight minutes after take-off, the aircraft serving the flight, a Viking Air DHC-6-400 Twin Otter went missing with 23 people on board. Hours later, the wreckage was found near the village of Dana, Myagdi District. There were no survivors. It was Tara Air's deadliest accident.

24/02/2015

A Metrolink train derails in Oxnard, California following a collision with a truck, leaving more than 30 injured.

Metrolink is a commuter rail system in Southern California, serving Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties. The system consists of eight lines and 69 stations operating on 545.6 miles (878.1 km) of track. This includes Arrow, which Metrolink operates under a contract with the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA).

24/02/2011

Space Shuttle Discovery launches on its final mission, STS-133.

Space Shuttle Discovery is a retired American Space Shuttle orbiter. The spaceplane was one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, aggregating more spaceflights than any other spacecraft as of December 2024. The Space Shuttle launch vehicle had three main components: the Space Shuttle orbiter, a single-use central fuel tank, and two reusable solid rocket boosters. Nearly 25,000 heat-resistant tiles cover the orbiter to protect it from high temperatures on re-entry.

24/02/2008

Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba and the Council of Ministers after 32 years. He would remain as head of the Communist Party for another three years.

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as prime minister from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2008. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist, he also served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1965 until 2011. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party communist state; industry and business were nationalized, and socialist reforms were implemented throughout society.

24/02/2007

Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.

A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications.

24/02/2006

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in an attempt to subdue a possible military coup.

President of the Philippines is the title of the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

24/02/2004

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.

Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or "size" of an earthquake. These are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of ground shaking (quaking) caused by an earthquake at a given location. Magnitudes are usually determined from measurements of an earthquake's seismic waves as recorded on a seismogram. Magnitude scales vary based on what aspect of the seismic waves are measured and how they are measured. Different magnitude scales are necessary because of differences in earthquakes, the information available, and the purposes for which the magnitudes are used.

24/02/1999

China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft, crashes in Rui'an, Zhejiang, China. All 61 people on board are killed.

China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509 (SZ4509) was a domestic flight in China from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, Sichuan to Wenzhou Yongqiang Airport, Zhejiang. On February 24, 1999, the Tupolev Tu-154M operating the flight crashed while on approach to Wenzhou Airport, killing all 61 passengers and crew members on board.

24/02/1996

Two civilian airplanes operated by the Miami-based group Brothers to the Rescue are shot down in international waters by the Cuban Air Force.

Miami is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the second-most populous city proper in Florida, with a population of 442,241 at the 2020 census. The Miami metropolitan area in South Florida has an estimated 6.39 million residents, ranking as the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the Southeast and eighth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Miami has the third-largest skyline in the U.S. with over 300 high-rises, 70 of which exceed 491 ft (150 m). It is the county seat of Miami-Dade County.

24/02/1991

Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war.

The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States. The coalition's efforts were in two phases: Operation Desert Shield, which marked the military buildup from August 1990 to January 1991; and Operation Desert Storm, from the bombing campaign against Iraq on 17 January until the American-led liberation of Kuwait on 28 February.

24/02/1989

United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, rips open during flight, blowing nine passengers out of the business-class section.

United Airlines Flight 811 was a regularly scheduled international flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, with intermediate stops at Honolulu and Auckland. On February 24, 1989, the Boeing 747 serving the flight experienced a cargo-door failure in flight shortly after leaving Honolulu. The resulting explosive decompression blew out several rows of seats, killing nine passengers. The aircraft returned to Honolulu and landed without further incident.

24/02/1984

Tyrone Mitchell perpetrates the 49th Street Elementary School shooting in Los Angeles, killing two children and injuring 12 more.

Tyrone Mitchell was an American spree killer who fatally shot a student and a passerby as well as wounding twelve others who were leaving 49th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles on February 24, 1984. Mitchell then committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a double-barreled shotgun.

24/02/1983

A special commission of the United States Congress condemns the Japanese American internment during World War II.

The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both meet in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

24/02/1981

The 6.7 Ms Gulf of Corinth earthquake affects Central Greece with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Twenty-two people are killed, 400 are injured, and damage totals $812 million.

Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or "size" of an earthquake. These are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of ground shaking (quaking) caused by an earthquake at a given location. Magnitudes are usually determined from measurements of an earthquake's seismic waves as recorded on a seismogram. Magnitude scales vary based on what aspect of the seismic waves are measured and how they are measured. Different magnitude scales are necessary because of differences in earthquakes, the information available, and the purposes for which the magnitudes are used.

24/02/1978

The Yuba County Five disappear in California. Four of their bodies are found four months later.

The Yuba County Five were young men from Yuba County, California, United States, each with mild intellectual disabilities or psychiatric conditions, who were reported missing after attending a college basketball game at California State University, Chico, on the night of February 24, 1978. Four of them—Bill Sterling, 29; Jack Huett, 24; Ted Weiher, 32; and Jack Madruga, 30—were later found dead; the fifth, Gary Mathias, 25, has never been found.

24/02/1976

The 1976 constitution of Cuba is formally proclaimed.

Even before attaining its independence from Spain, Cuba had several constitutions either proposed or adopted by insurgents as governing documents for territory they controlled during their war against Spain. Cuba has had several constitutions since winning its independence. The first constitution since the Cuban Revolution was drafted in 1976 and has since been amended. In 2018, Cuba became engaged in a major revision of its constitution. The current communist state constitution was then enacted in 2019.

24/02/1971

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.

The All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) is a left-wing nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and was strongest in West Bengal. The party re-established as an independent political party after the independence of India. During the 1951–1952 and 1957 Indian general election, the party was known as Forward Bloc. The party's current Secretary-General is G. Devarajan. Veteran Indian politicians Sarat Chandra Bose and Chitta Basu had been the stalwarts of the party in independent India.

24/02/1968

Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnamese forces led by Ngo Quang Truong recapture the citadel of Hué.

The Vietnam War was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina wars and a proxy war of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. The Vietnam War was one of the postcolonial wars of national liberation, a theater in the Cold War, and a civil war, with civil warfare a defining feature from the outset. Direct US military involvement escalated from 1965 until US forces were withdrawn in 1973. The fighting spilled into the Laotian and Cambodian civil wars, which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975.

24/02/1967

Cultural Revolution: Zhang Chunqiao announces the dissolution of the Shanghai People's Commune, replacing its local government with a revolutionary committee.

The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by CCP chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society.

24/02/1966

Ghanaian coup d'état by National Liberation Council overthrows Kwame Nkrumah's Government

The 1966 Ghanaian coup d'état was a military overthrow of President Kwame Nkrumah on February 24, 1966, while he was visiting China. The swift and bloodless coup led to the establishment of an eight-member National Liberation Council (NLC), comprising four army and four police officers. The NLC dissolved Nkrumah's Convention People's Party and the Parliament, and suspended the constitution.

24/02/1949

The Armistice Agreements are signed, to formally end the hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Transjordan, and Syria. They formally ended the hostilities of the 1948 Palestine War and also demarcated the Green Line, which separated Arab-controlled territory from Israel until the latter's victory in the 1967 Six-Day War.

24/02/1946

Colonel Juan Perón, founder of the political movement that became known as Peronism, is elected to his first term as President of Argentina.

Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer and politician who was the 29th and 40th president of Argentina, serving from 1946 to his overthrow in 1955, and from 1973 to 1974. He was the only Argentine president elected three times and holds the highest percentage of votes in clean elections. Perón was one of the most important, and controversial, Argentine politicians of the 20th century; his influence extends to today. Perón's ideas, policies and movement are known as Peronism, which continues to be a force in Argentine politics.

24/02/1945

Egyptian Premier Ahmad Mahir Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree.

Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Palestine and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan and the Sahara to the south, and Libya to the west. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northeast separates Egypt from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Cairo is the capital, largest city, and leading cultural centre, while Alexandria is the second-largest city and an important hub of industry and tourism. With over 107 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world, third-most populous country in Africa, and 15th-most populated in the world.

24/02/1943

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.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

24/02/1942

Seven hundred ninety-one Romanian Jewish refugees and crew members are killed after the MV Struma is torpedoed by the Soviet Navy.

The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after around 1850, and more especially after the establishment of Greater Romania in the aftermath of World War I. A diverse community, albeit an overwhelmingly urban one, Jews were a target of religious persecution and racism in Romanian society from the late-19th century debate over the "Jewish Question" and the Jewish residents' right to citizenship, leading to the genocide carried out in the lands of Romania as part of the Holocaust. The latter, coupled with successive waves of emigration, including aliyah to Israel, has accounted for a dramatic decrease in the overall size of Romania's present-day Jewish community.

