February 28
is the 59th day of the year in the
Gregorian calendar. There are 306 days remaining, 307 in
leap years. In a
common year it is the last day of February.
*
364 -
Valentinian I is elevated as
Roman Emperor.
*
1700 - Today is followed by
March 1 in
Sweden, thus creating the
Swedish calendar.
*
1784 -
John Wesley charters the
Methodist Church.
*
1827 - The
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first
railroad in
America offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.
*
1844 - A gun on
USS Princeton explodes while the boat is on a
Potomac River cruise, killing two
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 in
Madagascar, was 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 discovered by
Wallace Carothers.
*
1939 - The first issue of
Serbian weekly magazine
Politikin zabavnik was published.
* 1939 - The 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 -
February 28 Incident: In
Taiwan, civil disorder is put down at a loss of 30,000 civilian lives.
*
1948 -
Bud Gartiser sets a new world record after clearing the 50-yard low hurdles in 6.8 seconds.
*
1953 -
James D. Watson and
Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of
DNA; formal announcement
April 25 following publication in April
Nature (pub.
April 2).
*
1960 - The
United States defeats
Czechoslovakia 9-4 to win the gold medal at the
Winter Olympics in
Squaw Valley, California.
*
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).
*
1986 -
Olof Palme,
Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in
Stockholm.
*
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.
*
1997 - The
North Hollywood shootout takes place.
*
1998 -
Kosovo War:
Serbian police begin the offensive againt the
KLA in
Kosovo.
*
2001 - An
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.
*
2002 - At least 55 are killed in
Ahmadabad,
India when
Hindus burn
Muslim homes.
*
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*
1155 -
Henry the Young King, son of
Henry II of England (d.
1183)
*
1533 -
Michel de Montaigne, French writer and philosopher (d.
1592)
*
1552 -
Joost Bürgi, Swiss clockmaker and mathematician (d.
1632)
*
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)
*
1820 -
John Tenniel, English illustrator (d.
1914)
*
1823 -
Ernest Renan, French philosopher (d.
1892)
*
1827 -
Blondin, French tightrope walker (d.
1897)
*
1833 -
Alfred von Schlieffen, German field marshal (d.
1913)
*
1865 -
Wilfred Grenfell, medical missionary to
Newfoundland and Labrador (d.
1940).
*
1878 -
Pierre Fatou, French mathematician (d.
1929)
*
1882 -
Geraldine Farrar, American soprano (d.
1967)
* 1882 -
José Vasconcelos, Mexican writer and politician (d.
1959)
*
1894 -
Ben Hecht, American playwright and screenwriter (d.
1964)
*
1896 -
Philip Showalter Hench, American physician, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d.
1965)
*
1900 -
Wolfram Hirth, German pilot and aircraft designer (d.
1959)
*
1901 -
Linus Pauling, American chemist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry and
Peace (d.
1994)
*
1903 -
Vincente Minnelli, American 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)
*
1909 -
Stephen Spender, English poet (d.
1995)
*
1915 -
Peter Medawar, Brazilian-born scientist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d.
1987)
* 1915 -
Zero Mostel, American actor (d.
1977)
*
1921 -
Pierre Clostermann, French World War II pilot (d.
2006)
*
1923 -
Charles Durning, American actor
*
1926 -
Svetlana Alliluyeva, Soviet defector, daughter of
Joseph Stalin*
1929 -
Hayden Fry, American football coach
* 1929 -
Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect
*
1930 -
Leon Neil Cooper, American physicist,
Nobel Prize laureate
* 1930 -
Gavin MacLeod, American actor
*
1931 -
Dean Smith, American basketball coach
*
1932 -
Don Francks, Canadian actor
*
1933 -
Rein Taagepera, Estonian politician
*
1939 -
Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-born physicist,
Nobel Prize laureate
* 1939 -
Tommy Tune, American dancer, choreographer, and actor
*
1940 -
Mario Andretti, American race car driver
* 1940 -
Joe South, American singer and songwriter
*
1942 -
Frank Bonner, American actor and director
* 1942 -
Brian Jones, English musician (
The Rolling Stones) (d.
1969)
* 1942 -
Dino Zoff, Italian footballer
*
1944 -
Kelly Bishop, American actress
* 1944 -
Sepp Maier, German footballer
* 1944 -
Win Aung, Burmese politician
*
1945 -
Bubba Smith, American football player and actor
*
1946 -
Robin Cook, British politician (d.
