February 28: On This Day

Events, births, deaths, holidays and observances for February 28.

Events 30

202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.
870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés.
1638 – The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.
1835 – Elias Lönnrot signs and dates the foreword to the first version of the Kalevala, the so-called Old Kalevala.
1844 – A gun explodes on board the steam warship USS Princeton during a pleasure cruise down the Potomac River, killing six, including Secretary of State Abel Upshur. President John Tyler, who is also on board, is not injured from the blast.
1922 – The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
1925 – The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.
1947 – February 28 incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the death of an estimated 18,000 - 28,000 civilians.
1948 – The 1948 Accra riots erupt following a march by ex-servicemen of the Gold Coast Regiment towards the seat of the colonial government at Christiansborg Castle, where they were fired upon by Superintendent Colin Imray, leading to the killing of Sergeant Adjetey, Corporal Attipoe and Private Odartey Lamptey and the arrest of the Big Six in the Gold Coast.
1958 – A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork river. The driver and 26 children die in one of the worst school bus accidents in U.S. history.
1959 – Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.
1966 – A NASA T-38 Talon crashes into the McDonnell Aircraft factory while attempting a poor-visibility landing at Lambert Field, St. Louis, killing astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett.
1969 – The 1969 Portugal earthquake hits Portugal, Spain and Morocco.
1973 – Aeroflot Flight X-167 crashes during takeoff from Semey Airport, killing 32 people.
1974 – The British election ends in a hung parliament after the Jeremy Thorpe-led Liberal Party achieved their biggest vote share since 1929.
1975 – In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.
1983 – The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 110 million viewers.
1985 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers.
1986 – Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
1990 – Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-36.
1993 – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group's leader David Koresh, starting a 51-day standoff.
1997 – An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 1,100 deaths.
1997 – A Turkish military memorandum results in the collapse of the coalition government in Turkey.
2001 – The 2001 Nisqually earthquake, having a moment magnitude of 6.8, with epicenter in southern Puget Sound, damages the Seattle metropolitan area.
2002 – During the religious violence in Gujarat, 97 people are killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre and 69 in the Gulbarg Society massacre.
2013 – Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so voluntarily since Pope Gregory XII in 1415.
2023 – Two trains collide south of the Vale of Tempe in Greece, leading to the deaths of at least 57 people and leaving 58 missing and 85 injured.
2024 – Prime Minister Modi of India inaugurates the 2nd Space Port of India - Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport.
2026 – The United States and Israel launch attacks across Iran, assassinating Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Retaliatory strikes are launched by Iran against US military bases in the Gulf, with explosions reported in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.

