# On this day: February 29

February 29 is leap day: the 60th day of the year, and it exists only in leap years — the next ones are 2028, 2032 and 2036.

## February 29 in one line

Headline entries for February 29, from Wikipedia: in 2012, Construction of Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest tower and third-tallest structure, was completed; born 1792: Gioachino Rossini, Italian composer (died 1868); died 468: Pope Hilarius. The date exists only in leap years; the next is 2028, when it falls on a Tuesday.

## Events on February 29

- 1644 Abel Tasman's second Pacific voyage begins as he leaves Batavia in command of three ships. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel_Tasman)
- 1704 Queen Anne's War: French and Native American forces raided the English settlement of Deerfield, Massachusetts, killing more than 50 colonists. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_Deerfield)
- 1720 Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden abdicates in favour of her husband, who becomes King Frederick I on March 24. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulrika_Eleonora_of_Sweden)
- 1768 Polish nobles form the Bar Confederation. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Confederation)
- 1936 The February 26 Incident in Tokyo ends. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_incident)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattie_McDaniel)
- 1940 Finland initiates Winter War peace negotiations. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics)
- 1944 World War II: The Admiralty Islands campaign began when American forces assaulted Los Negros Island, the third largest of the Admiralty Islands. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiralty_Islands_campaign)
- 1960 The deadliest earthquake in Moroccan history struck the city of Agadir, killing at least 12,000 people. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Agadir_earthquake)
- 1980 La Bougie du Sapeur, a humorous French newspaper that is published only on leap days, printed its first issue. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Bougie_du_Sapeur)
- 1980 Gordie Howe of the Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford_Whalers)
- 1984 Pierre Trudeau announces his retirement as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Canada. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Canada)
- 1988 South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with 100 other clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu)
- 1992 Costello's, a New York City bar popular with journalists, writers, novelists, and cartoonists, closed. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costello's)
- 1992 A referendum is begun in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the determination of Bosnian independence. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Bosnian_independence_referendum)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faucett_Per%C3%BA_Flight_251)
- 1996 The Siege of Sarajevo officially ends. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Sarajevo)
- 2000 Chechens attack a guard post near Ulus Kert, eventually killing 84 Russian paratroopers during the Second Chechen War. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Chechen_War)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Marc_Bouwer_dress_of_Angelina_Jolie)
- 2004 Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown following popular rebel uprising. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Haitian_coup_d'%C3%A9tat)
- 2008 Belgian author Misha Defonseca admitted that her bestselling memoir about surviving the Holocaust was in fact a literary forgery. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misha_Defonseca)
- 2012 Construction of Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest tower and third-tallest structure, was completed. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Skytree)
- 2012 North Korea agrees to suspend uranium enrichment and nuclear and long-range missile tests in return for US food aid. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea)
- 2020 The United States and the Taliban sign the Doha Agreement for bringing peace to Afghanistan. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States%E2%80%93Taliban_deal)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flour_Massacre)

## Born on February 29

- 1468 Pope Paul III (died 1549) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_III)
- 1792 Gioachino Rossini, Italian composer (died 1868) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gioachino_Rossini)
- 1860 Herman Hollerith, American statistician and businessman, co-founder of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (died 1929) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Hollerith)
- 1896 Morarji Desai, Indian civil servant and politician, fourth Prime Minister of India (died 1995) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morarji_Desai)
- 1896 William A. Wellman, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (died 1975) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._Wellman)
- 1908 Balthus, French-Swiss painter and illustrator (died 2001) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balthus)
- 1920 Michèle Morgan, French-American actress and singer (died 2016) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mich%C3%A8le_Morgan)
- 1928 Seymour Papert, South African mathematician and computer scientist, co-creator of the Logo programming language (died 2016) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Papert)
- 1936 Alex Rocco, American actor (died 2015) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Rocco)
- 1936 Jack R. Lousma, American colonel, astronaut and politician [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_R._Lousma)
- 1940 Bartholomew I, current Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_I_of_Constantinople)
- 1944 Dennis Farina, American police officer and actor (died 2013) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Farina)
- 1956 Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer (died 2002) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aileen_Wuornos)
- 1960 Tony Robbins, American author and motivational activist [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Robbins)
- 1960 Khaled, Algerian singer-songwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaled_(musician))
- 1960 Richard Ramirez, American serial killer and sex offender (died 2013) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Ramirez)
- 1972 Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_S%C3%A1nchez)
- 1976 Ja Rule, American rapper and actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ja_Rule)
- 1988 Benedikt Höwedes, German footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedikt_H%C3%B6wedes)
- 2000 Ferran Torres, Spanish footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferran_Torres)
- 2000 Tyrese Haliburton, American basketball player [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrese_Haliburton)
- 2004 Abdukodir Khusanov, Uzbek footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdukodir_Khusanov)

## Died on February 29

- 468 Pope Hilarius [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Hilarius)
- 1460 Albert III, Duke of Bavaria-Munich (born 1401) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_III_of_Bavaria)
- 1744 John Theophilus Desaguliers, French-English physicist and philosopher (born 1683) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Theophilus_Desaguliers)
- 1868 Ludwig I of Bavaria (born 1786) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_I_of_Bavaria)
- 1904 Henri Joseph Anastase Perrotin, French astronomer (born 1845) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Joseph_Anastase_Perrotin)
- 1908 Pat Garrett, American sheriff (born 1850) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Garrett)
- 1940 E. F. Benson, English archaeologist and author (born 1867) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._F._Benson)
- 1944 Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Finnish lawyer, judge and politician, 3rd President of Finland (born 1861) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pehr_Evind_Svinhufvud)
- 1956 Elpidio Quirino, Filipino lawyer and politician, 6th President of the Philippines (born 1890) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elpidio_Quirino)
- 1980 Yigal Allon, Israeli general and politician, Prime Minister of Israel (born 1918) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yigal_Allon)
- 2012 Davy Jones, English singer, guitarist and actor (born 1945) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Jones_(musician))
- 2020 Éva Székely, Hungarian Hall of Fame swimmer and 1952 Olympic champion (born 1927) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89va_Sz%C3%A9kely)
- 2024 Brian Mulroney, 18th Prime Minister of Canada (born 1939) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Mulroney)
- 2024 Ali Hassan Mwinyi, 2nd President of Tanzania and 3rd President of Zanzibar (born 1925) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Hassan_Mwinyi)

## Holidays and observances

- As a Christian feast day: Saint John Cassian [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cassian)
- As a Christian feast day: February 29 in the Orthodox church [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_29_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Rare Disease Day (in leap years; usually celebrated in common years on February 28) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Disease_Day)
- Bachelor's Day (Ireland and United Kingdom) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor's_Day_(tradition))

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “February 29”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_29) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/February 29”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/February_29) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“February 29”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_29) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_29?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for February 29 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## February 29 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2028 | Tuesday | 2028-W09 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on February 29

- [🇦🇷 Argentina](https://whathappen.today/holidays/argentina/): Carnival Tuesday (2028)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← February 28](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-28/) · [March 1 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/march-1/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-29/