February 29 is the 60th day of a leap year in the Gregorian calendar. It is sometimes called "leap day" or "bissextile day". Only leap years have February 29.
Events
Up to 1948
- 1504 – Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to convince Native Americans to give him supplies.
- 1644 – Abel Tasman's second voyage to the Pacific Ocean begins.
- 1704 – Queen Anne's War: French forces and Native Americans attack and destroy Deerfield, Massachusetts, killing 100 men, women, and children.
- 1712 – February 29 is followed by February 30 in Sweden, so that they can stop using the Swedish calendar and return to the Julian calendar.
- 1720 – Frederick I of Sweden becomes King.
- 1860 – Australian bushranger Ben Hall marries Biddy Walsh at Bathurst, New South Wales.
- 1880 – Cutting for the St. Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland is completed.
- 1916 – Tokelau is annexed by the United Kingdom.
- 1932 – TIME magazine features odd American politician William "Alfalfa" Murray on its cover after Murray said he planned to run for President of the United States.
- 1936 – In Japan, the February 26 coup attempt is ended.
- 1940 – Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award. The award of "Best Supporting Actress" was for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind.
- 1940 – Finland begins Winter War peace negotiations.
- 1940 – Physicist Ernest Lawrence gets his 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics.
- 1944 – World War II: The Admiralty Islands are invaded.
From 1952
- 1952 – The island of Heligoland is returned to German authority.
- 1956 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower says that he is running for a second term.
- 1960 – An earthquake in Morocco kills over 3,000 people and nearly destroys Agadir in the southern part of the country.
- 1964 – In Sydney, Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser sets a new world record in the 100–meter freestyle swimming competition (58.9 seconds).
- 1972 – Vietnam War: South Korea removes 11,000 of its 48,000 troops from Vietnam.
- 1972 – Hank Aaron becomes the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to sign a $200,000 contract.
- 1980 – In ice hockey Gordie Howe, playing for the then–Hartford Whalers, makes NHL history by scoring his 800th goal.
- 1984 – Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau says that he will retire as soon as the Liberal Party of Canada chooses another leader.
- 1988 – South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested during a five–day anti–apartheid demonstration in Cape Town. 100 clergymen are also arrested.
- 1988 – Svend Robinson becomes the first Canadian Member of Parliament to come out as gay.
- 1992 – First day of Bosnia and Herzegovina's independence referendum.
- 1996 – In Bosnia and Herzegovina the siege of Sarajevo ends.
- 1996 – A Peruvian Boeing 737 crashes in the Andes, killing 123 people.
- 2000 – Six year old Dedrick Owens shoots and kills Kayla Rolland, also six years old, at Theo J. Buell Elementary School in Mount Morris Township, Michigan. Rolland is currently the youngest American victim of a school shooting Archived 2006-12-18 at the Wayback Machine
- 2004 – Jean–Bertrand Aristide steps down as President of Haiti following popular rebel uprising.
- 2004 – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King wins the award for "Best Picture", along with 10 other awards, at the 76th annual Academy Awards.
- 2012 – The Tokyo Sky Tree in Tokyo, Japan, is completed at a height of 634 metres.
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Births
A person who was born on February 29 may be called a "leapling". In non–leap years they usually celebrate their birthday on February 28 or March 1.
Different countries have different laws about people who are born on February 29. In Taiwan, the law says that the birthday of a leapling is February 28 in years that are not leap years.
The well–known superhero Superman is often said to have his birthday on February 29.
