On This Day: 28 February

28 February in Indian history

• 2024Prime Minister Modi of India inaugurates the 2nd Space Port of India - Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport.India
• 2002During a period of religious violence in Gujarat, India, mobs of Hindus attacked Muslims in Naroda Patiya and in Chamanpura, resulting in 166 deaths.India
• 1928Indian physicist C. V. Raman and his colleagues discovered what is now known as Raman scattering, for which he later became the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Physics.India

28 February in world history

• 2026The 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.
• 2023Two 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.
• 2001The 2001 Nisqually earthquake, having a moment magnitude of 6.8, with epicenter in southern Puget Sound, damages the Seattle metropolitan area.
• 1993Bureau 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.
• 1985The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army launched a mortar attack on a Royal Ulster Constabulary station in Newry, Northern Ireland, killing nine people.
• 1974The British election ends in a hung parliament after the Jeremy Thorpe-led Liberal Party achieved their biggest vote share since 1929.
• 1972Japanese police stormed a mountain lodge near Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, to end a ten-day siege by members of the paramilitary group United Red Army.
• 1969The 1969 Portugal earthquake hits Portugal, Spain and Morocco.
• 1959Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.
• 1948The 1948 Accra riots erupt following a march by ex-servicemen of the Gold Coast Regiment towards the seat of the colonial government at Christiansborg Castle, where they were fired upon by Superintendent Colin Imray, leading to the killing of Sergeant Adjetey,
• 1947Nationalist soldiers fired on protesters in Taipei, triggering widespread uprisings and violent suppression in the White Terror.
• 1947February 28 incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the death of an estimated 18,000 - 28,000 civilians.
• 1939In one of the most famous errors in lexicography, the erroneous word dord was discovered in Webster's New International Dictionary by an editor.
• 1914In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, Greeks living in southern Albania proclaimed the short-lived Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus.
• 1897Ranavalona III, the last sovereign ruler of the Kingdom of Madagascar, was deposed by French military forces.

Born on 28 February

• 1955Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer (died 2022)
• 1953Paul Krugman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1948Steven Chu, American physicist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1942Dino Zoff, Italian footballer
• 1915Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1987)
• 1901Linus Pauling, American chemist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1994)

Died on 28 February

• 2026Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran (born 1964)
• 2020Sir Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (born 1917)
• 2007Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. American historian and critic (born 1917)
• 1729Lovro Šitović, Croatian Franciscan and grammarian (born c. 1682)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 28 February in history?

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. 2002: During a period of religious violence in Gujarat, India, mobs of Hindus attacked Muslims in Naroda Patiya and in Chamanpura, resulting in 166 deaths.

What happened on 28 February in Indian history?

2024: Prime Minister Modi of India inaugurates the 2nd Space Port of India - Kulasekarapattinam Spaceport. 2002: During a period of religious violence in Gujarat, India, mobs of Hindus attacked Muslims in Naroda Patiya and in Chamanpura, resulting in 166 deaths. 1928: Indian physicist C. V. Raman and his colleagues discovered what is now known as Raman scattering, for which he later became the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Which famous people were born on 28 February?

Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer (died 2022) (1955); Paul Krugman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (1953); Steven Chu, American physicist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize laureate (1948); Dino Zoff, Italian footballer (1942).

Which day is observed on 28 February?

National Science Day; National Science Day (India); Kalevala Day, also known as the Finnish Culture Day (Finland); Peace Memorial Day (Taiwan); Andalusia Day (Spain).