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On This Day in History — February 29
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Highlights of February 29
- 2012 — Construction of Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest tower and third-tallest structure, was completed. Read more
- 2008 — Belgian author Misha Defonseca admitted that her bestselling memoir about surviving the Holocaust was in fact a literary forgery. Read more
- 2004 — Angelina Jolie wears a White Marc Bouwer dress to the 76th Academy Awards, which has since been placed on numerous lists for best red carpet fashion. Read more
- 2004 — Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown following popular rebel uprising. Read more
- 1996 — In the deadliest aviation accident in Peruvian history, Faucett Flight 251 crashed on approach to Rodríguez Ballón International Airport, killing all 123 people aboard. Read more
- 1992 — Costello's, a New York City bar popular with journalists, writers, novelists, and cartoonists, closed. Read more
- 1980 — La Bougie du Sapeur, a humorous French newspaper that is published only on leap days, printed its first issue. Read more
- 1960 — The deadliest earthquake in Moroccan history (damaged building pictured) struck the city of Agadir, killing at least 12,000 people. Read more
- 1944 — World War II: The Admiralty Islands campaign began when American forces assaulted Los Negros Island, the third largest of the Admiralty Islands. Read more
- 1940 — At the 12th Academy Awards, Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to be awarded an Oscar, winning Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind. Read more
- 1704 — Queen Anne's War: French and Native American forces raided the English settlement of Deerfield, Massachusetts, killing more than 50 colonists. Read more
Events
- 2024 — The Flour Massacre took place in the Gaza Strip: Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting for aid amidst the Gaza war, killing over 100 and wounding 750. Read more
- 2020 — During a demonstration, pro-government colectivos shoot at disputed President and Speaker of the National Assembly Juan Guaidó and his supporters in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, leaving five injured. Read more
- 2020 — The United States and the Taliban sign the Doha Agreement for bringing peace to Afghanistan. Read more
- 2020 — Muhyiddin Yassin is appointed as the 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia, amid the 2020 Malaysian political crisis. Read more
- 2020 — Luxembourg becomes the first country in the world to render public transport free nationwide. Read more
- 2016 — In the Miqdadiyah bombing: at least 40 people are killed and 58 others wounded following a suicide bombing by ISIL at a Shi'ite funeral in the city of Miqdadiyah, Diyala, Iraq. Read more
- 2012 — North Korea agrees to suspend uranium enrichment and nuclear and long-range missile tests in return for US food aid. Read more
- 2008 — The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence withdraws Prince Harry from a tour of Afghanistan after news of his deployment is leaked to foreign media. Read more
- 2008 — Misha Defonseca admits to fabricating her memoir, Misha: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years, in which she claims to have lived with a pack of wolves in the woods during the Holocaust. Read more
- 2004 — Jean-Bertrand Aristide is removed as president of Haiti following a coup. Read more
- 2004 — Angelina Jolie wears a White Marc Bouwer dress to the 76th Academy Awards, which has since been placed on numerous lists for best Oscars fashion. Read more
- 2000 — Chechens attack a guard post near Ulus Kert, eventually killing 84 Russian paratroopers during the Second Chechen War. Read more
- 1996 — Faucett Perú Flight 251 crashes in the Andes; all 123 passengers and crew are killed. Read more
- 1996 — The Siege of Sarajevo officially ends. Read more
- 1992 — A referendum is begun in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the determination of Bosnian independence. Read more
- 1988 — South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with 100 other clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town. Read more
- 1988 — Svend Robinson becomes the first member of the House of Commons of Canada to come out as gay. Read more
- 1984 — Pierre Trudeau announces his retirement as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Canada. Read more
- 1980 — Gordie Howe of the Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal. Read more
