February 28

February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 306 days remaining, 307 in leap years. \n

Table of contents

1 Events 2 Births 3 Deaths

Events

\n*364 - Valentinian I is elevated as Roman Emperor.\n*1258 - Hulagu Khan sacks Baghdad\n*1700 - February 28 is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar.\n*1784 - John Wesley charters the Methodist Church.\n*1827 - The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad offering commercial transportation of both people and freight. \n*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.\n*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. \n*1850 - The University of Utah opens in Salt Lake City, Utah.\n*1854 - The United States Republican Party is organized in Ripon, Wisconsin. \n*1861 - Colorado is organized as a United States territory.\n*1878 - Pierre Fatou, a French Mathematician is born, who worked on iteration theory which was later analysed by Benoit Mandelbrot.\n*1883 - The first vaudeville theater is opened, in Boston, Massachusetts.\n*1933 - The Reichstag Fire Decree is passed in Germany a day after the Reichstag fire. \n*1935 - Nylon is discovered by Wallace Carothers.\n*1940 - Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).\n*1947 - February 28 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with large loss of civilian lives.\n*1948 - Bud Gartiser sets a new world record after clearing the 50-yard low hurdles in 6.8 seconds.\n*1952 - End of 8th Winter Olympic Games in Oslo\n*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).\n*1960 - End of 10th Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley, California\n*1972 - Sino-American relations: The United States and People's Republic of China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.\n*1974 - After seven years, the United States and Egypt re-establish diplomatic relations. \n*1975 - A major tube train crash at Moorgate station, London kills 43 people.\n*1983 - The final episode of M*A*S*H is broadcast in the USA, becoming the most watched television episode in history.\n*1986 - Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.\n*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.\n*1998 - Kosovo War: Serbian police begin the offensive againt the KLA in Kosovo. \n*2001 - An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale hits the Northwest area of the United States. There were no reports of any deaths. \n*2002 - Ethnic conflict in India: At least 55 are killed in Ahmadabad, India when Hindus burn Muslim homes.

Births

\n*1553 - Michel de Montaigne, writer and philosopher (d. 1592)\n*1683 - René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, scientist (d. 1757)\n*1820 - John Tenniel, illustrator (d. 1914)\n*1827 - Blondin, French tightrope walker whose spectacular crossings of Niagara Falls (USA/Canada) made him world famous (d. 1897)\n*1833 - Alfred von Schlieffen, German field marshal (d. 1913)\n*1894 - Ben Hecht, playwright, film writer (d. 1964)\n*1900 - Wolfram Hirth, pilot and designer of aircrafts (d. 1959)\n*1901 - Linus Pauling, the only winner of Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1954 and Peace 1962 (d. 1994)\n*1903 - Vincente Minnelli, director (d. 1986)\n*1906 - Bugsy Siegel, gangster (d. 1947)\n*1915 - Zero Mostel, actor (d. 1977)\n*1917 - Fidel Sánchez Hernández, former president of El Salvador (1967-1972) (d. 2003)\n*1931 - Dean Smith, NCAA basketball coach\n*1938 - Klaus Staeck, graphic artist\n*1939 - Erika Pluhar, actress and singer\n* 1939 - Tommy Tune, dancer, choreographer, actor\n*1940 - Mario Andretti, automobile driver\n*1942 - Brian Jones, musician ("The Rolling Stones") (d. 1969)\n* 1942 - Joe South, musician\n*1945 - Bubba Smith, Football Hall of Famer\n*1946 - Robin Cook, British politician\n*1948 - Mike Figgis, director, writer, composer\n* 1948 - Bernadette Peters, actress, singer\n* 1948 - Mercedes Ruehl, actress\n*1973 - Eric Lindros, ice hockey star\n*1979 - Primož Peterka, Slovenian ski jumper\n*1987 - Michelle Horn, teen actress \n*2001 - Smarty Jones, winner of the 2004 Kentucky Derby

Deaths

\n*1916 - Henry James, writer (b. 1843)\n*1941 - King Alfonso XIII of Spain (b. 1886)\n*1942 - Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (b. 1889)\n*1959 - Maxwell Anderson, playwright, film writer (b. 1888)\n*1977 - Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, actor (b. 1905)\n*1979 - "The famous Mr. Ed", the talking horse \n*1986 - Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden (b. 1927)\n*1993 - Ruby Keeler, actress, singer, dancer (b. 1910)\n*2002 - Helmut Zacharias, german violinist (b. 1920)\n

Holidays and observances

\n*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 \n