A birthday on the globe
24 February on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 24 February, the English Wikipedia lists 67 events and 224 births. 32 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; eight more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 24 February through the years
The Earth on 24 February
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in February 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 24 February the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 9.6° south. In London, the day lasts about 10 hours 35 minutes.
Beyond 80° south the Sun no longer sets; beyond 80° north it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Europe · Paris
1812
Treaty of Paris between Napoleon and Frederick William III of Prussia against Russia is signed.
On the map: Paris.
Europe · Saint Petersburg
1881
China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty.
On the map: Saint Petersburg.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
Europe · Hofbräuhaus am Platzl
1920
The Nazi Party (NSDAP) is founded by Adolf Hitler in the Hofbräuhaus beer hall in Munich, Germany.
On the map: Hofbräuhaus am Platzl.
Asia · Swaminarayan Temple, Ahmedabad
1822
The first Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, is inaugurated.
On the map: Swaminarayan Temple, Ahmedabad.
Latin America · Sinking of HMS Peacock
1813
Sinking of HMS Peacock by USS Hornet on the Demerara River, Guyana.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “Sinking of HMS Peacock”.
North America · Supreme Court of the United States
1803
In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review.
On the map: Supreme Court of the United States.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
24 February
What the other Wikipedias remember#
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Spanish · Ghent
1500
In Ghent (County of Flanders), Joanna I of Castile gives birth to her heir, Charles I, future Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain.
On the map: Ghent.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.
From Wikipedia in Spanish · University of Palermo
2005
The chemists Laura Gagliardi (University of Palermo) and Björn Roos (Lund University) publish in the journal Nature the discovery of a new type of chemical bond formed by 10 electrons, the equivalent of five covalent bonds.
On the map: University of Palermo.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.
24 February
Born on 24 February#
The English Wikipedia lists 224 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 59 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 24 February
1955
Steve Jobs, American businessman, co-founded Apple Computer and Pixar (died 2011)
Place of birth: San Francisco.
Born on 24 February
1956
Judith Butler, American philosopher, theorist, and author
Place of birth: Cleveland.
Born on 24 February
1463
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Italian philosopher (died 1494)
Place of birth: Mirandola.
Born on 24 February
1944
David Wineland, American physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology
Place of birth: Wauwatosa.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1940
Denis Law, Scottish footballer and sportscaster (died 2025)
Place of birth: Aberdeen.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1989
Daniel Kaluuya, English actor
Place of birth: Camden Town.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1743
Joseph Banks, English botanist and explorer (died 1820)
Place of birth: Soho.
24 February
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 24 February through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 24 February
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 27 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 303
The Diocletianic Persecution, the last and most severe episode of the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, began with the publication of a first edict by Roman emperor Diocletian.
Europe · Roman EmpireWikipedia: Diocletianic Persecution - 484
King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica.
Europe · CorsicaWikipedia: Huneric - 1303
The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence.
Britain & Ireland · Battle of RoslinWikipedia: Battle of Roslin - 1386
King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda.
Europe · BudaWikipedia: Charles III of Naples - 1525
A Spanish-Austrian army defeats a French army at the Battle of Pavia.
Europe · Battle of PaviaWikipedia: Battle of Pavia - 1527
Coronation of Ferdinand I as the king of Bohemia in Prague.
Europe · PragueWikipedia: Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor - 1538
Treaty of Nagyvárad between Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and King John Zápolya of Hungary and Croatia.
Europe · Treaty of NagyváradWikipedia: Treaty of Nagyvárad - 1582
With the papal bull Inter gravissimas, Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Papal bull - 1597
The last battle of the Cudgel War takes place on the Santavuori Hill in Ilmajoki, Ostrobothnia.
Europe · SantavuoriWikipedia: Cudgel War - 1607
L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance.
no place on the mapWikipedia: L'Orfeo - 1711
Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, is premièred.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Rinaldo - 1720
War of the Quadruple Alliance: Spanish forces began a failed assault on the British settlement of Nassau in the Bahamas.
Latin America · Nassau, BahamasWikipedia: War of the Quadruple Alliance - 1739
Battle of Karnal: The army of Iranian ruler Nader Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah.
Asia · Battle of KarnalWikipedia: Battle of Karnal - 1803
In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review.
North America · Supreme Court of the United StatesWikipedia: Supreme Court of the United States - 1809
Britain invades and captures the French colony of Martinique.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Invasion of Martinique - 1809
London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving its owner, Irish writer and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan, destitute.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane - 1812
Treaty of Paris between Napoleon and Frederick William III of Prussia against Russia is signed.
Europe · ParisWikipedia: Treaty of Paris - 1813
Sinking of HMS Peacock by USS Hornet on the Demerara River, Guyana.
