Associated Press

On Feb. 29, 1504, Christopher Columbus, stranded in Jamaica during his fourth voyage to the West, used a correctly predicted lunar eclipse to frighten hostile natives into providing food for his crew.

In 1796, President George Washington proclaimed Jay’s Treaty, which settled some outstanding differences with Britain, in effect.

In 1916, singer, actor and TV personality Dinah Shore was born Frances Rose Shore in Winchester, Tennessee.

In 1940, Hattie McDaniel became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award when she took best supporting actress for “Gone With the Wind.”

In 1960, the first Playboy Club, with “bunny” waitresses, opened in Chicago.

In 1984, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau announced he was stepping down after more than 15 combined years in power.