February 28

February 28 in recent years

2024 (Wednesday)

2023 (Tuesday)

2022 (Monday)

2021 (Sunday)

2020 (Friday)

2019 (Thursday)

2018 (Wednesday)

2017 (Tuesday)

2016 (Sunday)

2015 (Saturday)

February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 306 days remain until the end of the year (307 in leap years).

Events

Pre-1600

• 202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.
• 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
• 1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés.

1601–1900

• 1638 – The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.
• 1835 – Elias Lönnrot signed and dated the first version of the Kalevala, the so-called foreword to the Old Kalevala.
• 1844 – A gun explodes on board the steam warship USS Princeton during a pleasure cruise down the Potomac River, killing six, including Secretary of State Abel Upshur. President John Tyler, who was also on board, was not injured from the blast.

1901–present

• 1922 – The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
• 1925 – The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.
• 1947 – February 28 incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the death of an estimated 28,000 civilians.
• 1948 – The 1948 Accra riots erupted following a march by ex-servicemen of the Gold Coast Regiment towards the seat of the colonial government at Christiansborg Castle where they were fired upon by Superintendant Colin Imray leading to the killing of Sergeant Adjetey, Corporal Attipoe and Private Odartey Lamptey and the arrest of the Big Six in the Gold Coast.
• 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 one of the worst school bus accidents in U.S. history.
• 1959 – Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.
• 1966 – A NASA T-38 Talon crashes into the McDonnell Aircraft factory while attempting a poor-visibility landing at Lambert Field, St. Louis, killing astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett.
• 1969 – The 1969 Portugal earthquake hits Portugal, Spain and Morocco.
• 1974 – The British election ended in a hung parliament after the Jeremy Thorpe-led Liberal Party achieved their biggest vote share since 1929.
• 1975 – In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.
• 1983 – The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 110 million viewers.
• 1985 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers.
• 1986 – Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
• 1990 – Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-36.
• 1993 – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group's leader David Koresh, starting a 51-day standoff.
• 1997 – An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 1,100 deaths.
• 1997 – A Turkish military memorandum resulted in the collapse of the coalition government in Turkey.
• 2001 – The 2001 Nisqually earthquake, having a moment magnitude of 6.8, with epicenter in the southern Puget Sound, damages Seattle metropolitan area.
• 2002 – During the religious violence in Gujarat, 97 people are killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre and 69 in the Gulbarg Society massacre.
• 2013 – Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so since Pope Gregory XII in 1415.
• 2023 – Two trains collide south of the Vale of Tempe in Greece, leading to the deaths of at least 57 people and leaving 58 missing and 85 injured.
• 2024 – Prime Minister Modi of India inaugurated the 2nd Space Port of India - Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1261 – Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway (d. 1283)
• 1518 – Francis III, Duke of Brittany, Duke of Brittany (d. 1536)
• 1533 – Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher and author (d. 1592)
• 1535 – Cornelius Gemma, Dutch astronomer and astrologer (d. 1578)
• 1552 – Jost Bürgi, Swiss mathematician and clockmaker (d. 1632)

1601–1900

• 1675 – Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (d. 1726)
• 1683 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (d. 1757)
• 1704 – Louis Godin, French astronomer and academic (d. 1760)
• 1848 – Arthur Giry, French historian and academic (d. 1899)
• 1858 – Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (d. 1941)
• 1866 – Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1949)
• 1878 – Pierre Fatou, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1929)
• 1884 – Ants Piip, Estonian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)
• 1887 – William Zorach, Lithuanian-American sculptor and painter (d. 1966)
• 1894 – Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1964)
• 1896 – Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
• 1898 – Zeki Rıza Sporel, Turkish footballer (d. 1969)

