EVENTS OF THIS DAY IN THE PAST 29/2

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• 1504 – Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to convince Native Americans to provide him with supplies.
• 1644 – Abel Tasman's second Pacific voyage began.
• 1704 – Queen Anne's War: French forces and Native Americans stage a raid on Deerfield, Massachusetts, killing 56 villagers and taking more than 100 captive.
• 1712 – February 29 is followed by February 30 in Sweden, in a move to abolish the Swedish calendar for a return to the Old style.
• 1720 – Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden abdicates in favour of her husband, who becomes King Frederick I on 24 March.
• 1752 – King Alaungpaya founds Konbaung Dynasty, the last dynasty of Burmese monarchy.
• 1768 – Polish nobles formed Bar Confederation.
• 1796 – The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain comes into force, facilitating ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid fails – plans to free 15,000 Union soldiers being held near Richmond, Virginia are thwarted.
• 1892 – St. Petersburg, Florida is incorporated.
• 1912 – The Piedra Movediza (Moving Stone) of Tandil falls and breaks.
• 1916 – Tokelau is annexed by the United Kingdom.
• 1916 – Child labor: In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill, and mine workers is raised from twelve to fourteen years old.
• 1920 – Czechoslovak National assembly adopted the Constitution.
• 1936 – Baby Snooks, played by Fanny Brice, debuts on the radio program The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air.
• 1936 – February 26 Incident in Tokyo ends.
• 1940 – For her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award.
• 1940 – Finland initiates Winter War peace negotiations.
• 1940 – In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, because of the war, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from Sweden's Consul General in San Francisco.
• 1944 – World War II: The Admiralty Islands are invaded in Operation Brewer led by American General Douglas MacArthur.
• 1952 – The island of Heligoland is restored to German authority.
• 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.
• 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: Vietnamization – South Korea withdraws 11,000 of its 48,000 troops from Vietnam.
• 1980 – Gordie Howe of the then Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal.
• 1988 – South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with 100 clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town.
• 1988 – Svend Robinson becomes the first member of the Canadian House of Commons to come out as gay.
• 1992 – First day of Bosnia and Herzegovina independence referendum.
• 1996 – Faucett Flight 251 crashes in the Andes, all 123 passengers and crew died.
• 2000 – Second Chechen War: 84 Russian paratroopers are killed in a rebel attack on a guard post near Ulus Kert.
• 2004 – Jean-Bertrand Aristide is removed as President of Haiti following a coup.
• 2008 – The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence decides to withdraw Prince Harry from a tour of Afghanistan "immediately" after a leak led to his deployment being reported by foreign media.
• 2008 – Misha Defonseca admits to fabricating her memoir, Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years, in which she claimed to have lived with a pack of wolves in the woods during the Holocaust.
• 2012 – Tokyo Skytree construction completed. Now it is the tallest tower in the world, 634 meters high, and second tallest (man-made) structure on Earth, next to Burj Khalifa.

