This Day in History
February 29

What happened in history on this day: February 29? On February 29 in ... 468 - Saint Hilary [Pope Hilarius], Catholic Pope (461-468), dies. 642 - Oswald, English missionary/saint, dies in battle. 1468 - Birth of Paul III last Renaissance pope (1534-49). 1504 - Columbus uses a lunar eclipse to frighten hostile Jamaican Indians. 1528 - Patrick Hamilton Scottish protestant martyr, burned at stake. 1604 - John Whitgift Archbishop of Canterbury (1583-1604), dies at about age 74. 1692 - Birth of Edward Cave England, printer (Gentlemen's Magazine). 1696 - Birth of Esprit Joseph Antoine Blanchard composer. 1696 - English ex-premier Earl Danby accused of corruption. 1704 - French and Indians attack Deerfield Massachusetts, kill 50, abduct 100. 1720 - Queen Ulrica Eleonora of Sweden resigns. 1728 - Birth of Robert Bage English writer (Criticism by Peter Faulkner). 1736 - Birth of Anna Lee Manchester England, founder (Shaker movement in America). 1784 - Birth of Franz von Klenze German architect (Hermitage, St-Petersburg). 1784 - Marquis de Sade transferred from Vincennes fortress to the Bastille. 1792 - Birth of Gioacchino Rossini Pesaro Italy, composer (Barber of Seville). 1792 - Birth of Karl Ernst von Baler Russia, naturalist (discovered human ovum). 1796 - Birth of [Lambert] Adolphe J Quetelet Belgian astronomer/meteorology. 1796 - Jay's Treaty proclaimed, settles some differences with England. 1812 - Birth of Hermann Hirschboch German composer. 1816 - Dutch (King) Willem II marries Russian grand-duchess Anna Paulowna. 1820 - Birth of Adolf Schimon composer. 1828 - Birth of Antonio Guzman Blanco President of Venezuela. 1832 - Charles Darwin visits jungle near Bahia Brazil. 1836 - Giacomo Meyerbeer's (Jakob Liebmann Beer) opera "Les Huguenots" premieres in Paris (Théātre de l'Opéra, Paris). 1840 - Birth of John Philip Holland Liscannor Ireland, pioneer in submarine building. 1844 - Thaddaus Weigl composer, dies at age 67. 1848 - Neufchatel declares independence of Switzerland. 1852 - Birth of Frederic Hymen Cowen composer. 1852 - John Landseer printer/engraver (Royal Academy), dies. 1856 - Hostilities in Russo-Turkish War cease. 1860 - Birth of Herman Hollerith inventor (first electric tabulating machine). 1868 - First British government of Disraeli forms. 1868 - [Charles] Louis I [Augustus] King of Bavaria (L Montez), dies at age 81. 1880 - Gotthard railway tunnel between Switzerland and Italy opens. 1884 - Birth of Alfred Sendrey composer. 1892 - Britain and US sign treaty on seal hunting in Bering Sea. 1896 - Birth of Omer C F L Tulippe Belgian geographer. 1896 - Birth of Ranchhodji Morarji Desai premier of India (1977-79). 1896 - Birth of Stanley Swash CEO (Woolworths). 1896 - Birth of William W Wellman Brookline Massachusetts, director (Star is Born). 1896 - Birth of Wladimir Rudolfovich Vogel composer. 1900 - Birth of Yórgos Seféris [Seferi dis]; Greek diplomat/poet (Strofi). 1904 - Birth of Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenberdorft Senior near Hamburg, Germany; had a Christian name for every letter in the alphabet, shortened it to Mr Wolfe Plus 585 Senior. 1904 - Birth of Jimmy Dorsey in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, USA; orchestra leader (Stage Show). 1904 - Birth of John "Pepper" Martin; baseballer (National League stolen base leader 1933,34,36). 1904 - US President Theodore Roosevelt appoints seven-man committee to study Panamá Canal. 1908 - Birth of Alf Gover; cricket player (bowled in four Tests for England/famous coach). 1908 - Birth of Balthus; painter (Valerie). 1908 - Dutch scientists produce solid helium. 1908 - Death of Patrick Garret near Organ, New Mexico, USA, shot by Wayne Brazel in a dispute over a herd of goats. Garrett was former Sherriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico, and killed William H. Bonney "Billy the Kid". 1916 - Edward H J Keurvels, Flemish conductor/composer (Parisina), dies at age 62. 