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On this day in history - February 28

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.

Illustration of stork, signifying birth

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

Illustration of tombstone, signifying death

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