February 28

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''.

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 loss of an estimated 30,000 civilians.
* 1948 – Christiansborg Cross-Roads shooting in the Gold Coast, when a British police officer opens fire on a march of ex-servicemen, killing three of them and sparking major riots and looting in Accra.
*1953 – James 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's ''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 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.
*1972 – China–United States relations: The United States and China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.
* 1974 – The British election ended in a hung parliament after the Jeremy Thorpe-led Liberal Party achieved their biggest vote.
*1975 – In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.
* 1980 – Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum.
*1983 – The final episode of ''M*A*S*H'' airs, with almost 106 million viewers. It still holds the record for the highest viewership of a season finale.
*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, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
*1991 – The first Gulf War ends.
*1993 – The 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 ATF agents and six Davidians die in the initial raid, starting a 51-day standoff.
*1995 – Former Australian Liberal party leader John Hewson resigns from the Australian parliament almost two years after losing the 1993 Australian federal election.
*1997 – An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 3,000 deaths.
* 1997 – GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way.
* 1997 – A Turkish military memorandum resulted with collapse of the 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.
* 2004 – Over one million Taiwanese participate in the 228 Hand-in-Hand rally form a long human chain to commemorate the February 28 Incident in 1947.
* 2005 – A suicide bombing at a police recruiting centre in Al Hillah, Iraq kills 127.
*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.

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)
*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)
*1924 – Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
*1925 – Harry H. Corbett, Burmese-English actor (d. 1982)
*1928 – Stanley Baker, Welsh actor and producer (d. 1976)
* 1928 – Tom Aldredge, American actor (d. 2011)
* 1928 – Sylvia del Villard, actress, dancer, choreographer and Afro-Puerto Rican activist (d. 1990)
*1929 – Hayden Fry, American football player and coach (d. 2019)
* 1929 – John Montague, American-Irish poet and academic (d. 2016)
* 1929 – Frank Gehry, Canadian-born American architect and designer
*1930 – Leon Cooper, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
*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)
* 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
*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 – 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)
* 1948 – Steven Chu, American physicist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1948 – Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, and author
* 1949 – Zoia Ceaușescu, Romanian mathematician, daughter of Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena Ceaușescu (d. 2006)
*1953 – Paul Krugman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
* 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 – Ian Smith, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
* 1957 – Cindy Wilson, American singer-songwriter
*1958 – Manuel Torres Félix, Mexican criminal and narcotics trafficker (d. 2012)
* 1958 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (d. 2010)
*1961 – Barry McGuigan, Irish-British boxer
*1963 – Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist
* 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
*1970 – Noureddine Morceli, Algerian runner
* 1970 – Daniel Brochu, Canadian actor
* 1971 – Junya Nakano, Japanese pianist and composer
*1972 – Ville Haapasalo, Finnish actor and screenwriter
*1973 – Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1973 – Scott McLeod, New Zealand rugby 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
*1977 – Lance Hoyt, American football player and wrestler
* 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 – Natalia Vodianova, Russian-French model and actress
*1984 – Karolína Kurková, Czech model and actress
*1985 – Tim Bresnan, English cricketer
* 1985 – Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player
* 1985 – Diego Ribas da Cunha, Brazilian footballer
*1987 – Antonio Candreva, Italian footballer
*1988 – Aroldis Chapman, Cuban baseball player
*1989 – Carlos Dunlap, American football player
* 1989 – Charles Jenkins, American basketball player
* 1989 – Kevin Proctor, New Zealand rugby league player
*1990 – Takayasu Akira, Japanese sumo wrestler
*1994 – Arkadiusz Milik, Polish footballer
*1999 – Luka Dončić, Slovenian basketball player

Deaths

Pre-1600

* 628 – Khosrow II, Shah of Iran, Sasanian Empire (b. )

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) This cites Memoir by Major-General J. E. Portlock in ''Address to Geol. Soc.'' (London, 1858).
*1882 – Adolf Zytogorski, Polish-British chess master and translator (b. )

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)
* 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)
*2017 – Pierre Pascau, Mauritian-Canadian journalist (b. 1938)
*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)

Holidays and observances

*Christian feast day:
**February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
*Kalevala Day, also known as the Finnish Culture Day (Finland)

References

External links

BBC: On This Day
*

Historical Events on February 28

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Days of the year
February