2026 Iran war
The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior officials.
What happened on February 28
37 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 5 observances. From 1893 to 2026.
Standout on February 28
2026
United States
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.
About February 28
February 28 is the 59th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 59 of 365 (59 in leap years)306 days left in the year (307 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Saturday in 2026, Sunday in 2027, Monday in 2028, Wednesday in 2029, Thursday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 9 of 2026 · Q1
- Zodiac sign
- ♓ Pisces (February 19 – March 20)
- Season
- Winter in the north · Summer in the south
- February birthstone
- Amethystcalm, clarity and courage
- February birth flower
- Violet / Primrosefaithfulness and young love
- Next occurrence
- In 124 days
- Roman numerals
- XXVIII.IIday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 60thCharles Bassett1966
- 60thNorthrop T-38 Talon1966
- 40thOlof Palme1986
- 30thAxel Werner1996
- 30thJakub Vrána1996
- 30thLucas Boyé1996
- 25th2001 Nisqually earthquake2001
- 25thSelby rail crash2001
February 28 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- George Kennedy
- 25 years ago2001
- 2001 Nisqually earthquake · Selby rail crash
- 50 years ago1976
- Nothing recorded
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on February 28 — ages this year
- 2005Vitor Roqueturns 21
- 2000Moise Keanturns 26
- 2000Josip Šutaloturns 26
- 1999Luka Dončićturns 27
- 1998Teun Koopmeinersturns 28
- 1997Chris Lindstromturns 29
Historical events 37
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
United States
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
Prime Minister Modi of India inaugurates the 2nd Space Port of India - Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport.
Tempi train crash
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.
Greater Manchester
Bus drivers in Greater Manchester began an eleven-week strike, one of the longest in British transportation history.
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI became the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign from the papacy.
2002 Gujarat violence
During a period of religious violence in Gujarat, India, mobs of Hindus attacked Muslims in Naroda Patiya and in Chamanpura, resulting in 166 deaths.
2001 Nisqually earthquake
The 2001 Nisqually earthquake, having a moment magnitude of 6.8, with epicenter in southern Puget Sound, damages the Seattle metropolitan area.
Selby rail crash
A high-speed train crash occurred near Selby in North Yorkshire, England, killing 10 and injuring 82.
1997 Ardabil earthquake
An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 1,100 deaths.
GRB 970228
GRB 970228, a highly luminous 80-second flash of gamma rays, was detected on Earth, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way.
1997 Turkish military memorandum
A Turkish military memorandum results in the collapse of the coalition government in Turkey.
North Hollywood shootout
Two heavily armed bank robbers exchanged gunfire with officers of the Los Angeles Police Department in North Hollywood, in one of the most intense gun battles in American police history.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
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
Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-36.
Olof Palme
Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
The Troubles
The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army launched a mortar attack on a Royal Ulster Constabulary station in Newry, Northern Ireland, killing nine people.
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers.
Goodbye, Farewell and Amen
The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 110 million viewers.
Moorgate tube crash
In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.
London Underground
A London Underground train failed to stop at the terminal Moorgate station, crashing and causing the deaths of 43 people.
February 1974 United Kingdom general election
The British election ended in a hung parliament after the Liberal Party, under Jeremy Thorpe, achieved their highest ever number of votes.
Aeroflot Flight X-167
Aeroflot Flight X-167 crashes during takeoff from Semey Airport, killing 32 people.
Law enforcement in Japan
Japanese police stormed a mountain lodge near Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, to end a ten-day siege by members of the paramilitary group United Red Army.
1969 Portugal earthquake
The 1969 Portugal earthquake hits Portugal, Spain and Morocco.
Northrop T-38 Talon
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.
Charles Bassett
American test pilots Charles Bassett and Elliot See die in a plane crash in St. Louis, Missouri.
Benjamin F. Lewis
Chicago alderman Benjamin F. Lewis was murdered in his office by unknown assailants two days after having been reelected.
Discoverer 1
Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.
Floyd County, Kentucky
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.
Nationalist government
Nationalist soldiers fired on protesters in Taipei (crowd pictured), triggering widespread uprisings and violent suppression in the White Terror.
Lexicography
In one of the most famous errors in lexicography, the erroneous word dord was discovered in Webster's New International Dictionary by an editor.
C. V. Raman
Indian physicist C. V. Raman and his colleagues discovered what is now known as Raman scattering, for which he later became the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Balkan Wars
In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, Greeks living in southern Albania proclaimed the short-lived Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus.
Association football
The most successful football club in Portugal, S.L. Benfica (first team pictured), was founded in Lisbon as Sport Lisboa.
Ranavalona III
Ranavalona III (pictured), the last sovereign ruler of the Kingdom of Madagascar, was deposed by French military forces.
USS Indiana (BB-1)
USS Indiana, the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time, was launched.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Aziz Nasirzadeh
Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran (born 1964)
Mohammad Pakpour
Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran (born 1961)
Miguel Piñera
Miguel Piñera, Chilean celebrity, night club owner and amateur musician (born 1954)
Héctor Ortiz (baseball)
Héctor Ortiz, Puerto Rican baseball player and coach (born 1969)
Freeman Dyson
Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (born 1923)
André Previn
André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. (born 1929)
Donald Glaser
Donald A. Glaser, American physicist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1926)
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. American historian and critic (born 1917)
Holidays & observances 5
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
National Science Day
National Science Day (India)
Peace Memorial Day
Peace Memorial Day (Taiwan)
February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Christian feast day: February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Kalevala Day
Kalevala Day, also known as the Finnish Culture Day (Finland)
Andalusia Day
Andalusia Day (Spain)
Spread across the centuries
- 19th century2
- 20th century45
- 21st century30
Earliest: USS Indiana (BB-1) (1893). Most recent: 2026 Iran war (2026).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about February 28
What day of the year is February 28?
February 28 is the 59th day of the year, with 306 days left after it.
What star sign is February 28?
February 28 falls under Pisces (February 19 – March 20), a water sign ruled by Neptune (traditionally Jupiter). The birthstone for the month is Amethyst.
How many things happened on February 28?
We record 82 entries for February 28: 37 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 5 observances. From 1893 to 2026.
Who was born on February 28?
Vitor Roque (2005) is among the notable births on February 28. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the February 28 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like February 28
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.