February 27
day of the year
February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 307 days remaining until the end of the year (308 in leap years).
Events change
Up to 1900 change
- 425 – The University of Constantinople is founded.
- 907 - Abaoji, a Khitan chieftain, is enthroned as Emperor Taizu, creating the Liao Dynasty in Northern China.
- 1560 – The Treaty of Berwick, expelling the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland.
- 1594 – Henry IV of France is crowned king.
- 1617 - Sweden and Russia sign the Treaty of Stolbovo.
- 1626 - Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after he led the Chinese to a great victory over the Manchurians under Nurhaci.
- 1655 - The lighthouse at Lindesnes, the southernmost tip of Norway, is first lit, with 13 candles.
- 1700 – The island of New Britain is first reached by a European, on an expedition led by William Dampier.
- 1776 - American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge in North Carolina breaks up a Loyalist militia.
- 1782 - American Revolutionary War: The British House of Commons votes against further war in America.
- 1812 – Near the city of Rosario, Manuel Belgrano raises what later develops into the Flag of Argentina.
- 1844 – The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.
- 1860 – Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in New York City that contributes to him being elected US president.
- 1861 – Russian troops kill 5 protesters in Warsaw.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The first northern prisoners arrive the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia.
- 1870 – The Flag of Japan is adopted as the national flag on merchant ships.
- 1881 - First Boer War: The Battle of Majuba Hill takes place.
- 1898 - George I of Greece survives an assassination attempt.
- 1900 – The UK Labour Party is founded.
- 1900 - Second Boer War: In South Africa, British officers receive an unconditional notice of surrender from Boer General Piet Cronje at the Battle of Paardeberg.
1901 – 2000 change
- 1912 - In Sudan, the first rail track from Khartoum to El Obeid opened.
- 1916 - British passenger steamer Maloja is sunk by a German U-boat two miles from Dover, killing 155 people.
- 1921 – The International Union of Socialist Parties is founded in Vienna.
- 1925 - Adolf Hitler re-founds the Nazi Party in Munich, ordering it to be built up on a national level.
- 1930 – Bouvet Island becomes a dependent territory of Norway.
- 1932 - Nature magazine releases an article by James Chadwick, describing the existence of the neutron.
- 1933 – The Reichstag building in Berlin is set on fire.
- 1939 - The United States Supreme Court rules sit-in protests as illegal.
- 1940 – Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover Carbon-14.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Java Sea begins.
- 1943 – The Smith Mine #3 in Bearcreek, Montana, explodes, killing 74 men.
- 1943 - The Rosenstrasse protest begins in Berlin.
- 1948 – President of Finland Juho Kusti Paasikivi signs a defence treaty with Joseph Stalin.
- 1951 – The 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, limiting the US president to two terms in office.
- 1961 – The first Congress of the Spanish Trade Union Organisation is inaugurated.
- 1962 - Two dissident Vietnam Air Force pilots bomb the Independence Palace in Saigon in a failed attempt to kill South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem.
- 1963 – Juan Bosch is elected President of the Dominican Republic.
- 1964 - The Italian Government asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
- 1973 – Wounded Knee Incident standoff at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota begins.
- 1976 – The former Spanish territory of Western Sahara declares its independence.
- 1986 - The United States Senate allows its debates to be televised on a trial basis.
- 1988 - A violent pogrom takes place against the Armenian Community in Sumgait, Azerbaijan.
- 1989 - Venezuela is rocked by the Caracazo riots.
- 1991 – US President George H. W. Bush declares that "Kuwait is liberated".
- 1992 - Jack Unterweger is arrested by FBI agents in Miami, Florida on suspicion of several murders.
- 1993 - Niger holds its first Presidential Election.
- 1994 - The 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, come to an end.
- 1995 - A terrorist explosion in a market in the city of Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan kills around 100 people and injures over 150.
From 2001 change
- 2002 – Godhra train bombing: A Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya.
- 2002 – Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire at Stansted Airport. The evacuation procedures later come in for criticism.
- 2004 – The bombing of Superferry 14 by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines kills 116 people.
- 2004 - The initial version of the John Jay Report is released into the Catholic sex abuse scandal in the United States.
- 2005 - Million Dollar Baby is the most successful movie at the 77th Academy Awards ceremony.
- 2007 – The Shanghai Stock Exchange falls by 9%, its largest drop in 10 years.
