February 28
February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 306 days remaining until the end of the year (307 in leap years).
Events
- 202 BC - coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty's rule over China
- 364 - Valentinian I becomes Roman Emperor.
- 870 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
- 1638 - The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.
- 1700 - Today is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar.
- 1710 - In the Battle of Helsingborg, 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau are decisively defeated by an equally sized Swedish force under Magnus Stenbock.
- 1784 - John Wesley charters the Methodist Church.
- 1787 - The charter establishing the institution now known as the University of Pittsburgh is granted.
- 1827 - The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in America offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.
- 1838 - Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Québec)
- 1844 - A gun on USS Princeton explodes while the boat is on a Potomac River cruise, killing 8 United States Cabinet members and several others.
- 1849 - Regular steamboat service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, 4 months 21 days after leaving New York Harbor.
- 1850 - The University of Utah opens in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- 1854 - The Republican Party of the United States is organized in Ripon, Wisconsin.
- 1861 - Colorado is organized as a United States territory.
- 1870 - The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire.
- 1883 - The first vaudeville theater opens in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1885 - The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York State as the subsidiary of American Bell Telephone. (American Bell would later merge with its subsidiary.)
- 1897 - Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force.
- 1900 - The Second Boer War: The 118-day "Siege of Ladysmith" is lifted.
- 1922 - The United Kingdom accepts the independence of Egypt.
- 1933 - Gleichschaltung: The Reichstag Fire Decree is passed in Germany a day after the Reichstag fire.
- 1935 - Nylon is invented by Wallace Carothers.
- 1939 - The first issue of Serbian weekly magazine Politikin zabavnik is published.
- 1939 - The erroneous word "Dord" is discovered in the Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation.
- 1940 - Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
- 1942 - The heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA-30) is sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait with 693 crew members killed.
- 1947 - 228 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of 30,000 civilian lives.
- 1953 - James D. Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April Nature (pub. April 2).
- 1958 – A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork River. The driver and 26 children die in what remains the worst school bus accident in U.S. history.
- 1972 - The Asama-Sanso incident ends in Japan.
- 1972 - Sino-American relations: The United States and People's Republic of China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.
- 1974 - After seven years, the United States and Egypt re-establish diplomatic relations.
- 1975 - A major tube train crash at Moorgate station, London kills 43 people.
- 1983 - The final episode of M*A*S*H is broadcast in the USA, becoming the most watched television episode in history, with 106–125 million viewers in the U.S. (estimate varies by source).
- 1985 - The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers in the highest loss of life for the RUC on a single day.
- 1986 - Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
- 1991 - The first Gulf War ends.
- 1993 - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group's leader David Koresh. Four BATF agents and five Davidians die in the initial raid, starting a 51-day standoff.
- 1995 - Denver International Airport officially opens in Denver, Colorado to replace Stapleton International Airport
- 1997 - The North Hollywood shootout takes place.
- 1998 - First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace.
- 1998 - Kosovo War: Serbian police begin the offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo.
- 2001 - The Nisqually Earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale hits the Nisqually Valley and the Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia area of the U.S. state of Washington.
- 2001 - Six passengers and four railway staff are killed and a further 82 people suffer serious injuries in the Selby rail crash.
- 2004 - Over 1 million Taiwanese participating in the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally form a 500-kilometre (300-mile) long human chain to commemorate the 228 Incident in 1947
- 2005 - Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister, Omar Karami, resigns amid large anti-Syria street demonstrations in Beirut.
- 2005 - A suicide bombing at a police recruiting centre in Al Hillah, Iraq kills 127.
- 2007 - Jupiter flyby of the New Horizons Pluto-observer spacecraft.
- 2008 - Former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra is arrested on corruption charges upon returning to Thailand after months of exile.
