Sachin Tendulkar scored the first double century in One Day International cricket.

Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years.

Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in attempt to subdue a possible military coup.

A China Southern Airlines Tupolev TU-154 airliner crashes on approach to Wenzhou airport in eastern the People's Republic of China, killing 61.

The State of Arizona executes Karl LaGrand, a German national convicted of murder during a botched bank robbery, in spite of Germany's legal action to attempt to save him.

The last occurrence of February 24 as a leap day in the European Union and for the Roman Catholic Church.

United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, Hawaii, rips open during flight, sucking 9 passengers out of the business-class section.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a USD $3 million bounty for the death of ''The Satanic Verses'' author Salman Rushdie.

A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II.

An earthquake registering 6.7 on the Richter scale hits Athens, killing 16 people and destroying buildings in several towns west of the city.

Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.

The United States Olympic Hockey team completes their Miracle on Ice by defeating Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal.

Cuba: national Constitution is proclaimed.

The All India Forward Bloc holds an emergency central committee meeting after its chairman, Hemantha Kumar Bose, is killed 3 days earlier. P.K. Mookiah Thevar is appointed as the new chairman.

National Public Radio is founded in the United States.

Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Hué.

Egyptian Premier Ahmed Maher Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree.

Merrill's Marauders: The Marauders begin their 1,000 mile journey through Japanese occupied Burma.

Battle of Los Angeles: a UFO flying over wartime Los Angeles causes a blackout order at 2:25 a.m. and attracts a barrage of anti-aircraft fire, ultimately killing 3 civilians.

The Nazi Party is founded.

Estonian Declaration of Independence.

World War I: The U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if Mexico declares war on the United States.

The Hudson Motor Car Company is founded.

Western Washington University is established.

Revolution breaks out in Baire, a town near Santiago de Cuba, beginning the second war for Cuban independence, that ends with the Spanish-American War in 1898.

The American University is chartered by an act of the Congress of the United States of America.

Chicago is selected to host the Columbian Exposition

China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty.

The {{SS|Gothenburg}} hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high profile civil servants and dignitaries.

Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate.

The first parade to have floats is staged at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Arizona is organized as a United States territory.

King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne.

William Otis receives a patent for the steam shovel.

The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West.

The signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo marks the end of the First Burmese War.

The 1st Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, is inaugurated.

London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute.

In ''Marbury v. Madison'', the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review.

Battle of Karnal: The army of Iranian ruler Nadir Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah.

The London première of ''Rinaldo'' by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage.

''L'Orfeo'' by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance.

Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar.

Treaty of Nagyvarad between Ferdinand I and John Zápolya.

King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda.

Battle of Roslin, of the First War of Scottish Independence.

Diocletian, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Empire.