So you want to have a drink but you aren't sure why? Here are some GREAT reasons to call your friends over and have a party.

February 28th


- Christian Feast Day:
- Kalevala Day, the day of Finnish Culture. (Finland)
- Peace Memorial Day (Taiwan)
- The third day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá'í Faith)

February 28th


- 2007 - Jupiter flyby of the New Horizons Pluto-observer spacecraft.
- 2005 - Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister, Omar Karami, resigns amid large anti-Syria street demonstrations in Beirut.
- 2005 - A suicide bombing at a police recruiting centre in Al Hillah, Iraq kills 127.
- 2004 - Over 1 million Taiwanese participating in the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally form a 500-kilometre (300-mile) long human chain to commemorate the 228 Incident in
- 2001 - The Nisqually Earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale hits the Nisqually Valley and the Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia area of the U.S. state of Washington.
- 2001 - Six passengers and four railway staff are killed and a further 82 people suffer serious injuries in the Selby rail crash.
- 1998 - First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace.
- 1998 - Kosovo War: Serbian police begin the offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo.
- 1997 - The North Hollywood shootout takes place.
- 1997 - A postmodern coup takes places in Turkey.
- 1997 - GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way.
- 1995 - Denver International Airport officially opens in Denver, Colorado to replace Stapleton International Airport
- 1993 - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group's leader David Koresh. Four BATF agents and five Davidians die in the initial raid, starting a 51-day standoff.
- 1991 - The first Gulf War ends.
- 1986 - Olof Palme, 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 in the highest loss of life for the RUC on a single day.
- 1980 - Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum.
- 1975 - A major tube train crash at Moorgate station, London kills 43 people.
- 1974 - After seven years, the United States and Egypt re-establish diplomatic relations.
- 1972 - Sino-American relations: The United States and People's Republic of China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.
- 1958 - A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork River. The driver and 26 children die in what remains the worst school bus accident in U.S. history.
- 1953 - James D. Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April Nature (pub. April 2).
- 1947 - 228 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of 30,000 civilian lives.
- 1942 - The heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA-30) is sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait with 693 crew members killed, along with HMAS Perth (D29) which lost 375 men.
- 1940 - Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
- 1939 - The first issue of Serbian weekly magazine Politikin zabavnik is published.
- 1939 - The erroneous word "Dord" is discovered in the Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation.
- 1935 - DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents Nylon.
- 1933 - Gleichschaltung: The Reichstag Fire Decree is passed in Germany a day after the Reichstag fire.
- 1933 - The England cricket team led by Douglas Jardine wins the acrimonious Bodyline Test series against Australia 4–1.
- 1928 - C.V. Raman discovered Raman effect.
- 1922 - The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
- 1914 - The Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus is proclaimed in Gjirokastër, by the Greeks living in southern Albania.
- 1900 - The Second Boer War: The 118-day "Siege of Ladysmith" is lifted.
- 1897 - Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force.
- 1893 - The USS Indiana, the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time, is launched.
- 1885 - The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York State as the subsidiary of American Bell Telephone. (American Bell would later merge with its subsidiary.)
- 1883 - The first vaudeville theater opens in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1870 - The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire.
- 1861 - Colorado is organized as a United States territory.
- 1854 - The Republican Party of the United States is organized in Ripon, Wisconsin.
- 1849 - Regular steamboat service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, 4 months 22 days after leaving New York Harbor.
- 1844 - A gun on USS Princeton explodes while the boat is on a Potomac River cruise, killing eight people, including two United States Cabinet members.
- 1838 - Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Quebec)
- 1827 - The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in America offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.
- 1787 - The charter establishing the institution now known as the University of Pittsburgh is granted.
- 1784 - John Wesley charters the Methodist Church.
- 1780 - An earthquake hits Iran, killing 200,000 people and causing several damages.
- 1710 - In the Battle of Helsingborg, 14,000 Danish invaders under Jřrgen Rantzau are decisively defeated by an equally sized Swedish force under Magnus Stenbock.
- 1700 - Today is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar.
- 1638 - The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.
- 870 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
- -202 - coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty's rule over China

