◆ On this day

February 29

3 sourced moments from February 29 in history: Columbus used a lunar eclipse to get food in Jamaica in 1504; The First Salem Witch Trial Arrest Warrants (1692); and Hattie McDaniel becomes the first Black Oscar winner (1940).

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3 things happened on February 29

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1940 Culture & Arts · Film & TV

Hattie McDaniel becomes the first Black Oscar winner

On a Leap Day in 1940, the daughter of formerly enslaved parents walked to a Hollywood podium no Black performer had reached before.

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1692 Society & Economy · Crime

The First Salem Witch Trial Arrest Warrants

On a leap day in 1692, three women were named as witches, lighting a fuse that would end nineteen lives.

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1504 Space · Astrophysics

Columbus used a lunar eclipse to get food in Jamaica in 1504

Stranded in Jamaica, Columbus turned an almanac's eclipse prediction into a threat that restored his crew's food supply. The same eclipse effectively returned in 2025.

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