February 29
(Redirected from Leap day)
February 29 is the 60th day of a leap year in the Gregorian calendar. It is sometimes called "leap day" or "bissextile day". Only leap years have February 29. This day only occurs every four years, in years that can be exactly divided by 4, such as 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024, except century years that are not multiples by 400, such as 1800, 1900 or 2100.
Events
Up to 1948
- 1468 – Pope Paul III (d. 1549)
- 1528 - Albert V, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1579)
- 1724 – Eva Marie Veigel, ballet dancer (d. 1822)
- 1736 – Ann Lee, English-born American religious leader (d. 1784)
- 1784 – Leo von Klenze, German architect, painter and writer (d. 1864)
- 1792 – Gioachino Rossini, Italian composer (d. 1868)
- 1808 – Hugh Falconer, Scottish scientist (d. 1855)
- 1812 – James Milne Wilson, Scottish-born Premier of Tasmania (d. 1880, also on February 29)
- 1840 – John Philip Holland, Irish inventor (d. 1914)
- 1860 – Herman Hollerith, American engineer and inventor (d. 1929)
- 1896 – Morarji Desai, Prime Minister of India (d. 1995)
- 1896 – William A. Wellman, American movie director (d. 1975)
- 1904 – Jimmy Dorsey, American bandleader (d. 1957)
- 1908 – Balthus, Polish-born painter (d. 2001)
- 1908 – Dee Brown, American writer (d. 2002)
- 1912 – Taiichi Ono, Japanese inventor (d. 1990)
- 1916 – Dinah Shore, American singer (d. 1994)
- 1920 – Michèle Morgan, French actress (d. 2016)
- 1920 – Fyodor Abramov, Russian novelist (d. 1983)
- 1924 – David Beattie, 14th Governor-General of New Zealand
- 1924 – Al Rosen, American baseball player
- 1924 – Carlos Humberto Romero, former President of El Salvador
- 1928 – Joss Ackland, British actor
- 1928 - Gustau Biosca, Spanish footballer (d. 2014)
- 1928 - Vance Haynes, American archaeologist, geologist and author
- 1928 - Seymour Papert, South African mathematician and computer scientist
- 1928 - Tempest Storm, American actress, singer and dancer
- 1932 – Jaguar, Brazilian cartoonist
- 1936 – Alex Rocco, American actor (d. 2015)
- 1936 - Ingemar Odlander, Swedish journalist (d. 2014)
- 1936 - Jack R. Lousma, American astronaut, engineer and politician
- 1940 – Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, German librarian and President of the Goethe Institute
- 1940 - Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople
- 1944 – Dennis Farina, American actor (d. 2013)
From 1952
- 1956 – Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer (d. 2002)
- 1960 – Cheb Khaled, Algerian musician
- 1960 – Richard Ramirez, American serial killer (d. 2013)
- 1960 – Tony Robbins, American motivational speaker
- 1964 - Dave Brailsford, British cycling coach
- 1964 – James Ogilvy, member of the extended British Royal Family
- 1964 – Ola Lindgren, Swedish handball player and coach
- 1968 – Naoko Ijima, Japanese actress
- 1968 – Wendi Peters, English actress
- 1972 – Pedro Zamora, American AIDS activist (d. 1994)
- 1972 – Dave Williams, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1972 - Pedro Sanchez, Spanish politician
- 1976 – Ja Rule, American rapper
- 1980 – Chris Conley, American musician
- 1980 – Simon Gagné, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Darren Ambrose, English footballer
- 1984 – Radik Zhaparov, Kazakhstani ski jumper
- 1984 – Mark Foster, American musician (Foster the People)
- 1988 – Lena Gercke, German model and television presenter
- 1988 – Benedikt Höwedes, German footballer
- 1988 - Hannah Mills, British sailor
- 1992 - Sean Abbott, Australian cricketer
- 1992 - Saphir Taïder, French-Algerian footballer
- 1992 - Perry Kitchen, American soccer player
Births
A person who was born on February 29 may be called a "leapling". In non-leap years they usually celebrate their birthday on February 28 or March 1.
Different countries have different laws about people who are born on February 29. In Taiwan, the law says that the birthday of a leapling is February 28 in years that are not leap years.
The well-known superhero Superman is often said to have his birthday on February 29.
Deaths
- 992 – Oswald of Worcester, Archbishop of York (b. 925)
- 1528 – Patrick Hamilton, Scottish religious reformer (b. 1504) (burned at the stake)
- 1604 – John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1530)
- 1868 – King Ludwig I of Bavaria (b. 1786)
- 1880 – James Milne Wilson, Premier of Tasmania (b. 1812, also on February 29)
- 1908 – John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, 1st Governor-General of Australia (b. 1860)
- 1908 – Pat Garrett, American gunslinger (b. 1850)
- 1928 – Armando V. Diaz, Italian marshal and minister of war (b. 1861)
- 1944 – Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, President of Finland (b. 1861)
- 1952 – Quo Tai-chi, Chinese diplomat (b. 1888)
- 1956 – Elpidio Quirino, President of the Philippines (b. 1890)
- 1968 – Tore Orjasaeter, Norwegian poet (b. 1886)
- 1980 - Yigal Allon, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1918)
- 1984 – Ludwik Starski, Polish lyricist (b. 1903)
- 1992 – Ruth Pitter, English poet (b. 1897)
- 1996 – Joe Minogue, journalist (b. 1923)
- 1996 – Shams Pahlavi, Persian princess (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Jerome Lawrence, American playwright (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Kagamisato Kiyoji, Japanese Sumo wrestler (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Harold Bernard St. John, 3rd Prime Minister of Barbados (b. 1931)
- 2004 - Danny Ortiz, Guatemalan footballer (b. 1976)
- 2008 – Janet Kagan, American writer (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Davy Jones, British singer, musician and actor (The Monkees) (b. 1945)
- 2016 - Gil Hill, American police officer and actor (b. 1931)
- 2016 - Hannes Löhr, German footballer (b. 1942)
- 2016 - Louise Rennison, British author (b. 1951)
Observances
- Leap year Day
- Christian Feast Day of Oswald of Worcester in a Leap year
- Rare Diseases Day in a Leap year.