The Battle of Los Angeles: A false alarm leads to an anti-aircraft barrage that lasts into the early hours of February 25.

The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which took place from late February 24, to early February 25, 1942, over Los Angeles, California. The incident occurred less than three months after the U.S. entered World War II in response to the Imperial Japanese Navy's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and one day after the bombardment of Ellwood near Santa Barbara on 23 February. Initially, the target of the aerial barrage was thought to be an attacking force from Japan, but speaking at a press conference shortly afterward, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox called the purported attack a "false alarm". Newspapers of the time published a number of reports and speculations of a cover-up to conceal an actual invasion by enemy airplanes.

24/02/1920

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.

Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor was born in Danville, Virginia, and raised in Greenwood, Virginia. Her first marriage, to socialite Robert Gould Shaw II, was unhappy and ended in divorce. She then moved to England and married American-born Englishman Waldorf Astor in 1906.

The Nazi Party (NSDAP) is founded by Adolf Hitler in the Hofbräuhaus beer hall in Munich, Germany.

The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party, was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers' Party, existed from 1919 to 1920. The Nazi Party emerged from the extremist German nationalist, racist, and populist Freikorps paramilitary culture, which fought against communist uprisings in post–World War I Germany. The party was created to draw workers away from communism and into völkisch nationalism. Hitler stated while on trial for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch in February 1924 that “I have resolved to be the destroyer of Marxism”, a statement which he later applied to those opposed to the Nazi Party in 1926, claiming “They tried to paralyze the one party that would have been able to give opposition to this Red pest.” Initially, Nazi political strategy used socialist rhetoric to gain the support of the lower middle class; that was later downplayed to gain the support of business leaders. By the 1930s, the party's main focus shifted to antisemitic and anti-Marxist themes. The party had little popular support until the Great Depression, when worsening living standards and widespread unemployment drove Germans into political extremism.

24/02/1918

Estonian Declaration of Independence.

The Estonian Declaration of Independence, also known as the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia, is the founding act which established the independent democratic Republic of Estonia on 24 February 1918. Since then, 24 February has been celebrated as Estonian Independence Day, the national day of Estonia.

24/02/1917

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.

World War I, or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The war saw important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million military and civilian casualties and genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.

24/02/1916

The Governor-General of Korea establishes a clinic called Jahyewon in Sorokdo to segregate Hansen's disease patients.

The Governor-General of Chōsen was the chief administrator of the Government-General of Chōsen, a part of an administrative organ established by the Imperial government of Japan. The position existed from 1910 to 1945.

24/02/1895

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.

In political science, a revolution is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic, or religious structures. According to the sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements at their core: (a) efforts to change the political regime that draw on a competing vision of a just order, (b) a notable degree of informal or formal mass mobilization, and (c) efforts to force change through noninstitutionalized actions such as mass demonstrations, protests, strikes, or violence."

24/02/1881

China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty.

The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, also known as the Qing Empire or Qing China, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia which existed from 1636/1644 to 1912. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. At the height of its power, the empire stretched from the Sea of Japan in the east to the Pamir Mountains in the west, and from the Mongolian Plateau in the north to the South China Sea in the south. Originally emerging from the Later Jin dynasty founded in 1616 and proclaimed in Shenyang in 1636, the dynasty seized control of the Ming capital Beijing and North China in 1644, traditionally considered the start of the dynasty's rule. The dynasty lasted until the Xinhai Revolution of October 1911 led to the abdication of the last emperor in February 1912. The multi-ethnic Qing dynasty assembled the territorial base for modern China. The Qing controlled the most territory of any dynasty in Chinese history, and in 1790 was the fourth-largest empire in world history to that point. It was also the most populous state at the time, with over 426 million citizens in 1907.

24/02/1876

The stage première of Peer Gynt, a play by Henrik Ibsen with incidental music by Edvard Grieg, takes place in Christiania (Oslo), Norway.

Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays.

24/02/1875

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.

SS Gothenburg was an iron-hulled sail- and steamship that was built in England in 1854 and sailed between England and Sweden until 1862. She then moved to Australia, where she operated across the Tasman Sea to and from New Zealand until 1873, when she was rebuilt. After her rebuild, she operated in the Australian coastal trade.