1901–present

• 1901 – Linus Pauling, American chemist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
• 1903 – Vincente Minnelli, American theatre and film director (d. 1986)
• 1906 – Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (d. 1947)
• 1907 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (d. 1988)
• 1908 – Billie Bird, American actress (d. 2002)
• 1909 – Stephen Spender, English author and poet (d. 1995)
• 1915 – Ketti Frings, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
• 1915 – Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
• 1919 – Alfred Marshall, American businessman, founded Marshalls (d. 2013)
• 1920 – Jadwiga Piłsudska, Polish soldier, pilot, and architect (d. 2014)
• 1921 – Marah Halim Harahap, Indonesian military officer, Governor of North Sumatra (d. 2015)
• 1922 – Radu Câmpeanu, Romanian politician (d. 2016)
• 1923 – Charles Durning, American actor (d. 2012)
• 1924 – Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
• 1925 – Harry H. Corbett, Burmese-English actor (d. 1982)
• 1926 – Svetlana Alliluyeva, Russian-American writer, daughter of Joseph Stalin (d. 2011)
• 1928 – Tom Aldredge, American actor (d. 2011)
• 1928 – Stanley Baker, Welsh actor and producer (d. 1976)
• 1929 – Hayden Fry, American football player and coach (d. 2019)
• 1929 – Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect and designer
• 1929 – John Montague, American-Irish poet and academic (d. 2016)
• 1930 – Leon Cooper, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2024)
• 1931 – Peter Alliss, English golfer and sportscaster (d. 2020)
• 1931 – Gavin MacLeod, American actor, Christian activist, and author (d. 2021)
• 1931 – Len Newcombe, Welsh footballer and scout (d. 1996)
• 1932 – Don Francks, Canadian actor, singer, and jazz musician (d. 2016)
• 1932 – Ernst Hinterseer, Austria retired alpine skier
• 1933 – Rein Taagepera, Estonian political scientist and politician
• 1937 – Jeff Farrell, American swimmer
• 1939 – Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1939 – Tommy Tune, American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer
• 1940 – Mario Andretti, Italian-American racing driver
• 1942 – Frank Bonner, American actor and television director (d. 2021)
• 1942 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1969)
• 1942 – Dino Zoff, Italian footballer
• 1943 – Barbara Acklin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
• 1944 – Kelly Bishop, American actress
• 1944 – Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (d. 2014)
• 1944 – Sepp Maier, German footballer and manager
• 1944 – Storm Thorgerson, English graphic designer (d. 2013)
• 1945 – Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (d. 2011)
• 1946 – Robin Cook, Scottish educator and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 2005)
• 1946 – Syreeta Wright, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
• 1947 – Stephanie Beacham, English actress
• 1947 – Salvador Flamenco, Salvadoran footballer
• 1948 – Steven Chu, American physicist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1948 – Mike Figgis, English film director, screenwriter, and composer
• 1948 – Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, and author
• 1948 – Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
• 1949 – Zoia Ceaușescu, Romanian mathematician, daughter of Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena Ceaușescu (d. 2006)
• 1949 – Ilene Graff, American actress and singer
• 1953 – Luther Burden, American basketball player (d. 2015)
• 1953 – Paul Krugman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1953 – Ricky Steamboat, American professional wrestler
• 1954 – Brian Billick, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1955 – Adrian Dantley, American basketball player and coach
• 1955 – Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer (d. 2022)
• 1956 – Francis Hughes, Irish Republican, hunger striker (d. 1981)
• 1956 – Terry Leahy, English businessman
• 1957 – Ainsley Harriott, English chef and television presenter
• 1957 – Ian Smith, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
• 1957 – John Turturro, American actor and director
• 1957 – Cindy Wilson, American singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Manuel Torres Félix, Mexican criminal and narcotics trafficker (d. 2012)
• 1958 – Mark Pavelich, American ice hockey player (d. 2021)
• 1958 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (d. 2010)
• 1961 – Rae Dawn Chong, Canadian-American actress
• 1961 – Barry McGuigan, Irish-British boxer
• 1963 – Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist
• 1965 – Mikko Mäkelä, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
• 1966 – Paulo Futre, Portuguese footballer
• 1966 – Archbishop Jovan VI of Ohrid
• 1967 – Colin Cooper, English footballer and manager
• 1967 – Seth Rudetsky, American musician, actor, writer, and radio host
• 1969 – Sean Farrel, English footballer
• 1969 – Butch Leitzinger, American race car driver
• 1969 – Robert Sean Leonard, American actor
• 1969 – Pat Monahan, American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1970 – Daniel Brochu, Canadian actor
• 1970 – Daniel Handler, American author, musician, screenwriter, and producer
• 1970 – Noureddine Morceli, Algerian runner
• 1971 – Junya Nakano, Japanese pianist and composer
• 1971 – Tasha Smith, American actress, director, and producer
• 1972 – Rory Cochrane, American actor
• 1972 – Ville Haapasalo, Finnish actor and screenwriter
• 1973 – Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1973 – Nicolas Minassian, French race car driver
• 1973 – Masato Tanaka, Japanese wrestler
• 1974 – Lee Carsley, English-Irish footballer and manager
• 1974 – Alexander Zickler, German footballer and manager
• 1975 – Mike Rucker, American football player
• 1976 – Francisco Elson, Dutch basketball player
• 1976 – Ali Larter, American actress and model
• 1977 – Jason Aldean, American singer-songwriter
• 1977 – Lance Hoyt, American football player and wrestler
• 1978 – Geoffrey Arend, American actor
• 1978 – Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier
• 1978 – Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player
• 1978 – Mariano Zabaleta, Argentinian tennis player
• 1979 – Sébastien Bourdais, French race car driver
• 1979 – Ivo Karlović, Croatian tennis player
• 1980 – Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer
• 1980 – Christian Poulsen, Danish footballer
• 1980 – Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player
• 1981 – Brian Bannister, American baseball player and scout
• 1982 – Isabel Mendes Lopes, Portuguese politician
• 1982 – Natalia Vodianova, Russian-French model and actress
• 1984 – Karolína Kurková, Czech model and actress
• 1984 – Ali Marhyar, French actor, film director and screenwriter
• 1985 – Tim Bresnan, English cricketer
• 1985 – Diego, Brazilian footballer
• 1985 – Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player
• 1987 – Akito, Japanese professional wrestler
• 1987 – Antonio Candreva, Italian footballer
• 1987 – Michelle Horn, American actress
• 1987 – Josh McRoberts, American basketball player
• 1988 – Aroldis Chapman, Cuban baseball player
• 1989 – Carlos Dunlap, American football player
• 1989 – Charles Jenkins, American basketball player
• 1990 – Takayasu Akira, Japanese sumo wrestler
• 1990 – Ryan Allen, American football player
• 1990 – Sebastian Rudy, German footballer
• 1991 – Sarah Bolger, Irish actress
• 1991 – Ronalds Ķēniņš, Latvian ice hockey player
• 1993 – Marquis Teague, American basketball player
• 1993 – Éder Álvarez Balanta, Colombian footballer
• 1994 – Alex Caruso, American basketball player
• 1994 – Arkadiusz Milik, Polish footballer
• 1995 – Randy Arozarena, Cuban-Mexican baseball player
• 1995 – Madisen Beaty, American actress
• 1995 – Quinn Shephard, American actress
• 1996 – Bobb'e J. Thompson, American actor
• 1996 – Jakub Vrána, Czech ice hockey player
• 1996 – Lucas Boyé, Argentinian footballer
• 1996 – Axel Werner, Argentinian footballer
• 1997 – Chris Lindstrom, American football player
• 1998 – Teun Koopmeiners, Dutch footballer
• 1999 – Luka Dončić, Slovenian basketball player
• 2000 – Moise Kean, Italian footballer
• 2000 – Josip Šutalo, Croatian footballer
• 2005 – Vitor Roque, Brazilian footballer