2005)
* 1946 -
Syreeta Wright, American singer (d.
2004)
*
1947 -
Stephanie Beacham, British actress
*
1948 -
Steven Chu, American physicist,
Nobel Prize laureate
* 1948 -
Mike Figgis, English director, writer, and composer
* 1948 -
Bernadette Peters, American actress and singer
* 1948 -
Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
*
1952 -
William Finn, American composer and lyricist
*
1955 -
Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian and actor
* 1955 -
Silky Sullivan, American racehorse (d.
1977)
*
1956 -
Jimmy Nicholl, Canadian-born Northern Irish footballer
* 1956 -
Mike Tenay, American wrestling commentator
*
1957 -
John Turturro, American actor
*
1960 -
Dorothy Stratten, Canadian actress and model (d.
1980)
*
1961 -
Rae Dawn Chong, Canadian actress
* 1961 -
Mark Latham, Australian politician
*
1963 -
Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist
*
1964 -
Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Uzbekistan cyclist
*
1967 -
Colin Cooper, English footballer
*
1969 -
Robert Sean Leonard, American actor
* 1969 -
Patrick Monahan, American rock singer (
Train (band))
*
1970 -
Noureddine Morceli, Algerian athlete
* 1970 -
Lemony Snicket, American writer
*
1971 -
Tristan Louis, American writer
*
1972 -
Rory Cochrane, American actor
*
1973 -
Eric Lindros, Canadian hockey player
*
1974 -
Lee Carsley, Irish footballer
*
1978 -
Benjamin Raich, Austrian Olympic skier
*
1979 -
Primož Peterka, Slovenian ski jumper
*
1980 -
Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer
* 1980 -
Piotr Giza, Polish footballer
*
1982 -
Natalia Vodianova, Russian supermodel
*
1984 -
Karolína Kurková, Czech supermodel
*
1985 -
Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player
*
1985 -
Fefe Dobson, Canadian Rock Singer
*
1986 -
Daniel Broderick, Australian musician
*
2001 -
Smarty Jones, American racehorse
*
1261 -
Henry III, Duke of Brabant (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
*
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)
*
1916 -
Henry James, American writer (b.
1843)
*
1925 -
Friedrich Ebert,
Chancellor of Germany (b.
1871)
*
1929 -
Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician (b.
1874)
*
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)
*
1959 -
Maxwell Anderson, American playwright and film writer (b.
1888)
*
1967 -
Henry Luce, American publisher (b.
1898)
*
1974 -
Bobby Bloom, American singer/songwriter (b.
1946)
*
1977 -
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, American actor (b.
1905)
*
1978 -
Eric Frank Russell, English author (b.
1905)
* 1978 -
Philip Ahn, American actor (b.
1905)
* 1978 -
Zara Cully, American actress (b.
1892)
*
1985 -
David Byron, British singer (
Uriah Heep) (b.
1947)
* 1985 -
Ray Ellington, British singer (b.
1916)
*
1986 -
Olof Palme,
Prime Minister of Sweden (b.
1927)
*
1991 -
Reinhard Bendix, German sociologist (b.
1916)
*
1993 -
Ruby Keeler, Canadian actress, singer, and dancer (b.
1910)
*
1998 -
Dermot Morgan, Irish actor and comedian (b.
1952)
* 1998 -
Arkady Shevchenko, Soviet diplomat (b.
1930)
*
2002 -
Mary Stuart, American actress (b.
1926)
* 2002 -
Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (b.
1920)
*
2003 -
Chris Brasher, British athlete (b.
1928)
* 2003 -
Fidel Sánchez Hernández,
President of El Salvador (heart attack) (b.
1917)
* 2003 -
Roger Michael Needham, British cryptographer (b.
1935)
*
2004 -
Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian, writer, and
Librarian of Congress (b.
1914)
* 2004 -
Andres Nuiamäe, Estonian soldier (killed in battle) (b.
1982)
*
2006 -
Owen Chamberlain, American physicist,
Nobel Prize recipient (b.
1920)
*
Bahá'í Faith - Day 3 of
Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) - days in the Bahá'í calendar devoted to service and gift giving.
Liturgical feasts
*
Saint Romanus (died
463)
*
Saint Oswald (d.
992)
*
Saint Rufinus*
Saint Silvana *Blessed
Antonia of Florence (d.
1472)
*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This Day*
On This Day in CanadaJanuary 28 -
February 27 -
February 29 - (
February 30) -
March 1 -
March 28 --
listing of all days
