February 29
On This Day in History: February 29 February 29 , also known as leap day or leap year day, is a date added to most years that are divisible by 4, such as 2016, 2020, and 2024.
Years that are divisible by 100, but not by 400, do not contain a leap day. Thus, 1700, 1800, and 1900 did not contain a leap day; neither will 2100, 2200, and 2300. Conversely, 1600 and 2000 did and 2400 will.
February 29 (when it occurs) is the 60th day of the Gregorian calendar, with 306 days remaining until the end of the year.
Top 25 Lottery Jackpots On This Day 1. $348 Million Draw Date Mar 2, 2019
2. $321 Million Draw Date Mar 3, 2018
3. $291.4 Million Draw Date Mar 2, 2016
4. $275 Million Draw Date Mar 2, 2007
5. $273 Million Draw Date Mar 1, 2019
6. $243 Million Draw Date Mar 2, 2018
7. $240 Million Draw Date Mar 4, 2014
8. $212 Million Draw Date Mar 3, 2009
9. €164 MillionUS$182.83 Million Draw Date Mar 1, 2022
10. $153 Million Draw Date Mar 1, 2008
11. €115.17 MillionUS$138.87 Million Draw Date Mar 2, 2021
12. $135 Million Draw Date Mar 1, 2016
13. €106.58 MillionUS$130.25 Million Draw Date Mar 1, 2018
14. €113.38 MillionUS$128.91 Million Draw Date Mar 2, 2019
15. €100 MillionUS$126.59 Million Draw Date Mar 6, 2009
16. $125 Million Draw Date Mar 3, 2021
17. $114 Million Draw Date Mar 3, 2010
18. $112 Million Draw Date Mar 1, 2005
18. $112 Million Draw Date Mar 2, 2010
20. $108 Million Draw Date Mar 2, 2012
21. $105 Million Draw Date Mar 3, 2007
22. $103 Million Draw Date Mar 2, 2013
23. $102 Million Draw Date Mar 1, 2022
24. $100 Million Draw Date Mar 1, 2000
25. $90 Million Draw Date Mar 4, 2015
🔽 Show All Lottery Post Member Birthdays On This Day 1972
Tuesday, Feb 29, 1972 50 years old
1948
Sunday, Feb 29, 1948 74 years old
1948
Sunday, Feb 29, 1948 74 years old
1940
Thursday, Feb 29, 1940 82 years old
1936
Saturday, Feb 29, 1936 86 years old
🔽 Show All Worldwide Events On This Day 2020 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries : Joe Biden wins the South Carolina Democratic Party primary election.2020 COVID-19 pandemic : South Korea reports a total of 3,150 confirmed cases of COVID-19 .2008 The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence decides to withdraw Prince Harry from a tour of Afghanistan "immediately" after a leak leads to his deployment being reported by foreign media. 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 .2004 Jean-Bertrand Aristide is removed as President of Haiti following a coup .2000 Second Chechen War : Eighty-four Russian paratroopers are killed in a rebel attack on a guard post near Ulus Kert.1996 Faucett Flight 251 crashes in the Andes; all 123 passengers and crew died.1996 Siege of Sarajevo officially ends.1992 First day of Bosnia and Herzegovina independence referendum . 1988 South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with one hundred other clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town . 1988 Svend Robinson becomes the first member of the House of Commons of Canada to come out as gay .1984 Pierre Trudeau announces his retirement as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Canada .1980 Gordie Howe of the Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal.1972 Vietnam War : Vietnamization : South Korea withdraws 11,000 of its 48,000 troops from Vietnam .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. 1944 World War II: The Admiralty Islands are invaded in Operation Brewer led by American General Douglas MacArthur . 1940 12th Academy Awards : For her performance 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 , physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from Sweden's Consul General in San Francisco . 1936 February 26 Incident in Tokyo ends.1920 Czechoslovak National Assembly adopts the Constitution .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 12 to 14 years old.1912 The Piedra Movediza (Moving Stone) of Tandil falls and breaks. 1892 St. Petersburg, Florida is incorporated.1864 American Civil War : Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid fails: Plans to free 15,000 Union soldiers being held near Richmond, Virginia are thwarted.1796 The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain comes into force, facilitating ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations. 1768 Polish nobles form the Bar Confederation . 1752 King Alaungpaya founds Konbaung Dynasty , the last dynasty of Burmese monarchy. 1720 Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden abdicates in favour of her husband, who becomes King Frederick I on March 24.1712 February 29 is followed by February 30 in Sweden, in a move to abolish the Swedish calendar for a return to the Julian calendar . 1704 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.1644 Abel Tasman 's second Pacific voyage begins.1504 Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to convince Jamaican natives to provide him with supplies.🔽 Show All Births On This Day 2000 Tyrese Haliburton , American basketball player2000 Ferran Torres , Spanish footballer1996 Nelson Asofa-Solomona , New Zealand rugby league player1996 Reece Prescod , British sprinter1996 Claudia Williams , New Zealand tennis player1992 Sean Abbott , Australian cricketer1992 Ben Hampton , Australian rugby league player1992 Eric Kendricks , American football player1992 Caitlin EJ Meyer , American actress1988 Lena Gercke , German model and television host1988 Benedikt Höwedes , German footballer1988 Brent Macaffer , Australian Rules footballer1988 Bobby Sanguinetti , American ice hockey player1988 Milan Melindo , Filipino boxer1984 Rica Imai , Japanese model and actress1984 Cullen Jones , American swimmer1984 Nuria Martínez , Spanish basketball player1984 Lena Raine , American video game composer and producer1984 Adam Sinclair , Indian field hockey player1984 Rakhee Thakrar , English actress1984 Dennis Walger , German rugby player1984 Cam Ward , Canadian ice hockey player1984 Mark Foster , American singer, songwriter and musician1980 Çağdaş Atan , Turkish footballer and coach1980 Chris Conley , American singer-songwriter and guitarist1980 Patrick Côté , Canadian mixed martial artist1980 Simon Gagné , Canadian ice hockey player1980 Rubén Plaza , Spanish cyclist1980 Peter Scanavino , American actor1980 Clinton Toopi , New Zealand rugby league player1980 Taylor Twellman , American soccer player and sportscaster1976 Vonteego Cummings , American basketball player1976 Gehad Grisha , Egyptian soccer referee1976 Katalin Kovács , Hungarian sprint kayaker1976 Terrence Long , American baseball player1976 Ja Rule , American rapper and actor1972 Mike Pollitt , English footballer and coach1972 Sylvie Lubamba , Italian showgirl1972 Antonio Sabàto Jr. , Italian-American model and actor1972 Pedro Sánchez , Prime Minister of Spain 1972 Dave Williams , American singer (d. 2002)1972 Saul Williams , American singer-songwriter1972 Pedro Zamora , Cuban-American activist and educator (d. 1994)1968 Chucky Brown , American basketball player and coach1968 Gareth Farr , New Zealand composer and percussionist1968 Pete Fenson , American curler and sportscaster1968 Naoko Iijima , Japanese actress and model1968 Bryce Paup , American football player and coach1968 Howard Tayler , American author and illustrator1968 Eugene Volokh , Ukrainian-American lawyer and educator1968 Frank Woodley , Australian actor, producer, and screenwriter1964 Dave Brailsford , English cyclist and coach1964 Lyndon Byers , Canadian ice hockey player and radio host1964 Mervyn Warren , American tenor, composer, and producer1960 Lucian Grainge , English businessman1960 Khaled , Algerian singer-songwriter1960 Richard Ramirez , American serial killer (d. 2013)1956 Jonathan Coleman , English-Australian radio and television host1956 Bob Speller , Canadian businessman and politician, 30th Canadian Minister of Agriculture 1956 Aileen Wuornos , American serial killer (d. 2002)1952 Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush , American journalist and producer1952 Tim Powers , American author and educator1952 Raisa Smetanina , Russian cross-country skier1952 Bart Stupak , American police officer and politician1948 Hermione Lee , English author, critic, and academic1948 Manoel Maria , Brazilian footballer1948 Patricia A. McKillip , American author1948 Henry Small , American-born Canadian singer1944 Ene Ergma , Estonian physicist and politician1944 Dennis Farina , American police officer and actor (d. 2013)1944 Nicholas Frayling , English priest and academic1944 Phyllis Frelich , American actress (d. 2014)1944 Steve Mingori , American baseball player (d. 2008)1944 Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri , Italian author and illustrator1944 Lennart Svedberg , Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1972).1940 Sonja Barend , Dutch talk show host1940 Bartholomew I of Constantinople 1940 William H. Turner, Jr. , American horse trainer1936 Jack Lousma , American colonel, astronaut, and politician1936 Henri Richard , Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2020)1936 Alex Rocco , American actor (d. 2015)1936 Nh. Dini , Indonesian writer (d. 2018)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 actress1932 Jaguar , Brazilian cartoonist1932 Gavin Stevens , Australian cricketer1928 Joss Ackland , English actor1928 Jean Adamson , British writer and illustrator1928 Vance Haynes , American archaeologist, geologist, and author1928 Seymour Papert , South African mathematician and computer scientist, co-created the Logo programming language (d. 2016)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 (d. 2017)1924 Al Rosen , American baseball player and manager (d. 2015)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 (d. 2016)1920 Howard Nemerov , American poet and academic (d. 1991)1920 Rolland W. Redlin , American lawyer and politician (d. 2011)1916 Dinah Shore , American singer and actress (d. 1994)1916 James B. Donovan , American lawyer (d. 1970)1916 Leonard Shoen , founder of U-Haul Corp. (d. 1999)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 Louie Myfanwy Thomas , Welsh writer (d. 1968)1904 Jimmy Dorsey , American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1957)1904 Pepper Martin , American baseball player and manager (d. 1965)1896 Morarji Desai , Indian civil servant and politician, 4th Prime Minister of India (d. 1995)1896 William A. Wellman , American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1975)1892 Augusta Savage , American sculptor (d. 1962)1884 Richard S. Aldrich , American lawyer and politician (d. 1941)1876 William Stewart , Scottish footballer1860 Herman Hollerith , American statistician and businessman, co-founded the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (d. 1929)1852 Frank Gavan Duffy , Irish-Australian lawyer and judge, 4th Chief Justice of Australia (d. 1936)1836 Dickey Pearce , American baseball player and manager (d. 1908)1828 Emmeline B. Wells , American journalist, poet, and activist (d. 1921)1812 James Milne Wilson , Scottish-Australian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of Tasmania (d. February 29, 1880)1792 Gioachino Rossini , Italian composer (d. 1868)1736 Ann Lee , English-American religious leader, founded the Shakers (d. 1784)1724 Eva Marie Veigel , Austrian-English dancer (d. 1822)1692 John Byrom , English poet and educator (d. 1763)1640 Benjamin Keach , Particular Baptist preacher and author whose name was given to Keach's Catechism (d. 1704)1576 Antonio Neri , Florentine priest and glassmaker (d. 1614)1572 Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon (d. 1638)1528 Albert V, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1579)1528 Domingo Báñez , Spanish theologian (d. 1604)1468 Pope Paul III (d. 1549)🔽 Show All Deaths On This Day 2020 Dieter Laser , German actor (Lexx , The Ogre , The Human Centipede ) (b. 1942)2020 Éva Székely , Hungarian Hall of Fame swimmer, Olympic champion (1952 ) (b. 1927)2016 Wenn V. Deramas , Filipino director and screenwriter (b. 1966)2016 Gil Hill , American police officer, actor and politician (b. 1931)2016 Josefin Nilsson , Swedish singer (b. 1969)2016 Louise Rennison , English author (b. 1951)2016 Mumtaz Qadri , Pakistani assassin (b. 1985)2012 Roland Bautista , American guitarist (b. 1951)2012 Davy Jones , English singer, guitarist and actor (b. 1945)2012 Sheldon Moldoff , American illustrator (b. 1920)2012 P. K. Narayana Panicker , Indian social leader (b. 1930)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)2004 Kagamisato Kiyoji , Japanese sumo wrestler, the 42nd Yokozuna (b. 1923)2004 Jerome Lawrence , American playwright and author (b. 1915)2004 Harold Bernard St. John , Barbadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Barbados (b. 1931)2004 Lorrie Wilmot , South African cricketer (b. 1943)2000 Dennis Danell , American guitarist (b. 1961)1996 Wes Farrell , American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1939)1996 Ralph Rowe , American baseball player, coach and manager (b. 1924)1992 Ruth Pitter , English poet and author (b. 1897)1988 Sidney Harmon , American screenwriter and producer (b. 1907)1984 Ludwik Starski , Polish screenwriter and songwriter (b. 1903)1980 Yigal Allon , Israeli general and politician, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1918)1980 Gil Elvgren , American painter and illustrator (b. 1914)1976 Florence P. Dwyer , American politician (b. 1902)1972 Tom Davies , American football player and coach (b. 1896)1968 Lena Blackburne , American baseball player, coach and manager (b. 1886)1968 Tore Ørjasæter , Norwegian poet and educator (b. 1886)1964 Frank Albertson , American actor and singer (b. 1909)1960 Melvin Purvis , American police officer and FBI agent (b. 1903)1960 Walter Yust , American journalist and author (b. 1894)1956 Elpidio Quirino , Filipino lawyer and politician, 6th President of the Philippines (b. 1890)1952 Quo Tai-chi , Chinese politician and diplomat, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations (b. 1888)1948 Robert Barrington-Ward , English lawyer and journalist (b. 1891)1948 Rebel Oakes , American baseball player and manager (b. 1883)1944 Pehr Evind Svinhufvud , Finnish lawyer, judge and politician, 3rd President of Finland (b. 1861)1940 E. F. Benson , English archaeologist and author (b. 1867)1928 Adolphe Appia , Swiss architect and theorist (b. 1862)1928 Ina Coolbrith , American poet and librarian (b. 1841)1920 Ernie Courtney , American baseball player (b. 1875)1908 Pat Garrett , American sheriff (b. 1850)1908 John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow , Scottish-Australian politician, 1st Governor-General of Australia (b. 1860)1880 James Milne Wilson , Scottish-Australian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of Tasmania (b. February 29, 1812)1868 Ludwig I of Bavaria (b. 1786)1852 Matsudaira Katataka , Japanese daimyō (b. 1806)1848 Louis-François Lejeune , French general, painter and lithographer (b. 1775)1820 Johann Joachim Eschenburg , German historian and critic (b. 1743)1792 Johann Andreas Stein , German piano builder (b. 1728)1744 John Theophilus Desaguliers , French-English physicist and philosopher (b. 1683)1740 Pietro Ottoboni , Italian cardinal (b. 1667)1604 John Whitgift , English archbishop and academic (b. 1530)1600 Caspar Hennenberger , German pastor, historian and cartographer (b. 1529)1592 Alessandro Striggio , Italian composer and diplomat (b. 1540)1528 Patrick Hamilton , Scottish Protestant reformer and martyr (b. 1504)1460 Albert III , Duke of Bavaria-Munich (b. 1401)1212 Hōnen , Japanese monk, founded Jōdo-shū (b. 1133)992 Oswald of Worcester , Anglo-Saxon archbishop and saint (b. 925)468 Pope Hilarius 🔽 Show All