August 27

### Up to 1900

- 479 BC – Battle of Plataea ends the Persian invasion of Greece, Mardonius routed by Pausanias, the Spartan commander of the Greek army.
- 55 BC – Julius Caesar Lands in Britain for the first time.
- AD 410 – Vandal sack of Rome ends after three days.
- 1172 – Henry the Young King and Margaret of France crowned as junior king and queen of England.
- 1593 – Pierre Barriere fails in his attempt to kill King Henry IV of France.
- 1597 – Japan defeats Korea in the Naval Battle of Chilchonryang during the Imjin War, following several mistakes by the Korean admiral Won Gyun.
- 1664 – After officially taking control of the former Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, British colonists rename it New York.
- 1664 – The French East India Company is officially founded by Louis XIV of France.
- 1728 – On this date in the Gregorian calendar, Vitus Bering lands on the Diomede Islands in the now–named Bering Strait between Alaska, now in the US, and the Russian far east.
- 1776 – Battle of Long Island, in present–day Brooklyn, New York British forces under General William Howe defeat Americans under General George Washington.
- 1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: The city of Toulon revolts against the French Republic.
- 1810 – The French Navy defeats the British Royal Navy, preventing them from taking the harbor of Grand Port and Ile de France.
- 1813 – Napoleon defeats the Austrians, Russians and Prussians at the Battle of Dresden.
- 1820 – Along with two other people, Josef Naus becomes the first person to climb Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany.
- 1828 – The Russians defeat the Turks at Akhaltzikke.
- 1832 – Black Hawk, leader of the Sauk tribe of Native Americans, surrenders to US forces.
- 1859 – Petroleum discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania – the world's first successful oil well.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Union forces attack Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
- 1883 – The after effects caused by the Krakatoa explosion in Indonesia kill over 36,000 people, as the eruption ends in a loud explosion, which causes deadly tsunamis.
- 1896 – The shortest war in the world – 9:02 – 9:40 between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar
- 1900 – British defeat Boer commandos at Bergendal.

### 1901 – 2000

- 1912 – The novel Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs goes on sale.
- 1914 – World War I: French and British troops occupy the then–German colony of Togoland.
- 1916 – World War I: Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary.
- 1921 – The British Faisal I as King of Iraq.
- 1927 – Five Canadian women file a petition  to the Supreme Court of Canada asking whether the word 'persons' in Section 24 of the British North America Act of 1867, includes female persons.
- 1928 – The Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war, is signed by sixty nations.
- 1939 – First jet aircraft flight.
- 1943 – World War II: Japanese forces evacuate New Georgia Island in the Pacific Theater of Operations during the war.
- 1952 – Reparation negotiations between West Germany and Israel end in Luxembourg; West Germany to pay 3 billion Deutschmarks.
- 1955 – The Guinness Book of Records goes on sale for the first time.
- 1957 – The Constitution of Malaysia comes into force.
- 1962 – The Mariner 2 space probe is launched.
- 1971 – A failed military coup occurs in Chad.
- 1975 – The Governor of Portuguese Timor (now East Timor) abandons his capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel group.
- 1979 – An IRA bomb kills Lord Mountbatten and 3 others on holiday in Sligo, Republic of Ireland. Another near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland kills 18 British soldiers.
- 1982 – Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altikat is shot dead in Ottawa, Canada. The group Justice Commandos Against Armenian Genocide claims responsibility.
- 1985 – The Nigerian government is peacefully overthrown by army chief Ibrahim Babangida.
- 1990 – The British Broadcasting Corporation launches BBC Radio Five Live at 9am GMT with a mixture of sports, news, and children's programming. The station broadcasts for eighteen hours per day.
- 1991 – The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
- 1991 – Moldova declares independence from the USSR.
- 1993 – The Gouhou Dam in Gonghe, Qinghai province, breaks, resulting in 240 deaths.
- 1993 – The Florida DOT decides to cease producing its distinctive colored U.S. Highway shields so that it can make use of Federal funds for those signs.
- 2000 – Ostankino Tower in Moscow catches fire, and three people are killed.

