February 29

February 29: This Day in History

• 1288— Scotland passed a law allegedly allowing women to propose marriage to men on Leap Day, with fines for men who refused.
• 1504— Christopher Columbus used his knowledge of a predicted lunar eclipse to trick Jamaican natives into supplying his crew with food.
• 1692— The first warrants were issued for the arrest of accused witches in Salem, Massachusetts, beginning the Salem witch trials.
• 1960— A massive earthquake struck Agadir, Morocco, killing approximately 15,000 people and destroying much of the city.
• 2000— The Icelandic Phallological Museum opened in Reykjavik, a museum dedicated to the collection of phallic specimens.

Famous Birthdays on February 29

• Ja Rule (1976) — rapper and hip-hop artist
• Tony Robbins (1960) — motivational speaker and life coach
• Gioachino Rossini (1792) — Italian opera composer, 'The Barber of Seville'
• Aiyana Stanley-Jones (2002) — child victim of a police shooting, spark for police reform debate

What Happens on February 29?

Did You Know? February 29 Fun Facts

• People born on February 29 are called 'leaplings' or 'leap-year babies' — the odds of being born on this date are approximately 1 in 1,461.
• February 29 exists because the Earth takes about 365.25 days to orbit the Sun, so an extra day is added every four years to keep calendars aligned with the seasons.
• Tony Robbins, born on February 29, celebrated only 15 'actual' birthdays by the time he turned 60 years old.

Count Down to Events on February 29

• How many days until Carabao Cup Final?
• How many days until Leap Day?
• How many days until Mardi Gras?