Did you know about Richard Ramirez
From April 1984 to August 1985, Ramirez murdered at least fifteen people during various break-ins.
Famous Birthdays on February 29
February 29 has 132 recorded notable births across history, from 1468 to 2008. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
1960 — Richard Ramirez
American serial killer and sex offender (died 2013)
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Famous Birthdays
132 source records
1468 – 2008
Pisces
Today in history
Major events on February 29
See what else happened on this day in history.
Did you know about Ja Rule
Ja Rule signed with Irv Gotti's Murder Inc Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings to release his debut studio album Venni Vetti Vecci (1999), which spawned his first hit single, "Holla Holla".
Did you know about Antonio Sabàto Jr.
By the early 2000s, most of his acting credits were guest appearances, reality television, and budget films.
Did you know about Mark Foster
After struggling to create a successful band in his early twenties, Foster finally had his big break as the founder and frontman of Foster the People in 2009, which he formed alongside his two friends Mark Pontius and Cubbie Fink.
Did you know about Tim Powers
Tim Powers's first major novel was The Drawing of the Dark (1979), but the novel that earned him wide praise was The Anubis Gates (1983), which won the Philip K. Dick Award, and has since been published in many other languages.
More major people born on February 29
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1976
Ja Rule
American rapper and actor
Jeffrey Bruce Atkins, better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. Born and raised in Queens, New York City, Ja Rule became known for blending gangsta rap with pop and R&B sensibilities. He signed with Irv Gotti's Murder Inc Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings to release his debut studio album Venni Vetti Vecci (1999), which spawned his first hit single, "Holla Holla". In 2001, he peaked the Billboard Hot 100 on several occasions with his singles "Put It on Me", "Always on Time", and his guest appearances on Jennifer Lopez's songs "I'm Real " and "Ain't It Funny".
1972
Antonio Sabàto Jr.
Italian-American model and actor
Antonio Sabàto Jr. is an American model and actor. Born in Italy, he rose to fame in the 1990s as an underwear model for Calvin Klein and playing Jagger Cates on the soap opera General Hospital from 1992 to 1995, and as Jack Parezi on Melrose Place from 1995‒1996. By the early 2000s, most of his acting credits were guest appearances, reality television, and budget films. Sabàto ran unsuccessfully as the Republican candidate for U.S. Congress against incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Julia Brownley for California's 26th district in the 2018 elections.
1984
Mark Foster
American singer, songwriter and musician
Mark Derek Foster is an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the band Foster the People. After struggling to create a successful band in his early twenties, Foster finally had his big break as the founder and frontman of Foster the People in 2009, which he formed alongside his two friends Mark Pontius and Cubbie Fink. The band has since released four studio albums: Torches in 2011, Supermodel in 2014, Sacred Hearts Club in 2017 and Paradise State of Mind in 2024.
1952
Tim Powers
American author and educator
Timothy Thomas Powers is an American science fiction and fantasy author. His first major novel was The Drawing of the Dark (1979), but the novel that earned him wide praise was The Anubis Gates (1983), which won the Philip K. Dick Award, and has since been published in many other languages. His other written work include Dinner at Deviant's Palace (1985), Last Call (1992), Expiration Date (1996), Earthquake Weather (1997), Declare (2000), and Three Days to Never (2006). Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare. His 1987 novel On Stranger Tides served as inspiration for the Monkey Island franchise of video games and was partly adapted into the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film.
1988
Benedikt Höwedes
German footballer
Benedikt Höwedes is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. He spent the majority of his playing career for Schalke 04, which he captained for six seasons, and represented the Germany national football team from 2011 to 2017. At international level, Höwedes won the World Cup with Germany in 2014, and was one of only three players to play every single minute of the tournament. Höwedes described himself as a 'multi-functional player' in the defence, who can play in the centre or as both a left or right-sided full back.
1904
Jimmy Dorsey
American saxophonist, composer and bandleader (died 1957)
James Francis Dorsey was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards "I'm Glad There Is You " and "It's the Dreamer in Me". His other major recordings were "Tailspin", "John Silver", "So Many Times", "Amapola", "Brazil", "Pennies from Heaven", "Grand Central Getaway", and "So Rare". He played clarinet on the seminal jazz standards "Singin' the Blues" in 1927 and the original 1930 recording of "Georgia on My Mind", which were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
1936
Henri Richard
Canadian ice hockey player (died 2020)
Joseph Henri Richard was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played centre with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1955 to 1975. He was nicknamed "Pocket Rocket" after his older brother, Canadiens' legend and fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Maurice "Rocket" Richard. Henri played his entire professional career with the Canadiens and won the Stanley Cup 11 times as a player, the most in NHL history. Richard and Bill Russell of the National Basketball Association are tied for the record of the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. In 2017, Richard was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
1836
Dickey Pearce
American baseball player and manager (died 1908)
Richard J. Pearce, known as Dickey Pearce, was an American professional baseball player and one of the sport's most famous early figures. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and began playing with the Brooklyn Atlantics in 1857. He continued his career in the National Association and the early years of Major League Baseball. It is possible Pearce was one of the first baseball players to earn money for playing the game professionally. Pearce is given credit for pioneering the shortstop position. Pearce introduced his "tricky hit" to baseball, known today as the bunt. For much of his career, the rules permitted the ball to roll foul and still be a hit.