1920 - Birth of Arthur Franz Perth in Amboy, New Jersey, USA; actor (Invaders From Mars, Young Lions). 1920 - Birth of James Mitchell in Sacramento, California, USA; actor (Palmer - All My Children). 1920 - Birth of Louise Wood; director of Girl Scouts of USA (1961-72). 1920 - Birth of Michele Morgan; actress (Bluebeard, Joan of Paris). 1924 - Birth of David Beattie; British Governor-General of New Zealand. 1928 - Armando V Diaz, Italian marshal/minister of War (1922-24), dies at age 66. 1928 - Birth of Joss Ackland in London, England; actor (Queenie, To Kill a Priest). 1932 - "Big Ed" Morris, pitcher (Boston Red Sox), dies. 1932 - Birth of Gavin Stevens; cricket player (Australian bat on 59-60 India/Pakistan tour). 1932 - Failed coup attempt by fascist Lapua Movement in Finland. 1936 - Birth of Alex Rocco; actor (Blue Knight, Stanley, Stunt Man). 1936 - Birth of Alwin Schockemohle in Germany; equestrian jumper (Olympics-gold-1976). 1936 - Birth of Henri "Rocket" Richard; NHL center (Montreal Canadiens). 1936 - Birth of Jack R Lousma in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA; Colonel US Marine Corp/astronaut (Skylab 3, STS-3). 1936 - US President Franklin Roosevelt signs second neutrality act. 1940 - Birth of Gretchen Christopher in Olympia, Washington, USA; American pop singer/songwriter, founder and female lead of The Fleetwoods ("Come Softly To Me", "Mr Blue"). 1944 - Five leaders of Indonesia Communist Party sentenced to death. 1944 - Birth of Dennis Farina in Chicago, Illinois, USA; actor (Mike Torello - Crime Story). 1944 - Birth of Phyllis Frelich in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, USA; actor (Love is Never Silent). 1944 - US troops land on Los Negros, Admirality Islands. 1948 - Birth of Patricia [Anne] McKillip; American sci-fi author (Fool's Run). 1948 - Birth of Nikolai Pimenov in USSR; coxless pair rowers (Olympics-silver-1976). 1948 - Birth of Yuri Pimenov in USSR; coxless pair rowers (Olympics-silver-1976). 1948 - Stern-group bomb Cairo-Haifa train, 27 British soldiers killed. 1952 - Birth of Bart Stupak; American politician (Representative-Democrat-Michigan). 1952 - Birth of Raisa Smetanina in USSR; cross country skier (Olympics-gold-1976, 1980, 1992). 1952 - Birth of Raul Gonzalez; Mexican 50km speed walker (world record). 1952 - Birth of Tim[othy] Powers; American sci-fi author (Epitaph in Rust, Night Moves). 1952 - Ice Dance Championship at Paris France won by Westwood and Demmy (Great Britain). 1952 - Ice Pairs Championship at Paris won by Ria Falk and Paul Falk of Germany. 1952 - Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Paris won by Jacqueline du Bief of France. 1952 - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Paris won by Richard Button (USA). 1956 - Birth of Randy Jackson; rocker (Zebra - "Tell Me What You Want"). 1956 - Elpidio Quirino, President of Philippines (1949-53), dies at age 65. 1956 - Islamic Republic established in Pakistan. 1956 - In Centerville, South Dakota, USA a building is hit by a falling meteorite. 1956 - US President Dwight Eisenhower announces he would seek a second term. 1960 - First Playboy Club, featuring bunnies, opens in Chicago, Illinois, USA. 1960 - Earthquake kills 1/3 of Agadir, Morocco, population (12,000) in 15 seconds. 1960 - John Kennedy makes "missile gap" the US Presidential campaign issue. 1964 - Birth of Henrik Sundstrom in Sweden; tennis star. 1964 - Birth of James RB Ogilvy, son of English princess Alexandra. 1964 - Frank Albertson, actor (Room Service), dies at age 55. 1964 - Frank Rugani sets badminton shuttlecock distance record, 24.3 metres. 1964 - US President Lyndon Johnson reveals US secretly developed the A-11 jet fighter. 1964 - North Carolina high school basketball teams play to 56-54 score in 13 overtime. 1964 - Victor van Straelen; Flemish biologist/paleontologist, dies at age 74. 