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. A person born in leap year is known as a Leapling.
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 (né Anthony Jai Mahavoric), American motivational speaker. He was born in Los Angeles, California.
1944 ~ Dennis Farina (d. July 22, 2013), American character actor. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He died of a pulmonary embolism at age 69 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
1944 ~ Leiki Loone, Estonian mathematician. She specializes in applications of functional analysis in theory of summability.
1936 ~ Alex Rocco (né Alessandro Federico Petricone, Jr.; d. July 18, 2015), American character actor who found fame with The Godfather. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He died of pancreatic cancer at age 79 in Studio City, California.
1932 ~ Gene H. Golub (né Gene Howard Golub; d. Nov. 16, 2007), American mathematician. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He died of leukemia at age 75 in Stanford, California.
1928 ~ Seymour Papert (né Seymour Aubrey Papert; d. July 31, 2016), South African mathematician and computer scientist. He was a pioneer in artificial intelligence. He was born in Pretoria, South Africa. He died in Blue Hill, Maine at age 88.
1928 ~ Tempest Storm (née Annie Blanche Banks; d. Apr. 20, 2021), American queen of burlesque who dazzled for eight decades. She was known as the Queen of Exotic Dancers. She was one of the best-known burlesque performers in the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. She was born in Eastman, Georgia. She died at age 93 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
1916 ~ James Donovan (né James Britt Donovan; d. Jan. 19, 1970), American lawyer who was the General Counsel of the Office of Strategic Services. He is best known for negotiating the 1960-1962 prisoner exchange for United States pilot Francis Powell for Soviet Spy Rudolf Abel, which was depicted in the 2015 movie, Bridge of Spies. He was born and died in New York, New York. He died of a heart attack following complication of influenza at age 53.
1916 ~ Dinah Shore (née Frances Rose Shore; d. Feb. 24, 1994), American actress and singer. She was a leapling. She was born in Winchester, Tennessee. She died of ovarian cancer 5 days before her 78th birthday in Beverly Hills, California.
1916 ~ Leonard Shoen (né Leonard Samuel Schoen; d. Oct. 4, 1999), American businessman and founder of the U-Haul Company. He was born in McGrath, Minnesota. He died at age 83 in a car crash in Las Vegas Valley, Nevada that was determined to be a suicide.
1908 ~ Dee Brown (né Dorris Alexander Brown; d. Dec. 12, 2002), American author and historian. He is best known for his book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. He was born in Alberta, Louisiana. He died at age 94 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
1904 ~ Jimmy Dorsey (né James Francis Dorsey; d. June 12, 1957), American musician and bandleader. He was known for being a jazz clarinetist and saxophonist. He was the older brother of musician Tommy Dorsey. He was born in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. He died of throat cancer at age 53 in New York, New York.
1892 ~ Augusta Savage (née Augusta Christine Fells; d. Mar. 27, 1962), African-American sculptor. She was an important figure associated with the Harlem Renaissance. She was born in Green Cove Springs, Florida. She died about a month after her 27th birthday.
1828 ~ Emmeline B. Wells (née Emmeline Blanche Woodward; d. Apr. 25, 1921), American journalist and women’s rights activist. She was active in the Church of the Latter Day Saints. She was married several times. Her first husband was James Harris. After he left her, she entered into a plural marriage with Newel Whitney, a man significantly older. After his death, she became the 7th wife of Daniel Wells. She was born in Petersham, Massachusetts. She died of a stroke in Salt Lake City, Utah at age 93.
1812 ~ Sir James Milne Wilson (d. Feb. 29, 1880), 8th Premier of Tasmania. He is the only recorded person to have been born and died on February 29. He was born in Banff, Scotland. He died on his 68th birthday in Hobart, Tasmania.
1792 ~ Gioachino Rossini (né Gioachino Antonio Rossini; d. Nov. 13, 1868), Italian composer, whose works include The Barber of Seville and William Tell. He was born in Pesaro, Italy. He died at age 76 in Paris, France.
1736 ~ Ann Lee (née Ann Elizabeth Lee; d. Sept. 8, 1784), American religious leader and founder of the Shakers. She was known as Mother Ann Lee. She was born in Manchester, England. She died at age 48 in Watervliet, New York.
