FEBRUARY 28

Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

Liturgical observances

References

External links

Events

★ 364 - Valentinian I is elevated as 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 - Charter granted establishing the institution now known as the University of Pittsburgh.

★ 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, proclaim 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 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 - 228 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down at a 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; formal announcement April 25 following publication in April Nature (pub. April 2).

★ 1960 - The United States defeats Czechoslovakia 9-4 in ice hockey 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).

★ 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 - 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.

★ 1997 - The North Hollywood shootout takes place.

★ 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.

★ 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

★ 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.

Births

★ 1155 - Henry the Young King, son of Henry II of England (d. 1183)

★ 1533 - Michel de Montaigne, French writer (d. 1592)

★ 1552 - Joost Bürgi, Swiss clockmaker (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)

★ 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)

★ 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)

★ 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)

★ 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

★ 1929 - John Montague, Irish poet

★ 1929 - Joseph Rouleau, French Canadian bass opera singer

★ 1930 - Leon Neil Cooper, American physicist, Nobel 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 laureate

★ 1939 - Tommy Tune, American dancer

★ 1940 - Mario Andretti, American race car driver

★ 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)

★ 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

★ 1952 - William Finn, American composer

★ 1953 - Ingo Hoffmann, Brazilian racing driver

★ 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 - 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 - Junya Nakano, Japanese composer

★ 1971 - Tristan Louis, American writer

★ 1972 - Rory Cochrane, American actor

★ 1973 - Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1973 - Nicolas Minassian, French racing driver

★ 1974 - Lee Carsley, Irish footballer

★ 1974 - Moana Mackey, New Zealand politician

★ 1975 - Mike Rucker, American football player

★ 1976 - Adam Pine, Australian swimmer

★ 1977 - Jason Aldean, American country singer

★ 1978 - Benjamin Raich, Austrian Olympic skier

★ 1978 - Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player

★ 1978 - Mariano Zabaleta, Argentine tennis player

★ 1979 - Sébastien Bourdais, French racing driver

★ 1979 - Michael Bisping, English mixed martial artist

★ 1979 - Ivo Karlović, Croatian tennis player

★ 1979 - Primož Peterka, Slovenian ski jumper

★ 1980 - Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer

★ 1980 - Piotr Giza, Polish footballer

★ 1980 - Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player

★ 1981 - Florent Serra, French tennis player

★ 1982 - Natalia Vodianova, Russian supermodel

★ 1984 - Karolína Kurková, Czech supermodel

★ 1985 - Fefe Dobson, Canadian singer

★ 1985 - Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player

★ 1987 - Kerrea Gilbert, English footballer

★ 1989 - Zhang Liyin, Chinese R&B singer

★ 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)

★ 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)

★ 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, English athlete (b. 1928)

★ 2003 - Fidel Sánchez Hernández, President of El Salvador (b. 1917)

★ 2003 - Roger Michael Needham, British cryptographer (b. 1935)

★ 2004 - Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian, writer, and Librarian of Congress (b. 1914)

★ 2004 - Carmen Laforet, famed Spanish novelist

★ 2004 - Andres Nuiamäe, first Estonian soldier to be killed in the Iraq War (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)

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.

★ Andalusia Day - Andalusia, Spain.

★ Kalevala Day, The Day of Finnish Culture - Finland

Liturgical observances

★ Mar Abba ^[1]

★ Abercius (martyr)

★ Saint Romanus (died 463)

★ Saint Oswald (d. 992)

★ Saint Rufinus

★ Saint Silvana

★ Blessed Antonia of Florence (d. 1472)

★ February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

References

1.
★ Holweck, F. G. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924.

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

★

★ On This Day in Canada
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