What Happened on February 24

Historical Events

1807 – 17 die and 15 wounded in a crush to witness execution of Holloway, Heggerty and Elizabeth Godfrey in England
1839 – Steam shovel patented by William Otis, Philadelphia
1893 – The American University is chartered by an act of the Congress of the United States of America
1951 – Men’s Figure Skating Championship in Milan won by Richard Button of USA
2010 – Europe risks a double-dip recession after bad results emerge from France, Germany and Italy, it is reported today; the Eurozone only grew by 0.1% in the last quarter of 2009
2013 – Raúl Castro is elected to a second term as the President of Cuba

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Famous Birthdays

1934 – Renata Scotto, Italian soprano and opera director (La Traviata – “Violetta”), born in Savona, Italy
1940 – Jimmy Ellis, WBA heavyweight boxing champ (1968-70), born in Louisville, Kentucky, (d. 2014)
1943 – Pablo Milanés, Cuban Nueva Trova singer-songwriter and guitarist (Yolanda; Yo Me Quedo), born in 1943, Bayamo, Cuba (d. 2022)
1953 – Derek St. Holmes, American musician rock guitarist and singer (Ted Nugent band, 1975-78; 2011-14), born in Riverview, Michigan
1974 – Chad Hugo, American musician and producer (The Neptunes)
1984 – Sterling James Keenan, American professional wrestler

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Famous Deaths

1986 – Tommy Douglas, Canadian politician and “Father of Medicare”, dies of cancer at 81
2001 – Claude Shannon, American mathematician and information theorist (A Mathematical Theory of Communication), dies at 84
2008 – Philip Bodner, American jazz clarinetist and studio musician (also played flute, oboe, saxophone, piccolo, and English horn), dies at 90
2011 – Anant Pai, Indian educationalist and creator of comics (b. 1929)
2019 – Margaret Scott, South-African ballet dancer and founder (Australian Ballet School), dies at 96
2022 – Jan Gomola, Polish soccer goalkeeper (7 caps; Górnik Zabrze), dies at 80

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