24/02/1868

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.

Andrew Johnson was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a War Democrat who ran with Lincoln on the National Union Party ticket in the 1864 presidential election, coming to office as the American Civil War concluded. Johnson favored quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union without protection for the newly freed people who were formerly enslaved, as well as pardoning ex-Confederates. This led to conflict with the Republican Party-dominated U.S. Congress, culminating in his impeachment by the House of Representatives in 1868. He was acquitted in the Senate by one vote.

24/02/1863

Arizona is organized as a United States territory.

Arizona is a landlocked state in the Southwestern United States, sharing the Four Corners region with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the northwest and California to the west, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix, which is the most populous state capital and fifth-most populous city in the United States. Arizona is divided into 15 counties.

24/02/1854

A Penny Red with perforations becomes the first perforated postage stamp to be officially issued for distribution.

The Penny Red was a British postage stamp, issued in 1841. It succeeded the Penny Black and continued as the main type of postage stamp in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until 1879, with only minor changes to the design during that time. The colour was changed from black to red because of difficulty in seeing a cancellation mark on the Penny Black; a black cancellation mark was readily visible on a Penny Red.

24/02/1848

King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne.

France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.

24/02/1831

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.

The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was a treaty which was signed on September 27, 1830, and proclaimed on February 24, 1831, between the Choctaw American Indian tribe and the United States government. This treaty was the first removal treaty which was carried into effect under the Indian Removal Act. The treaty ceded about 11 million acres (45,000 km2) of the Choctaw Nation primarily in the state of Mississippi, which had been admitted to the Union in 1817, in exchange for about 15 million acres (61,000 km2) in the Indian Territory, in a territory, which became the state of Oklahoma. The principal Choctaw negotiators were Chief Greenwood LeFlore, Mosholatubbee, and Nittucachee; the U.S. negotiators were Colonel John Coffee and Secretary of War John Eaton.

24/02/1826

The signing of the Treaty of Yandabo marks the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War.

The Treaty of Yandabo was the peace treaty that ended the First Anglo-Burmese War. The treaty was signed on 24 February 1826, nearly two years after the war formally broke out on 5 March 1824, by General Sir Archibald Campbell on the British side, and the Governor of Legaing Maha Min Hla Kyaw Htin from the Burmese side, without any due permission and consent of the Ahom kingdom, Kachari kingdom or the other territories covered in the treaty. With the British army at Yandabo village, only 80 km (50 mi) from the capital Ava, the Burmese were forced to accept the British terms without discussion.

24/02/1822

The first Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, is inaugurated.

Swaminarayan, the founder of the Swaminarayan Sampraday, established temples, known as mandirs, as part of his philosophy of theism and deity worship.

24/02/1821

Final stage of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain with Plan of Iguala.

The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional struggles that occurred within the same period, and can be considered a revolutionary civil war. It culminated with the drafting of the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire in Mexico City on September 28, 1821, following the collapse of royal government and the military triumph of forces for independence.

24/02/1813

Sinking of HMS Peacock by USS Hornet on the Demerara River, Guyana.

The sinking of HMS Peacock was a naval action fought off the mouth of the Demerara River, Guyana on 24 February 1813, between the sloop of war USS Hornet and the Cruizer-class brig-sloop HMS Peacock. After an exchange of broadsides, Hornet was able to rake Peacock, forcing her to strike. Peacock was so badly damaged that she sank shortly after surrendering.

24/02/1812

Treaty of Paris between Napoleon and Frederick William III of Prussia against Russia is signed.

The Treaty of Paris of 24 February 1812 between Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia established a Franco-Prussian alliance directed against Russia. On 24 June, Prussia joined the French invasion of Russia. The unpopular alliance broke down when the Prussian contingent in French service signed a separate armistice, the Convention of Tauroggen, with Russia on 30 December 1812. On 17 March 1813, Frederick William declared war on France and issued his famous proclamation "To My People".

24/02/1809

London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving its owner, Irish writer and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan, destitute.

The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The present building, opened in 1812, is the most recent of four theatres that have stood at the location since 1663, making it the oldest theatre site in London still in use. According to the author Peter Thomson, for its first two centuries, Drury Lane could "reasonably have claimed to be London's leading theatre". For most of that time, it was one of a handful of patent theatres, granted monopoly rights to the production of "legitimate" drama in London.

