GOOD MORNING – TODAY IS TUESDAY, February 24, the 55th day of 2015 with 310 to follow. Sunrise in the Boston area is @ 6:28 and sunset is @ 5:26. The moon is waxing. The morning stars are stars are Mercury, & Saturn. The evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Uranus & Venus.
ON THIS DAY IN: 1582 – The Gregorian Calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII; it replaced the Julian Calendar.
1803 – The Supreme Court ruled itself the final interpreter of constitutional issues.
1803 – The U.S. Supreme Court voided an Act of Congress in the case of Marbury v. Madison. It was the first time a law passed by Congress was deemed unconstitutional. This established theSupreme Court’s power to rule on constitutionality questions.
1821 – Mexico declared its independence from Spain.
1863 – Arizona, formerly part of the Territory of New Mexico, was organized as a separate territory.
1868 – The U.S. House of Representatives voted 11 articles of impeachment against Presiden tAndrew Johnson. The House vote made President Johnson the first to be impeached in U.S. history.
1903 – The United States signed an agreement acquiring a naval station at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
1912 – Hadassah was founded to foster Jewish education in America.
1938 – Nylon toothbrush bristles were first produced in the U.S., the first commercial use of nylon.
1942 – The Voice of America hit the airwaves.
1945 – American soldiers liberated the Philippine capital of Manila from Japanese control during World War II.
1946 – Juan Domingo Perón, the controversial former vice president of Argentina, was elected president.
1968 – The Tet Offensive ended as U.S. and South Vietnamese troops recaptured the ancient capital of Hué from communist forces.
1981 – Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Britain’s Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer.
1981 – A jury in White Plains, New York, found Jean Harris guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of “Scarsdale Diet” author Dr. Herman Tarnower.
1987 – The first supernova (explosion of a star) was discovered; it was the first to be observed since 1604.
1991 – After six weeks of intensive bombing against Iraq and its armed forces, US-led coalition forces launched a ground invasion of Kuwait and Iraq in the Gulf War.
2002 – The XIX Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah end.
2006 – South Dakota lawmakers approve a ban on most abortions.