Latin America · Sinking of HMS PeacockWikipedia: Sinking of HMS Peacock - 1821
Final stage of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain with Plan of Iguala.
Europe · Spanish EmpireWikipedia: Plan of Iguala - 1822
The first Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, is inaugurated.
Asia · Swaminarayan Temple, AhmedabadWikipedia: List of Swaminarayan temples - 1826
The signing of the Treaty of Yandabo marks the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War.
Asia · YandaboWikipedia: Treaty of Yandabo - 1831
The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West.
North America · MississippiWikipedia: Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek - 1848
King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne.
no place on the mapWikipedia: List of French monarchs - 1854
A Penny Red with perforations becomes the first perforated postage stamp to be officially issued for distribution.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Penny Red - 1863
Arizona is organized as a United States territory.
North America · ArizonaWikipedia: Arizona - 1868
Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Andrew Johnson - 1875
The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high-profile civil servants and dignitaries.
Oceania · Great Barrier ReefWikipedia: Great Barrier Reef - 1876
The stage première of Peer Gynt, a play by Henrik Ibsen with incidental music by Edvard Grieg, takes place in Christiania (Oslo), Norway.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Peer Gynt - 1881
China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty.
Europe · Saint PetersburgWikipedia: Treaty of Saint Petersburg - 1895
Revolution breaks out in Baire, a town near Santiago de Cuba, beginning the Cuban War of Independence; the war ends along with the Spanish–American War in 1898.
Latin America · Santiago de CubaWikipedia: Cuban War of Independence - 1916
The Governor-General of Korea establishes a clinic called Jahyewon in Sorokdo to segregate Hansen's disease patients.
Asia · SorokdoWikipedia: Governor-General of Chōsen - 1917
World War I: The U.S. ambassador Walter Hines Page to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if Mexico declares war on the United States.
no place on the mapWikipedia: World War I - 1918
Estonian Declaration of Independence.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Estonian Declaration of Independence - 1920
Nancy Astor becomes the first woman to speak in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom following her election as a Member of Parliament (MP) three months earlier.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 1919 Plymouth Sutton by-election - 1920
The Nazi Party (NSDAP) is founded by Adolf Hitler in the Hofbräuhaus beer hall in Munich, Germany.
Europe · Hofbräuhaus am PlatzlWikipedia: Hofbräuhaus am Platzl - 1942
Seven hundred ninety-one Romanian Jewish refugees and crew members are killed after the MV Struma is torpedoed by the Soviet Navy.
Asia · Struma disasterWikipedia: Struma disaster - 1942
The Battle of Los Angeles: A false alarm leads to an anti-aircraft barrage that lasts into the early hours of February 25.
North America · Los AngelesWikipedia: Battle of Los Angeles - 1942
Voice of America makes its first broadcast.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Voice of America - 1943
World War II: First large-scale protest march resulting in clashes with the Axis occupation forces and collaborationist police in Athens against rumours of forced mobilization of Greek workers for work in Germany.
no place on the mapWikipedia: World War II - 1945
Egyptian Premier Ahmad Mahir Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree.
Africa · EgyptWikipedia: Egypt - 1946
Colonel Juan Perón, founder of the political movement that became known as Peronism, is elected to his first term as President of Argentina.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 1946 Argentine general election - 1949
The Armistice Agreements are signed, to formally end the hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 1949 Armistice Agreements - 1966
Ghanaian coup d'état by National Liberation Council overthrows Kwame Nkrumah's Government
no place on the mapWikipedia: 1966 Ghanaian coup d'état - 1967
Cultural Revolution: Zhang Chunqiao announces the dissolution of the Shanghai People's Commune, replacing its local government with a revolutionary committee.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Cultural Revolution - 1968
Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnamese forces led by Ngô Quang Trưởng recapture the citadel of Hué.
Asia · Battle of HuếWikipedia: Vietnam War - 1971
The All India Forward Bloc holds an emergency central committee meeting after its chairman, Hemantha Kumar Bose, is killed three days earlier. P. K. Mookiah Thevar is appointed as the new chairman.
no place on the mapWikipedia: All India Forward Bloc - 1976
The 1976 constitution of Cuba is formally proclaimed.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Constitution of Cuba - 1978
The Yuba County Five disappear in California. Four of their bodies are found four months later.
North America · Yuba County FiveWikipedia: Yuba County Five - 1979
Uganda–Tanzania War: Ugandan government forces fled Masaka as the Tanzania People's Defence Force bombarded and captured the town.
Africa · MasakaWikipedia: Uganda–Tanzania War - 1981
The 6.7 Ms Gulf of Corinth earthquake affects Central Greece with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Twenty-two people are killed, 400 are injured, and damage totals $812 million.
Europe · 1981 Gulf of Corinth earthquakesWikipedia: 1981 Gulf of Corinth earthquakes - 1983
A special commission of the United States Congress condemns the Japanese American internment during World War II.
