February 28 in History

The United States and Israel launch attacks across Iran, assassinating Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Retaliatory strikes are launched by Iran against US military bases in the Gulf, with explosions reported in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.

Prime Minister Modi of India inaugurates the 2nd Space Port of India - Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport.

Two trains collide south of the Vale of Tempe in Greece, leading to the deaths of at least 57 people and leaving 58 missing and 85 injured.

Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so voluntarily since Pope Gregory XII in 1415.

During the religious violence in Gujarat, 97 people are killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre and 69 in the Gulbarg Society massacre.

The 2001 Nisqually earthquake, having a moment magnitude of 6.8, with epicenter in southern Puget Sound, damages the Seattle metropolitan area.

An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 1,100 deaths.

A Turkish military memorandum results in the collapse of the coalition government in Turkey.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group's leader David Koresh, starting a 51-day standoff.

Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-36.

Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.

The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers.

The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 110 million viewers.

In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.

The British election ends in a hung parliament after the Jeremy Thorpe-led Liberal Party achieved their biggest vote share since 1929.

Aeroflot Flight X-167 crashes during takeoff from Semey Airport, killing 32 people.

The 1969 Portugal earthquake hits Portugal, Spain and Morocco.

A NASA T-38 Talon crashes into the McDonnell Aircraft factory while attempting a poor-visibility landing at Lambert Field, St. Louis, killing astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett.

Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.

A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork river. The driver and 26 children die in one of the worst school bus accidents in U.S. history.

The 1948 Accra riots erupt following a march by ex-servicemen of the Gold Coast Regiment towards the seat of the colonial government at Christiansborg Castle, where they were fired upon by Superintendant Colin Imray, leading to the killing of Sergeant Adjetey, Corporal Attipoe and Private Odartey Lamptey and the arrest of the Big Six in the Gold Coast.

February 28 incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the death of an estimated 18,000 - 28,000 civilians.

The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.

The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.

A gun explodes on board the steam warship USS Princeton during a pleasure cruise down the Potomac River, killing six, including Secretary of State Abel Upshur. President John Tyler, who is also on board, is not injured from the blast.

Elias Lönnrot signs and dates the foreword to the first version of the Kalevala, the so-called Old Kalevala.

The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.

Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés.

The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.

Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.

Vitor Roque, Brazilian footballer

Moise Kean, Italian footballer

Josip Šutalo, Croatian footballer

Luka Dončić, Slovenian basketball player

Teun Koopmeiners, Dutch footballer

Chris Lindstrom, American football player

Jakub Vrána, Czech ice hockey player

Lucas Boyé, Argentinian footballer

Axel Werner, Argentinian footballer

Randy Arozarena, Cuban-Mexican baseball player

Alex Caruso, American basketball player

Arkadiusz Milik, Polish footballer

Marquis Teague, American basketball player

Éder Álvarez Balanta, Colombian footballer

Ronalds Ķēniņš, Latvian ice hockey player

Takayasu Akira, Japanese sumo wrestler

Ryan Allen, American football player

Sebastian Rudy, German footballer

Carlos Dunlap, American football player

Charles Jenkins, American basketball player

Aroldis Chapman, Cuban baseball player

Akito, Japanese professional wrestler

Antonio Candreva, Italian footballer

Josh McRoberts, American basketball player

Tim Bresnan, English cricketer

Diego, Brazilian footballer

Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player

Karolína Kurková, Czech model and actress

Ali Marhyar, French actor, film director and screenwriter

Isabel Mendes Lopes, Portuguese politician

Natalia Vodianova, Russian-French model and actress

Brian Bannister, American baseball player and scout

Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer

Christian Poulsen, Danish footballer

Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player

Sébastien Bourdais, French race car driver

Ivo Karlović, Croatian tennis player

Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier

Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player

Mariano Zabaleta, Argentinian tennis player

Jason Aldean, American singer-songwriter

Lance Hoyt, American football player and wrestler

Francisco Elson, Dutch basketball player

Ali Larter, American actress and model

Mike Rucker, American football player

Lee Carsley, English-Irish footballer and manager

Alexander Zickler, German footballer and manager

Gianluca Cherubini, Italian footballer (died 2026)

Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player

Nicolas Minassian, French race car driver

Masato Tanaka, Japanese wrestler

Ville Haapasalo, Finnish actor and screenwriter

Junya Nakano, Japanese pianist and composer

Daniel Brochu, Canadian actor

Noureddine Morceli, Algerian runner

Sean Farrel, English footballer

Butch Leitzinger, American race car driver

Robert Sean Leonard, American actor

Colin Cooper, English footballer and manager

Paulo Futre, Portuguese footballer

Archbishop Jovan VI of Ohrid

Mikko Mäkelä, Finnish ice hockey player and coach

Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist

Barry McGuigan, Irish-British boxer

Manuel Torres Félix, Mexican criminal and narcotics trafficker (died 2012)

Mark Pavelich, American ice hockey player (died 2021)

David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (died 2010)

Ian Smith, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster

John Turturro, American actor and director

Cindy Wilson, American singer-songwriter

Francis Hughes, Irish Republican, died on hunger strike (died 1981)

Terry Leahy, English businessman

Adrian Dantley, American basketball player and coach

Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer (died 2022)

Brian Billick, American football player, coach, and sportscaster

Luther Burden, American basketball player (died 2015)

