It happened today – on this day in history – February 28
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1728: Handel’s opera “Siroe, re di Persia” premieres in London.
1749: Henry Fieldings’ novel “Tom Jones” published.
1784: John Wesley charters the Methodist Church.
1819: First performance of Franz Schubert’s song “Schäfers Klageleid”.
1916: Death of writer Henry James aged 72.
1933: German President Paul von Hindenburg abolishes free expression of opinion.
1947: An anti-government uprising in Taiwan is violently put down by China’s Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang-led Republic of China government with the loss of 18,000-28,000 lives.
1951: The Senate committee reports of at least two major US crime syndicates. On the same day, actress Gloria Swanson wins the Golden Globe for her role in Sunset Boulevard.
1953: Francis Crick and James Watson discover the double helix chemical structure of the DNA-molecule.
1966: Police were called after over a 100 music fans barricaded themselves inside Liverpool’s Cavern Club to protest at its closure.
1969: Terence O’Neill is re-elected as leader of the Unionist Parliamentary Party and confirmed as Northern Ireland Prime Minister.
1970: David Bowie’s New Electric Band (so new they hadn’t got a name), played at Basildon Arts Centre.
1974: The British general election results in a hung parliament. On the same day, Singer songwriter Bobby Bloom shoots himself in the head at his Hollywood apartment aged 28.
1975: A tube train crash at Moorgate underground station kills 43 people and injures a further 74.
1977: Ray Charles was attacked onstage by a man who tried to strangle him with a microphone cord.
1984: Michael Jackson scoops eight Grammys. On the same day, Spitting Image premieres on ITV.
1985: Death of singer David Byron (Uriah Heap) aged 38.
1991: The Gulf War ends after Iraq accepts a ceasefire following their retreat from Kuwait.
1993: A gun battle erupts at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas after the FBI attempts a raid.
1997: Death Row Records boss Marion ‘Suge’ Knight was sentenced to nine years in prison for violating his probation for a 1995 assault conviction.
1998: Serbian police begin offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo. On the same day, Father Ted star Dermot Morgan dies of a heart attack aged 45.
2001: Six passengers and four railway staff are killed and a further 82 people suffer serious injuries in the Selby rail crash in Yorkshire.
2005: Lebanon’s pro-Syrian prime minister, Omar Karami, resigns amid large anti-Syria street demonstrations in Beirut.
2006: Two stewards were shot during a concert by Kanye West at the NEC in Birmingham.
2008: Singer, organist Mike Smith of The Dave Clark Five dies aged 64.
2011: Actress Jane Russell dies aged 89.
2014: Russia moves troops into the Crimea to protect its interests against Ukraine.
2019: The summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump collapses without agreement. On the same day, conductor Andre Previn dies aged 89.
BIRTHDAYS: Mario Andretti, former racing driver, 80; Dino Zoff, former Italisn goalkeeper, 78; Stephanie Beacham, actress, 73; Mike Figgis, director, 72; Cindy Wilson, singer (B52s), 63; John Turturro, actor, 63; Phil Gould, drummer (Level 42) 63; Ainsley Harriott, TV chef, 63; Barry McGuigan, former boxer, 59; Robert Sean Leonard, actor, 51; Nigel Godrich, producer, 49; Ali Larter, actress, 44; Jake Bugg (Kennedy), singer/songwriter, 26.