Notable persons born on February 29:

• 1468 – Pope Paul III (d. 1549)
• 1692 – John Byrom, English poet and educator (d. 1763)
• 1724 – Eva Marie Veigel, Austrian-English dancer (d. 1822)
• 1736 – Ann Lee, English-American religious leader, founded the Shakers (d. 1784)
• 1792 – Gioachino Rossini, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1868)
• 1812 – James Milne Wilson, Scottish-Australian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1880)
• 1828 – Emmeline B. Wells, American journalist, poet, and activist (d. 1921)
• 1836 – Dickey Pearce, American baseball player and manager (d. 1908)
• 1852 – Frank Gavan Duffy, Irish-Australian lawyer and judge, 4th Chief Justice of Australia (d. 1936)
• 1852 – George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg, Russian son of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1912)
• 1860 – Herman Hollerith, American statistician and businessman, co-founded the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (d. 1929)
• 1884 – Richard S. Aldrich, American lawyer and politician (d. 1941)
• 1892 – Ed Appleton, American baseball player (d. 1932)
• 1892 – Augusta Savage, American sculptor (d. 1962)
• 1896 – Morarji Desai, Indian politician, 4th Prime Minister of India (d. 1995)
• 1896 – Roy Parker, American baseball player (d. 1954)
• 1896 – William A. Wellman, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1975)
• 1904 – Rukmini Devi Arundale, Indian dancer and choreographer (d. 1986)
• 1904 – Jimmy Dorsey, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (The California Ramblers, The Dorsey Brothers, and The Charleston Chasers) (d. 1957)
• 1904 – Pepper Martin, American baseball player and manager (d. 1965)
• 1908 – Balthus, French-Swiss painter and illustrator (d. 2001)
• 1908 – Dee Brown, American historian and author (d. 2002)
• 1908 – Alf Gover, English cricketer and coach (d. 2001)
• 1908 – Mary Beck, Detroit politician; first female city councilman in Detroit; first Ukrainian-American in that capacity (d. 2005).
• 1916 – Dinah Shore, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
• 1920 – Fyodor Abramov, Russian author and critic (d. 1983)
• 1920 – Arthur Franz, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1920 – James Mitchell, American actor and dancer (d. 2010)
• 1920 – Michèle Morgan, French-American actress and singer
• 1920 – Howard Nemerov, American poet and essayist (d. 1991)
• 1920 – Ivan Ivanovich Petrov, Russian opera singer (d. 2003)
• 1920 – Rolland W. Redlin, American lawyer and politician (d. 2011)
• 1924 – David Beattie, New Zealand judge and politician, 14th Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 2001)
• 1924 – Carlos Humberto Romero, Salvadoran politician, President of El Salvador
• 1924 – Al Rosen, American baseball player and manager (d. 2015)
• 1928 – Joss Ackland, English actor and singer
• 1928 – Vance Haynes, American archaeologist, geologist, and author
• 1928 – Terry Lewis, Australian police officer
• 1928 – Seymour Papert, South African mathematician and computer scientist, co-created the Logo programming language
• 1928 – Tempest Storm, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1932 – Jaguar, Brazilian cartoonist
• 1932 – Gene H. Golub, American mathematician and academic (d. 2007)
• 1932 – Masten Gregory, American race car driver (d. 1985)
• 1932 – Reri Grist, American soprano and actress
• 1932 – Gavin Stevens, Australian cricketer
• 1936 – Jack R. Lousma, American astronaut, engineer, and politician
• 1936 – Henri Richard, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1936 – Alex Rocco, American actor (d. 2015)
• 1940 – Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople
• 1940 – William H. Turner, Jr. American horse trainer
• 1944 – Ene Ergma, Estonian physicist and politician
• 1944 – Dennis Farina, American police officer and actor (d. 2013)
• 1944 – Nicholas Frayling, English priest and academic
• 1944 – Phyllis Frelich, American actress (d. 2014)
• 1944 – Leiki Loone, Estonian mathematician
• 1944 – Steve Mingori, American baseball player (d. 2008)
