February 28

Pre-1600

• 202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.
• 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
• 1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés.

1601–1900

• 1638 – The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.
• 1835 – Elias Lönnrot signed and dated the first version of the Kalevala, the so-called foreword to the Old Kalevala.
• 1844 – 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 was also on board, was not injured from the blast.

1901–present

• 1922 – The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
• 1925 – The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.
• 1947 – February 28 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the death of an estimated 28,000 civilians.
• 1958 – 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.
• 1959 – Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.
• 1966 – 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.
• 1969 – The 1969 Portugal earthquake hits Portugal, Spain and Morocco.
• 1974 – The British election ended in a hung parliament after the Jeremy Thorpe-led Liberal Party achieved their biggest vote share since 1929.
• 1975 – In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.
• 1983 – The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 110 million viewers.
• 1985 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers.
• 1986 – Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
• 1993 – 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.
• 1997 – An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 1,100 deaths.
• 1997 – A Turkish military memorandum resulted in the collapse of the coalition government in Turkey.
• 2001 – The 2001 Nisqually earthquake, having a moment magnitude of 6.8, with epicenter in the southern Puget Sound, damages Seattle metropolitan area.
• 2002 – During the religious violence in Gujarat, 97 people are killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre and 69 in the Gulbarg Society massacre.
• 2013 – Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so since Pope Gregory XII in 1415.
• 2023 – 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.
• 2024 – Prime Minister Modi of India inaugurated the 2nd Space Port of India - Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport.

Pre-1600

• 1261 – Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway (d. 1283)
• 1518 – Francis III, Duke of Brittany, Duke of Brittany (d. 1536)
• 1533 – Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher and author (d. 1592)
• 1535 – Cornelius Gemma, Dutch astronomer and astrologer (d. 1578)
• 1552 – Jost Bürgi, Swiss mathematician and clockmaker (d. 1632)

1601–1900

• 1675 – Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (d. 1726)
• 1683 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (d. 1757)
• 1704 – Louis Godin, French astronomer and academic (d. 1760)
• 1848 – Arthur Giry, French historian and academic (d. 1899)
• 1858 – Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (d. 1941)
• 1866 – Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1949)
• 1878 – Pierre Fatou, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1929)
• 1884 – Ants Piip, Estonian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)
• 1887 – William Zorach, Lithuanian-American sculptor and painter (d. 1966)
• 1894 – Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1964)
• 1896 – Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
• 1898 – Zeki Rıza Sporel, Turkish footballer (d. 1969)

