February 28

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.
*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 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 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, 47^th 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
* 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

*Bahá'í Faith - Day 3 of Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) - days in the Bahá'í calendar devoted to service and gift giving.
*Kalevala Day, The Day of Finnish Culture - Finland
*Peace Memorial Day, the day of commemorating the 228 Incident - Taiwan
*Mar Abba
*Abercius (martyr)
*Saint Hilarius (died 468)
*Saint Romanus (died 463)
*Saint Oswald (d. 992)
*Saint Rufinus
*February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/28 BBC: On This Day]
*
* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Feb&day=28 On This Day in Canada] ----