What happened on 24 February?

10 events from the Ever-When timeline, ranked by how much they mattered.

1. 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Largest war in Europe since 1945; reshapes European defence and energy policy.
2. 1500 Born: Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor) Ruler of an empire 'on which the sun never set' before Spain split from Austria.
3. 1848 Second French Republic Short-lived republic that elects Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte president and ends in his coup.
4. 1607 Monteverdi's L'Orfeo Court opera premiered at Mantua; one of the earliest works of the Baroque opera tradition; reshapes Western music.
5. 1525 Battle of Pavia Francis I is captured by Charles V's forces — France's Italian ambitions are crushed.
6. 1991 The 100-hour ground war After 38 days of bombing, the coalition's left hook sweeps through the desert around the Iraqi army while Marines drive into Kuwait — and the fourth-largest army in the world colla
7. 1955 Born: Steve Jobs Apple co-founder who shaped the personal computer, the iPod and the iPhone.
8. 1739 Battle of Karnal Nadir Shah's Persian forces destroy a Mughal army.
9. 1876 Grieg's Peer Gynt Incidental music written for Ibsen's play; includes the universally recognised Morning Mood and In the Hall of the Mountain King.
10. 2022 Siege of Mariupol A devastating siege ending with the fall of the Azovstal steelworks; the city is largely destroyed.