### From 2001

- 2003 – Mars makes closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing approximately 34,646,416 miles (55,758,006 kilometers) from Earth.
- 2005 – The Turning Torso in Malmo, Sweden, which is the tallest residential building in Europe, is opened.
- 2005 – Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama declare a State of Emergency in preparation for Hurricane Katrina.
- 2006 – Comair Flight 5191 crashes on take–off at Lexington, Kentucky, with 49 people out of the 50 on board being confirmed dead within hours of the crash.
- 2010 – Kenya promulgates a new constitution under Mwai Kibaki
- 2011 – Hurricane Irene strikes the east coast of the United States.

### Up to 1850

- 551 BC – Confucius, Chinese philosopher (died 479 BC)
- 865 – Rhazes, Persian polymath (died 925)
- 1407 – Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Ashikaga shogun (died 1425)
- 1471 – George, Duke of Saxony (died 1539)
- 1487 – Anne of Brandenburg (died 1514)
- 1545 – Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma (died 1592)
- 1619 – Anne Genevieve de Bourbon (died 1679)
- 1624 – Koxinga, Chinese Ming dynasty loyalist (died 1662)
- 1630 – Maria van Oosterwijk, Dutch painter (died 1693)
- 1669 – Anne Marie d'Orléans, Duchess of Saxony (died 1728)
- 1724 – Joan Joachim Zubly, Swiss pastor, planter and statesman (died 1781)
- 1730 – Johann Georg Hamann, German philosopher and writer (died 1788)
- 1770 – Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, German philosopher (died 1831)
- 1781 – Finnur Magnusson, Icelandic philologist (died 1847)
- 1785 – Agustin Gamarra, Peruvian general and President (died 1841)
- 1803 – Edward Beecher, American theologian (died 1895)
- 1809 – Hannibal Hamlin, 15th Vice President of the United States and 26th Governor of Maine (died 1891)
- 1812 – Bertalan Szemere, 3rd Prime Minister of Hungary (died 1869)
- 1827 – Charles Lilley, English–Australian politician, 4th Premier of Queensland (died 1897)
- 1845 – Friedrich Martens, Russian diplomat (died 1909)

### 1851 – 1900

- 1858 – Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician (died 1932)
- 1862 – Abram Arkhipov, Russian artist (died 1930)
- 1864 – Helena Patursson, Faroese actress and writer (died 1916)
- 1865 – James Henry Breasted, American Egyptologist (died 1935)
- 1865 – Charles G. Dawes, 30th Vice President of the United States (died 1951)
- 1868 – Hong Beom-do, Korean activist (died 1943)
- 1869 – Karl Haushofer, German geographer (died 1946)
- 1870 – Amado Nervo, Mexican journalist, poet and diplomat (died 1919)
- 1871 – Theodore Dreiser, American writer (died 1945)
- 1872 – Giovanni Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano, Archbishop of Bologna (died 1952)
- 1873 – Maud Allan, Canadian–American dancer (died 1956)
- 1874 – Carl Bosch, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1940)
- 1875 – Katharine McCormick, American women's rights activist (died 1967)
- 1877 – Charles Rolls, British co–founder of Rolls-Royce (died 1910)
- 1877 – Ernst Wetter, Swiss Federal Councillor (died 1963)
- 1878 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian military figure (died 1928)
- 1881 – Sigurd Islandsmoen, Norwegian composer (died 1964)
- 1884 – Vincent Auriol, President of France (died 1966)
- 1884 – Alfredo Baldomir, President of Uruguay (died 1948)
- 1886 – Eric Coates, English composer (died 1957)
- 1886 – Rebecca Clark, English composer (died 1979)
- 1887 – Jimmy Finlayson, Scottish–born American actor (died 1953)
- 1890 – Man Ray, American photographer and artist (died 1976)
- 1896 – Faina Rainevskaya, Russian actress (died 1984)
- 1896 – Zygmunt Berling, Polish general and politician (died 1980)
- 1896 – Léon Theremin, Russian physicist and inventor (died 1993)
- 1899 – C. S. Forester, British writer (died 1966)
- 1899 – Byron Foulger, American actor (died 1970)

