This Week in History: Feb. 24-March 2, 2025

This Week in History
by Dianne Hermann

“The secret to happiness is freedom.
The secret to freedom is courage.” Carrie Jones

Feb. 24-March 2, 2025

February 24

1803 – The Supreme Court makes its first ruling that a law is unconstitutional (Marbury v Madison). This decision marked the case for judicial review, cementing the Supreme Court as a separate but equal branch of government.

1868 – The first U.S. parade with floats, the Mardi Gras Parade, is held in Mobile, Alabama. Mobile was also the site of the oldest Mardi Gras celebration, dating back to 1703.

1868 – The House of Representatives votes 126 to 47 to impeach President Andrew Johnson. His Senate impeachment trial began on March 13, but Johnson’s opponents failed to get the needed two-thirds majority to convict him. Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998, but was not removed from office. In 2019, Donald Trump was impeached twice, but also not removed from office. The first attempted presidential impeachment attempt was John Tyler in 1843, which failed in the House by a vote of 127-83.

1903 – The U.S. signs an agreement acquiring a naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It now serves as a military prison. Although President Obama promised to close the facility, Congress passed laws to prohibit the detainees from being transferred to the U.S. Obama reduced the number of detainees from 245 to 41 by releasing them or transferring them to other countries. In 2018, President Trump signed an executive order keeping the detention camp open.

1999 – The State of Arizona executes Karl LaGrand, a German national involved in an armed robbery, in spite of Germany’s legal action to save him.

2011 – The Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-133) is launched for the final time. The last Space Shuttle launch was the Atlantis (STS-135) in July 2011. Watch the launch including videos attached to the shuttle.

February 25

1793 – George Washington holds the first cabinet meeting at his home in Mt. Vernon, Virginia. In attendance was Vice President John Adams (future president), Secretary of State John Jay (later the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (killed by Aaron Burr in a duel in 1804), Secretary of War Henry Knox (for whom Fort Knox in Kentucky is named), and Attorney General Edmund Randolph (former governor of Virginia).

1933 – The USS Ranger is christened as the first genuine aircraft carrier. The captain of the USS Ranger from 1937 to 1939 was the late Senator John McCain’s grandfather.

1950 – “Your Show of Shows” with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca premieres on NBC and airs until 1954. Writers included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and Woody Allen. Coca died in 2001 at age 92. Caesar died in 2014 at age 91. Watch a pantomime sketch with Sid and Imogene.

1987 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds Affirmative Action in a 6-3 decision with its only gender-based ruling in Johnson v. Transportation Agency. Paul Johnson claimed he was passed over for promotion by a woman, whom he claimed was less qualified.

1991 – The U.S. barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia is hit by a SCUD missile, killing 28 and wounding 89. Among the dead were three women, the first killed in the Persian Gulf War.

1995 – Frank Sinatra performs his final live concert in Palm Desert, California. Sinatra died in 1998 at age 82.

2019 – The Rotten Tomatoes film review site implements changes to its website “in an effort to streamline the site and provide users with a more enriched experience” after trolling of the “Captain Marvel” movie. One change is to not allow audience reviews before a film is released.


February 26

1732 – The first Catholic mass celebrated in a church in the U.S. is in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Philadelphia.

1891 – The first two buffalo are purchased for the Golden Gate Park. A bison cow and bull were transported to the park. A herd of 10 buffalo can currently be seen in the park’s Buffalo Paddock.

1907 – The members of Congress raise their own salaries to $7,500. Congressional salaries are currently $174,000, with a pay freeze since 2009.

1930 – The first red and green traffic lights in the U.S. are installed in Manhattan, New York.

1977 – The first flight of a Space Shuttle (Enterprise) atop a specially modified Boeing 747 takes off from California headed for the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Enterprise was flight tested but never flown in space. Originally named “Constitution,” it was renamed by President Ford after a letter writing campaign by fans of the TV show Star Trek. Watch the amazing takeoff:

1984 – Reverend Jesse Jackson, a Democrat presidential candidate, acknowledges after repeated denials that he called Jews “Hymies” and New York City “Hymietown” while at Washington National Airport a month earlier.

1993 – The New York City World Trade Center is bombed, killing 6 people and injuring over 1,000. In 1994, four men were convicted of the bombing. In 1997, two more terrorists were convicted, including the mastermind of the 1993 bombing, Ramzi Yousef. He was also convicted of the bombing of Philippine Airlines flight 434 and sentenced to life imprisonment plus 240 years.

2009 – The Pentagon reverses its 18-year policy of not allowing the media to cover returning war dead. The reversal allowed some media coverage with family approval.


February 27

1813 – Congress authorizes the use of steamboats to transport mail.

1922 – The Supreme Court unanimously upholds the 19th amendment guaranteeing a woman’s right to vote. The 19th Amendment was passed by Congress in June 1919 and ratified in August 1920.

1939 – The Supreme Court rules that sit-down strikes, where strikers sit down at their work stations and prevent replacement workers from taking their place, are illegal.

1951 – The 22nd amendment is ratified, limiting a president to two terms (8 years).

