February 24: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

Russia began to invade Ukraine, and was described by President Putin as a “special military operation.”

The invasion was the largest conventional military attack seen in Europe since World War II.

An animal was discovered to not need Oxygen to breathe.

The tiny parasite is called Henneguya salminicola and lives in salmonid fish.

8th Century Muslim graves were discovered in Nimes, France.

In the burial site, three skeletons were found facing in the direction of Mecca.

The oldest piece of Earth was found at a sheep ranch in Western Australia.

The fragment is an ancient crystal, and scientists date it back to around 4.4 billion years ago.

Fidel Castro stepped down as President of Cuba after keeping the position for thirty-two years.

Fidel was one of the leading men behind the Cuban Revolution, and after achieving victory, he assumed complete power over the nation. In his tenure as President of Cuba, he survived countless attempts on his life by the US. While his initial actions may have been just, he ended up a despot and a dictator.

Queen Elizabeth II knighted Elton John for his charitable work.

A 150 million-year-old fossilized dinosaur embryo was found inside a fossilized egg.

The discovery was made in Utah, USA.

Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles announced their engagement at Buckingham Palace.

The Yuba County Five disappeared after attending a college basketball game.

Their car was found in a remote National Forest, while four bodies were found in June - 20 miles (32 km) deeper into the mountains. One of the men bizarrely starved to death in a hiker's cabin that was completely stocked with food. Only the shoes of the fifth man were found, with no trace of his body ever discovered.

Scandinavian Airlines System created the first route from Europe to the Far East, flying directly over the North Pole.

The airline is based in Sweden and also serves Denmark and Norway for air travel.

Adolf Hitler founded The Nazi Party in Munich, Germany.

Officially known as the National Socialist German Workers' Party, the far-right political party created and supported the ideology of Nazism.

Andrew Johnson became the first US President to be impeached.

The US Supreme Court ruled it would be the final interpreter of all constitutional issues.

The ruling was brought forth in Marbury v. Madison.

The opera “Rinaldo,” by George Frideric Handel, premiered at Haymarket Theatre in London, UK.

Pope Clement V performed his first Coronation, making Charles V the Holy Roman Emperor.