1901–present

• 1901 – Linus Pauling, American chemist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
• 1903 – Vincente Minnelli, American theatre and film director (d. 1986)
• 1906 – Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (d. 1947)
• 1907 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (d. 1988)
• 1908 – Billie Bird, American actress (d. 2002)
• 1909 – Stephen Spender, English author and poet (d. 1995)
• 1915 – Ketti Frings, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
• 1915 – Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
• 1919 – Alfred Marshall, American businessman, founded Marshalls (d. 2013)
• 1920 – Jadwiga Piłsudska, Polish soldier, pilot, and architect (d. 2014)
• 1921 – Marah Halim Harahap, Indonesian military officer, Governor of North Sumatra (d. 2015)
• 1922 – Radu Câmpeanu, Romanian politician (d. 2016)
• 1923 – Charles Durning, American actor (d. 2012)
• 1924 – Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
• 1925 – Harry H. Corbett, Burmese-English actor (d. 1982)
• 1926 – Svetlana Alliluyeva, Russian-American writer, daughter of Joseph Stalin (d. 2011)
• 1928 – Tom Aldredge, American actor (d. 2011)
• 1928 – Stanley Baker, Welsh actor and producer (d. 1976)
• 1929 – Hayden Fry, American football player and coach (d. 2019)
• 1929 – Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect and designer
• 1929 – John Montague, American-Irish poet and academic (d. 2016)
• 1930 – Leon Cooper, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1931 – Peter Alliss, English golfer and sportscaster (d. 2020)
• 1931 – Gavin MacLeod, American actor, Christian activist, and author (d. 2021)
• 1931 – Len Newcombe, Welsh footballer and scout (d. 1996)
• 1932 – Don Francks, Canadian actor, singer, and jazz musician (d. 2016)
• 1933 – Rein Taagepera, Estonian political scientist and politician
• 1937 – Jeff Farrell, American swimmer
• 1939 – Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1939 – Tommy Tune, American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer
• 1940 – Mario Andretti, Italian-American racing driver
• 1942 – Frank Bonner, American actor and television director (d. 2021)
• 1942 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1969)
• 1942 – Dino Zoff, Italian footballer
• 1943 – Barbara Acklin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
• 1944 – Kelly Bishop, American actress
• 1944 – Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (d. 2014)
• 1944 – Sepp Maier, German footballer and manager
• 1944 – Storm Thorgerson, English graphic designer (d. 2013)
• 1945 – Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (d. 2011)
• 1946 – Robin Cook, Scottish educator and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 2005)
• 1946 – Syreeta Wright, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
• 1947 – Stephanie Beacham, English actress
• 1947 – Salvador Flamenco, Salvadoran footballer
• 1948 – Steven Chu, American physicist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1948 – Mike Figgis, English film director, screenwriter, and composer
• 1948 – Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, and author
• 1948 – Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
• 1949 – Zoia Ceaușescu, Romanian mathematician, daughter of Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena Ceaușescu (d. 2006)
• 1949 – Ilene Graff, American actress and singer
• 1953 – Luther Burden, American basketball player (d. 2015)
• 1953 – Paul Krugman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1953 – Ricky Steamboat, American professional wrestler
• 1954 – Brian Billick, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1955 – Adrian Dantley, American basketball player and coach
• 1955 – Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer (d. 2022)
• 1956 – Francis Hughes, Irish Republican, hunger striker (d. 1981)
• 1956 – Terry Leahy, English businessman
• 1957 – Ainsley Harriott, English chef and television presenter
• 1957 – Ian Smith, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
• 1957 – John Turturro, American actor and director
• 1957 – Cindy Wilson, American singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Manuel Torres Félix, Mexican criminal and narcotics trafficker (d. 2012)
• 1958 – Mark Pavelich, American ice hockey player (d. 2021)
• 1958 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (d. 2010)
• 1961 – Rae Dawn Chong, Canadian-American actress
• 1961 – Barry McGuigan, Irish-British boxer
• 1963 – Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist
• 1965 – Mikko Mäkelä, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
• 1966 – Paulo Futre, Portuguese footballer
• 1966 – Archbishop Jovan VI of Ohrid
• 1967 – Colin Cooper, English footballer and manager
• 1967 – Seth Rudetsky, American musician, actor, writer, and radio host
• 1969 – Sean Farrel, English footballer
• 1969 – Butch Leitzinger, American race car driver
• 1969 – Robert Sean Leonard, American actor
• 1969 – Pat Monahan, American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1970 – Daniel Brochu, Canadian actor
• 1970 – Daniel Handler, American author, musician, screenwriter, and producer
• 1970 – Noureddine Morceli, Algerian runner
• 1971 – Junya Nakano, Japanese pianist and composer
• 1971 – Tasha Smith, American actress, director, and producer
• 1972 – Rory Cochrane, American actor
• 1972 – Ville Haapasalo, Finnish actor and screenwriter
• 1973 – Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1973 – Nicolas Minassian, French race car driver
• 1973 – Masato Tanaka, Japanese wrestler
• 1974 – Lee Carsley, English-Irish footballer and manager
• 1974 – Alexander Zickler, German footballer and manager
• 1975 – Mike Rucker, American football player
• 1976 – Francisco Elson, Dutch basketball player
• 1976 – Ali Larter, American actress and model
• 1977 – Jason Aldean, American singer-songwriter
• 1977 – Lance Hoyt, American football player and wrestler
• 1978 – Geoffrey Arend, American actor
• 1978 – Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier
• 1978 – Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player
• 1978 – Mariano Zabaleta, Argentinian tennis player
• 1979 – Sébastien Bourdais, French race car driver
• 1979 – Ivo Karlović, Croatian tennis player
• 1980 – Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer
• 1980 – Christian Poulsen, Danish footballer
• 1980 – Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player
• 1981 – Brian Bannister, American baseball player and scout
• 1982 – Isabel Mendes Lopes, Portuguese politician
• 1982 – Natalia Vodianova, Russian-French model and actress
• 1984 – Karolína Kurková, Czech model and actress
• 1985 – Tim Bresnan, English cricketer
• 1985 – Diego, Brazilian footballer
• 1985 – Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player
• 1987 – Akito, Japanese professional wrestler
• 1987 – Antonio Candreva, Italian footballer
• 1987 – Michelle Horn, American actress
• 1987 – Josh McRoberts, American basketball player
• 1988 – Aroldis Chapman, Cuban baseball player
• 1989 – Carlos Dunlap, American football player
• 1989 – Charles Jenkins, American basketball player
• 1990 – Takayasu Akira, Japanese sumo wrestler
• 1990 – Ryan Allen, American football player
• 1990 – Sebastian Rudy, German footballer
• 1991 – Sarah Bolger, Irish actress
• 1991 – Ronalds Ķēniņš, Latvian ice hockey player
• 1993 – Marquis Teague, American basketball player
• 1993 – Éder Álvarez Balanta, Colombian footballer
• 1994 – Alex Caruso, American basketball player
• 1994 – Arkadiusz Milik, Polish footballer
• 1995 – Randy Arozarena, Cuban-Mexican baseball player
• 1995 – Madisen Beaty, American actress
• 1995 – Quinn Shephard, American actress
• 1996 – Bobb'e J. Thompson, American actor
• 1996 – Jakub Vrána, Czech ice hockey player
• 1996 – Lucas Boyé, Argentinian footballer
• 1996 – Axel Werner, Argentinian footballer
• 1997 – Chris Lindstrom, American football player
• 1998 – Teun Koopmeiners, Dutch footballer
• 1999 – Luka Dončić, Slovenian basketball player
• 2000 – Moise Kean, Italian footballer
• 2000 – Josip Šutalo, Croatian footballer
• 2005 – Vitor Roque, Brazilian footballer