Up to 1948
- 1468 – Pope Paul III (d. 1549)
- 1528 – Albert V, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1579)
- 1724 – Eva Marie Veigel, ballet dancer (d. 1822)
- 1736 – Ann Lee, English–born American religious leader (d. 1784)
- 1784 – Leo von Klenze, German architect, painter and writer (d. 1864)
- 1792 – Gioachino Rossini, Italian composer (d. 1868)
- 1808 – Hugh Falconer, Scottish scientist (d. 1855)
- 1812 – James Milne Wilson, Scottish–born Premier of Tasmania (d. 1880, also on February 29)
- 1840 – John Philip Holland, Irish inventor (d. 1914)
- 1860 – Herman Hollerith, American engineer and inventor (d. 1929)
- 1896 – Morarji Desai, Prime Minister of India (d. 1995)
- 1896 – William A. Wellman, American movie director (d. 1975)
- 1904 – Jimmy Dorsey, American bandleader (d. 1957)
- 1908 – Balthus, Polish–born painter (d. 2001)
- 1908 – Dee Brown, American writer (d. 2002)
- 1912 – Taiichi Ono, Japanese inventor (d. 1990)
- 1916 – Dinah Shore, American singer (d. 1994)
- 1920 – Michèle Morgan, French actress (d. 2016)
- 1920 – Fyodor Abramov, Russian novelist (d. 1983)
- 1924 – David Beattie, 14th Governor–General of New Zealand
- 1924 – Al Rosen, American baseball player
- 1924 – Carlos Humberto Romero, former President of El Salvador
- 1928 – Joss Ackland, British actor
- 1928 – Gustau Biosca, Spanish footballer (d. 2014)
- 1928 – Vance Haynes, American archaeologist, geologist and author
- 1928 – Seymour Papert, South African mathematician and computer scientist
- 1928 – Tempest Storm, American actress, singer and dancer
- 1932 – Jaguar, Brazilian cartoonist
- 1936 – Alex Rocco, American actor (d. 2015)
- 1936 – Ingemar Odlander, Swedish journalist (d. 2014)
- 1936 – Jack R. Lousma, American astronaut, engineer and politician
- 1940 – Klaus–Dieter Lehmann, German librarian and President of the Goethe Institute
- 1940 – Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople
- 1944 – Dennis Farina, American actor (d. 2013)
From 1952
- 1956 – Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer (d. 2002)
- 1960 – Cheb Khaled, Algerian musician
- 1960 – Richard Ramirez, American serial killer (d. 2013)
- 1960 – Tony Robbins, American motivational speaker
- 1964 – Dave Brailsford, British cycling coach
- 1964 – James Ogilvy, member of the extended British Royal Family
- 1964 – Ola Lindgren, Swedish handball player and coach
- 1968 – Naoko Ijima, Japanese actress
- 1968 – Wendi Peters, English actress
- 1972 – Pedro Zamora, American AIDS activist (d. 1994)
- 1972 – Dave Williams, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1972 – Pedro Sanchez, Spanish politician
- 1976 – Ja Rule, American rapper
- 1980 – Chris Conley, American musician
- 1980 – Simon Gagné, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Darren Ambrose, English footballer
- 1984 – Radik Zhaparov, Kazakhstani ski jumper
- 1984 – Mark Foster, American musician (Foster the People)
- 1988 – Lena Gercke, German model and television presenter
- 1988 – Benedikt Höwedes, German footballer
- 1988 – Hannah Mills, British sailor
- 1992 – Sean Abbott, Australian cricketer
- 1992 – Saphir Taïder, French–Algerian footballer
- 1992 – Perry Kitchen, American soccer player
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Deaths
- 992 – Oswald of Worcester, Archbishop of York (b. 925)
- 1528 – Patrick Hamilton, Scottish religious reformer (b. 1504) (burned at the stake)
- 1604 – John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1530)
- 1868 – King Ludwig I of Bavaria (b. 1786)
- 1880 – James Milne Wilson, Premier of Tasmania (b. 1812, also on February 29)
- 1908 – John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, 1st Governor–General of Australia (b. 1860)
- 1908 – Pat Garrett, American gunslinger (b. 1850)
- 1928 – Armando V. Diaz, Italian marshal and minister of war (b. 1861)
- 1944 – Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, President of Finland (b. 1861)
- 1952 – Quo Tai–chi, Chinese diplomat (b. 1888)
- 1956 – Elpidio Quirino, President of the Philippines (b. 1890)
- 1968 – Tore Orjasaeter, Norwegian poet (b. 1886)
- 1980 – Yigal Allon, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1918)
- 1984 – Ludwik Starski, Polish lyricist (b. 1903)
- 1992 – Ruth Pitter, English poet (b. 1897)
- 1996 – Joe Minogue, journalist (b. 1923)
- 1996 – Shams Pahlavi, Persian princess (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Jerome Lawrence, American playwright (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Kagamisato Kiyoji, Japanese Sumo wrestler (b. 1923)
- 2004 – Harold Bernard St. John, 3rd Prime Minister of Barbados (b. 1931)
- 2004 – Danny Ortiz, Guatemalan footballer (b. 1976)
- 2008 – Janet Kagan, American writer (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Davy Jones, British singer, musician and actor (The Monkees) (b. 1945)
- 2016 – Gil Hill, American police officer and actor (b. 1931)
- 2016 – Hannes Löhr, German footballer (b. 1942)
- 2016 – Louise Rennison, British author (b. 1951)
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Observances
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