Summary of the Day ✨ 28 February (28/02)
International tensions escalated as the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, assassinating Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, while Pope Benedict XVI made history by resigning as the first pontiff to voluntarily step down since 1415. Meanwhile, a devastating train collision in Greece claimed at least 57 lives, while India expanded its space capabilities with the inauguration of a new spaceport in Kulasekarapattinam.
Historical Events 📜
- 2026: 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.
- 2024: Prime Minister Modi of India inaugurates the 2nd Space Port of India – Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport.
- 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.
- 2013: Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so voluntarily since Pope Gregory XII in 1415.
- 2002: During the religious violence in Gujarat, 97 people are killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre and 69 in the Gulbarg Society massacre.
- 2001: The 2001 Nisqually earthquake, having a moment magnitude of 6.8, with epicenter in southern Puget Sound, damages the Seattle metropolitan area.
- 1997: An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 1,100 deaths.
- 1997: A Turkish military memorandum results in the collapse of the coalition government in Turkey.
- 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.
- 1990: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-36.
- 1986: Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
- 1985: The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers.
- 1983: The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 110 million viewers.
- 1975: In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.
- 1974: The British election ends in a hung parliament after the Jeremy Thorpe-led Liberal Party achieved their biggest vote share since 1929.
Famous Births 👶
- 2005: Vitor Roque, Brazilian footballer
- 2000: Moise Kean, Italian footballer
- 2000: Josip Šutalo, Croatian footballer
- 1999: Luka Dončić, Slovenian basketball player
- 1998: Teun Koopmeiners, Dutch footballer
- 1997: Chris Lindstrom, American football player
- 1996: Jakub Vrána, Czech ice hockey player
- 1996: Lucas Boyé, Argentinian footballer
- 1996: Axel Werner, Argentinian footballer
- 1995: Randy Arozarena, Cuban-Mexican baseball player
- 1994: Alex Caruso, American basketball player
- 1994: Arkadiusz Milik, Polish footballer
- 1993: Marquis Teague, American basketball player
- 1993: Éder Álvarez Balanta, Colombian footballer
- 1991: Ronalds Ķēniņš, Latvian ice hockey player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2026: Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran (born 1939)
- 2026: Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran (born 1964)
- 2026: Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran (born 1961)
- 2025: David Johansen, American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1950)
- 2025: Miguel Piñera, Chilean celebrity, night club owner and amateur musician (born 1954)
- 2025: Joseph Wambaugh, American writer (born 1937)
- 2024: Ahmed Salim, Bangladeshi convicted murderer (born 1989)
- 2024: Héctor Ortiz, Puerto Rican baseball player and coach (born 1969)
- 2024: Cat Janice, American singer-songwriter (born 1993)
- 2020: Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe’s (born 1930)
- 2020: Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (born 1923)
- 2020: Sir Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (born 1917)
- 2019: André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. (born 1929)
- 2016: George Kennedy, American actor (born 1925)
- 2015: Yaşar Kemal, Turkish journalist and author (born 1923)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- 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)
- Andalusia Day (Spain)