February 29 in History

Historical Events on February 29

1504 Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to convince Native Americans to provide him with supplies.

1864 American Civil War: Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid fails: Plans to free 15,000 Union soldiers being held near Richmond, Virginia are thwarted.

1892 St. Petersburg, Florida is incorporated.

1916 Child labor: In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill, and mine workers is raised from twelve to fourteen years old.

1940 For her performance as "Mammy" in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award.

1940 Finland initiates Winter War peace negotiations.

1972 Vietnam War: Vietnamization: South Korea withdraws 11,000 of its 48,000 troops from Vietnam.

1988 South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with 100 clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town.

2000 Second Chechen War: Eighty-four Russian paratroopers are killed in a rebel attack on a guard post near Ulus Kert.

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Famous Birthdays on February 29

1792 Gioachino Rossini

1916 Dinah Shore

1956 Aileen Wuornos

1976 Ja Rule

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Famous Deaths on February 29

1928 Ina Coolbrith

1940 E. F. Benson

1956 Elpidio Quirino

2012 Davy Jones (musician)

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