Births 148

1261 – Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway (died 1283)
1518 – Francis III, Duke of Brittany, Duke of Brittany (died 1536)
1533 – Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher and author (died 1592)
1535 – Cornelius Gemma, Dutch astronomer and astrologer (died 1578)
1552 – Jost Bürgi, Swiss mathematician and clockmaker (died 1632)
1675 – Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (died 1726)
1683 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (died 1757)
1690 – Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, eldest son of Peter the Great (died 1718)
1704 – Louis Godin, French astronomer and academic (died 1760)
1833 – Alfred von Schlieffen, German military strategist (died 1913)
1848 – Arthur Giry, French historian and academic (died 1899)
1858 – Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (died 1941)
1866 – Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian poet and playwright (died 1949)
1878 – Pierre Fatou, French mathematician and astronomer (died 1929)
1884 – Ants Piip, Estonian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (died 1942)
1887 – William Zorach, Lithuanian-American sculptor and painter (died 1966)
1894 – Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1964)
1896 – Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1965)
1898 – Zeki Rıza Sporel, Turkish footballer (died 1969)
1901 – Linus Pauling, American chemist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1994)
1906 – Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (died 1947)
1907 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (died 1988)
1908 – Billie Bird, American actress (died 2002)
1909 – Stephen Spender, English author and poet (died 1995)
1915 – Ketti Frings, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (died 1981)
1915 – Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1987)
1919 – Alfred Marshall, American businessman, founded Marshalls (died 2013)
1920 – Jadwiga Piłsudska, Polish soldier, pilot, and architect (died 2014)
1921 – Marah Halim Harahap, Indonesian military officer, Governor of North Sumatra (died 2015)
1922 – Radu Câmpeanu, Romanian politician (died 2016)
1924 – Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (died 2014)
1925 – Harry H. Corbett, Burmese-English actor (died 1982)
1928 – Tom Aldredge, American actor (died 2011)
1928 – Stanley Baker, Welsh actor and producer (died 1976)
1929 – Hayden Fry, American football player and coach (died 2019)
1929 – Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect and designer (died 2025)
1929 – John Montague, American-Irish poet and academic (died 2016)
1930 – Leon Cooper, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2024)
1931 – Peter Alliss, English golfer and sportscaster (died 2020)
1931 – Gavin MacLeod, American actor, Christian activist, and author (died 2021)
1931 – Len Newcombe, Welsh footballer and scout (died 1996)
1932 – Don Francks, Canadian actor, singer, and jazz musician (died 2016)
1932 – Ernst Hinterseer, Austria retired alpine skier
1933 – Rein Taagepera, Estonian political scientist and politician
1937 – Jeff Farrell, American swimmer
1939 – Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1939 – Tommy Tune, American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer
1940 – Mario Andretti, Italian-American racing driver
1940 – Raymond Pointu, French sports journalist (died 2026)
1941 – Alice Brock, American artist, author and restaurateur (died 2024)
1941 – Arthur Ngirakelsong, 2nd Chief Justice of Palau (died 2022)
1942 – Frank Bonner, American actor and television director (died 2021)
1942 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (died 1969)
1942 – Oliviero Toscani, Italian photographer (died 2025)
1942 – Dino Zoff, Italian footballer
1943 – Barbara Acklin, American singer-songwriter (died 1998)
1944 – Kelly Bishop, American actress
1944 – Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (died 2014)
1944 – Sepp Maier, German footballer and manager
1944 – Storm Thorgerson, English graphic designer (died 2013)
1945 – Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (died 2011)
1946 – Robin Cook, Scottish educator and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (died 2005)
1946 – Syreeta Wright, American singer-songwriter (died 2004)
1947 – Salvador Flamenco, Salvadoran footballer
1948 – Steven Chu, American physicist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize laureate
1948 – Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, and author
1948 – Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
1949 – Zoia Ceaușescu, Romanian mathematician, daughter of Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena Ceaușescu (died 2006)
1952 – William Finn, American composer and lyricist (died 2025)
1953 – Luther Burden, American basketball player (died 2015)
1953 – Paul Krugman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1953 – Ricky Steamboat, American professional wrestler
1954 – Brian Billick, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
1955 – Adrian Dantley, American basketball player and coach
1955 – Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer (died 2022)
1956 – Francis Hughes, Irish Republican, died on hunger strike (died 1981)
1956 – Terry Leahy, English businessman
1957 – Ian Smith, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
1957 – John Turturro, American actor and director
1957 – Cindy Wilson, American singer-songwriter
1958 – Manuel Torres Félix, Mexican criminal and narcotics trafficker (died 2012)
1958 – Mark Pavelich, American ice hockey player (died 2021)
1958 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (died 2010)
1961 – Barry McGuigan, Irish-British boxer
1963 – Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist
1965 – Mikko Mäkelä, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
1966 – Paulo Futre, Portuguese footballer
1966 – Archbishop Jovan VI of Ohrid
1967 – Colin Cooper, English footballer and manager
1969 – Sean Farrel, English footballer
1969 – Butch Leitzinger, American race car driver
1969 – Robert Sean Leonard, American actor
1970 – Daniel Brochu, Canadian actor
1970 – Noureddine Morceli, Algerian runner
1971 – Junya Nakano, Japanese pianist and composer
1972 – Ville Haapasalo, Finnish actor and screenwriter
1973 – Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player
1973 – Nicolas Minassian, French race car driver
1973 – Masato Tanaka, Japanese wrestler
1974 – Lee Carsley, English-Irish footballer and manager
1974 – Alexander Zickler, German footballer and manager
1974 – Gianluca Cherubini, Italian footballer (died 2026)
1975 – Mike Rucker, American football player
1976 – Francisco Elson, Dutch basketball player
1976 – Ali Larter, American actress and model
1977 – Jason Aldean, American singer-songwriter
1977 – Lance Hoyt, American football player and wrestler
1978 – Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier
1978 – Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player
1978 – Mariano Zabaleta, Argentinian tennis player
1979 – Sébastien Bourdais, French race car driver
1979 – Ivo Karlović, Croatian tennis player
1980 – Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer
1980 – Christian Poulsen, Danish footballer
1980 – Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player
1981 – Brian Bannister, American baseball player and scout
1982 – Isabel Mendes Lopes, Portuguese politician
1982 – Natalia Vodianova, Russian-French model and actress
1984 – Karolína Kurková, Czech model and actress
1984 – Ali Marhyar, French actor, film director and screenwriter
1985 – Tim Bresnan, English cricketer
1985 – Diego, Brazilian footballer
1985 – Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player
1987 – Akito, Japanese professional wrestler
1987 – Antonio Candreva, Italian footballer
1987 – Josh McRoberts, American basketball player
1988 – Aroldis Chapman, Cuban baseball player
1989 – Carlos Dunlap, American football player
1989 – Charles Jenkins, American basketball player
1990 – Takayasu Akira, Japanese sumo wrestler
1990 – Ryan Allen, American football player
1990 – Sebastian Rudy, German footballer
1991 – Ronalds Ķēniņš, Latvian ice hockey player
1992 – Annie Bovaird, Canadian actress
1993 – Marquis Teague, American basketball player
1993 – Éder Álvarez Balanta, Colombian footballer
1994 – Alex Caruso, American basketball player
1994 – Arkadiusz Milik, Polish footballer
1995 – Randy Arozarena, Cuban-Mexican baseball player
1996 – Jakub Vrána, Czech ice hockey player
1996 – Lucas Boyé, Argentinian footballer
1996 – Axel Werner, Argentinian footballer
1997 – Chris Lindstrom, American football player
1998 – Teun Koopmeiners, Dutch footballer
1999 – Luka Dončić, Slovenian basketball player
2000 – Moise Kean, Italian footballer
2000 – Josip Šutalo, Croatian footballer
2005 – Vitor Roque, Brazilian footballer

