Today in History.....February 24

On this day in …

* 1868, the House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate

* 1903, the United States signed an agreement acquiring a naval station at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba

* 1920, a fledgling German political party held its first meeting of importance in Munich; it became known as the Nazi Party, and its chief spokesman was Adolf Hitler, ym"sh

* 1942, the Voice of America went on the air for the first time

* 1945, American soldiers liberated the Philippine capital of Manila from Japanese control during World War II

* 1981, Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Britain's Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer

* 1981, a jury in White Plains, N.Y., found Jean Harris guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of "Scarsdale Diet" author Dr. Herman Tarnower

* 1996, Cuba downed two small American planes that it claimed were violating Cuban airspace

* 2001, in an amicable first meeting held in Jerusalem, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov pledged a constructive approach to dealing with Iraq, missile defenses and other points of policy discord