- 2010 – 2010 Cauquenes earthquake: A major magnitude 8.8 earthquake hits Chile, killing around 500 people.
- 2015 - Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov is shot dead by an unknown assailant shortly before midnight.
Births change
Up to 1900 change
- 272 – Constantine, Roman Emperor (d. 337)
- 1572 - Francis II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1632)
- 1689 – Pietro Gnocchi, Italian composer, choir director, historian and geographer (d. 1775)
- 1711 – Constantine Mavrocordates, Prince of Wallachia and Moldavia (d. 1769)
- 1767 - Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure, French politician (d. 1855)
- 1789 – Manuel Rodriguez, Chilean lawyer and guerrilla (d. 1818)
- 1795 - José Antonio Navarro, American statesman, revolutionary and politician from Texas (d. 1871)
- 1799 - Edward Belcher, British polar explorer (d. 1877)
- 1807 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (d. 1882)
- 1809 - Jean-Charles Cornay, French missionary and saint (d. 1837)
- 1814 - Samuel Kleinschmidt, German-Greenlandic linguist (d. 1886)
- 1831 - Nikolai Ge, Russian painter (d. 1894)
- 1836 - Russell A. Alger, Governor of Michigan (d. 1907)
- 1846 - Simon Bamberger, Governor of Utah (d. 1926)
- 1856 - Mattia Battistini, Italian baritone (d. 1928)
- 1859 – Bertha Pappenheim, German activist and writer (d. 1936)
- 1861 – Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher (d. 1925)
- 1862 – Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and shooter (d. 1937)
- 1863 - Joaquin Sorolla, Spanish painter (d. 1923)
- 1863 - George Herbert Mead, American philosopher and psychologist (d. 1931)
- 1867 - Irving Fisher, American economist (d. 1947)
- 1870 - Louis Coerne, American composer and music educator (d. 1922)
- 1872 - Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1950)
- 1874 - F. M. Cornford, English classical scholar and translator (d. 1943)
- 1875 - Manuel Ugarte, Argentine politician (d. 1951)
- 1877 – Adela Verne, English pianist (d. 1952)
- 1878 – Alvan T. Fuller, 50th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
- 1879 – Rene Lefebvre, martyr of the French Resistance (d. 1944)
- 1881 – Sveinn Björnsson, 1st President of Iceland (d. 1952)
- 1882 - Burton K. Wheeler, American politician (d. 1975)
- 1886 – Hugo Black, United States Supreme Court Justice (d. 1971)
- 1887 - Pyotr Nesterov, Russian pilot and aircraft designer (d. 1914)
- 1888 - Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr., American historian (d. 1965)
- 1888 – Lotte Lehmann, German singer (d. 1976)
- 1891 – Anne Samson, Canadian nun and supercentenarian (d. 2004)
- 1891 – David Sarnoff, Russian-born broadcast pioneer (d. 1971)
- 1892 – William Demarest, American actor (d. 1983)
- 1895 - Miyagiyama Fukumatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1943)
- 1897 – Marian Anderson, American contralto (d. 1993)
- 1897 - Bernard Lyot, French astronomer (d. 1952)
- 1899 - Charles Best, Canadian scientist (d. 1978)
1901 – 1950 change
- 1901 – Marino Marini, Italian artist and sculptor (d. 1980)
- 1902 – John Steinbeck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
- 1903 - Ion Irimescu, Romanian sculptor and sketcher (d. 2005)
- 1903 - Grethe Weiser, German actress (d. 1970)
- 1904 - Yulii Borisovich Khariton, Russian physicist (d. 1996)
- 1904 - Chick Fullis, American baseball player (d. 1946)
- 1905 - Franchot Tone, American actor (d. 1968)
- 1907 - Mildred Bailey, American singer (d. 1951)
- 1910 - Genrikh Gasparyan, Armenian chess player and composer (d. 1995)
- 1910 – Joan Bennett, American actress (d. 1990)
- 1912 – Lawrence Durrell, English writer (d. 1990)
- 1913 – Paul Ricoeur, French philosopher (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish politician (d. 1989)
- 1917 – John Connally, 39th Governor of Texas and 61st United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1993)
- 1921 - Theodore Van Kirk, American soldier, pilot and navigator (d. 2014)
- 1923 - Alejandro Zaffaroni, Uruguayan-American chemist and entrepreneur (d. 2014)