February 28th


- 2007 - Princess Lalla Khadija of Morocco
- 1991 - Sarah Bolger, Irish actress
- 1989 - Charles Jenkins, American basketball player
- 1989 - Jason Pierre-Paul, American football player
- 1988 - Steeve Gerard Fankŕ, Cameroonian footballer
- 1988 - Maikol Negro, Italian footballer
- 1988 - Markéta Irglová, Czech songwriter and actress
- 1987 - Kerrea Gilbert, English footballer
- 1986 - Mark Sztyndera, German rugby player
- 1985 - Jelena Jankovi?, Serbian tennis player
- 1985 - Tim Bresnan, Yorkshire and England cricketer
- 1985 - Fefe Dobson, Canadian singer
- 1984 - Ben Fagan, American musician and reality show contestant
- 1984 - Karolína Kurková, Czech supermodel
- 1982 - Natalia Vodianova, Russian supermodel
- 1981 - Brian Bannister, American baseball player
- 1981 - Florent Serra, French tennis player
- 1980 - Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer
- 1980 - Lucian Bute, Romanian-born Canadian boxer
- 1980 - Esquerdinha, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 - Piotr Giza, Polish footballer
- 1980 - Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player
- 1979 - Michael Bisping, English mixed martial artist
- 1979 - Sébastien Bourdais, French racing driver
- 1979 - Ivo Karlovi?, Croatian tennis player
- 1979 - Primož Peterka, Slovenian ski jumper
- 1978 - Jeanne Cherhal, French singer-songwriter
- 1978 - Yasir Hameed, Pakistani cricketer
- 1978 - Benjamin Raich, Austrian Olympic skier
- 1978 - Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player
- 1978 - Mariano Zabaleta, Argentine tennis player
- 1977 - Jason Aldean, American country singer
- 1976 - Ali Larter, American actress and model
- 1976 - Adam Pine, Australian swimmer
- 1976 - Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge, Canadian actor
- 1975 - Mike Rucker, American football player
- 1974 - Lee Carsley, Irish footballer
- 1974 - Moana Mackey, New Zealand politician
- 1974 - Tangi Miller, American actress
- 1973 - Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1973 - Nicolas Minassian, French racing driver
- 1973 - Masato Tanaka, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1972 - Rory Cochrane, American actor
- 1971 - Maxine Bahns, American actress
- 1971 - Tristan Louis, American writer
- 1971 - Junya Nakano, Japanese composer
- 1971 - Peter Stebbings, Canadian actor
- 1970 - Daniel Handler, American writer, better known as Lemony Snicket
- 1970 - Noureddine Morceli, Algerian athlete
- 1969 - Butch Leitzinger, American race car driver
- 1969 - Robert Sean Leonard, American actor
- 1969 - Tor Řivind Řdegaard, Norwegian track runner
- 1969 - Patrick Monahan, American singer (Train)
- 1968 - Stéphan Lebeau, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1967 - Colin Cooper, English footballer
- 1966 - Paulo Futre, Portuguese footballer
- 1965 - Park Gok-ji, South Korean film editor
- 1964 - Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Uzbekistan cyclist
- 1964 - Fernando del Valle, American tenor
- 1964 - Lotta Lotass, Swedish writer, member of the Swedish Academy
- 1963 - Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist
- 1961 - Rae Dawn Chong, Canadian actress
- 1961 - Mark Latham, Australian politician
- 1961 - Barry McGuigan, Irish boxer
- 1961 - René Simard, French Canadian singer and TV host
- 1961 - Eric Bachelart, Belgian racing driver
- 1960 - Dorothy Stratten, Canadian actress (d. 1980)
- 1958 - Natalya Estemirova, Russian activist (d. 2009)
- 1958 - Ginette Harrison, British mountaineer (d. 1999)
- 1958 - Jeanne Mas, French singer and actress
- 1958 - David R. Ross, Scottish historian and writer (d. 2010)
- 1957 - Paul Delph, American musician and producer (d. 1996)
- 1957 - Ainsley Harriott, British celebrity chef
- 1957 - John Turturro, American actor
- 1957 - Cindy Wilson, American singer (The B-52's)
- 1956 - Adrian Dantley, American basketball player
- 1956 - Jimmy Nicholl, Canadian-born Northern Irish footballer
- 1956 - Mike Tenay, American wrestling commentator
- 1956 - Guy Maddin, Canadian film director
- 1955 - Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian
- 1954 - Brian Billick, American football coach
- 1953 - Ingo Hoffmann, Brazilian racing driver
- 1953 - Paul Krugman, American economist, Nobel laureate
- 1953 - Ricky Steamboat, American professional wrestler
- 1952 - William Finn, American composer
- 1951 - Bill Cratty, American modern dancer and choreographer (d. 1998)
- 1948 - Steven Chu, American physicist, Nobel laureate, U.S. Secretary of Energy-Designate
- 1948 - Mike Figgis, English director
- 1948 - Bernadette Peters, American actress and singer
- 1948 - Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
- 1947 - Stephanie Beacham, English actress
