29 February is the 60th day of a '' Leap Year '' in the Gregorian Calendar , with 306 days remaining. A year which has a February 29 is, by definition, a ''leap year''. This date only occurs every four years, in years evenly divisible by 4, such as 1992, 1996, or 2004, with the exceptions in century years where the century number is not divisible by four.
A century year, that is, a year which ends in two zeros (1800, 1900, 2000, etc.), is not a leap year unless it is also evenly Divisible by 400. To correct a slight inaccuracy that remains in the Gregorian Calendar, it has been proposed that years evenly divisible by 4000 should not be leap years, but this has not been officially adopted. This means that the year 2000 was a leap year and 2400 and 2800 will also be, but 1800 and 1900 were not leap years, and the years 2100, 2200, and 2300 will not be leap years either.
Because of this, a leap day is more likely to fall on a Monday than on a Sunday. If, for example, February 29 falls on a Sunday, you would expect it to fall on Sunday again after 28 years, but if there's a century year in these 28 years, the pattern can become disrupted. The Gregorian Calendar repeats itself every 400 years, and 400 years have 97 leap days, which is not divisible by seven, so these days can never be distributed evenly. A leap day on a Sunday occurs 13 times in these 400 years, so approximately every 30.8 years, a Monday however occurs 15 times, which is roughly every 26.7 years. The concepts of the leap year and 'leap day' are distinct from the Leap Second , which is necessitated by changes in the Earth's rotational speed.
Those who are born on this day usually celebrate their birthdays on February 28 or March 1 during non-leap years. In the comic musical '' The Pirates Of Penzance '', Frederic, born on February 29, was Apprentice d to a band of Pirate s until his 21st Birthday , in theory until he was 88 years old (as his lifetime included a non-leap centennial year).
This day may be colloquially termed a ''leap day'', though in the Roman Calendar it was February 24 in a leap year which was added, giving the name of "bissextile" day or extra sixth day in the lead up to the 'Kalends' of March. The Romans, realizing the need for an extra day, chose February 24 in particular only because it followed the last day of their year, which at that point in history was February 23 . An English law of 1256 decrees that in leap years the leap day and the day before are to be reckoned as one day for the purpose of calculating when a full year has passed; thus, in England and Wales a person born on February 29 legally reaches the age of 18 or 21 on February 28 of the relevant year. In the European Union , February 29 only officially became the leap day in 2000.
There is a Tradition that women may make a proposal of marriage to men only on February 29; this is a tightening of an older tradition that such proposals may only occur in leap years. In 1288 the Scottish parliament legislated that any woman could propose in Leap Year. The man may, of course, refuse but, by tradition, he should soften the blow by providing a kiss, one pound currency and a pair of gloves (some later sources say a silk gown). This law was adopted in France, Switzerland and Italy and the tradition was carried to America.
In France, there is a humorous periodical called ''La Bougie du Sapeur'' (the Sapper's Candle) published every February 29 since 1980. The name is a reference to the Sapeur Camembert . In 2004, the seventh number of ''La Bougie du Sapeur'', subtitled ''Dimanche'', was published. The eighth issue will be published in 2008.
Events
- 1504 - Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar Eclipse that night to convince Native Americans to provide him with supplies.
- forces and Native American s attack and destroy Deerfield, Massachusetts , killing 100 men, women, and children.
- 1712 - February 29 is followed by February 30 in Sweden , in a move to abolish the Swedish Calendar for a return to the Old Style .
- 1720 - Queen Ulrika Eleonora Of Sweden abdicates in favour of her husband who becomes King Frederick I
- fails - Plans to free 15,000 Union soldiers being held near Richmond, Virginia are thwarted.
- 1892 - St. Petersburg, Florida incorporated.
- , the minimum Working Age for factory, mill, and mine workers is raised from twelve to fourteen years old.
- 1932 - TIME magazine features eccentric American politician William "Alfalfa" Murray on its cover after Murray stated his intention to run for President Of The United States .
- 1936 - Baby Snooks , played by Fanny Brice , debuts on the Radio program The Ziegfeld Follies Of The Air .
- 1940 - For her role 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
- 1940 - In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California due to the War , physicist Ernest Lawrence receives his 1939 Nobel Prize In Physics from the Sweden 's Consul General in San Francisco .
- are invaded in the American General Douglas MacArthur -led Operation Brewer .
- 1952 - The island of Heligoland is restored to German authority.
- 1956 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces to the nation that he is running for a second term. (He defeats Adlai E. Stevenson that November 6 , in a rematch of the 1952 election.)
- 1960 - An earthquake in Morocco kills over 3,000 people and nearly destroys Agadir in the southern part of the country.
- 1964 - In Sydney , Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser sets a new world record in the 100-meter freestyle Swimming competition (58.9 seconds).
