February 29 February 29 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar . There are 306 days remaining until the end of the year. February 29th only exists in leap years, occurring once every 4 years.
Events
From 1952
1952 – The island of Heligoland is returned to German authority.1956 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower says that he is running for a second term.1960 – An earthquake in Morocco kills over 3,000 people and nearly destroys Agadir in the southern part of the country.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 : South Korea removes 11,000 of its 48,000 troops from Vietnam .1972 – Hank Aaron becomes the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to sign a $200,000 contract.1980 – In ice hockey Gordie Howe , playing for the then–Hartford Whalers , makes NHL history by scoring his 800th goal.1984 – Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau says that he will retire as soon as the Liberal Party of Canada chooses another leader.1988 – South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested during a five–day anti–apartheid demonstration in Cape Town . 100 clergymen are also arrested.1988 – Svend Robinson becomes the first Canadian Member of Parliament to come out as gay .1992 – First day of Bosnia and Herzegovina 's independence referendum.1996 – In Bosnia and Herzegovina the siege of Sarajevo ends.1996 – A Peruvian Boeing 737 crashes in the Andes , killing 123 people.2000 – Six year old Dedrick Owens shoots and kills Kayla Rolland , also six years old, at Theo J. Buell Elementary School in Mount Morris Township, Michigan. Rolland is currently the youngest American victim of a school shooting Archived 2006-12-18 at the Wayback Machine 2004 – Jean-Bertrand Aristide steps down as President of Haiti following popular rebel uprising.2004 – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Academy Awards .2012 – The Tokyo Sky Tree in Tokyo , Japan , is completed at a height of 634 metres.Births
A person who was born on February 29 may be called a "leapling". In non–leap years they usually celebrate their birthday on February 28 or March 1 .
Different countries have different laws about people who are born on February 29. In Taiwan , the law says that the birthday of a leapling is February 28 in years that are not leap years.
The well–known superhero Superman is often said to have his birthday on February 29.
Up to 1948
1468 – Pope Paul III (d. 1549 )1528 – Albert V, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1579 )1724 – Eva Marie Veigel , ballet dancer (d. 1822 )1736 – Ann Lee , English–born American religious leader (d. 1784 )1784 – Leo von Klenze , German architect , painter and writer (d. 1864 )1792 – Gioachino Rossini , Italian composer (d. 1868 )1808 – Hugh Falconer , Scottish scientist (d. 1855 )1812 – James Milne Wilson , Scottish–born Premier of Tasmania (d. 1880 , also on February 29)1840 – John Philip Holland , Irish inventor (d. 1914 )1860 – Herman Hollerith , American engineer and inventor (d. 1929 )1896 – Morarji Desai , Prime Minister of India (d. 1995 )1896 – William A. Wellman , American movie director (d. 1975 )1904 – Jimmy Dorsey , American bandleader (d. 1957 )1908 – Balthus , Polish–born painter (d. 2001 )1908 – Dee Brown , American writer (d. 2002 )1912 – Taiichi Ono , Japanese inventor (d. 1990 )1916 – Dinah Shore , American singer (d. 1994 )1920 – Michèle Morgan , French actress (d. 2016 )1920 – Fyodor Abramov , Russian novelist (d. 1983 )1924 – David Beattie , 14th Governor–General of New Zealand 1924 – Al Rosen , American baseball player1924 – Carlos Humberto Romero , former President of El Salvador 1928 – Joss Ackland , British actor1928 – Gustau Biosca , Spanish footballer (d. 2014 )1928 – Vance Haynes , American archaeologist , geologist and author 1928 – Seymour Papert , South African mathematician and computer scientist 1928 – Tempest Storm , American actress , singer and dancer 1932 – Jaguar , Brazilian cartoonist 1936 – Alex Rocco , American actor (d. 2015 )1936 – Ingemar Odlander , Swedish journalist (d. 2014 )1936 – Jack R. Lousma , American astronaut , engineer and politician 1940 – Klaus-Dieter Lehmann , German librarian and President of the Goethe Institute1940 – Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople 1944 – Dennis Farina , American actor (d. 2013 )From 1952
1956 – Aileen Wuornos , American serial killer (d. 2002 )1960 – Cheb Khaled , Algerian musician1960 – Richard Ramirez , American serial killer (d. 2013 )1960 – Tony Robbins , American motivational speaker1964 – Dave Brailsford , British cycling coach1964 – James Ogilvy , member of the extended British Royal Family1964 – Ola Lindgren , Swedish handball player and coach 1968 – Naoko Ijima , Japanese actress1968 – Wendi Peters , English actress1972 – Pedro Zamora , American AIDS activist (d. 1994 )1972 – Dave Williams , American singer (d. 2002 )1972 – Pedro Sanchez , Spanish politician1976 – Ja Rule , American rapper1980 – Chris Conley , American musician1980 – Simon Gagné , Canadian ice hockey player1984 – Darren Ambrose , English footballer 1984 – Radik Zhaparov , Kazakhstani ski jumper1984 – Mark Foster , American musician (Foster the People )1988 – Lena Gercke , German model and television presenter1988 – Benedikt Höwedes , German footballer 1988 – Hannah Mills , British sailor 1992 – Sean Abbott , Australian cricketer 1992 – Saphir Taïder , French–Algerian footballer 1992 – Perry Kitchen , American soccer playerDeaths
992 – Oswald of Worcester , Archbishop of York (b. 925 )1528 – Patrick Hamilton , Scottish religious reformer (b. 1504 ) (burned at the stake)1604 – John Whitgift , Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1530 )1868 – King Ludwig I of Bavaria (b. 1786 )1880 – James Milne Wilson , Premier of Tasmania (b. 1812 , also on February 29)1908 – John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow , 1st Governor–General of Australia (b. 1860 )1908 – Pat Garrett , American gunslinger (b. 1850 )1928 – Armando V. Diaz , Italian marshal and minister of war (b. 1861 )1944 – Pehr Evind Svinhufvud , President of Finland (b. 1861 )1952 – Quo Tai-chi , Chinese diplomat (b. 1888 )1956 – Elpidio Quirino , President of the Philippines (b. 1890 )1968 – Tore Orjasaeter , Norwegian poet (b. 1886 )1980 – Yigal Allon , Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1918 )1984 – Ludwik Starski , Polish lyricist (b. 1903 )1992 – Ruth Pitter , English poet (b. 1897 )1996 – Joe Minogue , journalist (b. 1923 )1996 – Shams Pahlavi , Persian princess (b. 1917 )2004 – Jerome Lawrence , American playwright (b. 1915 )2004 – Kagamisato Kiyoji , Japanese Sumo wrestler (b. 1923 )2004 – Harold Bernard St. John , 3rd Prime Minister of Barbados (b. 1931 )2004 – Danny Ortiz , Guatemalan footballer (b. 1976 )2008 – Janet Kagan , American writer (b. 1946 )2012 – Davy Jones , British singer, musician and actor (The Monkees ) (b. 1945 )2016 – Gil Hill , American police officer and actor (b. 1931 )2016 – Hannes Löhr , German footballer (b. 1942 )2016 – Louise Rennison , British author (b. 1951 )