February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 306 days remain until the end of the year.
We have some interesting facts & historic events all about February 28th, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about February 28th in history!
Table of Contents
Global Celebrations
- National Chocolate Souffle Day
- National Tooth Fairy Day
- National Floral Design Day
- National Public Sleeping Day
Historic Events
What Happened On This Day – February 28
2013: Pope Benedict XVI resigns
The pope whose birth name is Joseph Ratzinger was the first leader of the Catholic Church to resign since 1415.
1991: The first Gulf War ends
The armed conflict had lasted a little over half a year and claimed over 100,000 civilian casualties.
1986: Swedish prime minister Olof Palme is assassinated
Even though over 130 people have confessed to the murder, the case has never been solved.
1975: A London underground train crashes into the end of the tunnel at Moorgate station
The Moorgate tube crash claimed 43 lives and was the deadliest accident in the London Underground in during peacetime.
1935: Nylon is invented
Wallace Carothers first produced the polymer at the DuPont Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware, United States.
1965: Two girls walking down the street in Cape Town in 1965

1940: Warriors of the Dayak headhunter tribe. Borneo 1940s .

A reconstruction of Jamestown Fort, the foundation towards the establishment of the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, USA

1899: Bodhi temple(the location where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment.) as it appeared in 1899, shortly after its restoration in the 1880s

Famous Birthdays
Births On This Day, February 28
1953: Paul Krugman, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
1948: Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, author
1929: Frank Gehry, Canadian/American architect, designed 8 Spruce Street, Walt Disney Concert Hall
1901: Linus Pauling, American chemist, activist, Nobel Prize laureate
1894: Ben Hecht, American screenwriter, director, producer
Heartbreaking Deaths
Deaths On This Day, February 28
2009: Paul Harvey, American radio host
2007: Billy Thorpe, English/Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer
1977: Eddie Anderson, American actor
1925: Friedrich Ebert, German politician, 1st President of Germany
1916: Henry James, American/English author