Deaths 44

628 – Khosrow II, Shah of Iran, Sasanian Empire (born c. 570)
1621 – Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (born 1590)
1648 – Christian IV, King of Denmark (born 1577)
1729 – Lovro Šitović, Croatian Franciscan and grammarian (born c. 1682)
1740 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal and patron of the arts (born 1667)
1857 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (born 1809)
1882 – Adolf Zytogorski, Polish-British chess master and translator (born c. 1811/1812)
1929 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician and immunologist (born 1874)
1932 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (born 1851)
1936 – Charles Nicolle, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1866)
1955 – Isak Penttala, Finnish politician (born 1883)
1966 – Charles Bassett, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (born 1931)
1966 – Elliot See, American commander, engineer, and astronaut (born 1927)
1975 – Neville Cardus, English cricket and music writer (born 1888)
1977 – Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, American actor and comedian (born 1905)
1978 – Zara Cully, American actress (born 1892)
1993 – Ruby Keeler, Canadian-American actress and dancer (born 1909)
1998 – Arkady Shevchenko, Ukrainian diplomat (born 1930)
2002 – Mary Stuart, American actress and singer (born 1926)
2002 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (born 1920)
2003 – Chris Brasher, Guyanese-English runner and journalist, co-founded the London Marathon (born 1928)
2004 – Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian and librarian (born 1914)
2005 – Chris Curtis, English singer and drummer (born 1941)
2006 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1920)
2007 – Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. American historian and critic (born 1917)
2009 – Paul Harvey, American radio host (born 1918)
2011 – Annie Girardot, French actress (born 1931)
2013 – Donald A. Glaser, American physicist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1926)
2014 – Hugo Brandt Corstius, Dutch linguist and author (born 1935)
2015 – Yaşar Kemal, Turkish journalist and author (born 1923)
2016 – George Kennedy, American actor (born 1925)
2019 – André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. (born 1929)
2020 – Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe's (born 1930)
2020 – Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (born 1923)
2020 – Sir Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (born 1917)
2024 – Ahmed Salim, Bangladeshi convicted murderer (born 1989)
2024 – Héctor Ortiz, Puerto Rican baseball player and coach (born 1969)
2024 – Cat Janice, American singer-songwriter (born 1993)
2025 – David Johansen, American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1950)
2025 – Miguel Piñera, Chilean celebrity, night club owner and amateur musician (born 1954)
2025 – Joseph Wambaugh, American writer (born 1937)
2026 – Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran (born 1939)
2026 – Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran (born 1964)
2026 – Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran (born 1961)

Holidays and observances 6

Christian feast day: February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Kalevala Day, also known as the Finnish Culture Day (Finland)
National Science Day (India)
Peace Memorial Day (Taiwan)
Andalusia Day (Spain)