- 1972 — South Korea withdraws 11,000 of its 48,000 troops from South Vietnam as part of Nixon's Vietnamization policy in the Vietnam War. Read more
- 1968 — Aeroflot Flight 15 crashes Irkutsk Oblast, Soviet Union, due to a loss of control. Eighty-three of the 84 occupants onboard die. The exact cause of the accident is unknown. Read more
- 1964 — British Eagle International Airlines Flight 802/6 crashes into the Glungezer mountain in the Tux Alps of Austria, killing all 75 people aboard. Read more
- 1960 — The 5.7 Mw Agadir earthquake shakes coastal Morocco with a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme), destroying Agadir and leaving 12,000 dead and another 12,000 injured. Read more
- 1944 — The Admiralty Islands are invaded in Operation Brewer, led by American general Douglas MacArthur, in World War II. Read more
- 1940 — For her performance as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award. Read more
- 1940 — Finland initiates Winter War peace negotiations. Read more
- 1940 — In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from Sweden's consul general in San Francisco. Read more
- 1936 — The February 26 Incident in Tokyo ends. Read more
- 1924 — The Victorian Football League created the Brownlow Medal to honour deceased administrator Charles Brownlow, now awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League. Read more
- 1920 — The Czechoslovak National Assembly adopts the Constitution. Read more
- 1916 — Tokelau is annexed by the United Kingdom. Read more
- 1916 — In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill and mine workers is raised from 12 to 14 years old. Read more
- 1912 — The Piedra Movediza (Moving Stone) of Tandil falls and breaks. Read more
- 1908 — James Madison University is founded at Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States as The State Normal and Industrial School for Women by the Virginia General Assembly. Read more
- 1892 — St. Petersburg, Florida is incorporated. Read more
- 1796 — The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain comes into force, facilitating ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations. Read more
- 1768 — Polish nobles form the Bar Confederation. Read more
- 1720 — Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden abdicates in favour of her husband, who becomes King Frederick I on March 24. Read more
- 1712 — February 29 is followed by February 30 in Sweden, in a move to abolish the Swedish calendar for a return to the Julian calendar. Read more
- 1704 — In Queen Anne's War, French forces and Native Americans stage a raid on Deerfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, killing 56 villagers and taking more than 100 captive. Read more
- 1644 — Abel Tasman's second Pacific voyage begins as he leaves Batavia in command of three ships. Read more
- 1504 — Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to convince Jamaican natives to provide him with supplies. Read more
- 888 — Odo, count of Paris, is crowned king of West Francia (France) by Archbishop Walter of Sens at Compiègne. Read more
Born on February 29
- 2008 — Rémi Himbert, French footballer Read more
- 2004 — Lydia Jacoby, American swimmer Read more
- 2004 — Abdukodir Khusanov, Uzbek footballer Read more
- 2000 — Tyrese Haliburton, American basketball player Read more
- 2000 — Ferran Torres, Spanish footballer Read more
- 2000 — Jesper Lindstrøm, Danish footballer Read more
- 1996 — Nelson Asofa-Solomona, New Zealand rugby league player Read more
- 1996 — Norberto Briasco, Argentine-Armenian footballer Read more
- 1996 — Reece Prescod, British sprinter Read more
- 1996 — Claudia Williams, New Zealand tennis player Read more
- 1992 — Sean Abbott, Australian cricketer Read more
- 1992 — Eric Kendricks, American football player Read more
- 1992 — Jessica Long, American paralympic swimmer Read more
- 1992 — Jessie T. Usher, American actor Read more
- 1992 — Saphir Taïder, Algerian footballer Read more
- 1988 — Lena Gercke, German model and television host Read more
- 1988 — Benedikt Höwedes, German footballer Read more
- 1988 — Coco Khan, British writer Read more
- 1988 — Brent Macaffer, Australian Rules footballer Read more
- 1988 — Hannah Mills, Welsh sports sailor Read more
- 1984 — Darren Ambrose, English footballer Read more
- 1984 — Rica Imai, Japanese model and actress Read more
- 1984 — Cullen Jones, American swimmer Read more
- 1984 — Nuria Martínez, Spanish basketball player Read more
- 1984 — Lena Raine, American video game composer and producer Read more
- 1984 — Rakhee Thakrar, English actress Read more
- 1984 — Cam Ward, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
