Holidays Calendar for February 28, 2017

228 Peace Memorial Day is a public holiday in the Republic of China (Taiwan) that honors the victims of the 228 Incident. On this day, the national flag of Taiwan is flown at half-staff as a symbol of respect for the perished.

Shrove (Fat) Tuesday, also known by its French name Mardi Gras, is the culmination of the Carnival season in many countries across the world. Occurring on the day immediately preceding Ash Wednesday, it is the last night of eating fatty foods before the long-lasting Lenten season that ends before Easter.

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World Spay Day is an annual event dedicated to raising awareness of the spaying (for females) and neutering (for males) as a humane and effective way to save animals' lives. It is observed on the last Tuesday in February.

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February 28 is a perfect day to get cozy and relax because it is International Hygge Day. This amazing holiday was created to celebrate a phenomenon that originated in Danish culture and has spread across the world since the beginning of the 21st century.

February 28 is a common Teachers' Day in Arab countries. It is celebrated in eleven African and Asian countries: Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco.

February 28 is annual observance of Andalusia Day in Spain. The day commemorates the referendum of 1980, that made the community of Andalusia fully autonomous.

February 28 is one of the Finland's official flag days. It is known as the Kalevala Day or the Finnish Culture Day.

National Science Day celebrated on February 28 is one of the major science festivals in India. This date was chosen to commemorate the discovery of the Raman effect by Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, a Nobel Prize-winning Indian physicist.

Global Scouse Day in an annual celebration of the English city of Liverpool that occurs on February 28. It is primarily centered around the city’s signature dish, the meat stew that has become synonymous with all things Liverpool.

February 28 is a solemn remembrance day in Armenia. It commemorates the victims of massacres in Sumgait, Baku, and Kirovabad that took place during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Tangub City Charter Day (Araw ng Pribilehiyo ng Lungsod ng Tangub) is a special non-working holiday in the City of Tangub, Philippines. It is celebrated on February 28 to commemorate the day when Tangub was officially inaugurated as a city.

In the United States, most popular foods and dishes have their own unofficial holidays. For example, National Chocolate Soufflé Day is celebrated on February 28. Although soufflé is a French dish, it is known and loved all over the world, including the USA.

National Public Sleeping Day is observed annually on February 28. Its main goal is to raise awareness of the importance of sleep in our life and to encourage people to take naps wherever and whenever they can to prevent sleep deprivation.

National Tooth Fairy Day is an unofficial holiday celebrating a beloved childhood character. It has two possible dates: February 28 and August 22.

Many Christians observe Shrove Tuesday, the day before the beginning of Lent. Even those who do not fast often celebrate the day by eating pancakes or crêpes. Because of this, Shrove Tuesday is also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and some other countries.

