February 29: What Happened on This Day in History (Elementary Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 1504 - Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to convince Native Americans to provide him with supplies.
2. 1892 - St. Petersburg, Florida is incorporated.
3. 1916 - Child labor: In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill, and mine workers is raised from twelve to fourteen years old.
4. 1964 - In Sydney, Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser sets a new world record in the 100-meter freestyle swimming competition (58.9 seconds).
5. 2012 - Tokyo Skytree construction completed. Now it is the tallest tower in the world, 634 meters high, and second tallest (man-made) structure on Earth, next to Burj Khalifa.
6. Famous Birthdays: Pope Paul III, Ann Lee (American religious leader, founded the Shakers), John Philip Holland (Irish engineer, designed the HMS Holland 1 ), Augusta Savage (American sculptor), Balthus (French-Polish painter)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: February 28

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: March 2

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.