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 628 – Khosrow II, Shah of Iran, Sasanian Empire (b. c. 570)

1601–1900

• 1621 – Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1590)
• 1740 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal and patron of the arts (b. 1667)
• 1857 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (b. 1809)
• 1882 – Adolf Zytogorski, Polish-British chess master and translator (b. c. 1811/1812)

1901–present

• 1929 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician and immunologist (b. 1874)
• 1932 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (b. 1851)
• 1936 – Charles Nicolle, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
• 1955 – Isak Penttala, Finnish politician (b. 1883)
• 1966 – Charles Bassett, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1931)
• 1966 – Elliot See, American commander, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1927)
• 1975 – Neville Cardus, English cricket and music writer (b. 1888)
• 1977 – Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, American actor and comedian (b. 1905)
• 1978 – Zara Cully, American actress (b. 1892)
• 1993 – Ruby Keeler, Canadian-American actress and dancer (b. 1909)
• 1998 – Arkady Shevchenko, Ukrainian diplomat (b. 1930)
• 2002 – Mary Stuart, American actress and singer (b. 1926)
• 2002 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (b. 1920)
• 2003 – Chris Brasher, Guyanese-English runner and journalist, co-founded the London Marathon (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian and librarian (b. 1914)
• 2005 – Chris Curtis, English singer and drummer (b. 1941)
• 2006 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920)
• 2007 – Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. American historian and critic (b. 1917)
• 2009 – Paul Harvey, American radio host (b. 1918)
• 2011 – Annie Girardot, French actress (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Donald A. Glaser, American physicist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
• 2014 – Hugo Brandt Corstius, Dutch linguist and author (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Yaşar Kemal, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1923)
• 2016 – George Kennedy, American actor (b. 1925)
• 2019 – André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. (b. 1929)
• 2020 – Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe's (b. 1930)
• 2020 – Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (b. 1923)
• 2020 – Sir Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (b. 1917)
• 2024 – Ahmed Salim, Bangladeshi convicted murderer (b. 1989)
• 2024 – Cat Janice, American singer-songwriter (b. 1993)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Kalevala Day, also known as the Finnish Culture Day (Finland)
• National Science Day (India)
• Peace Memorial Day (Taiwan)
• Andalusia Day (Spain)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Historical Events on February 28