Title: February 27 Content: ==Events== === Up to 1900 === * 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 === * 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 === * 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== === Up to 1900 === * 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 === * 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 === * 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 author * 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 === * 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== === Up to 1900 === * 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 === * 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 === * 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 author (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== * National Day of the Dominican Republic Category:Days of the year