DAY 55 - This day in legal and military history

February 24
 
NATIONAL Tortilla Chip Day 

 NATIONAL Skip the Straw Day
 

Today in legal and military [and occasional oddities] history
 
1803 In Marbury vs. Madison, the Supreme Court ruled itself the final interpreter of constitutional issues, ruling that any act of Congress which conflicts with the Constitution is null and void
 
1821 Mexico gains independence from Spain
 
1868 The US House of Representatives votes 11 articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson, nine of which cite Johnson’s removal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, a violation of the Tenure of Office Act. The House vote made President Johnson the first president to be impeached in US history.
 
1916 A film version of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea opens in New York
 
1928 The New Gallery of New York exhibits works of Archibald Motley, its first show to feature a black artist
 
1968 The discovery of a pulsar was announced
 
1980 The US hockey team defeated Finland to win the gold medal at the Lake Placid Olympics
 
1987 Coast Guard attorney LCDR Robert W. Bruce, Jr., became the first member of the armed forces to argue a case in uniform before the Supreme Court when he represented the Coast Guard in Solorio vs. United States on 24 February 1987
 
1991 Ground Phase of Operation Desert Storm begins, resulting in the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi occupation within 100 hours
 
2015 Eddie Ray Routh is found guilty of the 2013 murder of United States Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and Kyle’s friend Chad Littlefield in Texas. Routh is automatically sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.