• 1944 – Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri, Italian author and illustrator
• 1948 – Jirō Akagawa, Japanese author
• 1948 – Gérard Darmon, French-Moroccan actor and singer
• 1948 – Hermione Lee, English author, critic, and academic
• 1948 – Patricia A. McKillip, American author
• 1952 – Al Autry, American baseball player
• 1952 – Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush, American journalist and producer
• 1952 – Tim Powers, American author and educator
• 1952 – Raisa Smetanina, Soviet-Russian cross-country skier
• 1952 – Bart Stupak, American police officer and politician
• 1956 – Jonathan Coleman, English-Australian radio and television host
• 1956 – Jerry Fry, American baseball player
• 1956 – Bob Speller, Canadian businessman and politician, 30th Canadian Minister of Agriculture
• 1956 – J. Randy Taraborrelli, American journalist and author
• 1956 – Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer (d. 2002)
• 1960 – Khaled, Algerian singer-songwriter
• 1960 – Lucian Grainge, English businessman
• 1960 – Bill Long, American baseball player
• 1960 – Richard Ramirez, American serial killer (d. 2013)
• 1960 – Tony Robbins, American motivational speaker and author
• 1964 – Dave Brailsford, English cyclist and coach
• 1964 – Lyndon Byers, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host
• 1964 – Mervyn Warren, American tenor, composer, and producer (Take 6)
• 1968 – Suanne Braun, South African-English actress
• 1968 – Chucky Brown, American basketball player and coach
• 1968 – Pete Fenson, American curler and sportscaster
• 1968 – Naoko Iijima, Japanese actress and model
• 1968 – Bryce Paup, American football player and coach
• 1968 – Howard Tayler, American author and illustrator
• 1968 – Eugene Volokh, Ukrainian-American lawyer, legal scholar, and educator
• 1968 – Frank Woodley, Australian actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1972 – Iván García, Cuban sprinter
• 1972 – Mike Pollitt, English footballer and coach
• 1972 – Antonio Sabàto, Jr., Italian-American model and actor
• 1972 – Dave Williams, American singer-songwriter (Drowning Pool) (d. 2002)
• 1972 – Saul Williams, American singer-songwriter and actor (Wax Poetic)
• 1972 – Pedro Zamora, Cuban-American television personality, cast member on The Real World: San Francisco (d. 1994)
• 1972 – Nejat İşler, Turkish actor
• 1976 – Zoë Baker, English-New Zealand swimmer and coach
• 1976 – Katalin Kovács, Hungarian canoe racer
• 1976 – Terrence Long, American baseball player
• 1976 – Ja Rule, American rapper and actor
• 1980 – Chris Conley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Saves the Day and Two Tongues)
• 1980 – Patrick Côté, Canadian mixed martial artist
• 1980 – Simon Gagné, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 – Michail Mouroutsos, Greek martial artist
• 1980 – Rubén Plaza, Spanish cyclist
• 1980 – Clinton Toopi, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1980 – Taylor Twellman, American soccer player and sportscaster
• 1980 – Çağdaş Atan, Turkish retired footballer
• 1984 – Darren Ambrose, English footballer
• 1984 – Rica Imai, Japanese model, entertainer, and actress
• 1984 – Cullen Jones, American swimmer
• 1984 – Nuria Martínez, Spanish basketball player
• 1984 – Adam Sinclair, Indian field hockey player
• 1984 – Rakhee Thakrar, English actress
• 1984 – Dennis Walger, German rugby player
• 1984 – Cam Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1984 – Mark Foster, American singer-songwriter (Foster The People)
• 1988 – Lena Gercke, German model and television host
• 1988 – Scott Golbourne, English footballer
• 1988 – Benedikt Höwedes, German footballer
• 1988 – Bobby Sanguinetti, American ice hockey player
• 1992 – Sean Abbott, Australian cricketer
• 1992 – Perry Kitchen, American soccer player
• 1992 – Caitlin EJ Meyer, American actress
• 1992 – Majesty Rose, American singer
• 1992 – Saphir Taïder, French-Algerian footballer
• 1996 – Claudia Williams, New Zealand tennis player

Deaths[edit]

• 992 – Oswald of Worcester, French archbishop and saint (b. 925)
• 1212 – Hōnen, Japanese monk, founded Jōdo-shū (b. 1133)
