This Day That Year

February 29

in History

Odo Crowned King of France — A defender of Paris earns a crown
Compiegne, FranceMedieval
888

Odo Crowned King of France

A defender of Paris earns a crown

Odo, the Count of Paris who had heroically defended the city against a devastating Viking siege, was crowned King of West Francia at Compiegne by Archbishop Walter of Sens. His coronation recognized not only his military valor but also the growing power of local lords over a weakening Carolingian monarchy. Odo's reign, born of necessity and merit, foreshadowed the feudal fragmentation that would define medieval France.

888 AD
Jimmy Dorsey Was Born — A saxophone legend born on the rarest day
Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, United StatesEarly 20th Century
1904

Jimmy Dorsey Was Born

A saxophone legend born on the rarest day

Jimmy Dorsey was born on the rarest date in the calendar, February 29, a leap day baby destined for big band immortality. With his virtuosic saxophone playing and his own orchestra, Dorsey became one of the defining musicians of the swing era. Alongside his brother Tommy, he helped create the soundtrack of wartime America, filling dance halls with music that kept a nation's spirits alive during its darkest hours.

1904 AD
Berkeley, California — In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from.
Early 20th Century
1940

Berkeley, California

In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from.

In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from Sweden's consul general in San Francisco.

1940 AD