Today in History, September 24th
On September 24, 1789, Washington signed the Judiciary Act creating the Supreme Court. Plus Devils Tower, Little Rock and 60 Minutes.
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September 24 is best known for 1789, when George Washington signed the Judiciary Act that set up the U.S. Supreme Court. The date also saw Devils Tower become the first national monument in 1906 and federal troops sent to Little Rock in 1957.
The big story: The Judiciary Act creates the Supreme Court (1789)
The Constitution said there would be a Supreme Court, but it left nearly every detail to Congress: how many justices, what cases they would hear, how the lower courts would fit in. Congress filled in those blanks with the Judiciary Act of 1789, and George Washington signed it on September 24, 1789. The law created a court of six justices who would hold their seats until they died or retired. It also gave the court a say over cases touching treaties, foreign diplomats and disputes at sea. The same day, Washington named John Jay as chief justice and picked five associate justices, and the Senate confirmed all six just two days later. The new court first sat on February 1, 1790, in New York City’s Royal Exchange Building. Its size bounced around during the 1800s before settling at nine in 1869, and since Congress sets that number, it could in theory change it again.
More events on September 24
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1869 | “Black Friday” panic hit the gold market after President Ulysses S. Grant ordered government gold sold to break a scheme to corner it. |
| 1877 | Saigō Takamori, who had reluctantly led a samurai revolt against Japan’s Meiji government, was killed as the rebellion collapsed. |
| 1906 | President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower in Wyoming the first U.S. national monument. |
| 1934 | Babe Ruth played his last game as a New York Yankee at Yankee Stadium. |
| 1948 | Soichiro Honda incorporated the Honda Motor Company in Japan. |
| 1957 | Federal troops were sent to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce school desegregation. |
| 1960 | The USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was launched. |
| 1964 | The Warren Commission delivered its report on the assassination of John F. Kennedy to President Lyndon B. Johnson. |
| 1968 | The CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes aired its first episode. |
| 1991 | Nirvana released Nevermind, the album that carried grunge rock around the world. |
| 1993 | Norodom Sihanouk was crowned king of Cambodia for the second time. |
| 2016 | The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture opened on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. |
Born on September 24
- 1755: John Marshall, fourth chief justice of the United States and a chief architect of American constitutional law, born in Virginia.
- 1896: F. Scott Fitzgerald, novelist of the Jazz Age and author of The Great Gatsby, born in St. Paul, Minnesota.
- 1936: Jim Henson, puppeteer and creator of the Muppets, born in Greenville, Mississippi.
Sources
- The first Supreme Court is established, History.com
- This Day in History: September 24, History.com
- On This Day: September 24, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- John Marshall, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Jim Henson, Encyclopaedia Britannica