1528 ~ Albert V, Duke of Bavaria (d. Oct. 24, 1579). He reigned as the Duke of Bavaria from 1550 until his death in 1579. In 1546, he married Archduchess Anna of Austria (1528 ~ 1590). He was of the House of Wittelsbach. He was the son of William IV, Duke of Bavaria and Marie of Baden-Sponheim. He was Roman Catholic. He died at age 51.
1468 ~ Pope Paul III (né Alessandro Farnese; d. Nov. 10, 1549). He was Pope from October 13, 1534 until his death on this date 15 years later. He became Pope following the sack of Rome in 1527. During his reign, he initiated the Counter-Reformation. He was also a patron of the artists, including Michelangelo. He died at age 81.
Events that Changed the World:
2020 ~ Joe Biden (b. 1942) won the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary election.
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 (1901 ~ 1958) 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. The city was named after the Russian city of the same name. There were only about 300 people living in the city at the time.
1796 ~ The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain took effect, thereby facilitating ten years of peaceful trade between the two countries. John Jay (1745 ~ 1829) helped to negotiate the treaty.
1720 ~ Swedish Queen Ulrika Eleanora (1688 ~ 1741) abdicated in favor of her husband. She chose to abdicate because the law forbade her to co-reign with her husband. As a condition of her abdication, however, she would succeed to the throne in the event of his death. She died before her husband, thus, never regained the throne. He officially took the throne as Frederick I, King of Sweden (1676 ~ 1751) on March 23, 1720.
1704 ~ During the Queen Anne’s War, French forces, working together with Native Americans, staged a raid on the settlers of Deerfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony. 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:
2016 ~ Louise Rennison (b. Oct. 11, 1951), British author and comedian. She is best known for her books for young adults. She died at age 64.
2012 ~ Davy Jones (né David Thomas Jones; b. Dec. 30, 1945), English musician and lead singer for The Monkees. He was The Monkees’ romantic heartthrob. He died of a heart attack at age 66 in Stuart, Florida.
1980 ~ Yigal Allon (b. Oct. 10, 1918), Israeli general and acting Prime Minister of Israel. He was the commander of the Palmach. He served as Acting Prime Minister from February 1969 until March 1969. He died of heart failure at age 61 in Afula, Israel.
1960 ~ Melvin Purvis (né Melvin Horace Pervis, II; b. Oct. 24, 1903), American FBI agent best known for heading the manhunts for tracking down such criminals as Pretty Boy Floyd and John Dillinger, although many errors occurred during these events. He was born in Timmonsville, South Carolina. He died in Florence, South Carolina at age 56 of suicide, although later investigation indicates that his death may have been accidental.
1944 ~ Pehr Evind Svinhufvud (b. Dec. 15, 1861), 3rd President of Finland. He served as President from March 1931 until March 1937. He died at age 82.
1940 ~ E.F. Benson (né Edward Frederick Benson; b. July 24, 1867) British novelist, biographer, and memoirist. He died at age 72.
1908 ~ Pat Garrett (né Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett; b. June 5, 1850), American West lawman best known for killing Billy the Kid. He was born in Chambers County, Alabama. He was shot and killed under mysterious circumstances at age 57 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
1880 ~ Sir James Milne Wilson (b. Feb. 29, 1812), 8th Premier of Tasmania. He is the only recorded person to have been born and died on February 29. He was born in Banff, Scotland. He died on his 68th birthday in Hobart, Tasmania.
1868 ~ Ludwig I, King of Bavaria (b. Aug. 25, 1786). He ruled over Bavaria from October 1825 until March 1848 revolutions of the German States. Not willing to act as a constitutional monarch, he abdicated the throne in favor of his eldest son, Maximilian. He was married to Theresa of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1792 ~ 1854). They married in 1810. He was of the House of Wittelsbach. He was the son of Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria and Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. He was Roman Catholic. He died at age 81.
468 ~ Pope Hilarius. He was Pope from November 461 until his death in 468. The date of his birth is not known.
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