Births
- 1155 - Henry the Young King, son of Henry II of England (d. 1183)
- 1261 - Margaret of Scotland, queen of Norway (d. 1283)
- 1409 - Elisabeth II of Bohemia (d. 1442)
- 1533 - Michel de Montaigne, French writer (d. 1592)
- 1552 - Joost Bürgi, Swiss clockmaker (d. 1632)
- 1573 - Elias Holl, German Architect (d. 1646)
- 1612 - John Pearson, English theologian (d. 1686)
- 1670 - Benjamin Wadsworth, American President of Harvard University (d. 1737)
- 1675 - Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (d. 1726)
- 1683 - René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French scientist (d. 1757)
- 1704 - Louis Godin, French astronomer (d. 1760)
- 1712 - Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, French military commander (d. 1759)
- 1724 - George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, British field marshal (d. 1807)
- 1812 - Berthold Auerbach, German poet and author (d. 1882)
- 1820 - John Tenniel, English illustrator (d. 1914)
- 1823 - Ernest Renan, French philosopher (d. 1892)
- 1824 - Blondin, French tightrope walker (d. 1897)
- 1833 - Alfred von Schlieffen, German field marshal (d. 1913)
- 1838 - Maurice Lévy, French engineer (d. 1910)
- 1840 - Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (d. 1892)
- 1841 - Adrien Albert Marie de Mun, French politician (d. 1914)
- 1851 - Samuel W. McCall, 47th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1923)
- 1865 - Wilfred Grenfell, medical missionary (d. 1940)
- 1878 - Pierre Fatou, French mathematician (d. 1929)
- 1878 - Artur Kapp, Estonian composer (d. 1952)
- 1882 - Geraldine Farrar, American soprano (d. 1967)
- 1882 - José Vasconcelos, Mexican writer (d. 1959)
- 1882 - Pádraic Ó Conaire, Irish writer (d. 1928)
- 1894 - Ben Hecht, American playwright (d. 1964)
- 1895 - Marcel Pagnol, French novelist, playwright and film director (d. 1974)
- 1896 - Philip Showalter Hench, American physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)
- 1900 - Wolfram Hirth, German pilot (d. 1959)
- 1901 - Linus Pauling, American chemist and activist, Nobel laureate (d. 1994)
- 1903 - Vincente Minnelli, American film director (d. 1986)
- 1906 - Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (d. 1947)
- 1907 - Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (Terry and the Pirates, Steve Canyon) (d. 1988)
- 1908 - Billie Bird, American actress (d. 2002)
- 1908 - Alexander Golitzen, American art director (d. 2005)
- 1909 - Stephen Spender, English poet (d. 1995)
- 1912 - Clara Petacci, Italian mistress of Benito Mussolini (d. 1945)
- 1915 - Ketti Frings, American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter, (d. 1981)
- 1915 - Peter Medawar, Brazilian-born scientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1987)
- 1915 - Zero Mostel, American actor (d. 1977)
- 1916 - Cesar Climaco, Filipino politician (d. 1984)
- 1921 - Pierre Clostermann, French World War II pilot (d. 2006)
- 1923 - Charles Durning, American actor
- 1926 - Svetlana Alliluyeva, Soviet defector, daughter of Joseph Stalin
- 1925 - Harry H Corbett, English actor (d. 1982)
- 1929 - Hayden Fry, American football coach
- 1929 - Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect
- 1929 - John Montague, Irish poet
- 1929 - Joseph Rouleau, French Canadian bass opera singer
- 1930 - Leon Neil Cooper, American physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1930 - Bruce Dawe, Australian poet
- 1930 - Gavin MacLeod, American actor
- 1931 - Dean Smith, American basketball coach
- 1932 - Don Francks, Canadian actor
- 1933 - Robert Grondelaers, Belgian cyclist (d.1989)
- 1933 - Miro Steržaj, Slovenian 9-pin bowler
- 1933 - Rein Taagepera, Estonian politician
- 1939 - Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-born physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1939 - Tommy Tune, American dancer
- 1940 - Mario Andretti, Italian-American race car driver and one-time F1 world champion
- 1940 - Joe South, American singer
- 1942 - Frank Bonner, American actor