North America · United States CongressWikipedia: Internment of Japanese Americans - 1984
A child and an adult man are killed and 12 others are injured in the 49th Street Elementary School shooting in Los Angeles.
North America · 49th Street Elementary School shootingWikipedia: 49th Street Elementary School shooting - 1989
United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, rips open during flight, blowing nine passengers out of the business-class section.
North America · United Airlines Flight 811Wikipedia: United Airlines Flight 811 - 1991
Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Gulf War - 1996
Two civilian airplanes operated by the Miami-based group Brothers to the Rescue are shot down in international waters by the Cuban Air Force.
Latin America · 1996 shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue aircraftWikipedia: 1996 shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue aircraft - 1999
China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft, crashes in Rui'an, Zhejiang, China. All 61 people on board are killed.
Asia · China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509Wikipedia: China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509 - 2000
Pope John Paul II arrives in Egypt for a three-day stay as part of the Great Jubilee, marking the first papal visit in modern Egyptian history
no place on the mapWikipedia: Great Jubilee - 2004
The 6.3 Mw Al Hoceima earthquake strikes northern Morocco with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 628 people are killed, 926 are injured, and up to 15,000 are displaced.
Africa · 2004 Al Hoceima earthquakeWikipedia: 2004 Al Hoceima earthquake - 2006
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in an attempt to subdue a possible military coup.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 2006 state of emergency in the Philippines - 2007
Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.
Asia · North KoreaWikipedia: Reconnaissance satellite - 2008
Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba and the Council of Ministers after 32 years. He would remain as head of the Communist Party for another three years.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Fidel Castro - 2011
Space Shuttle Discovery launches on its final mission, STS-133.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Space Shuttle Discovery - 2015
A Metrolink train derails in Oxnard, California following a collision with a truck, leaving more than 30 injured.
North America · 2015 Oxnard train derailmentWikipedia: 2015 Oxnard train derailment - 2015
At a restaurant in Uherský Brod, Czech Republic, a gunman opened fire in a restaurant, killing eight people before committing suicide.
Europe · Uherský Brod shootingWikipedia: Uherský Brod shooting - 2016
Tara Air Flight 193, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, crashes, with 23 fatalities, in Solighopte, Myagdi District, Dhaulagiri Zone, while en route from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport.
Asia · Tara Air Flight 193Wikipedia: Tara Air Flight 193 - 2020
Mahathir Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia following an attempt to replace the Pakatan Harapan government, which triggered the 2020-2022 Malaysian political crisis.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis - 2022
Russo-Ukrainian War: Days after recognising Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, Russian president Vladimir Putin orders the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Russo-Ukrainian war
What the other Wikipedias remember
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and were translated for this page.
- 1500
In Ghent (County of Flanders), Joanna I of Castile gives birth to her heir, Charles I, future Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain.
- 2005
The chemists Laura Gagliardi (University of Palermo) and Björn Roos (Lund University) publish in the journal Nature the discovery of a new type of chemical bond formed by 10 electrons, the equivalent of five covalent bonds.
Latin America · University of PalermoTranslated from the list on Wikipedia in SpanishWikipedia: Universidad de Lund
Who was born on 24 February
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 224 are shown.
- 1955
Steve Jobs, American businessman, co-founded Apple Computer and Pixar (died 2011)
San FranciscoWikipedia: Steve Jobs - 1304
Ibn Battuta, Moroccan explorer
TangierWikipedia: Ibn Battuta - 1500
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1558)
- 1956
Judith Butler, American philosopher, theorist, and author
ClevelandWikipedia: Judith Butler - 1536
Pope Clement VIII (died 1605)
- 1961
Erna Solberg, Norwegian politician, 35th Prime Minister of Norway
BergenWikipedia: Erna Solberg - 1463
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Italian philosopher (died 1494)
- 1944
David Wineland, American physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology
WauwatosaWikipedia: David J. Wineland - 1955
Alain Prost, French race car driver
LoretteWikipedia: Alain Prost - 1967
Brian Schmidt, Australian astrophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
MissoulaWikipedia: Brian Schmidt - 1885