- 1946 - Robin Cook, British politician (d. 2005)
- 1945 - Bubba Smith, American football player and actor
- 1944 - Win Aung, Burmese politician
- 1944 - Kelly Bishop, American actress
- 1944 - Sepp Maier, German footballer
- 1943 - Barbara Acklin, American soul singer (d. 1998)
- 1943 - Charles Bernstein, American composer
- 1942 - Frank Bonner, American actor
- 1942 - Brian Jones, English musician (The Rolling Stones) (d. 1969)
- 1942 - Dino Zoff, Italian footballer
- 1940 - Mario Andretti, Italian-American race car driver
- 1940 - Joe South, American singer
- 1939 - Chögyam Trungpa, Tibetan Buddhist meditation master (d. 1987)
- 1939 - Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-born physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1939 - Tommy Tune, American dancer
- 1938 - Foge Fazio, American college football coach (d. 2009)
- 1933 - Robert Grondelaers, Belgian cyclist (d. 1989)
- 1933 - Miro Steržaj, Slovenian 9-pin bowler
- 1933 - Rein Taagepera, Estonian politician
- 1932 - Don Francks, Canadian actor
- 1931 - Dean Smith, American basketball coach
- 1930 - Leon Neil Cooper, American physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1930 - Gavin MacLeod, American actor
- 1930 - Bruce Dawe, Australian poet
- 1929 - Hayden Fry, American football coach
- 1929 - Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect
- 1929 - John Montague, Irish poet
- 1929 - Joseph Rouleau, French Canadian bass opera singer
- 1926 - Svetlana Alliluyeva, Soviet defector, daughter of Joseph Stalin
- 1925 - Harry H Corbett, English actor (d. 1982)
- 1923 - Charles Durning, American actor
- 1921 - Pierre Clostermann, French World War II pilot (d. 2006)
- 1918 - Alfred Burke, British actor
- 1917 - Ernesto Alonso, Mexican actor, director, cinematographer, and producer (d. 2007)
- 1916 - Cesar Climaco, Filipino politician (d. 1984)
- 1916 - Svend Asmussen, Danish jazz violinist
- 1915 - Ketti Frings, American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter, (d. 1981)
- 1915 - Peter Medawar, Brazilian-born scientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1987)
- 1915 - Zero Mostel, American actor (d. 1977)
- 1912 - Clara Petacci, Italian mistress of Benito Mussolini (d. 1945)
- 1911 - Otakar Vávra, Czech film director
- 1909 - Stephen Spender, English poet (d. 1995)
- 1908 - Billie Bird, American actress (d. 2002)
- 1908 - Alexander Golitzen, American art director (d. 2005)
- 1907 - Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (Terry and the Pirates, Steve Canyon) (d. 1988)
- 1906 - Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (d. 1947)
- 1903 - Vincente Minnelli, American film director (d. 1986)
- 1901 - Linus Pauling, American chemist and activist, Nobel laureate (d. 1994)
- 1900 - Wolfram Hirth, German pilot (d. 1959)
- 1896 - Philip Showalter Hench, American physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)
- 1895 - Marcel Pagnol, French novelist, playwright and film director (d. 1974)
- 1894 - Ben Hecht, American playwright (d. 1964)
- 1882 - Geraldine Farrar, American soprano (d. 1967)
- 1882 - José Vasconcelos, Mexican writer (d. 1959)
- 1882 - Pádraic Ó Conaire, Irish writer (d. 1928)
- 1878 - Pierre Fatou, French mathematician (d. 1929)
- 1878 - Artur Kapp, Estonian composer (d. 1952)
- 1865 - Wilfred Grenfell, medical missionary (d. 1940)
- 1851 - Samuel W. McCall, 47th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1923)
- 1841 - Adrien Albert Marie de Mun, French politician (d. 1914)
- 1840 - Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (d. 1892)
- 1838 - Maurice Lévy, French engineer (d. 1910)
- 1833 - Alfred von Schlieffen, German field marshal (d. 1913)
- 1824 - Blondin, French tightrope walker (d. 1897)
- 1823 - Ernest Renan, French philosopher (d. 1892)
- 1820 - John Tenniel, English illustrator (d. 1914)
- 1812 - Berthold Auerbach, German poet and author (d. 1882)
- 1724 - George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, British field marshal (d. 1807)
- 1712 - Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, French military commander (d. 1759)
- 1704 - Louis Godin, French astronomer (d. 1760)
- 1683 - René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French scientist (d. 1757)
- 1675 - Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (d. 1726)
- 1670 - Benjamin Wadsworth, American President of Harvard University (d. 1737)
- 1612 - John Pearson, English theologian (d. 1686)
- 1573 - Elias Holl, German Architect (d. 1646)
- 1552 - Joost Bürgi, Swiss clockmaker (d. 1632)
- 1533 - Michel de Montaigne, French writer (d. 1592)
- 1261 - Margaret of Scotland, queen of Norway (d. 1283)
- 1155 - Henry the Young King, son of Henry II of England (d. 1183)