Britain invades and captures the French colony of Martinique.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established by the Acts of Union in 1801 that united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one unitary and sovereign state. It continued in this form until 1927, when it evolved into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, after the Irish Free State gained a degree of independence in 1922.

24/02/1803

In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review.

Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that established the principle of judicial review, meaning that American courts have the power to strike down laws and statutes they find to violate the Constitution of the United States. Decided in 1803, Marbury is regarded as the single most important decision in American constitutional law. It established that the U.S. Constitution is actual law, not just a statement of political principles and ideals. It also helped define the boundary between the constitutionally separate executive and judicial branches of the federal government.

24/02/1739

Battle of Karnal: The army of Iranian ruler Nader Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah.

The Battle of Karnal was a decisive victory for Nader Shah, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran, during his invasion of India. Nader's forces defeated the army of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah within three hours, paving the way for the Iranian sack of Delhi. The engagement is considered the crowning jewel in Nader's military career as well as a tactical masterpiece. The battle took place near Karnal in Haryana, 110 kilometres (68 mi) north of Delhi, India. As a result of the overwhelming defeat of the Mughal Empire at Karnal, the already-declining Mughal dynasty was critically weakened to such an extent as to hasten its demise. According to Axworthy, it is also possible that without the ruinous effects of Nader's invasion of India, European colonial takeover of the Indian subcontinent would have come in a different form or perhaps not at all.

24/02/1711

Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, is premièred.

Rinaldo is an opera by George Frideric Handel, composed in 1711, and was the first Italian-language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill, and the work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's Haymarket on 24 February 1711. The story of love, war and redemption, set at the time of the First Crusade, is loosely based on Torquato Tasso's epic poem Gerusalemme liberata, and its staging involved many original and vivid effects. It was a great success with the public, despite negative reactions from literary critics hostile to the contemporary trend towards Italian entertainment in English theatres.

24/02/1607

L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance.

L'Orfeo, or La favola d'Orfeo, is a late Renaissance/early Baroque favola in musica, or opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and tells the story of his descent to Hades and his fruitless attempt to bring his dead bride Eurydice back to the living world. It was written in 1607 for a court performance during the annual Carnival at Mantua. While Jacopo Peri's Dafne is generally recognised as the first work in the opera genre, and the earliest surviving opera is Peri's Euridice, L'Orfeo is the earliest that is still regularly performed.

24/02/1597

The last battle of the Cudgel War takes place on the Santavuori Hill in Ilmajoki, Ostrobothnia.

The Cudgel War was a 1596–1597 peasant uprising in Finland, which was then part of the Kingdom of Sweden. The name of the uprising derives from the fact that the peasants armed themselves with various blunt weapons, such as cudgels, flails, and maces, since they were seen as the most efficient weapons against their heavily armoured enemies. The yeomen also had swords, some firearms, and two cannons at their disposal. Their opponents, the troops of Clas Eriksson Fleming, were professional, heavily armed and armoured men-at-arms.

24/02/1582

With the papal bull Inter gravissimas, Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar.

A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden seal (bulla) traditionally appended to authenticate it.

24/02/1538

Treaty of Nagyvárad between Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and King John Zápolya of Hungary and Croatia.

The Treaty of Nagyvárad was a secret peace agreement between Emperor Ferdinand I and John Zápolya, rival claimants to the Kingdom of Hungary, signed in Grosswardein / Várad on February 24, 1538. In the treaty, they divided Hungary between them according to the actual possession.

24/02/1527

Coronation of Ferdinand I as the king of Bohemia in Prague.

Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564. Before his accession as emperor, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the House of Habsburg in the name of his elder brother, Emperor Charles V, and often served as Charles' representative in developing encouraging relationships with German princes. In addition, Ferdinand also developed valuable relationships with the German banking house of Jakob Fugger and the Catalan bank, Banca Palenzuela Levi Kahana.

24/02/1525

A Spanish-Austrian army defeats a French army at the Battle of Pavia.

The House of Habsburg, also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Western civilization. They were best known for ruling vast realms throughout Europe and the Americas during the Middle Ages and early modern period, including the Holy Roman Empire and Spain.

24/02/1386

King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda.