Chester W. Nimitz, American admiral (died 1966)
FredericksburgWikipedia: Chester W. Nimitz - 1934
Bettino Craxi, Italian lawyer and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Italy (died 2000)
- 1977
Floyd Mayweather Jr., American boxer
Grand RapidsWikipedia: Floyd Mayweather Jr. - 1557
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1619)
- 1837
Rosalía de Castro, Spanish poet (died 1885)
Conxo, Santiago de CompostelaWikipedia: Rosalía de Castro - 1966
Billy Zane, American actor and producer
ChicagoWikipedia: Billy Zane - 1786
Wilhelm Grimm, German anthropologist, author, and academic (died 1859)
- 1945
Barry Bostwick, American actor and singer
San MateoWikipedia: Barry Bostwick - 1932
Michel Legrand, French pianist, composer, and conductor (died 2019)
- 1940
Denis Law, Scottish footballer and sportscaster (died 2025)
AberdeenWikipedia: Denis Law - 1981
Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player
AdelaideWikipedia: Lleyton Hewitt - 1989
Daniel Kaluuya, English actor
Camden TownWikipedia: Daniel Kaluuya - 1743
Joseph Banks, English botanist and explorer (died 1820)
- 1942
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Indian philosopher, theorist, and academic
- 1619
Charles Le Brun, French painter and theorist (died 1690)
- 1831
Leo von Caprivi, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (died 1899)
- 1947
Edward James Olmos, American actor and director
East Los AngelesWikipedia: Edward James Olmos - 1948
Jayalalithaa, Indian actress and politician, 16th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (died 2016)
MelukoteWikipedia: J. Jayalalithaa - 1927
Emmanuelle Riva, French actress (died 2017)
CheniménilWikipedia: Emmanuelle Riva - 1885
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish author, poet, and painter (died 1939)
- 1934
Renata Scotto, Italian soprano (died 2023)
SavonaWikipedia: Renata Scotto - 1951
Laimdota Straujuma, Latvian economist and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Latvia
Mežvidi ParishWikipedia: Laimdota Straujuma - 2000
Antony Matheus dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
- 1842
Arrigo Boito, Italian journalist, author, and composer (died 1918)
- 1971
Pedro de la Rosa, Spanish race car driver
BarcelonaWikipedia: Pedro de la Rosa - 1954
Sid Meier, Canadian-American game designer and programmer, created the Civilization series
SarniaWikipedia: Sid Meier - 1968
Mitch Hedberg, American comedian and actor (died 2005)
Saint PaulWikipedia: Mitch Hedberg - 1921
Abe Vigoda, American actor (died 2016)
BrooklynWikipedia: Abe Vigoda - 1545
John of Austria (died 1578)
RegensburgWikipedia: John of Austria - 1767
Rama II of Siam (died 1824)
RatchaburiWikipedia: Rama II - 1836
Winslow Homer, American painter and illustrator (died 1910)
- 1971
Gillian Flynn, American author, screenwriter, and producer
Kansas CityWikipedia: Gillian Flynn - 1942
Joe Lieberman, American lawyer and politician (died 2024)
StamfordWikipedia: Joe Lieberman - 1963
Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Indian filmmaker and composer
- 1946
Grigory Margulis, Russian mathematician and academic
- 1994
Jessica Pegula, American tennis player
BuffaloWikipedia: Jessica Pegula - 1903
Vladimir Bartol, Italian-Slovene author and playwright (died 1967)
Imperial Free City of TriesteWikipedia: Vladimir Bartol - 1991
Christian Kabasele, Congolese-born Belgian footballer
LubumbashiWikipedia: Christian Kabasele - 1788
Johan Christian Dahl, Norwegian-German painter (died 1857)
- 1938
Phil Knight, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Nike, Inc.
PortlandWikipedia: Phil Knight - 1973
Philipp Rösler, German politician
Khánh HưngWikipedia: Philipp Rösler - 1981
Felipe Baloy, Panamanian footballer
Panama CityWikipedia: Felipe Baloy - 1987
Mario Suárez, Spanish footballer
MadridWikipedia: Mario Suárez - 1951
Debra Jo Rupp, American actress
GlendaleWikipedia: Debra Jo Rupp - 1774
Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (died 1850)
Buckingham PalaceWikipedia: Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge - 1931
Dominic Chianese, American actor and singer
The BronxWikipedia: Dominic Chianese - 1103
Emperor Toba of Japan (died 1156)
- 1413
Louis, Duke of Savoy (died 1465)
- 1723
John Burgoyne, English general and politician (died 1792)
SuttonWikipedia: John Burgoyne - 1852
George Moore, Irish author, poet, and playwright (died 1933)
BallyglassWikipedia: George Moore
What is celebrated on 24 February
- Christian feast day: Blessed Ascensión Nicol y Goñi
- Christian feast day: Blessed Josefa Naval Girbés
- Christian feast day: Lindel Tsen and Paul Sasaki (Anglican Church of Canada)
- Christian feast day: Modest (bishop of Trier)
- Christian feast day: Sergius of Cappadocia
- Christian feast day: February 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Dragobete (Romania)
- Engineer's Day (Iran)
- Flag Day in Mexico
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Estonia from the Russian Empire in 1918; the Soviet period is considered to have been an illegal annexation.
- National Artist Day (Thailand)
- Sweden Finns' Day (Sweden)
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.