February 28 is the 59th day of the year. There are 306 days remaining until the end of the year This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Friday or Saturday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Wednesday (56).
+ 1827 – The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in America offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.
+ 1885 – The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York as the subsidiary of American Bell Telephone. (American Bell would later merge with its subsidiary.)
+ 1935 – DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents nylon.
+ 1940 – Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
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1954 – The first color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public.
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1959 – Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.
+ 1983 – The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 106 million viewers. It still holds the record for the highest viewership of a season finale.
+ 1991 – The first Gulf War ends.
( Births )
+ 1929 – Hayden Fry, American football player and coach
+ 1931 – Dean Smith, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
+ 1945 – Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (d. 2011)
+ 1948 – Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, and author