February 29

Stranded in Jamaica, Christopher Columbus uses his foreknowledge of an approaching lunar eclipse to convince wary local inhabitants to continue providing his crew with supplies.

Stranded after his ships became unseaworthy, Columbus used an almanac predicting a lunar eclipse to convince the local Taíno inhabitants, who had grown reluctant to keep supplying his stranded crew, that his god was angry and would darken the moon, a bit of astronomical foreknowledge that secured his crew's survival.

The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain formally comes into force, easing tensions and expanding trade between the two nations after the Revolutionary War.

The Jay Treaty, negotiated by Chief Justice John Jay, resolved lingering disputes left over from the Revolutionary War, including British withdrawal from forts in the Northwest Territory, and helped avert a renewed war between the two countries, though it proved controversial domestically for its perceived concessions to Britain.

Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award, honored for her supporting role in "Gone with the Wind."

McDaniel's historic Oscar win came despite the segregated ceremony venue requiring her to sit at a separate table from her white castmates. Her achievement remains a landmark in Hollywood history, even as her career was constrained by the era's limited and often stereotypical roles available to Black actors.

Allied forces invade the Admiralty Islands in the Pacific under General Douglas MacArthur, securing a key strategic position against Japan.

The invasion of the Admiralty Islands, executed ahead of schedule based on intelligence suggesting weaker-than-expected Japanese defenses, secured a key strategic naval and air base that helped isolate major Japanese garrisons elsewhere in the Pacific.

A powerful earthquake destroys much of Agadir, Morocco, killing an estimated 12,000 people.

The Agadir earthquake struck the Moroccan coastal city with little warning, and poor construction in much of the city contributed to a death toll that may have reached a third of the city's population, prompting Morocco to adopt significantly stricter seismic building codes afterward.

Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announces his retirement from politics after nearly 16 years in power.

Trudeau's retirement announcement, made after a famous solitary walk in a snowstorm that he later said helped him reach the decision, ended a transformative era in Canadian politics that included patriating Canada's constitution from Britain and establishing the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Siege of Sarajevo officially ends after nearly four years, the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare.

The Siege of Sarajevo, the longest siege of a capital city in modern history, had subjected residents to nearly four years of constant shelling and sniper fire during the Bosnian War, killing thousands of civilians before international pressure and a peace agreement finally ended the encirclement.

Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is removed from power amid an armed uprising and departs the country.

Aristide's removal, amid an armed rebellion and disputed accounts of whether he resigned voluntarily or was forced out with U.S. and French involvement, plunged Haiti into further political instability, part of a recurring pattern of coups and unrest throughout the country's history.

The United States and the Taliban sign the Doha Agreement, laying out a framework for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.

The Doha Agreement outlined a phased withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban commitments to prevent the country from being used as a base for terrorism. It set the framework for the eventual full American withdrawal in 2021, after which the Taliban swiftly retook control of the country.

Israeli forces open fire near a crowd gathered around an aid convoy in Gaza City, killing over a hundred Palestinians in an incident that drew intense international scrutiny.

The incident occurred as crowds gathered around trucks delivering food aid amid a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with witnesses and officials offering conflicting accounts of whether the deaths resulted primarily from gunfire, a stampede, or both, drawing widespread international calls for an independent investigation.