- 1942 - Brian Jones, English musician (The Rolling Stones) (d. 1969)
- 1942 - Dino Zoff, Italian footballer
- 1943 - Barbara Acklin, American soul singer (d. 1998)
- 1943 - Charles Bernstein, American composer
- 1944 - Win Aung, Burmese politician
- 1944 - Kelly Bishop, American actress
- 1944 - Sepp Maier, German footballer
- 1945 - Bubba Smith, American football player and actor
- 1946 - Robin Cook, British politician (d. 2005)
- 1947 - Stephanie Beacham, English actress
- 1948 - Steven Chu, American physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1948 - Mike Figgis, English director
- 1948 - Bernadette Peters, American actress and singer
- 1948 - Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
- 1951 - Bill Cratty, American modern dancer and choreographer (d. 1998)
- 1952 - William Finn, American composer
- 1953 - Ingo Hoffmann, Brazilian racing driver
- 1953 - Paul Krugman, American economist, Nobel laureate
- 1953 - Ricky Steamboat, American professional wrestler
- 1954 - Brian Billick, American football coach
- 1955 - Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian
- 1956 - Adrian Dantley, American basketball player
- 1956 - Jimmy Nicholl, Canadian-born Northern Irish footballer
- 1956 - Mike Tenay, American wrestling commentator
- 1957 - Paul Delph, American musician and producer (d. 1996)
- 1957 - Ainsley Harriott, British celebrity chef
- 1957 - John Turturro, American actor
- 1957 - Cindy Wilson, American singer (The B-52's)
- 1958 - Jeanne Mas, French singer and actress
- 1960 - Dorothy Stratten, Canadian actress (d. 1980)
- 1961 - Rae Dawn Chong, Canadian actress
- 1961 - Mark Latham, Australian politician
- 1961 - René Simard, French Canadian singer and TV host
- 1961 - Eric Bachelart, Belgian racing driver
- 1963 - Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist
- 1964 - Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Uzbekistan cyclist
- 1966 - Paulo Futre, Portuguese footballer
- 1967 - Colin Cooper, English footballer
- 1968 - Stéphan Lebeau, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1969 - Butch Leitzinger, American race car driver
- 1969 - Robert Sean Leonard, American actor
- 1969 - Tor Øivind Ødegaard, Norwegian track runner
- 1969 - Patrick Monahan, American singer (Train)
- 1970 - Daniel Handler, American writer, better known as Lemony Snicket
- 1970 - Noureddine Morceli, Algerian athlete
- 1971 - Tristan Louis, American writer
- 1971 - Junya Nakano, Japanese composer
- 1971 - Peter Stebbings, Canadian actor
- 1972 - Rory Cochrane, American actor
- 1973 - Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1973 - Nicolas Minassian, French racing driver
- 1973 - Masato Tanaka, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1974 - Lee Carsley, Irish footballer
- 1974 - Moana Mackey, New Zealand politician
- 1975 - Mike Rucker, American football player
- 1976 - Ali Larter, American actress and model
- 1976 - Adam Pine, Australian swimmer
- 1976 - Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge, Canadian actor
- 1977 - Jason Aldean, American country singer
- 1978 - Jeanne Cherhal, French Singer-songwriter
- 1978 - Benjamin Raich, Austrian Olympic skier
- 1978 - Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player
- 1978 - Mariano Zabaleta, Argentine tennis player
- 1979 - Michael Bisping, English mixed martial artist
- 1979 - Sébastien Bourdais, French racing driver
- 1979 - Ivo Karlović, Croatian tennis player
- 1979 - Primož Peterka, Slovenian ski jumper
- 1980 - Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer
- 1980 - Lucian Bute, Romanian-born Quebec boxer
- 1980 - Piotr Giza, Polish footballer
- 1980 - Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player
- 1981 - Brian Bannister, American baseball player
- 1981 - Florent Serra, French tennis player
- 1982 - Natalia Vodianova, Russian supermodel
- 1984 - Ben Fagan, American musician and reality show contestant
- 1984 - Karolína Kurková, Czech supermodel
- 1985 - Fefe Dobson, Canadian singer
- 1985 - Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player
