Quick glance of 29 February in the pages of History

February 29: Here are the major events that occurred on 29 February….

• 29 February, 1504: Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, the man who discovered America become marooned on the island that we now know as Jamaica, his ship fatally damaged by a woodworm epidemic Facing starvation, the explorer came up with an ingenious plan. After consulting an almanac in his cabin, he learned that a total lunar eclipse would occur on Thursday, February 29, 1504 – in just three days’ time. He then told the Arawaks that his Christian God was angry with them for stopping the food and that as a sign of His anger He would soon make the moon appear “inflamed with wrath” as a signal to them of the punishments He would inflict. And, just as Columbus told them it would, the moon – in reality emerging from the Earth’s shadow – slowly began to reappear in its normal form and brightness. The awestruck Arawaks kept Columbus and his men well fed until a relief ship took them away four months later.
• 29 February, 1896: Recipient of Bharat Ratna and the fourth Prime Minister of India, Morarji Ranchhodji Desai was born on this day at Bhadeli village near Bulsar in Gujarat.
• 29 February, 1904: Birth of Rukmini Devi Arundale, an Indian classical dancer who led the renaissance of the ‘Bharatnatyam’ dance form and founded the Kalakshetra Foundation in Madras (now Chennai).
• 29 February, 1996: After nearly four years of continuous attacks by Serbs, the siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo was finally declared over on Leap Day in 1996. This event marked the longest siege in the history of modern warfare.
• 29 February, 2010: In Japan, the Tokyo Skytree tower was completed as the tallest tower in the world.