1. On February 24, 1839, the Missouri State Legislature approved a bill establishing the city of St. Joseph in northwest Missouri. The city grew rapidly due to its location as a river port and transportation hub, becoming one of the largest cities in the state by the mid-1800s.

2. Missouri Senator Stuart Symington was born on February 24, 1901, in Amherst, Massachusetts. Symington served in the Senate from 1953 to 1976, becoming a strong advocate for civil rights, nuclear disarmament, and the expansion of social welfare programs.

3. On February 24, 1870, the Missouri State Capitol building caught fire and was severely damaged. The fire was believed to have been caused by a faulty flue in the building's heating system, and although the exterior of the building survived, the interior had to be completely rebuilt.

4. The town of Nevada, Missouri, was officially incorporated on February 24, 1855. Located in the southwestern part of the state, Nevada was an important stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route, which carried mail and passengers between St. Louis and San Francisco in the years before the transcontinental railroad.

5. February 24, 1932, marked the birth of legendary jazz musician and bandleader Jimmy Ellis in Valmeyer, Illinois. Ellis moved to St. Louis in the 1950s and began performing with local jazz groups before forming his own band, the Jimmy Ellis Orchestra, which was popular throughout the Midwest in the 1960s and 1970s.