1968 - The Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" wins Grammy award. 1968 - Birth of Bryce Paup; NFL linebacker (Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills). 1968 - Birth of Cary Conklin; NFL quarterback (San Francisco 49ers). 1968 - Birth of Chucky Brown; NBA forward (Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks). 1968 - Howard Hanson's 6th Symphony premieres. 1968 - National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (Kerner Commission) reports against racism and demands aid given to blacks. 1968 - US ends regular flights with nuclear bombs. 1968 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. 1972 - Birth of Antonio Sabato Jr; actor (Jagger Cates - General Hospital). 1972 - Birth of Chris Devine in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA; diver (Olympics-1996). 1972 - Birth of Cyrus Beasley in Rowe, New York, USA; rower (Olympics-1996). 1972 - Birth of Fabien Bownes; NFL wide receiver (Chicago Bears). 1972 - Birth of Mark Farraway; Canadian Football League offensive linebacker (Edmonton Eskimos). 1972 - South of Honshu, Japan, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurs. 1972 - Hank Aaron becomes first baseball player to sign for US$200,000 a year (US$600,000 over three years). 1972 - Jack Anderson discloses Dita Beard (ITT) memo indicating antitrust charges were dropped for US$400,000 contribution to Republican Party. 1976 - Birth of Bryan Gillooly in Auburn, New York; diver (Olympics-1996). 1980 - Yigol Alton, Israeli Foreign Minister, dies at age 61. 1980 - Birth of Simon Gagne; Canadian hockey player. 1980 - Gordie Howe becomes first NHL player to score 800 career goals. 1980 - Michael Bracey ends 59 hours 55 minutes trapped in an elevator, England. 1984 - Roland Culver, actor (Thunderball), dies of heart problems at age 83. 1984 - Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announces his retirement. 1984 - Birth of Alicia Hollowell, American softball pitcher. 1988 - Mark Greatbatch scores 107 versus England on Test Cricket debut. 1988 - New York City Mayor Koch calls President Ronald Reagan a "WIMP" in the war on drugs. 1988 - A German document implicates Kurt Waldheim in W.W. II deportations. 1988 - Birth of Lena Gercke, German model. 1992 - Dawn Coe wins LPGA Women's Kemper Golf Open. 1992 - Earl Scheib, CEO (Earl Scheib Auto Paint), dies at age 85. 1992 - Johnny Mack, British actor (Time Lord - Dr Who), dies at age 70. 1992 - The Professional Spring Football League begins. 1996 - In Lumberton, North Carolina, Daniel Green is convicted of the murder of James Jordan, the father of basketball star Michael Jordan. 1996 - Duncan Stuart Wilson, fighter pilot-MacDonald dies at age 83. 1996 - John Grant, Rear Admiral, dies at age 87. 1996 - Kenya defeats West Indies (all out 93) in Cricket World Cup. 2000 - Death of Dennis Danell, American musician (Social Distortion) (born 1961). 2004 - Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigns as president of Haiti. The chief justice of the Haitian Supreme Court, Boniface Alexandre, is sworn in as interim president. 2004 - The film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King directed by Peter Jackson, wins Academy Awards in every category it was nominated for, with 11 wins in total, including Best Picture and Best Director. 2008 - American TV show The Young and the Restless has now been the number one rated daytime drama for 1000 consecutive weeks in the US, since December 1988.         Your Ad Here         You can pick a particular day to view that day's events in history. Bookmark this URL:   http://thisdayinhistoryinfo.info/   and revisit each day. (this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing the current day's events) Or, visit my Timelines of History page. Other web pages of interest: Chronology of World History Today in Sports History Today in USA History Today in Disney History Chronology of World War II Chronology of Personal Computers