If you’re one out of 1,461, tomorrow’s your day.

Henri Richard spent 19 seasons with the National Hockey League’s most storied sextet, the Montreal Canadiens. A two-time NHL assist leader, he played in a franchise-record 1,256 regular-season contests, scored a sudden-death overtime goal that gave the bleu, blanc, et rouge the 1966 league championship, scored another decisive goal in Game 7 of the finals five years later, and was a member of more Stanley Cup-winning teams (11) than any player in the game’s history.

And making that impressive list of accomplishments even more remarkable: He won’t observe his 19th birthday until tomorrow!

Of course, there’s an explanation. Like others born on Feb. 29, Richard can only have a celebration on the actual date of his birth every fourth year.

The laws of probability dictate that one out of every 1,461 people ought to be eligible for a birthday party tomorrow, but such individuals seem rarer than that. The other 1,460 of us probably don’t fully appreciate our annual birthday fete. What would it be like to have one only every fourth year?

Dr. Melora Sundt knows. A professor of clinical education and Vice Dean of Academic Programs at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, she was born on Feb. 29, and thus is acutely aware of some of the unique problems having such a birthday presents. She recalls, “When I was little and learned that one had to be 16 to drive, I actually asked someone if whoever gave out drivers licenses would allow me to get one when I was chronologically 16. I was quite concerned that they’d hold me back because I hadn’t had 16 ”˜real’ birthdays. I was reassured that this was not the problem I thought it was, and thankfully it turned out it wasn’t!”

In Liam Crotty’s case, being born on Feb. 29 might well have had something to do with his career choice.

“I was introduced to photography at a very young age,” says the Wisconsin native who spent his formative years in southern Maine. “A local photographer and journalist wanted to ”˜interview’ the first Leap Year Day baby born in the City of Superior. He was hanging out at the Superior Hospital just after midnight on Feb. 29, 1968 ”¦ and who was the first baby born? Me!

“He took a photo of my mom holding me in her hospital bed, which got me in the newspaper when I was just one day old! He wrote an accompanying article suggesting I wouldn’t be able to drive until I turned 64, vote until I was 72 or drink alcohol before I was 84 ”¦ you get the idea,” laughs Crotty, now an award-winning professional photographer in Miami, Fla.

After Lanica Kea graduated from Kennebunk High School in 2010, she did a “gap year” as an au pair. Now a University of New England student spending a semester overseas, she’ll celebrate the anniversary of her birth tomorrow with her host family in the Netherlands.

“The sight of your own cake with your own name on it is simply indescribable,” she says. “It’s probably one of the best ”˜natural highs’ you can receive.”

Kea, whose last birthday was only her fourth, also relates, “As I grew older, I took advantage of having a birthday on the 29th. It was my excuse to have two birthdays (on the 28th and the 1st). And when there was an actual Feb. 29, I would celebrate for about a week!”

There’s no definitive answer to the question of when a Feb. 29 native should commemorate his or her birthday during a non Leap Year, but Sundt advocates for the 28th.

“Why on earth would I celebrate during another month?” she asks. “I have no affiliation with March. My real birthday is the last day in February, so of course the only reasonable alternative is the 28th. March 1? Crazy!”

Crotty concurs, but for different reasons: “When I was a young kid, my Mom would come to me and say, ”˜OK, Liam. It’s Feb 28th ”¦ you can have your friends over, have a party, cake, ice cream and presents today, or you can celebrate it on March 1st ”¦ tomorrow. Which would you like to do?’”

“And how would any normal 5, 6, or 7-year-old respond to a question like that? Thus, I have always celebrated my birthday on the 28th.”

Sundt, Crotty and Kea should consider themselves lucky for another reason; had they born in a less-convenient era they’d have had even fewer birthdays to celebrate. Feb. 29 occurs every four years except during those that are evenly divisible by 100. But there’s an exception to that exception: Years evenly divisible by 400 do have a “leap day.” Thus there was a Feb. 29, 2000, but there won’t be one in 2100.

— Andy Young, who teaches high school English in York County, never has a problem with when to celebrate his birthday; it falls on Feb. 6 every year.