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This Day in History

  • 2023 A head-on collision occurred between a passenger and an intermodal freight train south of the Tempe Valley in Greece, killing 57 people and injuring 85.
  • 2013 Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope of the Catholic Church to resign since Pope Gregory XII in 1415. He relinquished the office due to his advanced age.
  • 2011 Died: Annie Girardot, French actress who won three César Awards. She is known for having played strong-willed and independent women.
  • 2007 Died: Billy Thorpe, English-born Australian singer-songwriter and musician who is best known as the lead singer of his band Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs.
  • 2007 Died: Arthur Meier Schlesinger, Jr., American author, historian, social critic, and public intellectual. One of his best known works is A Thousand Days.
  • 2006 Died: Owen Chamberlain, American physicist who won the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physics (jointly with Emilio Segrè) for his discovery of antiprotons.
  • 1998 The first flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk took place. The Global Hawk is an unmanned aerial vehicle surveillance aircraft operated by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy.
  • 1991 The first Gulf War between Iraq and coalition forces led by the United States ended. It resulted in a decisive coalition victory; Iraq withdrew from Kuwait.
  • 1985 The Provisional Irish Republican Army carried out a mortar attack on a Royal Ulster Constabulary station in Corry Square, Newry, Northern Ireland, killing 9 people.
  • 1985 Died: David Byron (born David Garrick), British singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band Uriah Heep from 1969 to 1976.
  • 1984 Born: Karolína Kurková, Czech model and actress who is best known as a former Victoria's Secret Angel. She is among the world's top-earning models.
  • 1983 The final episode of M*A*S*H, "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen", aired on CBS. It became the most watched television episode in U.S. television history at the time.
  • 1982 Born: Natalia Vodianova, Russian model and philanthropist who is known for her 8-season contract with Calvin Klein. She is among the world's top-earning models.
  • 1976 Born: Ali Larter, American actress who is best known for her dual roles of Niki Sanders and Tracy Strauss on the NBC sci-fi television drama Heroes.
  • 1975 In London, an underground train failed to stop at Moorgate terminus and crashed into the wall at the end of the tunnel. 43 people were killed and 74 were injured.
  • 1974 Born: Amanda Abbington, English actress of stage and screen whose most prominent roles include Josie Mardle in Mr Selfridge and Mary Morstan in Sherlock.
  • 1969 Born: Robert Sean Leonard, American actor best known for playing Neil Perry in Dead Poets Society and Dr. James Wilson in the television series House.
  • 1967 Born: Seth Rudetsky, American musician, actor, writer and radio host. As of 2024, he hosted Seth's Big Fat Broadway and Seth Speaks on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio's On Broadway.
  • 1967 Died: Henry Luce, American journalist, publisher, and magazine magnet who launched a number of magazines such as Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated.
  • 1948 Born: Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, and children's book author. A critically acclaimed Broadway performer, she won two Tony Awards out of seven nominations, plus an honorary award.
  • 1947 In Taiwan, an anti-government uprising was violently suppressed by the government. Thousands of civilians ware killed. This massacre marked the beginning of the White Terror.
  • 1944 Born: Kelly Bishop, American actress and dancer, best known for her roles as Emily Gilmore on Gilmore Girls and as Marjorie Houseman in Dirty Dancing.
  • 1941 Born: Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak. She was the First Lady of Egypt for almost 30 years, from 1981 to 2011.
  • 1940 The first ever television broadcast of a basketball game occurred. Fordham was defeated by the University of Pittsburgh at Madison Square Garden on NBC station W2XBS.
  • 1936 Died: Kamala Nehru, Indian freedom fighter, the wife of Jawaharlal Nehru (the first Prime Minister of India) and mother of Indira Gandhi.
  • 1936 Died: Charles Nicolle, French bacteriologist who was awarded the 1928 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his identification of lice as the transmitter of epidemic typhus.
  • 1935 Wallace Carothers, the leader of organic chemistry at DuPont, invented nylon, which has become one of the most commonly used polymers.
  • 1929 Died: Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian bacteriologist, immunologist, and pediatrician whose ideas helped Charles Mantoux create the tuberculin sensitivity test.
  • 1929 Born: Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect whose best known works include Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the MIT Ray, and Maria Stata Center.
  • 1925 Died: Friedrich Ebert, German politician, moderate social democrat, who was the first President of Germany from 1919 until his death in 1925.
  • 1918 Born: Alfred Burke, English actor who is best known for his role as Frank Marker in the drama series Public Eye, which ran on TV for ten years.
  • 1901 Born: Linus Pauling, American chemist, biochemist, educator, author, and peace activist. He was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize.
  • 1896 Born: Philip Showalter Hench, American physician who was awarded the 1950 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the hormone cortisone.
  • 1844 One of the long guns on USS Princeton exploded during a display of the ship, killing 6 people. Among the victims were two United States cabinet members.
  • 1683 Born: René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French scientist who contributed to many different fields. He introduced the temperature scale named after him.
  • 1533 Born: Michel de Montaigne, philosopher of the French Renaissance who popularized the essay as a literary genre. In his own lifetime, he was admired as a statesman.