On This Day: Section of United Boeing 747 ripped away, 9 dead

Feb. 24 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1803, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its Marbury v. Madison decision, ruled the power of the federal government was no greater than that of any individual state.

In 1868, Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Abraham Lincoln, was impeached by the U.S. House. Johnson, the first U.S. president to be impeached, was acquitted by a single vote three weeks later, ending a three-week trial in the Senate.

In 1916, under the eyes of the Kaiser, the German Crown Prince Wilhelm and his army smashed their way toward the fortress of Verdun, in France.

In 1933, Japan shocked the world, withdrawing from the League of Nations.

In 1945, U.S. troops took the Philippines capital of Manila from the Japanese.

In 1946, Juan Peron was elected president of Argentina.

In 1968, South Vietnam recapture the city of Hue, as the Tet Offensive comes to an end after 25 days of brutal combat.

UPI File Photo

In 1981, Britain's Prince Charles announced his engagement to Lady Diana Spencer.

In 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court defended the right to satirize public figures when it voted 8-0 to overturn a $200,000 settlement awarded the Rev. Jerry Falwell over a parody of him in Hustler magazine.

In 1989, nine people were killed when a 10-by-40-foot section of a United Airlines 747 ripped away from the jetliner's outer skin on a flight from Hawaii to New Zealand.

In 1991, after weeks of airstrikes, U.S.-led coalition forces began a ground campaign into Kuwait and southern Iraq as part of the Gulf War.

In 1992, General Motors announced a record $4.5 billion loss in 1991 and said it would close 21 plants and idle 74,000 workers over four years.

In 1995, diver Greg Louganis, who won four gold medals in the Olympic Games in 1984 and 1988, revealed he had AIDS during an interview on ABC's 20/20. News of his revelation hit the news days earlier.

File Photo by Monika Graff/UPI

In 2004, an earthquake struck Morocco, killing about 600 people and injuring hundreds more.

In 2006, Emmy-winning comic star Don Knotts, best known as Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show, died of lung cancer. He was 81.

In 2009, Taliban insurgents in Pakistan's militarily strategic Swat Valley agreed to a cease-fire, leaving them in charge of the area near the Afghan border.

In 2018, Canada's Sebastien Toutant won the gold medal in men's big air snowboarding, the first time the sport was held in the Winter Olympics.

File Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI