February 29

February 29

February 29 is the 60th day of a leap year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 306 days remaining. A year which has a February 29 is, by definition, a leap year. This date only occurs approximately every four years, in years evenly divisible by 4, such as 1992, 1996, or 2004, with some exceptions in century years.

A century year, that is, a year which ends in two zeroes 1800, 1900, 2000, etc., is not a leap year unless it is also evenly divisible by 400. This means that the year 2000 was a leap year and 2400 will also be one, but 1800 and 1900 were not leap years, and the years 2100, 2200, and 2300 will not be leap years either.

Those who are born on this day usually celebrate their birthdays on February 28 during non-leap years. In the comic operetta The Pirates of Penzance, Frederic, born on February 29, was not apprenticed to a band of pirates until his 21st birthday, in theory until he is 84 years old.

This day may be colloquially termed a leap day, though in the Roman calendar it was February 24 in a leap year which was added, giving the name of "bissextile" day or extra sixth day in the lead up to the 'Calends' of March. In the European Union, February 29 only officially became the leap day in 2000.

There is a tradition that women may make a proposal of marriage to men only on February 29; this is a tightening of an older tradition that such proposals may only occur on leap years. The man may of course refuse but, by tradition, he should soften the blow by providing a kiss and a silk gown. In Al Capp's comic strip Li'l Abner, this was called "Sadie Hawkins Day", though the tradition is much older.

Table of contents

1 Events
2 Births
3 Deaths
4 Holidays and observances

Events

1704 - Native Americans attack and destroy Deerfield, Massachusetts
1720 - Queen Ulrike Eleonora of Sweden resigns
1892 - Saint Petersburg, Florida incorporated
1940 - For her role as Mammy in "Gone with the Wind," Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actress).
1940 - Finland initiates Winter War peace negotiations
1944 - World War II: The Admiralty Islands are invaded in the American General Douglas MacArthur-led Operation Brewer.
1964 - In Sydney, Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser sets a new world record in the 100-meter freestyle swimming competition (58.9 seconds).
1988 - The soap opera Day by Day premieres on NBC.

Births

1468 - Pope Paul III
1692 - John Byrom, poet
1736 - Ann Lee, founder of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing ("Shakers"), (d. 1784)
1792 - Gioacchino Rossini, composer, (d. 1868)
1840 - John Philip Holland, developer of the first submarine, (d. 1914)
1860 - Herman Hollerith, statistician, (d. 1929)
1896 - Morarji Desai, politician, (d. 1995)
1904 - Jimmy Dorsey, bandleader, (d. 1957)
1908 - Balthus, painter, (d. 2001)
1908 - Dee Brown, writer, historian, (d. 2002)
1916 - Dinah Shore, singer, (d. 1994)
1920 - Howard Nemerov, American, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, (d. 1991)
1924 - Al Rosen, baseball player
1936 - Henri Richard, ice hockey player
1940 - Patriarch Bartholomew I
1952 - Tim Powers, writer
1952 - Bart Stupak, U.S. politician
1956 - Bob Speller, Canadian politician
1956 - Aileen Carol Wuornos, serial killer
1960 - Tony Robbins, motivational speaker
1972 - Antonio Sabato Jr, actor
1972 - Pedro Zamora, AIDS activist
1976 - Ja Rule, rapper/actor

Deaths

468 - Pope Hilarius
1528 - Patrick Hamilton, Scottish leader
1820 - Johann Joachim Eschenburg, literary critic
1868 - Ludwig I of Bavaria
1940 - Edward Frederick Benson, American writer
1944 - Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Finnish president
1992 - Ruth Pitter, English poet

Holidays and observances

Bahá'í Faith - Day 4 of Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) (in leap years only) - days in the Bahá'í calendar devoted to service and gift giving.

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December\n