February 24 Birthday
February 24, 1803: The Supreme Court decided Marbury v. Madison, establishing the principle of judicial review — the power of courts to strike down laws they deem unconstitutional. The case arose from the last-minute judicial appointments of outgoing President John Adams, which incoming President Thomas Jefferson refused to deliver. William Marbury, one of the appointees, sued. Chief Justice John Marshall, writing for a unanimous Court, ruled that Marbury had a right to his commission but that the Court did not have the constitutional authority to force Jefferson to deliver it — the section of the Judiciary Act that gave the Court that power was itself unconstitutional. Marshall, an Adams appointer and Jefferson's cousin, had outmaneuvered Jefferson. The power he claimed — that courts could invalidate legislation — appears nowhere in the Constitution. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII issued the bull Inter gravissimas, announcing the calendar reform that bears his name. The Julian calendar, in use since 45 BCE, had drifted by ten days because its year was 11 minutes too long. Gregory proposed skipping ten days — October 4, 1582, would be followed by October 15. He also changed the leap year rule: century years would not be leap years unless divisible by 400. Catholic countries adopted the reform immediately. Protestant countries resisted — England held out until 1752, Russia until 1918. The Gregorian calendar is now used worldwide, though its accuracy still drifts by 26 seconds per year. The calendar is a human invention that we all agree to share, and its arbitrary nature is invisible to us. Andrew Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 24, 1868, for violating the Tenure of Office Act. Johnson, a Democrat from Tennessee who became president after Lincoln's assassination, had repeatedly clashed with the Radical Republicans in Congress over Reconstruction. He vetoed the Civil Rights Act and the Freedmen's Bureau Act. When he fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in defiance of the Tenure of Office Act, the House impeached him. The Senate trial lasted two months. Johnson was acquitted by one vote — Senator Edmund Ross of Kansas broke with his party and voted not guilty, reportedly saying, "I almost literally looked down into my open grave." The impeachment was as much political as legal; Johnson was a terrible president but the charges were dubious. Steve Jobs, born this day in 1955, was given up for adoption by his Syrian-born father and American mother. He dropped out of Reed College after one semester but stayed on campus, auditing classes — including a calligraphy course that influenced the typography of the Mac. He was fired from Apple in 1985, founded NeXT and Pixar, and returned to Apple in 1997 when it was ninety days from bankruptcy. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2011 at fifty-six. Wilhelm Grimm, born this day in 1786, collected the fairy tales with his brother Jacob. The original Grimms' tales were far darker than the Disney versions. People born on February 24 fall under the zodiac sign of Pisces. The birthstone is Amethyst and the birth flower is Violet. Historical events on February 24 include 1582: Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar reform, 1803: Supreme Court decides Marbury v. Madison, establishing judicial review, 1868: US House of Representatives impeaches President Andrew Johnson. Famous people born on February 24 include Steve Jobs (1955), Wilhelm Grimm (1786), Edward James Olmos (1947).