1980
Simon Gagné
Canadian ice hockey player
Simon Gagné is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He spent the first ten seasons of his NHL career with the Flyers (1999–2010), followed by one season with Tampa Bay (2010–11) and two with Los Angeles (2011–13), winning the Stanley Cup in 2012, before returning to Philadelphia via trade for the end of the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season. After not playing in 2013–14, Gagné signed with Boston, briefly playing for them before retiring in 2015.
1980
Clinton Toopi
New Zealand rugby league player
Clinton James Te-Whata Toopi is a New Zealand former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A New Zealand international representative centre, he played his club football in the National Rugby League for the New Zealand Warriors and the Gold Coast Titans, and in the Super League for the Leeds Rhinos. Clinton began coaching the Helensvale Hornets in 2021 and guided them to victory in the 2022 Gold Coast A Grade Competition. Toopi won the 2007 Super League grand final with Leeds Rhinos over Saints 33-6.
1828
Emmeline B. Wells
American journalist, poet and activist (died 1921)
Emmeline Blanche Woodward Harris Whitney Wells was an American journalist, editor, poet, women's rights advocate, and diarist. She served as the fifth Relief Society General President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1910 until her death. She represented the state of Utah at both the National and American Women's Suffrage conventions and was president of the Utah Woman's Suffrage Association. She was the editor of the Woman's Exponent for 37 years. She was a plural wife to Newel K. Whitney, then Daniel H. Wells.
1964
Mervyn Warren
American tenor, composer and producer
Mervyn Edwin Warren is an American film composer, record producer, conductor, arranger, lyricist, songwriter, pianist, and vocalist. Warren is a five-time Grammy Award winner and a 10-time Grammy Award nominee. Warren has written the underscore and songs for many feature and television films. He has also written arrangements in a variety of musical styles for producers Quincy Jones, David Foster, Arif Mardin, and dozens of popular recording artists, including extensive work on Jones' Back on the Block, Q's Jook Joint, and Q: Soul Bossa Nostra.
1912
Kamil Tolon
Turkish industrialist (died 1978)
Kamil Özdemir Tolon was a Turkish businessperson, industrialist and inventor, known for the first manufacture of an electric engine in Turkey. Tolon was born in 1912 in Istanbul. He had his secondary and university education in Ankara. He wanted to become an engineer, but went to the Ankara University Faculty of Law instead due to the lack of engineering schools. He graduated in 1935, and started working as a Posta ve Telgraf Teşkilatı inspector after university, but left the job not long after.
1920
Rolland W. Redlin
American lawyer and politician (died 2011)
Rolland William Redlin was a U.S. Representative from North Dakota, who served between 1965 and 1967. He also served in the North Dakota Senate from 1959 to 1963 and later returned to serve again from 1973 until his retirement in 2000, as Senate President Pro Tempore 1987–9, and Minority Leadership later during his final 27 years' service. A member of the Democratic-NPL, he lived near Minot, North Dakota until 2009, when he moved to Rapid City, SD, to be closer to family members.
1956
Aileen Wuornos
American serial killer (died 2002)
Aileen Carol Wuornos was an American serial killer. Between 1989 and 1990, while engaging in street prostitution along highways in Florida, Wuornos shot, killed, and robbed seven of her male clients. She initially claimed that her victims had either raped or attempted to rape her, and that the homicides were committed in self-defense, but later abandoned this defense. Wuornos was sentenced to death for six of the murders and was executed in 2002 after spending more than ten years on Florida's death row.
1920
James Mitchell
American actor and dancer (died 2010)
James Mitchell was an American actor and dancer. Although he is best known to television audiences as Palmer Cortlandt on the soap opera All My Children (1979–2010), theatre and dance historians remember him as one of Agnes de Mille's leading dancers. Mitchell's skill at combining dance and acting was considered something of a novelty; in 1959, the critic Olga Maynard singled him out as "an important example of the new dancer-actor-singer in American ballet", pointing to his interpretive abilities and masculine technique.
1940
Sonja Barend
Dutch talk show host
Sonja Maria Barend was a Dutch television personality. She hosted one of the nation’s first talk shows, Sonja, in 1974–1975. From 1977, she developed her style and became the Dutch "talk show queen", attracting millions of viewers. She was noted for her combination of emotional warmth and sharp questioning – until then unheard of on Dutch tv. Her shows broke taboos and allowed ordinary people a voice in public dialog. She retired from television in 2006, after four decades of television making.
2004
Lydia Jacoby
American swimmer
Lydia Alice Jacoby is an American professional swimmer. She was the first Alaskan to qualify for an Olympic Games in swimming, competing at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, where she won the gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:04.95, which was the fastest time ever achieved by a female American swimmer in the event in the 17–18 age group. Later in the year, she was the overall highest scoring female American competitor at the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup. In 2022, she became the fastest female American swimmer in history in the 100-yard breaststroke for the 17–18 age group with a national age group record time of 57.54 seconds. In 2023, she further lowered the record to a time of 57.45 seconds, then 57.29 seconds, and set a national age group record of 2:04.32 for the girls 17–18 age group in the 200-yard breaststroke. She is the 2023 NCAA Division I champion in the women's 100-yard breaststroke.
1904
Pepper Martin
American baseball player and manager (died 1965)
Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin was an American professional baseball outfielder, third baseman, and minor league manager. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1928 to 1944. He was best known for his heroics during the 1931 World Series, in which he was the catalyst in a Cardinals' upset victory over the Philadelphia Athletics. Martin was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressive baserunning.