Pre-1600

• 628 – Khosrow II, Shah of Iran, Sasanian Empire (b. c. 570)

1601–1900

• 1621 – Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1590)
• 1740 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal and patron of the arts (b. 1667)
• 1857 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (b. 1809)
• 1882 – Adolf Zytogorski, Polish-British chess master and translator (b. c. 1811/1812)

1901–present

• 1929 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician and immunologist (b. 1874)
• 1932 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (b. 1851)
• 1936 – Charles Nicolle, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
• 1955 – Isak Penttala, Finnish politician (b. 1883)
• 1966 – Charles Bassett, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1931)
• 1966 – Elliot See, American commander, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1927)
• 1975 – Neville Cardus, English cricket and music writer (b. 1888)
• 1977 – Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, American actor and comedian (b. 1905)
• 1978 – Zara Cully, American actress (b. 1892)
• 1993 – Ruby Keeler, Canadian-American actress and dancer (b. 1909)
• 1998 – Arkady Shevchenko, Ukrainian diplomat (b. 1930)
• 2002 – Mary Stuart, American actress and singer (b. 1926)
• 2002 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (b. 1920)
• 2003 – Chris Brasher, Guyanese-English runner and journalist, co-founded the London Marathon (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian and librarian (b. 1914)
• 2005 – Chris Curtis, English singer and drummer (b. 1941)
• 2006 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920)
• 2007 – Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. American historian and critic (b. 1917)
• 2009 – Paul Harvey, American radio host (b. 1918)
• 2011 – Annie Girardot, French actress (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Donald A. Glaser, American physicist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
• 2014 – Hugo Brandt Corstius, Dutch linguist and author (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Yaşar Kemal, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1923)
• 2016 – George Kennedy, American actor (b. 1925)
• 2019 – André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. (b. 1929)
• 2020 – Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe's (b. 1930)
• 2020 – Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (b. 1923)
• 2020 – Sir Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (b. 1917)
• 2024 – Ahmed Salim, Bangladeshi convicted murderer (b. 1989)
• 2024 – Cat Janice, American singer-songwriter (b. 1993)

• Christian feast day:
  • February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Kalevala Day, also known as the Finnish Culture Day (Finland)
• National Science Day (India)
• Peace Memorial Day (Taiwan)