This Day in History is DUE’s daily dose of trivia for all the history buffs out there. So sit back and take a ride of all the fascinating things that happened on 24th February!
People are trapped in history and history is trapped in people, and hence, every day has been a significant one in the foibles of history. Now, let’s take a tour of “This Day in History – 24th February”.
1739: Battle of Karnal
At karnal, the Persian army led by Nader Shah defeated the forces of the Mughal empire led by Muhammad Shah. Nader Shah, although having a smaller army defeated the Mughal forces within 3 hours of battle. As a result, the Mughal dynasty which was already in a declining state was terribly weakened which hastened its demise. According to Axworthy, it’s also possible that without Nader shah’s invasion of India, the European colonial takeover of India would have come in a very different form or perhaps not at all!
1868: Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th president of the USA. He was also the first president to be impeached. His impeachment was initiated on 24th February 1868. On this day, the House of Representatives resolved to impeach him for “high crimes and misdemeanors”.
1948: Jayalalithaa was born
Jayaram Jayalalithaa, an Indian actress turned politician was born on this day. She served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu six times for over fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. She was popularly known as “Amma” (mother) by her people of her state.
1955: Birth of Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs who was an American business magnate, industrial designer, investor, and media proprietor was born on this day. He was the co-founder and CEO of Apple and chairman of Pixar.
2009: Barack Obama gave his first public address
Barack Obama, the 44th president of the USA, also the first African American president gave his first public address as president. Before a joint session of the United States Congress, he talked about his agenda on jobs, healthcare reforms, better schools and so on.
2018: Death of Sridevi
Sridevi was an Indian actress and producer who is known for her work in Bollywood and Tollywood films. She is regarded as the “First Female Superstar” of Indian cinema and received several awards and honors for her contribution to the Indian cinema. She died on 24th February 2018 with the autopsy report citing ‘accidental drowning’ as the cause of her death.