- 1923 - Dexter Gordon, American jazz saxophonist (d. 1990)
- 1926 – David H. Hubel, Canadian neuroscientist (d. 2013)
- 1927 - Lynn Cartwright, American actress (d. 2004)
- 1927 - Guy Mitchell, American singer (d. 1999)
- 1928 – Alfred Hrdlicka, Austrian artist, sculptor and writer (d. 2009)
- 1928 - Jean Joubert, French novelist, short story writer and poet (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minister of Israel (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Joanne Woodward, American actress
- 1932 – Elizabeth Taylor, British-American actress (d. 2011)
- 1932 - Ernst Hinterseer, Austrian skier
- 1934 – Ralph Nader, American consumer activist
- 1934 - Michiko Maeda, Japanese actress
- 1935 - Alberto Remedios, operatic tenor
- 1935 - Mirella Freni, Italian soprano
- 1935 - Brian Heap, English biologist and academic
- 1936 - Roger Mahony, American cardinal
- 1936 - Ron Barassi, Australian footballer and coach
- 1939 - Kenzo Takada, Japanese fashion designer
- 1939 - Don McKinnon, New Zealand politician
- 1939 - Antoinette Sibley, English ballerina
- 1940 - Loren Pankratz, American psychologist
- 1940 – Bill Hunter, Australian actor (d. 2011)
- 1941 – Paddy Ashdown, British politician
- 1942 – Robert H. Grubbs, American chemist
- 1942 – Klaus-Dieter Sieloff, German footballer (d. 2011)
- 1943 – Carlos Alberto Parreira, Brazilian football manager
- 1945 - Carl Anderson, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
- 1947 - Gidon Kremer, Latvian violinist and conductor
- 1948 - John Chittick, American health activist (d. 2017)
- 1950 - Julia Neuberger, English rabbi and politician
- 1950 - Annabel Goldie, Scottish politician
1951 – 1975 change
- 1951 - Lee Atwater, American political figure (d. 1991)
- 1953 - Ian Khama, President of Botswana
- 1953 - Gabriela Svobodova, Czech cross-country skier
- 1953 - Gavin Esler, British broadcaster
- 1953 - Yolande Moreau, Belgian comedian, actress, movie director and screenwriter
- 1957 - Viktor Markin, Soviet-Russian sprinter
- 1957 – Adrian Smith, English musician (Iron Maiden)
- 1957 – Timothy Spall, English actor
- 1958 - Maggie Hassan, Governor of New Hampshire
- 1959 – Johnny Van Zant, American singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- 1960 – Carson Yeung, Hong Kong businessman
- 1962 - Adam Baldwin, American actor
- 1964 - Thomas Lange, German rower
- 1965 - Noah Emmerich, American actor
- 1966 – Baltasar Kormakur, Icelandic actor, director and producer
- 1969 - Gareth Llewellyn, Welsh rugby player
- 1969 - Stuart MacBride, Scottish writer
- 1970 - Goran Markov, Macedonian footballer
- 1970 - Patricia Petibon, French soprano
- 1971 – Roman Giertych, Polish Minister of Education
- 1971 – Derren Brown, British illusionist
- 1973 – Peter Andre, British-Australian singer-songwriter, businessman and television personality
- 1974 – Colin Edwards, American motorcycle racer
- 1974 - Carte Goodwin, former United States Senator for West Virginia
- 1975 - Prodromos Korkizoglou, Greek decathlete
From 1976 change
- 1976 - Sergei Semak, Russian footballer
- 1978 – James Beattie, English footballer
- 1978 - Kakha Kaladze, Georgian footballer
- 1979 - Adriana Campos, Colombian actress (d. 2015)
- 1980 - Debbie Flood, British rower
- 1980 – Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton
- 1980 – Bobby Valentino, American singer
- 1981 - Evi Goffin, Belgian singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Josh Groban, American singer
- 1982 - Bruno Soares, Brazilian tennis player
- 1982 - Amedy Coulibaly, French Islamic Jihadist (d. 2015)
- 1983 – Kate Mara, American actress
- 1984 – Lotta Schelin, Swedish footballer
- 1985 – Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Russian footballer
- 1985 - Brandon Coburn, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 - Dustin Jeffrey, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 - Shota Shimizu, Japanese musician
- 1989 - Stephen Kiprotich, Ugandan long-distance runner
- 1989 - Brittany Ashton Holmes, American actress