Paul Krugman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Ricky Steamboat, American professional wrestler

William Finn, American composer and lyricist (died 2025)

Zoia Ceaușescu, Romanian mathematician, daughter of Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena Ceaușescu (died 2006)

Steven Chu, American physicist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize laureate

Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, and author

Mercedes Ruehl, American actress

Salvador Flamenco, Salvadoran footballer

Robin Cook, Scottish educator and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (died 2005)

Syreeta Wright, American singer-songwriter (died 2004)

Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (died 2011)

Kelly Bishop, American actress

Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (died 2014)

Sepp Maier, German footballer and manager

Storm Thorgerson, English graphic designer (died 2013)

Barbara Acklin, American singer-songwriter (died 1998)

Frank Bonner, American actor and television director (died 2021)

Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (died 1969)

Oliviero Toscani, Italian photographer (died 2025)

Dino Zoff, Italian footballer

Alice Brock, American artist, author and restaurateur (died 2024)

Arthur Ngirakelsong, 2nd Chief Justice of Palau (died 2022)

Mario Andretti, Italian-American racing driver

Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Tommy Tune, American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer

Jeff Farrell, American swimmer

Rein Taagepera, Estonian political scientist and politician

Don Francks, Canadian actor, singer, and jazz musician (died 2016)

Ernst Hinterseer, Austria retired alpine skier

Peter Alliss, English golfer and sportscaster (died 2020)

Gavin MacLeod, American actor, Christian activist, and author (died 2021)

Len Newcombe, Welsh footballer and scout (died 1996)

Leon Cooper, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2024)

Hayden Fry, American football player and coach (died 2019)

Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect and designer (died 2025)

John Montague, American-Irish poet and academic (died 2016)

Tom Aldredge, American actor (died 2011)

Stanley Baker, Welsh actor and producer (died 1976)

Harry H. Corbett, Burmese-English actor (died 1982)

Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (died 2014)

Radu Câmpeanu, Romanian politician (died 2016)

Marah Halim Harahap, Indonesian military officer, Governor of North Sumatra (died 2015)

Jadwiga Piłsudska, Polish soldier, pilot, and architect (died 2014)

Alfred Marshall, American businessman, founded Marshalls (died 2013)

Ketti Frings, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (died 1981)

Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1987)

Stephen Spender, English author and poet (died 1995)

Billie Bird, American actress (died 2002)

Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (died 1988)

Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (died 1947)

Linus Pauling, American chemist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1994)

Zeki Rıza Sporel, Turkish footballer (died 1969)

Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1965)

Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1964)

William Zorach, Lithuanian-American sculptor and painter (died 1966)

Ants Piip, Estonian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (died 1942)

Pierre Fatou, French mathematician and astronomer (died 1929)

Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian poet and playwright (died 1949)

Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (died 1941)

Arthur Giry, French historian and academic (died 1899)

Alfred von Schlieffen, German military strategist (died 1913)

Louis Godin, French astronomer and academic (died 1760)

Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, eldest son of Peter the Great (died 1718)

René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (died 1757)

Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (died 1726)

Jost Bürgi, Swiss mathematician and clockmaker (died 1632)

Cornelius Gemma, Dutch astronomer and astrologer (died 1578)

Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher and author (died 1592)

Francis III, Duke of Brittany, Duke of Brittany (died 1536)

Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway (died 1283)

Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran (born 1939)

Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran (born 1964)

Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran (born 1961)

David Johansen, American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1950)

Miguel Piñera, Chilean celebrity, night club owner and amateur musician (born 1954)

Joseph Wambaugh, American writer (born 1937)

Ahmed Salim, Bangladeshi convicted murderer (born 1989)

Héctor Ortiz, Puerto Rican baseball player and coach (born 1969)

Cat Janice, American singer-songwriter (born 1993)

Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe's (born 1930)

Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (born 1923)

Sir Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (born 1917)

André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. (born 1929)

George Kennedy, American actor (born 1925)

Yaşar Kemal, Turkish journalist and author (born 1923)

Hugo Brandt Corstius, Dutch linguist and author (born 1935)

Donald A. Glaser, American physicist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1926)

Annie Girardot, French actress (born 1931)

Paul Harvey, American radio host (born 1918)

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. American historian and critic (born 1917)

Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1920)

Chris Curtis, English singer and drummer (born 1941)

Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian and librarian (born 1914)

Chris Brasher, Guyanese-English runner and journalist, co-founded the London Marathon (born 1928)

Mary Stuart, American actress and singer (born 1926)

Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (born 1920)

Arkady Shevchenko, Ukrainian diplomat (born 1930)

Ruby Keeler, Canadian-American actress and dancer (born 1909)

Zara Cully, American actress (born 1892)

Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, American actor and comedian (born 1905)

Neville Cardus, English cricket and music writer (born 1888)

Charles Bassett, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (born 1931)

Elliot See, American commander, engineer, and astronaut (born 1927)

Isak Penttala, Finnish politician (born 1883)

Charles Nicolle, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1866)

Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (born 1851)

Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician and immunologist (born 1874)

Adolf Zytogorski, Polish-British chess master and translator (born c. 1811/1812)

André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (born 1809)

Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal and patron of the arts (born 1667)

Lovro Šitović, Croatian Franciscan and grammarian (born c. 1682)

Christian IV, King of Denmark (born 1577)

Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (born 1590)

Khosrow II, Shah of Iran, Sasanian Empire (born c. 570)