Charles III of Naples, also called Charles the Small or Charles of Durazzo, was King of Naples and the titular King of Jerusalem from 1382 to 1386 as Charles III, and also King of Hungary from 1385 to 1386 as Charles II. In 1381, Charles created the chivalric Order of the Ship. In 1383, he succeeded to the Principality of Achaea on the death of James of Baux.

24/02/1303

The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence.

The Battle of Roslin on 24 February 1303 was a Scottish victory in the First War of Scottish Independence. It took place near the village of Roslin, where a force led by the Scots John Comyn and Sir Simon Fraser ambushed and defeated an English reconnaissance party under Lord John Segrave.

24/02/0484

King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica.

Huneric, Hunneric or Honeric was king of the North African Vandal Kingdom in 477–484 AD, and the oldest son of his predecessor Gaiseric. He abandoned the imperial politics of his father and concentrated mainly on internal affairs. He was married to Eudocia, daughter of western Roman Emperor Valentinian III and his wife Licinia Eudoxia. The couple had one child, the future king Hilderic.

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Samuele Vignato, Italian football player

Rafael Obrador, Spanish footballer

Honey Osrin, British swimmer

Antony Matheus dos Santos, Brazilian footballer

Nichika Yamada, Japanese volleyball player

Đurđina Jauković, Montenegrin handball player

Royce Freeman, American football player

Jessica Pegula, American tennis player

Earl Sweatshirt, American rapper

Stefan Ashkovski, Macedonian footballer

Tim Erixon, American-Swedish ice hockey player

Madison Hubbell, American ice dancer

O'Shea Jackson Jr., American actor and rapper

Semih Kaya, Turkish footballer

Christian Kabasele, Congolese-born Belgian footballer

Dwayne Allen, American football player

Derek Wolfe, American football player

Trace Cyrus, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Daniel Kaluuya, English actor

Kosta Koufos, Greek-American basketball player

Rodrigue Beaubois, French basketball player

Alexander Koch, American actor

Connie Ramsay, Scottish judoka

Maksym Radziwill, Polish-Canadian mathematician

Kim Kyu-jong, South Korean singer, dancer, and actor

Ashley Walker, American-Romanian basketball player

Mario Suárez, Spanish footballer

Christopher Trimmel, Austrian footballer

Wojtek Wolski, Polish-Canadian ice hockey player

Nakash Aziz, Indian playback singer and composer

Wilson Bethel, American actor

Corey Graves, American wrestler and sportscaster

Nani, Indian actor and film producer

Nick Blackburn, American baseball player

Fala Chen, Chinese actress and singer

Klára Koukalová, Czech tennis player

Emanuel Villa, Argentine footballer

Jonas Andersson, Swedish ice hockey player

Felipe Baloy, Panamanian footballer

Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player

Mohammad Sami, Pakistani cricketer

Bob Sanders, American football player

Shinsuke Nakamura, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist

Jorrit Faassen, Dutch businessman

Jason Akermanis, Australian footballer and coach

Bronson Arroyo, American baseball player

Floyd Mayweather Jr., American boxer

Marco Campos, Brazilian race car driver (died 1995)

Zach Johnson, American golfer

Bradley McGee, Australian cyclist and coach

Ashley MacIsaac, Canadian singer-songwriter and fiddler

Mike Lowell, Puerto Rican baseball player

Khadzhimurad Magomedov, Russian freestyle wrestler

Gila Gamliel, Israeli politician and Minister of Science, Technology and Space

Alexei Kovalev, Russian ice hockey player and pilot

Philipp Rösler, German politician

Teodor Currentzis, Greek conductor and composer

Manon Rhéaume, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Pedro de la Rosa, Spanish race car driver

Gillian Flynn, American author, screenwriter, and producer

Brian Savage, Canadian ice hockey player

Jeff Garcia, American football player and coach

Neil Sullivan, Scottish footballer and coach

Jonathan Ward, American actor

Kim Seung-woo, South Korean actor

Mitch Hedberg, American comedian and actor (died 2005)

Brian Schmidt, Australian astrophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Billy Zane, American actor and producer

Katie Allen, Australian politician and medical researcher

Paul Gruber, American football player

Jane Swift, American businesswoman and politician, Governor of Massachusetts

Russell Ingall, British-Australian race car driver and sportscaster

Elizabeth Wilson, American politician

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Indian filmmaker and composer