- 1992 - Jonjo Shelvey, English footballer
- 1992 - Callum Wilson, English footballer
- 1992 - Meyers Leonard, American basketball player
- 1994 - Hou Yifan, Chinese chess player
- 1996 - Marta Bassino, Italian skier
Deaths change
Up to 1900 change
- 640 - Pepin the Elder, Frankish Mayor of the Palace (b. 580)
- 956 - Patriarch Theophylact of Constantinople (b. 917)
- 1659 - Henry Dunster, first President of Harvard College (b. 1609)
- 1706 – John Evelyn, English diarist (b. 1620)
- 1735 – John Arbuthnot, English physician and writer (b. 1667)
- 1795 - Tanikaze Kajinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1750)
- 1844 - Nicholas Biddle, American banker (b. 1786)
- 1850 - Samuel Adams, Governor of Arkansas (b. 1805)
- 1874 - Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Cuban revolutionary (b. 1819)
- 1887 – Alexander Borodin, Russian composer (b. 1833)
- 1892 – Louis Vuitton, French designer (b. 1821)
1901 – 2000 change
- 1905 - George S. Boutwell, Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1818)
- 1906 - Samuel Pierpoint Langley, American astrophysicist (b. 1834)
- 1931 – Chandrasekhar Azad, Indian revolutionary (b. 1906)
- 1936 – Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist (b. 1849)
- 1936 - Joshua W. Alexander, United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1852)
- 1937 - Emily Malbone Morgan, American saint (b. 1862)
- 1939 – Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian revolutionary (b. 1869)
- 1941 - William D. Byron, American politician (b. 1895)
- 1943 – Kostis Palamas, Greek poet (b. 1859)
- 1956 - Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, Indian politician (b. 1888)
- 1970 – Marie Dionne, one of the Dionne quintuplets (b. 1934)
- 1972 - Pat Brady, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
- 1973 - Bill Everett, American comic book artist (b. 1917)
- 1985 – Henry Cabot Lodge, American politician (b. 1902)
- 1986 – Jacques Plante, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
- 1987 - Joan Greenwood, English actress and director (b. 1921)
- 1989 – Konrad Lorenz, Austrian zoologist (b. 1903)
- 1993 – Lillian Gish, American actress (b. 1893)
- 1998 – George H. Hitchings, American scientist (b. 1905)
- 1999 - Christine Glanville, British puppeteer (b. 1924)
From 2001 change
- 2002 – Spike Milligan, Irish-born comedian (b. 1918)
- 2003 – Fred Rogers, American children's television actor (b. 1928)
- 2003 - John Lanchbery, English-Australian composer and conductor (b. 1923)
- 2006 - Linda Smith, British comedienne (b. 1958)
- 2007 - Bobby Rosengarden, American jazz drummer (b. 1924)
- 2008 – Ivan Rebroff, German singer (b. 1931)
- 2008 – William F. Buckley, Jr., American writer and commentator (b. 1925)
- 2009 – Manea Manescu, Romanian Prime Minister (b. 1916)
- 2010 – Wendy Toye, British actress (b. 1917)
- 2011 – Necmettin Erbakan, Turkish Prime Minister (b. 1926)
- 2011 – Frank Buckles, American World War I veteran and supercentenarian (b. 1901)
- 2013 - Van Cliburn, American pianist (b. 1934)
- 2013 - Ramon Dekkers, Dutch kickboxer (b. 1969)
- 2013 - Dale Robertson, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2014 - Jan Hoet, Belgian art historian (b. 1936)
- 2014 - Huber Matos, Cuban dissident, activist and writer (b. 1918)
- 2014 - Aaron Allston, American game designer and science fiction writer (b. 1960)
- 2015 - Bohdan Tomaszewski, Polish sports commentator (b. 1921)
- 2015 - Richard Bakalyan, American actor (b. 1931)
- 2015 - Bob Benmosche, American executive (b. 1944)
- 2015 - Mykhailo Chechetov, Ukrainian politician (b. 1953)
- 2015 - Leonard Nimoy, American actor (b. 1931)
- 2015 - Boris Nemtsov, Russian politician (b. 1959)
- 2016 - Rajesh Pillai, Indian film director (b. 1974)
- 2017 - John Harlan, American radio and television announcer (b. 1925)
- 2017 - Carlos Humberto Romero, President of El Salvador (b. 1924)
- 2018 - Quini, Spanish footballer (b. 1949)
- 2018 - William H. T. Bush, American businessman (b. 1938)
Observances change
- National Day of the Dominican Republic