February 28
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from 28 February)
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 this is the last day of February, and the next day is March 1. In Leap years, February 28 is followed by February 29. In many countries, people born on that date, legally reach the ages of 18 and 21 on February 28.
Contents |
[change] Events
- 202 BC – Emperor Gaozu of Han is crowned in China, marking the beginning of the Han Dynasty.
- 870 – The fourth council of Constantinople closes.
- 1525 – Aztec ruler Cuauhtemoc is executed by Hernan Cortes' forces.
- 1638 – The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.
- 1700 – In Sweden, this date is followed by March 1 instead of February 29, creating the Swedish calendar.
- 1784 – John Wesley charters the Methodist Church.
- 1835 – The Kalevala, Finland's national epic, compiled by Elias Lonnrot, is published for the first time.
- 1838 – Robert Nelson proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (present-day Quebec).
- 1897 – Madagascar's last Queen, Ranavalona III, is deposed by French military forces.
- 1922 – Egypt declares independence.
- 1928 – C.V. Raman discovers the Raman effect, on the spread of light.
- 1935 – DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents nylon.
- 1940 – Basketball is shown on television for the first time.
- 1942 – The heavy cruiser USS Houston is sunk in the battle of Sunda Strait, killing 693 people. The same also happens to the HMAS Perth, on which 375 are killed.
- 1947 – 228 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of 30,000 lives.
- 1953 – James D. Watson and Francis Crick announce that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA.
- 1958 – A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky, hits a wrecker truck and plunges into the Lerisa Fork River, killing 26 children and the driver.
- 1975 – A tube train crashes at Moorgate Station in London, killing 43 people.
- 1980 – Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum.
- 1983 – the final episode of M*A*S*H airs, it is one of the most watched shows in TV history with 125 million people watching.
- 1986 – Sweden's Prime Minister Olof Palme is shot dead.
- 1988 – The 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary end, with host nation Canada winning no gold medals.
- 1997 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake in Armenia and Azerbaijan kills around 1,100 people.
- 1997 – An earthquake in northern Iran kills around 3,000 people.
- 1997 – GRB 970228, a highly luminouis flash of gamma rays, strikes Earth for 80 seconds.
- 1998 – Kosovo War: Serbian police begin an offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army.
- 2001 – Ten people are killed in a train crash in Selby, Yorkshire.
- 2004 – 1 million people form a human chain in Taiwan, in memory of the 228 Incident.
- 2005 – In Al Hillah, Iraq, a bomb explodes outside a police training academy, killing 127 people.
- 2005 – In Lebanon the pro-Syrian Prime Minister Omar Karami resigns.
- 2010 – The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver end with host nation Canada winning the most gold medals.
[change] Births
- 1155 – Henry the Young King, son of Henry II of England (d. 1183)
- 1261 – Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway (d. 1283)
- 1533 – Michel de Montaigne, French writer (d. 1592)
- 1552 – Jost Buergi, Swiss clock maker (d. 1632)
- 1612 – John Pearson, English theologian (d. 1686)
- 1704 – Louis Godin, French astronomer (d. 1760)
- 1712 – Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, French military commander (d. 1759)
- 1743 – Rene-Just Hauy, French mineralogist (d. 1822)
- 1797 – Prince Frederick of the Netherlands (d. 1881)
- 1813 – Pomare IV, Queen of Tahiti (d. 1877)
- 1824 – Charles Blondin, French tightrope walker (d. 1897)
- 1878 – Artur Kapp, Estonian composer (d. 1952)
- 1882 – Jose Vasconcelos, Mexican writer (d. 1959)
