# What happened on February 29 in history?

**Date:** February 29  
**Events recorded:** 42  
**Years spanned:** 888 – 2024  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/february/29/

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## Featured Event

**2020** — The United States and the Taliban sign the Doha Agreement for bringing peace to Afghanistan.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States)

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## Events on this date

- **888** — Odo, count of Paris, is crowned king of West Francia (France) by Archbishop Walter of Sens at Compiègne. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AD_888))
- **1504** — Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to convince Jamaican natives to provide him with supplies. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus))
- **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** — In 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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Anne's_War))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_non-standard_dates))
- **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))
- **1796** — The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain comes into force, facilitating ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Treaty))
- **1892** — St. Petersburg, Florida is incorporated. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Petersburg%2C_Florida))
- **1908** — James Madison University is founded at Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States as The State Normal and Industrial School for Women by the Virginia General Assembly. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Madison_University))
- **1912** — The Piedra Movediza (Moving Stone) of Tandil falls and breaks. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piedra_Movediza))
- **1916** — Tokelau is annexed by the United Kingdom. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokelau))
- **1916** — In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill and mine workers is raised from 12 to 14 years old. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina))
- **1920** — The Czechoslovak National Assembly adopts the Constitution. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Czechoslovak_Republic))
- **1936** — The February 26 Incident in Tokyo ends. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_incident))
- **1940** — For her performance as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_(film)))
- **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/Berkeley%2C_California))
- **1944** — The Admiralty Islands are invaded in Operation Brewer, led by American general Douglas MacArthur, in World War II. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiralty_Islands))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Agadir_earthquake))
- **1964** — British Eagle International Airlines Flight 802/6 crashes into the Glungezer mountain in the Tux Alps of Austria, killing all 75 people aboard. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Eagle_International_Airlines_Flight_802%2F6))
- **1968** — Aeroflot Flight 15 crashes Irkutsk Oblast, Soviet Union, due to a loss of control. Eighty-three of the 84 occupants onboard die. The exact cause of the accident is unknown. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_15))
- **1972** — South Korea withdraws 11,000 of its 48,000 troops from South Vietnam as part of Nixon's Vietnamization policy in the Vietnam War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Vietnam))
- **1980** — Gordie Howe of the Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordie_Howe))
- **1984** — Pierre Trudeau announces his retirement as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Canada. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Trudeau))
- **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))
- **1988** — Svend Robinson becomes the first member of the House of Commons of Canada to come out as gay. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svend_Robinson))
- **1992** — A referendum is begun in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the determination of Bosnian independence. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Republic_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina))
- **1996** — Faucett Perú Flight 251 crashes in the Andes; all 123 passengers and crew are killed. ([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** — Jean-Bertrand Aristide is removed as president of Haiti following a coup. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Bertrand_Aristide))
- **2004** — Angelina Jolie wears a White Marc Bouwer dress to the 76th Academy Awards, which has since been placed on numerous lists for best Oscars fashion. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelina_Jolie))
- **2008** — The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence withdraws Prince Harry from a tour of Afghanistan after news of his deployment is leaked to foreign media. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Defence_(United_Kingdom)))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misha_Defonseca))
- **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))
- **2016** — In the Miqdadiyah bombing: at least 40 people are killed and 58 others wounded following a suicide bombing by ISIL at a Shi'ite funeral in the city of Miqdadiyah, Diyala, Iraq. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Miqdadiyah_bombing))
- **2020** — During a demonstration, pro-government colectivos shoot at disputed President and Speaker of the National Assembly Juan Guaidó and his supporters in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, leaving five injured. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colectivo_(Venezuela)))
- **2020** — The United States and the Taliban sign the Doha Agreement for bringing peace to Afghanistan. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States))
- **2020** — Muhyiddin Yassin is appointed as the 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia, amid the 2020 Malaysian political crisis. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhyiddin_Yassin))
- **2020** — Luxembourg becomes the first country in the world to render public transport free nationwide. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg))
- **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))

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## Notable births on February 29

- **2008** — **Rémi Himbert** — French footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9mi_Himbert))
- **2004** — **Lydia Jacoby** — American swimmer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia_Jacoby))
- **2004** — **Abdukodir Khusanov** — Uzbek footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdukodir_Khusanov))
- **2000** — **Tyrese Haliburton** — American basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrese_Haliburton))
- **2000** — **Ferran Torres** — Spanish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferran_Torres))
- **2000** — **Jesper Lindstrøm** — Danish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesper_Lindstr%C3%B8m))
- **1996** — **Nelson Asofa-Solomona** — New Zealand rugby league player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Asofa-Solomona))
- **1996** — **Norberto Briasco** — Argentine-Armenian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norberto_Briasco))
- **1996** — **Reece Prescod** — British sprinter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reece_Prescod))
- **1996** — **Claudia Williams** — New Zealand tennis player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_Williams_(tennis)))

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## Notable deaths on February 29

- **2024** — **Ali Hassan Mwinyi** — 2nd President of Tanzania and 3rd President of Zanzibar (born 1925) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Hassan_Mwinyi))
- **2024** — **Brian Mulroney** — 18th Prime Minister of Canada (born 1939) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Mulroney))
- **2020** — **Dieter Laser** — German actor (born 1942) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieter_Laser))
- **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))
- **2016** — **Wenn V. Deramas** — Filipino director and screenwriter (born 1966) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenn_V._Deramas))
- **2016** — **Gil Hill** — American police officer, actor and politician (born 1931) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Hill))
- **2016** — **Josefin Nilsson** — Swedish singer (born 1969) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josefin_Nilsson))
- **2016** — **Mumtaz Qadri** — Pakistani assassin, executed (born 1985) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumtaz_Qadri))
- **2016** — **Louise Rennison** — English author (born 1951) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Rennison))
- **2012** — **Davy Jones** — English singer, guitarist and actor (born 1945) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Jones_(musician)))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/february/29/](https://thisday.info/events/february/29/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.