February 29 / Leap Year

February 29, known as Leap Day of the Gregorian calendar, occurs every 4 years. Years that are divisible by 100, but not 400, do not have a leap day.  Leap days are found in years that are divisible by both 100 and 400.  Thus, the year 1900 did not have a leap day, but the year 2000 did have a leap day.

Birthdays:

A person born on February 29 is called a leapling.  They would generally celebrate their birthdays on either February 28 or March 1 on the non-leap years.

1960 ~ Tony Robbins, American motivational speaker.

1944 ~ Dennis Farina (d. 2013), American actor.

1944 ~ Leiki Loone, Estonian mathematician.

1936 ~ Alex Rocco (d. 2015), American character actor who found fame with The Godfather.  He was 79 years old.

1932 ~ Gene H. Golub (d. 2007), American mathematician.

1928 ~ Seymour Papert, South African mathematician and computer scientist.

1916 ~ Dinah Shore (née Frances Rose Shore, d. 1994), American singer and actress.  She died 5 days before her 78^th birthday.

1908 ~ Dee Brown (d. 2002), American author and historian.  He is best known for his book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

1904 ~ Jimmy Dorsey (d. 1957), American bandleader.

1828 ~ Emmeline B. Wells (d. 1921), American journalist and women’s rights activist.

1812 ~ Sir James M. Wilson (d. 1880), 8^th Premier of Tasmania.  He is the only recorded person to have been born and died on February 29.  He died on his 68^th birthday.

1792 ~ Gioachino Antonio Rossini (d. 1868), Italian composer, whose works include The Barber of Seville and William Tell.

1736 ~ Ann Lee (d. 1784), American religious leader and founder of the Shakers.

1468 ~ Pope Paul III (né Alessandro Farnese, d. 1549).  He was Pope from October 1534 until his death 15 years later.

Events that Changed the World:

2012 ~ The Tokyo Skytree construction was completed, at 634 meters high, it became one of the tallest towers in the world.

2004 ~ Jean-Bertrand Aristide (b. 1953) was ousted as President of Haiti following a coup.

1996 ~ Faucett Flight 251 crashed in the Peruvian Andes, killing all 123 passengers and crew aboard.

1960 ~ The comic strip, Family Circus, made its debut.

1960 ~ An earthquake in Morocco killed over 3,000 people.

1940 ~ Ernest Lawrence received the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics at a ceremony held in Berkeley, California.  Due to World War II, Lawrence was unable to travel to Sweden to accept the award in 1939.

1940 ~ Hattie McDaniel (1895 ~ 1952) won an Academy Award for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, becoming the first African-American to win an Oscar.

1916 ~ In South Carolina, the minimum age for working in factories, mills and mines was raised from 12 years to 14 years old.

1892 ~ St. Petersburg, Florida became incorporated.

1796 ~ The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain took effect, thereby facilitating ten years of peaceful trade between the two countries.

1720 ~ Swedish Queen Ulrika Eleanora (1688 ~ 1741) abdicated in favor of her husband.  He officially took the throne as King Frederick I on March 24, 1720.

1704 ~ During the Queen Anne’s War, French forces, working together with Native Americans, staged a raid on the settlers of Deerfield, Massachusetts.  Fifty-six villagers were killed and over 100 were taken captive.

1644 ~ Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman (1603 ~ 1659) began his second Pacific voyage.

Good-Byes:

2012 ~ Davy Jones (b. 1945), British singer and song-writer, best known as being a member of The Monkees.

1980 ~ Yigal Allon (b. 1918), Israeli general and 5^th Prime Minister of Israel.

1908 ~ Pat Garrett (b. 1850), American Wild West figure best known for killing outlaw Billy the Kidd.

1880 ~ Sir James M. Wilson (b. 1812), 8^th Premier of Tasmania. He died on his 68th birthday.