- 1895 – Marcel Pagnol, French writer, playwright and director (d. 1974)
- 1896 – Philip Showalter Hench, American physician (d. 1965)
- 1901 – Linus Pauling, American scientist (d. 1994)
- 1903 – Vincente Minnelli, American film director (d. 1986)
- 1906 – Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (d. 1947)
- 1909 – Stephen Spender, English poet (d. 1995)
- 1912 – Clara Petacci, mistress to Benito Mussolini (d. 1945)
- 1915 – Peter Medawar, Brazilian-born scientist (d. 1987)
- 1916 – Svend Asmussen, Danish jazz violinist
- 1926 – Svetlana Alliluyeva, Soviet-born American defector, author and daughter of Joseph Stalin (d. 2011)
- 1929 – Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect
- 1930 – Marty Grosz, American musician
- 1939 – Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-born physicist
- 1940 – Aldo Andretti, Italian-born racing driver
- 1940 – Mario Andretti, Italian-born racing driver
- 1941 – Suzanne Mubarak, former First Lady of Egypt
- 1942 – Brian Jones, English musician (Rolling Stones) (d. 1969)
- 1942 – Dino Zoff, Italian footballer
- 1944 – Sepp Maier, German footballer
- 1944 – Kelly Bishop, American actress
- 1945 – Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (d. 2011)
- 1946 – Robin Cook, British politician (d. 2005)
- 1947 – Stephanie Beacham, British actress
- 1947 – Togiola Tulafono, American Samoan politician
- 1948 – Steven Chu, American physicist
- 1953 – Paul Krugman, American economist
- 1956 – Tommy Remengesau, former President of Palau
- 1956 – Terry Leahy, British businessman
- 1957 – Ainsley Harriott, British chef
- 1957 – John Turturro, American actor
- 1958 – Natalya Estemirova, Russian activist (d. 2009)
- 1961 – Barry McGuigan, Irish boxer
- 1969 – Robert Sean Leonard, American actor
- 1970 – Daniel Handler, American writer, better known as Lemony Snicket
- 1974 – Lee Carsley, Irish footballer
- 1978 – Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier
- 1978 – Mariano Zabaleta, Argentine tennis player
- 1979 – Ivo Karlovic, Croatian tennis player
- 1979 – Primoz Peterka, Slovenian ski jumper
- 1980 – Christian Poulsen, Danish footballer
- 1980 – Tyshaun Prince, American basketball player
- 1981 – Florent Serra, French tennis player
- 1984 – Fredrik Stoor, Swedish footballer
- 1984 – Karolina Kurkova, Czech supermodel
- 1985 – Jelena Jankovic, Serbian tennis player
- 2007 – Princess Lalla Khadija of Morocco
[change] Deaths
- 468 – Pope Hilarius
- 1261 – Henry III, Duke of Brabant (b. 1230)
- 1326 – Duke Leopold I of Austria (b. 1290)
- 1525 – Cuauhtemoc, Aztec ruler
- 1621 – Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1590)
- 1648 – King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway (b. 1577)
- 1836 – Friedrich August Grotefend, German philologist (b. 1798)
- 1916 – Henry James, American writer (b. 1843)
- 1925 – Friedrich Ebert, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1871)
- 1936 – Charles Nicolle, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1928 (b. 1866)
- 1941 – King Alfonso XIII of Spain (b. 1886)
- 1942 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (b. 1889)
- 1963 – Rajendra Prasad, first President of India (b. 1884)
- 1967 – Henry Luce, American publisher (b. 1898)
- 1985 – David Byron, English singer (Uriah Heep) (b. 1947)
- 1986 – Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden (murdered) (b. 1927)
- 1986 – Laura Z. Hobson, American writer (b. 1900)
- 1998 – Dermot Morgan, Irish actor and comedian (b. 1952)
- 2002 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (b. 1920)
- 2003 – Fidel Sanchez Hernandez, President of El Salvador (b. 1917)
- 2006 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., American historian and political commentator (b. 1917)
- 2009 – Paul Harvey, American radio broadcaster (b. 1918)
- 2011 – Annie Girardot, French actress (b. 1931)
- 2011 – Jane Russell, American actress (b. 1921)
