Leap Day fun facts

Famous people born on February 29 include:

- 1468 " Pope Paul III (d. 1549)

- 1792 " Gioacchino Rossini, Italian composer (William Tell, The Barber of Seville)

- 1896 " Morarji Desai, former Indian prime minister (d. 1995)

- 1916 " Dinah Shore, American singer (d. 1994)

- 1924 " Al Rosen, American baseball player

- 1924 " Carlos Humberto Romero, former president of El Salvador

- 1960 " Richard Ramirez, American serial killer

- 1960 " Anthony (Tony) Robbins, American motivational speaker

- 1964 " Lyndon Byers, Canadian hockey player

- 1972 " Antonio Sabàto Jr., Italian-born actor

- 1976 " Ja Rule, American rapper and actor

- 1980 " Chris Conley, American musician and songwriter/composer

Events that took place on February 29 in history include:

- 1692 " First accusations began during the Salem witch trials. The trials occurred in Massachusetts in the United States, where more than 150 people were arrested and at least 25 people died by hanging, torture or during their prison stay.

- 1848 " Neufchatel declares the independence of Switzerland.

- 1940 " Hattie McDaniel was the first African American actress to win an Oscar. She won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as "Mammy" in Gone with the Wind.

- 1944 " The invasion of the Admiralty Islands began as United States General Douglas MacArthur led his forces in "Operation Brewer." Troops surged onto Los Negros, following a month of Allied advances in the Pacific. This event was one of the highlights of World War II.

- 1952 " The first "Walk/Don't Walk" signs were installed in New York City.

- 1964 " Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser received her 36th world record.

- 1972 " Musical siblings The Carpenters received a gold record for the hit single "Hurting Each Other. "

" Source: leapzine.com

Fast Facts

About 200,000 people in the United States and 4.1 million people in the world are Leap Day babies.

" Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

What's the point of Leap Year?

Feb. 29 comes once every four years. It was adopted to keep the calendar months in line with the seasons.

If Leap Day were not added, the calendar would gain about six hours per year and 24 days per century in relation to the seasons.

Among the U.S. women who will celebrate their 100th birthday this Leap Day:

- Mabel Helgeson of Dickson, N.D., was born in Perham, Minn.

- Evie O. Gilbert of Kingman, Ariz. was born in Foreman, Ark.