On This Day
What Happened on February 28 in History
10 events that happened on February 28, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.
The Young Republic and the Civil War Era
1844
A cannon exploded aboard the USS Princeton during a Potomac River cruise with President John Tyler.
The blast killed the secretary of state and the secretary of the Navy among others. Tyler was below deck and was not hurt.
Source: history.com
1861
Congress created the Colorado Territory.
A gold rush near Pikes Peak had drawn thousands of settlers to the region. Colorado became a state in 1876.
Source: history.com; millercenter.org
1878
Congress overrode President Rutherford B. Hayes's veto and passed the Bland-Allison Act.
The law required the Treasury to buy silver and coin it into dollars. Western mining interests and farmers had pushed for the measure.
Source: history.com; presidency.ucsb.edu
The Early 1900s and the World Wars
1933
Germany issued the Reichstag Fire Decree, suspending basic civil liberties.
The emergency decree, signed by President Paul von Hindenburg a day after the parliament fire, let the Nazi regime arrest opponents without charge. It became a legal foundation of Nazi dictatorship.
Source: encyclopedia.ushmm.org
The Cold War
1972
President Richard Nixon returned home from his historic visit to China.
The weeklong trip opened relations between the United States and the People's Republic. Nixon called it a week that changed the world.
Source: presidency.ucsb.edu; millercenter.org
1983
The final episode of M*A*S*H aired on CBS.
The two-and-a-half-hour finale drew the largest audience for a single television episode in U.S. history up to that time. The comedy about an Army hospital in the Korean War had run for 11 seasons.
Source: history.com
1986
Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot dead on a Stockholm street.
Palme was walking home from a movie theater with his wife when he was attacked. The killing shocked Sweden and went unsolved for decades.
Source: presidency.ucsb.edu
The Modern Era
1993
Federal agents raided the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, starting a 51-day standoff.
A gun battle broke out when ATF agents tried to serve warrants, and four agents and six Davidians died. The siege ended in a deadly fire on April 19.
Source: history.com; archive.nytimes.com
1994
U.S. fighter jets shot down four Serbian warplanes over Bosnia in NATO's first combat action.
The aircraft were violating a United Nations no-fly zone. It was the first time NATO forces had fought since the alliance was founded in 1949.
Source: history.com; presidency.ucsb.edu
2013
Pope Benedict XVI resigned, the first pope to step down in nearly 600 years.
The 85-year-old pontiff cited his advanced age. Cardinals elected Pope Francis about two weeks later.
Source: history.com