Sucks to be born today. Or have an event today that you might wish to commemorate later. February 29th comes but once every four years.
Some examples of things we can commemorate only today, from wikipedia:
- 1504 – Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to convince Native Americans to provide him with supplies.
Stop, that’s silly. The Gregorian Calendar didn’t obtain until 1582. It’s not like Columbus knew it was a leap-year.
But, to continue:
- 1704 – Queen Anne’s War: French forces and Native Americans stage a raid on Deerfield, Massachusetts, killing 100 men, women, and children.
- 1916 – Child labor: In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill, and mine workers is raised from twelve to fourteen years old.
- 1940 – Finland initiates Winter War peace negotiations
- 1944 – World War II: The Admiralty Islands are invaded in the American General Douglas MacArthur-led Operation Brewer.
- 1956 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces to the nation that he is running for a second term.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: Vietnamization – South Korea withdraws 11,000 of its 48,000 troops from Vietnam.
- 1988 – South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with 100 clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town
- 1996 – A Peruvian Boeing 737 crashes in the Andes, killing 123 people.
Some of these occasions seem well-chosen, especially by South Africa.
OK, but imagine that you were born today. Well, you fucked up:
- 1692 – John Byrom, English poet (d. 1763)
- 1792 – Gioacchino Rossini, Italian composer (d. 1868)
- 1840 – John Philip Holland, Irish inventor (d. 1914)
- 1896 – William A. Wellman, American film director (d. 1975)
- 1904 – Jimmy Dorsey, American bandleader (d. 1957)
- 1904 – Pepper Martin, baseball player (d. 1965)
- 1916 – Dinah Shore, American singer (d. 1994)
- 1928 – Tempest Storm, American burlesque performer
- 1932 – Gene Golub, American mathematician (d. 2007)
- 1952 – Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush, American television personality
- 1960 – Ian McKenzie Anderson, British musician
- 1972 – Saul Williams, American rapper, poet, and actor
- 1976 – Ja Rule, American rapper and actor
Happy Ian Anderson day:
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April 24, 2009 at 6:34 pm
What a funny article about Leap Year! Four years from now, you may want to contact me and I’ll fill you in on what it’s like to be born on February 29.
In actuality, I celebrate my birthday the ENTIRE YEAR. In addition, there are restaurants and movie theatres that honor me at the child’s rate. During my off years, I celebrate an un-birthday on Feb. 28.
On my last Leap Day, I spent it in West Point, NY. Prior to that, I had a hell of a time in the Mexican Rivera and before that I was blowing out candles with Antonio Sabato, Jr. in Bulgaria. He, incidentally, shares this very special day with me.
Here’s to all my Leapies! Cheers!