- - South Korea withdraws 11,000 of its 48,000 troops from Vietnam .
- 1972 - Hank Aaron becomes the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to sign a $200,000 contract.
- 1984 - Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announces he will retire as soon as the Liberals can elect another leader.
- 1988 - The Sitcom '' Day By Day '' premieres on NBC .
- 1988 - South Africa n archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with 100 clergymen during a five-day anti- Apartheid demonstration in Cape Town
- 1996 - Novelist Joan Collins awarded US $1 million from Random House for breach of contract.
- 1996 - A Peruvian Boeing 737 crashes in the Andes, killing 123 people.
- 2000 - A six-year-old student Opens Fire on a six-year-old classmate at Theo J. Buell Elementary School in Mount Morris Township, Michigan. {Link without Title}
- 2004 - Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigns as President of Haiti following popular rebel uprising.
- 2004 - '''' wins the Best Picture Oscar, along with 10 other awards, at the 76th Annual Academy Awards .
Births
See Also: :Category:Leap day births
- 1468 - Pope Paul III (d. 1549)
- 1692 - John Byrom , English poet (d. 1763)
- 1736 - Ann Lee , American founder of Shakers (d. 1784)
- 1792 - Gioacchino Rossini , Italian composer (d. 1868)
- 1840 - John Philip Holland , Irish inventor (d. 1914)
- 1860 - Herman Hollerith , American statistician (d. 1929)
- 1896 - Morarji Desai , Prime Minister Of India (d. 1995)
- 1904 - Jimmy Dorsey , American bandleader (d. 1957)
- 1904 - Pepper Martin , baseball player (d. 1965)
- 1908 - Balthus , French-Polish painter (d. 2001)
- 1908 - Dee Brown , American writer and historian (d. 2002)
- 1916 - Dinah Shore , American singer (d. 1994)
- 1920 - James Mitchell , American actor
- 1920 - Michèle Morgan , French actress
- 1920 - Howard Nemerov , American poet (d. 1991)
- 1924 - Al Rosen , baseball player
- 1932 - Jaguar , Brazilian cartoonist
- 1936 - Jack Lousma , astronaut
- 1936 - Henri Richard , Canadian hockey player
- 1936 - Alex Rocco , American actor
- 1940 - Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople
- 1944 - Phyllis Frelich , deaf American actress/Tony Winner
- 1944 - Dennis Farina , American actor
- 1944 - Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri , Italian illustrator
- 1952 - Tim Powers , American writer
- 1952 - Bart Stupak , American politician
- 1952 - Raisa Smetanina , Russian cross-country skier
- 1956 - Bob Speller , Canadian politician
- 1956 - Aileen Wuornos , American serial killer
- 1956 - Jonathan Coleman , Anglo-Australian radio and television personality
- 1960 - Richard Ramirez , American serial killer
- 1960 - Tony Robbins , American motivational speaker
- 1964 - Lyndon Byers , Canadian hockey player
- 1968 - Bryce Paup , American football player
- 1972 - Antonio Sabato Jr. , Italian-born actor
- 1972 - Dave Williams , American singer ( Drowning Pool ) (d. 2002)
- 1972 - Pedro Zamora , Cuban AIDS activist (d. 1994)
- 1976 - Ja Rule , American rapper and actor
- 1980 - Simon Gagné , Canadian hockey player
- 1984 - Darren Ambrose , English footballer
- 1984 - Cam Ward , Canadian hockey player
Deaths
- 1528 - Patrick Hamilton , Scottish religious reformer (martyred) (b. 1504)
- 1592 - Alessandro Striggio , Italian composer
- 1604 - John Whitgift , Archbishop Of Canterbury (b. 1530)
- 1744 - John Theophilus Desaguliers , French philosopher (b. 1683)
- 1820 - Johann Joachim Eschenburg , German literary critic (b. 1743)
- 1868 - Ludwig I Of Bavaria (b. 1786)
- 1940 - Edward Frederic Benson , American writer (b. 1867)
- 1944 - Pehr Evind Svinhufvud , President Of Finland (b. 1861)
- 1956 - Elpidio Quirino , President Of The Philippines (b. 1890)
- 1968 - Tore Ørjasæter , Norwegian poet (b. 1886)
- 1980 - Gil Elvgren , American artist (b. 1914)
- 1992 - Ruth Pitter , English poet (b. 1897)
- 2000 - Kayla Rolland , school shooting victim (b. 1993)
- 2004 - Jerome Lawrence , American playwright (b. 1915)
Holidays and observances
- Bahá'í Faith - Day 4 of Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) (in leap years only) - days in the Bahá'í calendar devoted to service and gift giving.
- Discordianism - St. Tib's Day.
External links
January 29 - February 28 - ( February 30 ) - March 1 - March 29 -- Listing Of All Days
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