Today in History

Today is Friday, Feb. 24, the 55th day of 2012. There are 311 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 24, 1942, the SS Struma, a charter ship attempting to carry Jewish refugees from Romania to Palestine during World War II, was torpedoed and sunk by a Soviet submarine after being towed and abandoned in the Black Sea by Turkish authorities; all but one of the 769 refugees on board perished.

On this date:

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull, or edict, outlining his calendar reforms. (The Gregorian Calendar is the calendar in general use today.)

In 1711, the opera "Rinaldo" by George Frideric Handel premiered in London.

In 1803, in its Marbury v. Madison decision, the Supreme Court established judicial review of the constitutionality of statutes.

In 1821, Mexican rebels proclaimed the "Plan de Iguala," their declaration of independence from Spain.

In 1868, the House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate.

In 1912, the American Jewish women's organization Hadassah was founded in New York City.

In 1918, Estonia issued its Declaration of Independence.

In 1920, the German Workers Party, which later became the Nazi Party, met in Munich to adopt its platform.

In 1946, Argentinian men went to the polls to elect Juan D. Peron their president.

In 1961, the Federal Communications Commission authorized the nation's first full-scale trial of pay television in Hartford, Conn.

In 1981, Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Britain's Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer.

In 1992, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain married Hole lead vocalist Courtney Love in Hawaii.

Ten years ago: The Salt Lake City Olympics came to a close, the same day Canada won its first hockey gold in 50 years (the U.S. won silver) and three cross-country skiers were thrown out of the games for using a performance-enhancing drug.

Five years ago: A suicide truck bomber struck worshippers leaving a Sunni mosque in Habbaniyah, 50 miles west of Baghdad, killing at least 52 people. The Virginia General Assembly passed a resolution expressing "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery. Denver Broncos running back Damien Nash, 24, collapsed and died after a charity basketball game he'd hosted in suburban St. Louis.

One year ago: Discovery, the world's most traveled spaceship, thundered into orbit for the final time, heading toward the International Space Station on a journey marking the beginning of the end of the shuttle era.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Abe Vigoda is 91. Actor Steven Hill is 90. Actor-singer Dominic Chianese is 81. Movie composer Michel Legrand is 80. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., is 70. Actor Barry Bostwick is 67. Actor Edward James Olmos is 65. Singer-writer-producer Rupert Holmes is 65. Rock singer-musician George Thorogood is 62. Actress Debra Jo Rupp is 61. Actress Helen Shaver is 61. News anchor Paula Zahn is 56. Country singer Sammy Kershaw is 54. Actor Mark Moses is 54. Singer Michelle Shocked is 50. Movie director Todd Field is 48. Actor Billy Zane is 46. Actress Bonnie Somerville is 38. Rhythm-and-blues singer Brandon Brown (Mista) is 29. Rock musician Matt McGinley (Gym Class Heroes) is 29. Actor Wilson Bethel is 28.

Thought for Today: "It is my feeling that Time ripens all things; with Time all things are revealed; Time is the father of truth." -- Francois Rabelais, 16th century French writer and physician.

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.