1982 – Wayne Williams, now 66, is convicted on two counts of murder in the Atlanta murder case. Although never tried for the Atlanta Child Murders, police attribute the murders of at least 22 children, teens, and adults to Williams from 1979 to 1981. Williams is currently serving a life sentence. Williams will be eligible for parole again in 2027.

1991 – The Gulf War ends after Iraqi troops retreat and Kuwait is re-taken by the U.S.

2019 – The House of Representatives passes H.R 8 that would have required background checks on all firearm sales. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not allow it to be taken up in the Senate for consideration.


February 28

1794 – Swiss-born Abraham Gallatin’s election to the U.S. Senate is voided because he did not meet the citizenship requirement of 9 years. Gallatin was elected to the House of Representatives in 1795, where he became the House Majority Leader. He was also the founder of New York University.

1953 – American scientist James D. Watson and British scientist Francis H.C. Crick discover the double-helix structure of DNA in a Cambridge University laboratory. Crick died in 2004 at age 88. Watson is now 96 years old.

1993 – A gun battle erupts between the FBI and the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. The ensuing standoff lasted 51 days. Seventy-six men, women, and children, including 33-year-old founder David Koresh, died after the FBI launched an assault in the compound.

1997 – Two heavily armed men wearing body armor are involved in the North Hollywood shootout after a failed Bank of America robbery attempt. The bank robbers fired over 1,100 rounds of ammunition before being killed by law enforcement officers. Eighteen officers and civilians were wounded. Watch actual news footage.

2019 – Youtube announces it will disable comments on videos that feature children because of inappropriate comments that have been left by pedophiles.


March 1

1692 – The “Salem witch hunt” begins when authorities interrogate Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and an Indian slave, Tituba, to determine if they practiced witchcraft. In all, more than 150 people were jailed and 14 women and 5 men were executed. Many of those in jail died while incarcerated.

1790 – The first U.S. census is authorized. The U.S. population was almost 4 million people. The current U.S. population is estimated at 336 million. That does not include the millions of illegal border crossings since Biden took office in 2021.

1792 – The Presidential Succession Act is passed as the first law establishing the line of succession. It established the President pro tempore of the Senate next in line after the vice president, followed by the Speaker of the House. The Presidential Succession Act of 1886 followed the assassination of James Garfield and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 was passed after the death of FDR, each one changing the procedure and order of succession.

1872 – Yellowstone is established as the world’s first national park during the U.S. Grant administration.

1875 – Congress passes a Civil Rights Act forbidding discrimination in hotels, trains, and public spaces, but the Supreme Court invalidated it in 1883.

1932 – Charles Lindbergh, Jr. (20 months old) is kidnapped in New Jersey. The Lindbergh baby was found dead May 12. Bruno Hauptmann was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering the Lindbergh baby and was executed in 1936. Watch a short British Movietone newsreel.

1962 – The first K-Mart store opens in Garden City, Michigan. Sebastian S. Kresge founded the S.S. Kresge Company and opened the first store in Detroit in 1899. The “K” in K-Mart stands for Kresge. Attention K-Mart shoppers, watch the history of S. S. Kresge and K-Mart.

1967 – The House of Representatives excludes (refuses to allow to seat) Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. He was accused of mismanaging his committee’s budget in the previous Congress, excessive absenteeism, and misuse of public funds. The only other Representative who was excluded was Brigham Henry Roberts (D-UT), who was denied his seat in January 1900 for practicing polygamy.

2002 – The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda, begins in eastern Afghanistan. President Biden abruptly pulled troops out of Afghanistan in 2021, making it the longest U.S. war.

2004 – Terry Nichols is convicted of state murder charges and being an accomplice to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Nichols was sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole (160 people plus 1 unborn child were killed). Nichols is incarcerated in Colorado and is now 69 years old.


March 2

1819 – The U.S. passes its first immigration law. A total of 556 people were deported under the Immigration Act.

1877 – Rutherford B. Hayes (R) is declared president despite Samuel J. Tilden (D) winning the popular vote, but Tilden is one electoral vote short of victory. The other presidents who received fewer popular votes but more electoral votes, thus becoming president, are John Quincy Adams (over Andrew Jackson), Benjamin Harrison (over Grover Cleveland), George W. Bush (over Al Gore), and Donald Trump (over Hillary Clinton).

1942 – The Stage Door Canteen opens on West 44th Street in New York City. The canteen provided dancing and entertainment for WWII servicemen. The first canteen could accommodate 500 people. Other canteens opened later in Boston, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Newark. Watch the history of the Stage Door Canteen.

1962 – Wilt Chamberlain, with the Philadelphia Warriors, scores an incredible 100 points in a National Basketball Association game against the New York Nicks. The record still stands. Chamberlain holds 72 NBA record, including the most games scoring 60 or more points (32 games). Chamberlain died in 1999 at age 63. Watch Wilt “The Stilt” score the 100 points.

2016 – U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko return to earth after nearly a year (340 days) in space, setting an International Space Station record. The ISS has been continuously occupied since 2000. The ISS is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2030.






Image from: nbsnews.com

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