Summary of the Day ✨ 24 February (24/02)
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine following Putin’s recognition of separatist regions, while Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad resigned amid political turmoil. In other events, a Tara Air flight crashed in Nepal killing 23 people, a Metrolink train derailed in California injuring over 30, and Space Shuttle Discovery embarked on its final mission.
Historical Events 📜
- 2022: Russo-Ukrainian War: Days after recognising Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, Russian president Vladimir Putin orders the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- 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.
- 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.
- 2015: A Metrolink train derails in Oxnard, California following a collision with a truck, leaving more than 30 injured.
- 2011: Space Shuttle Discovery launches on its final mission, STS-133.
- 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.
- 2007: Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1999: China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft, crashes in Rui’an, Zhejiang, China. All 61 people on board are killed.
- 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.
- 1991: Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war.
- 1989: United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, rips open during flight, blowing nine passengers out of the business-class section.
- 1984: Tyrone Mitchell perpetrates the 49th Street Elementary School shooting in Los Angeles, killing two children and injuring 12 more.
- 1983: A special commission of the United States Congress condemns the Japanese American internment during World War II.
Famous Births 👶
- 2004: Samuele Vignato, Italian football player
- 2004: Rafael Obrador, Spanish footballer
- 2003: Honey Osrin, British swimmer
- 2000: Antony Matheus dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
- 2000: Nichika Yamada, Japanese volleyball player
- 1997: Đurđina Jauković, Montenegrin handball player
- 1996: Royce Freeman, American football player
- 1994: Jessica Pegula, American tennis player
- 1994: Earl Sweatshirt, American rapper
- 1992: Stefan Ashkovski, Macedonian footballer
- 1991: Tim Erixon, American-Swedish ice hockey player
- 1991: Madison Hubbell, American ice dancer
- 1991: O’Shea Jackson Jr., American actor and rapper
- 1991: Semih Kaya, Turkish footballer
- 1991: Christian Kabasele, Congolese-born Belgian footballer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Roberta Flack, American singer and pianist (born 1937)
- 2024: Kumar Shahani, Indian film director and screenwriter (born 1940)
- 2023: Edith Roger, Norwegian dancer and choreographer (born 1922)
- 2021: Ronald Pickup, English actor (born 1940)
- 2020: Katherine Johnson, American physicist and mathematician (born 1918)
- 2018: Sridevi, Indian actress (born 1963)
- 2018: Haukur Hilmarsson, Icelandic political activist and internationalist volunteer fighter (born 1986)
- 2016: Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (born 1943)
- 2016: Nabil Maleh, Syrian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1936)
- 2016: George C. Nichopoulos, American soldier and physician (born 1927)
- 2015: Mefodiy, Ukrainian metropolitan (born 1949)
- 2015: Rakhat Aliyev, Kazakh politician and diplomat (born 1962)
- 2014: Franny Beecher, American guitarist (born 1921)
- 2014: Alexis Hunter, New Zealand-English painter and photographer (born 1948)
- 2014: Carlos Páez Vilaró, Uruguayan painter and sculptor (born 1923)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Blessed Ascensión Nicol y Goñi - Christian feast day:
Blessed Josefa Naval Girbés - Christian feast day:
Lindel Tsen and Paul Sasaki (Anglican Church of Canada) - Christian feast day:
Modest (bishop of Trier) - Christian feast day:
Sergius of Cappadocia - Christian feast day:
February 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Dragobete (Romania)
- Engineer’s Day (Iran)
- Flag Day in Mexico
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Estonia from the Russian Empire in 1918; the Soviet period is considered to have been an illegal annexation.
- National Artist Day (Thailand)
- Sweden Finns’ Day (Sweden)