• 1528 – Patrick Hamilton, Scottish martyr and reformer (b. 1504)
• 1592 – Alessandro Striggio, Italian composer and diplomat (b. 1540)
• 1600 – Caspar Hennenberger, German pastor, historian, and cartographer (b. 1529)
• 1604 – John Whitgift, English archbishop (b. 1530)
• 1740 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal (b. 1667)
• 1744 – John Theophilus Desaguliers, French-English physicist and philosopher (b. 1683)
• 1792 – Johann Andreas Stein, German piano builder (b. 1728)
• 1820 – Johann Joachim Eschenburg, German historian and critic (b. 1743)
• 1848 – Louis-François, Baron Lejeune, French general and painter (b. 1775)
• 1852 – Matsudaira Katataka, Japanese daimyo (b. 1806)
• 1868 – Ludwig I of Bavaria (b. 1786)
• 1880 – James Milne Wilson, Scottish-Australian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1812)
• 1908 – Pat Garrett, American sheriff (b. 1850)
• 1908 – John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, Scottish-Australian politician, 1st Governor-General of Australia (b. 1860)
• 1920 – Ernie Courtney, American baseball player (b. 1875)
• 1928 – Adolphe Appia, Swiss architect and theorist (b. 1862)
• 1928 – Ina Coolbrith, American poet and librarian (b. 1841)
• 1940 – E. F. Benson, English archaeologist and author (b. 1867)
• 1944 – Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Finnish lawyer, judge, and politician, 3rd President of Finland (b. 1861)
• 1948 – Robert Barrington-Ward, English barrister and journalist (b. 1891)
• 1948 – Rebel Oakes, American baseball player and manager (b. 1883)
• 1952 – Quo Tai-chi, Chinese diplomat, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations (b. 1888)
• 1956 – Elpidio Quirino, Filipino lawyer and politician, 6th President of the Philippines (b. 1890)
• 1960 – Melvin Purvis, American police officer and FBI agent (b. 1903)
• 1960 – Walter Yust, American journalist and author (b. 1894)
• 1964 – Frank Albertson, American actor and singer (b. 1909)
• 1968 – Lena Blackburne, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1886)
• 1968 – Tore Ørjasæter, Norwegian poet and educator (b. 1886)
• 1972 – Tom Davies, American football player and coach (b. 1896)
• 1976 – Florence P. Dwyer, American politician (b. 1902)
• 1980 – Yigal Allon, Israeli general and politician, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1918)
• 1980 – Gil Elvgren, American painter and illustrator (b. 1914)
• 1984 – Ludwik Starski, Polish screenwriter and songwriter (b. 1903)
• 1988 – Sidney Harmon, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1907)
• 1992 – La Lupe, Cuban-American singer-songwriter (b. 1939)
• 1992 – Ruth Pitter, English poet and author (b. 1897)
• 1996 – Wes Farrell, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1939)
• 1996 – Shams Pahlavi, Iranian daughter of Tadj ol-Molouk of Iran (b. 1917)
• 1996 – Ralph Rowe, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1924)
• 2000 – Dennis Danell, American guitarist (Social Distortion) (b. 1961)
• 2000 – Kayla Rolland, American murder victim (b. 1993)
• 2004 – Kagamisato Kiyoji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 42nd Yokozuna (b. 1923)
• 2004 – Jerome Lawrence, American playwright and author (b. 1915)
• 2004 – Toni Onley, Manx-Canadian painter (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Harold Bernard St. John, Barbadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Barbados (b. 1931)
• 2004 – Lorrie Wilmot, South African cricketer (b. 1943)
• 2008 – Janet Kagan, American author (b. 1946)
• 2008 – Erik Ortvad, Danish painter and illustrator (b. 1917)
• 2008 – Akira Yamada, Japanese scholar and philosopher (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Roland Bautista, American guitarist (Earth, Wind & Fire) (b. 1951)
• 2012 – Davy Jones, English singer, guitarist, and actor (The Monkees) (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Sheldon Moldoff, American illustrator (b. 1920)
• 2012 – P. K. Narayana Panicker, Indian social leader (Nair Service Society) (b. 1930)
• 2016 – Wenn Deramas, Filipino Movie and Television Director, (b. 1966)