- 1987 - Kerrea Gilbert, English footballer
- 1988 - Markéta Irglová, Czech songwriter and actress
- 1989 - Zhang Liyin, Chinese R&B singer
- 1991 - Sarah Bolger, Irish actress
- 2007 - Princess Lalla Khadija of Morocco
Deaths
- 1261 - Henry III, Duke of Brabant (b. c. 1230)
- 1326 - Duke Leopold I of Austria (b. 1290)
- 1453 - Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine (b. 1400)
- 1485 - Niclas, Graf von Abensberg, German soldier (b. 1441)
- 1510 - Juan de la Cosa, Spanish cartographer and explorer
- 1525 - Cuauhtémoc, Aztec ruler
- 1572 - Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss historian (b. 1505)
- 1621 - Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1590)
- 1648 - King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway (b. 1577)
- 1746 - Hermann von der Hardt, German historian (b. 1660)
- 1786 - John Gwynn, English architect and engineer (b. 1713)
- 1788 - Thomas Cushing, American Continental Congressman (b. 1725)
- 1857 - André Dumont, Belgian geologist (b. 1809)
- 1869 - Alphonse de Lamartine, French writer and poet (b. 1790)
- 1916 - Henry James, American writer (b. 1843)
- 1925 - Friedrich Ebert, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1871)
- 1929 - Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician (b. 1874)
- 1932 - Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer (b. 1851)
- 1935 - Chiquinha Gonzaga, Brazilian composer (b. 1847).
- 1936 - Charles Nicolle, French bacteriologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1866)
- 1941 - King Alfonso XIII of Spain (b. 1886)
- 1942 - Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (b. 1889)
- 1956 - Emile Buisson, French murderer executed (b. 1902)
- 1959 - Maxwell Anderson, American playwright and film writer (b. 1888)
- 1963 - Rajendra Prasad, First President of India (b. 1884)
- 1966 - Jonathan Hale, Canadian-born actor (b. 1891)
- 1967 - Henry Luce, American publisher (b. 1898)
- 1974 - Bobby Bloom, American singer/songwriter (b. 1946)
- 1977 - Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1978 - Philip Ahn, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1978 - Zara Cully, American actress (b. 1892)
- 1978 - Eric Frank Russell, English author (b. 1905)
- 1979 - Paul Alverdes, German writer (b. 1897)
- 1985 - David Byron, English singer (Uriah Heep) (b. 1947)
- 1985 - Ray Ellington, English singer (b. 1916)
- 1986 - Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden (b. 1927)
- 1986 - Laura Z. Hobson, American novelist (b. 1900)
- 1991 - Reinhard Bendix, German sociologist (b. 1916)
- 1991 - Wassily Hoeffding, American statistician (b. 1914)
- 1993 - Ishiro Honda, Japanese film director (b. 1911)
- 1993 - Ruby Keeler, Canadian actress and dancer (b. 1910)
- 1998 - Dermot Morgan, Irish actor and comedian (b. 1952)
- 1998 - Arkady Shevchenko, Soviet diplomat (b. 1930)
- 1999 - Christine Glanville, British Puppeteer (. 1924)
- 2002 - Mary Stuart, American actress (b. 1926)
- 2002 - Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (b. 1920)
- 2003 - Chris Brasher, English athlete (b. 1928)
- 2003 - Fidel Sánchez Hernández, President of El Salvador (b. 1917)
- 2003 - Roger Michael Needham, British cryptographer (b. 1935)
- 2003 - Rudolf Kingslake, Lens designer, and Engineer (b. 1903)
- 2004 - Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian, writer, and Librarian of Congress (b. 1914)
- 2004 - Carmen Laforet, famed Spanish novelist
- 2004 - Andres Nuiamäe, Estonian soldier (b. 1982)
- 2006 - Owen Chamberlain, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1920)
- 2007 - Baron Charles Forte, Italian-born hotelier (b. 1908)
- 2007 - Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. American historian and political commentator (b.1917)
- 2007 - Billy Thorpe, Australian musician (Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs) (b. 1946)
- 2008 - Mike Smith, English musician (The Dave Clark Five) (b. 1943)
Holidays and observances
External links
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