28 February
February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 306 days remaining, 307 in leap years.
Events
- 364 - Valentinian I is elevated as Roman Emperor.
- 1258 - Hulagu Khan sacks Baghdad
- 1700 - February 28 is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar.
- 1784 - John Wesley charters the Methodist Church.
- 1827 - The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.
- 1844 - A gun on the 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 United States Republican Party is organized in Ripon, Wisconsin.
- 1861 - Colorado is organized as a United States territory.
- 1878 - Pierre Fatou, a French Mathematician is born, who worked on iteration theory which was later analysed by Benoit Mandelbrot.
- 1883 - The first vaudeville theater is opened, in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1933 - The Reichstag Fire Decree is passed in Germany a day after the Reichstag fire.
- 1935 - Nylon is discovered by Wallace Carothers.
- 1940 - Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
- 1947 - February 28 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with large loss of civilian lives.
- 1948 - Bud Gartiser sets a new world record after clearing the 50-yard low hurdles in 6.8 seconds.
- 1952 - End of 8th Winter Olympic Games in Oslo
- 1953 - James D. Watson and Francis Crick announced to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; formal announcement April 25 following publication in April Nature (pub. April 2).
- 1960 - End of 10th Winter Olympic Games 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.
- 1986 - Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
- 1993 - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest cult leader David Koresh, starting a 51-day standoff.
- 1998 - Kosovo War: Serbian police begin the offensive againt the KLA in Kosovo.
- 2001 - An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale hits the Nisqually Valley area of Washington. There were no reports of any deaths.
- 2002 - Ethnic conflict in India: At least 55 are killed in Ahmadabad, India when Hindus burn Muslim homes.
Births
- 1553 - Michel de Montaigne, writer and philosopher (d. 1592)
- 1683 - René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, scientist (d. 1757)
- 1995 - Sarah Harris, daughter of the Harris family.
- 1820 - John Tenniel, illustrator (d. 1914)
- 1827 - Blondin, French tightrope walker whose spectacular crossings of Niagara Falls (USA/Canada) made him world famous (d. 1897)
- 1833 - Alfred von Schlieffen, German field marshal (d. 1913)
- 1894 - Ben Hecht, playwright, film writer (d. 1964)
- 1900 - Wolfram Hirth, pilot and designer of aircrafts (d. 1959)
- 1901 - Linus Pauling, the only winner of Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1954 and Peace 1962 (d. 1994)
- 1903 - Vincente Minnelli, director (d. 1986)
- 1906 - Bugsy Siegel, gangster (d. 1947)
- 1915 - Zero Mostel, actor (d. 1977)
- 1917 - Fidel Sánchez Hernández, former president of El Salvador (1967-1972) (d. 2003)
- 1931 - Dean Smith, NCAA basketball coach
- 1938 - Klaus Staeck, graphic artist
- 1939 - Erika Pluhar, actress and singer
- 1939 - Tommy Tune, dancer, choreographer, actor
- 1940 - Mario Andretti, automobile driver
- 1942 - Brian Jones, musician ("The Rolling Stones") (d. 1969)
- 1942 - Joe South, musician
- 1942 - Dino Zoff, Italian legendary football goalkeeper
- 1945 - Bubba Smith, Football Hall of Famer
- 1946 - Robin Cook, British politician
- 1948 - Mike Figgis, director, writer, composer
- 1948 - Bernadette Peters, actress, singer
- 1948 - Mercedes Ruehl, actress
- 1973 - Eric Lindros, ice hockey star
- 1979 - Primož Peterka, Slovenian ski jumper
- 1987 - Michelle Horn, teen actress
- 2001 - Smarty Jones, winner of the 2004 Kentucky Derby
Deaths
- 1916 - Henry James, writer (b. 1843)
- 1941 - King Alfonso XIII of Spain (b. 1886)
- 1942 - Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (b. 1889)
- 1959 - Maxwell Anderson, playwright, film writer (b. 1888)
- 1977 - Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, actor (b. 1905)
- 1979 - "The famous Mr. Ed", the talking horse
- 1986 - Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden (b. 1927)
- 1993 - Ruby Keeler, actress, singer, dancer (b. 1910)
- 2002 - Helmut Zacharias, german violinist (b. 1920)
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.
February 27 - February 29 - March 1 - January 28 - March 28 -- listing of all days