- 1984 — Mark Foster, American singer, songwriter and musician Read more
- 1980 — Çağdaş Atan, Turkish footballer and coach Read more
- 1980 — Simon Gagné, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
- 1980 — Rubén Plaza, Spanish cyclist Read more
- 1980 — Clinton Toopi, New Zealand rugby league player Read more
- 1980 — Taylor Twellman, American soccer player and sportscaster Read more
- 1980 — Peter Scanavino, American actor (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) Read more
- 1976 — Vonteego Cummings, American basketball player Read more
- 1976 — Katalin Kovács, Hungarian sprint kayaker Read more
- 1976 — Terrence Long, American baseball player Read more
- 1976 — Ja Rule, American rapper and actor Read more
- 1972 — Sylvie Lubamba, Italian showgirl Read more
- 1972 — Mike Pollitt, English footballer and coach Read more
Died on February 29
- 2024 — Ali Hassan Mwinyi, 2nd President of Tanzania and 3rd President of Zanzibar (born 1925) Read more
- 2024 — Brian Mulroney, 18th Prime Minister of Canada (born 1939) Read more
- 2020 — Dieter Laser, German actor (born 1942) Read more
- 2020 — Éva Székely, Hungarian Hall of Fame swimmer and 1952 Olympic champion (born 1927) Read more
- 2016 — Wenn V. Deramas, Filipino director and screenwriter (born 1966) Read more
- 2016 — Gil Hill, American police officer, actor and politician (born 1931) Read more
- 2016 — Josefin Nilsson, Swedish singer (born 1969) Read more
- 2016 — Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistani assassin, executed (born 1985) Read more
- 2016 — Louise Rennison, English author (born 1951) Read more
- 2012 — Davy Jones, English singer, guitarist and actor (born 1945) Read more
- 2012 — Sheldon Moldoff, American illustrator (born 1920) Read more
- 2012 — P. K. Narayana Panicker, Indian social leader (born 1930) Read more
- 2008 — Janet Kagan, American author (born 1946) Read more
- 2008 — Erik Ortvad, Danish painter and illustrator (born 1917) Read more
- 2008 — Akira Yamada, Japanese scholar and philosopher (born 1922) Read more
- 2004 — Kagamisato Kiyoji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 42nd Yokozuna (born 1923) Read more
- 2004 — Jerome Lawrence, American playwright and author (born 1915) Read more
- 2004 — Harold Bernard St. John, Barbadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Barbados (born 1931) Read more
- 2004 — Lorrie Wilmot, South African cricketer (born 1943) Read more
- 2000 — Dennis Danell, American guitarist (born 1961) Read more
- 1996 — Frank Daniel, Czech-American director, producer and screenwriter (born 1926) Read more
- 1996 — Wes Farrell, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1939) Read more
- 1996 — Ralph Rowe, American baseball player, coach and manager (born 1924) Read more
- 1992 — Ruth Pitter, English poet and author (born 1897) Read more
- 1984 — Ludwik Starski, Polish screenwriter and songwriter (born 1903) Read more
- 1980 — Yigal Allon, Israeli general and politician, Prime Minister of Israel (born 1918) Read more
- 1980 — Gil Elvgren, American painter and illustrator (born 1914) Read more
- 1976 — Florence P. Dwyer, American politician (born 1902) Read more
- 1972 — Tom Davies, American football player and coach (born 1896) Read more
- 1968 — Tore Ørjasæter, Norwegian poet and educator (born 1886) Read more
- 1964 — Frank Albertson, American actor and singer (born 1909) Read more
- 1960 — Melvin Purvis, American police officer and FBI agent (born 1903) Read more
- 1960 — Walter Yust, American journalist and author (born 1894) Read more
- 1956 — Elpidio Quirino, Filipino lawyer and politician, 6th President of the Philippines (born 1890) Read more
- 1952 — Sarah Ann Jenyns, Australian entrepreneur (born 1865) Read more
- 1948 — Robert Barrington-Ward, English lawyer and journalist (born 1891) Read more
- 1944 — Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Finnish lawyer, judge and politician, 3rd President of Finland (born 1861) Read more
- 1940 — E. F. Benson, English archaeologist and author (born 1867) Read more
- 1932 — Arthur Mills Lea, Australian entomologist (born 1868) Read more
- 1932 — Giuseppe Vitali, Italian mathematician (born 1875) Read more
Holidays & observances
As a Christian feast day:
Saint John Cassian; As a Christian feast day:
February 29 in the Orthodox church; Rare Disease Day (in leap years; usually celebrated in common years on February 28); Bachelor's Day (Ireland and United Kingdom)
Events, births and deaths from Wikipedia contributors, “February 29”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Lists are selections; the full record lives at the source.