### 1901 – 1950

- 1904 – Norah Lofts, writer (died 1983)
- 1905 – Aris Velouchiotis, Greek military leader (died 1945)
- 1906 – Ed Gein, American serial killer (died 1984)
- 1908 – Don Bradman, Australian cricketer (died 2001)
- 1908 – Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States (died 1973)
- 1908 – Frank Leahy, American football coach (died 1945)
- 1909 – Lester Young, American jazz musician (died 1959)
- 1911 – Kay Walsh, British actress (died 2005)
- 1913 – Nina Schenk von Stauffenberg, wife of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (died 2006)
- 1914 – Heidi Kabel, German actress (died 2010)
- 1915 – Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr., American physicist (died 2011)
- 1916 – Martha Raye, American actress (died 1994)
- 1917 – Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player, coach and manager (died 1986)
- 1918 – Jelle Zijlstra, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (died 2001)
- 1920 – James Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, Northern Irish politician (died 2015)
- 1921 – Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg (died 1996)
- 1921 – Leo Penn, American actor and director (died 1998)
- 1925 – Nat Lofthouse, English footballer (died 2011)
- 1925 – Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, Italian cardinal (died 2017)
- 1926 – Pat Coombs, English actress (died 2002)
- 1926 – Kristen Nygaard, Norwegian mathematician (died 2002)
- 1928 – Osamu Shimomura, Japanese biochemist
- 1928 – Péter Boross, Hungarian politician and Prime Minister
- 1928 – Mangosuthu Buthelezi, South African politician
- 1928 – Othmar Schneider, Austrian skier (died 2012)
- 1929 – Ira Levin, American writer (died 2007)
- 1931 – Sri Chinmoy, Indian spiritual leader (died 2007)
- 1931 – Sven Tumba, Swedish footballer, ice hockey player and golfer (died 2011)
- 1932 – Saye Zerbo, Burkina Faso politician (died 2013)
- 1932 – Karekin I, former Armenian Apostolic Church leader
- 1932 – Antonia Fraser, British writer
- 1933 – Kerstin Ekman, Swedish writer
- 1935 – Frank Yablans, American movie producer
- 1937 – Alice Coltrane, American pianist and composer (died 2007)
- 1937 – Tommy Sands, American actor and singer
- 1939 – Edward Patten, American singer, songwriter and producer (died 2005)
- 1941 – Bohdan Stupka, Ukrainian actor and Minister of Culture (died 2012)
- 1941 – Cesaria Evora, Cape Verdean singer
- 1941 – Janos Konrad, Hungarian water polo player and swimmer
- 1942 – Brian Peckford, Canadian politician
- 1942 – Robert Marion Berry, American politician
- 1942 – Daryl Dragon, American songwriter (Captain & Tennille) (d. 2019)
- 1943 – Tuesday Weld, American actress
- 1943 – Bob Kerrey, 36th Governor of Nebraska
- 1943 – Wolfgang Nordwig, German high jumper
- 1945 – Jan Sloot, Dutch inventor (died 1999)
- 1946 – Peter Tobin, Scottish serial killer
- 1947 – Barbara Bach, American actress
- 1948 – Philippe Vallois, French screenwriter and director
- 1950 – Neil Murray, Scottish bass player and songwriter

### 1951 – 1975

- 1952 – Paul Reubens (Pee–Wee Herman), American actor
- 1953 – Alex Lifeson, Canadian rock guitarist (Rush)
- 1953 – Peter Stormare, Swedish actor, director, playwright and musician
- 1954 – John Lloyd, British tennis player and coach
- 1957 – Bernhard Langer, German golfer
- 1957 – Jeff Grubb, American game designer and author
- 1958 – Sergei Krikalev, Russian cosmonaut
- 1958 – Marcos Paqueta, Brazilian football manager
- 1958 – Hugh Orde, English senior police officer
- 1959 – Yves Rossy, Swiss pilot, aviation enthusiast and inventor
- 1959 – Juan Fernando Cobo, Colombian painter and sculptor
- 1959 – Jeanette Winterson, English novelist
- 1959 – Jürgen Becker, German comedian and performer
- 1961 – Yolanda Adams, American singer, producer and actress
- 1961 – Tom Ford, American fashion designer and director
- 1962 – Sjon, Icelandic writer and artist
- 1965 – Cheryl Fergison, English actress
- 1965 – Paulo Silas, Brazilian footballer
- 1966 – Juhan Parts, former Prime Minister of Estonia
- 1968 – Daphne Koller, Israeli–American computer scientist
- 1969 – Cesar Millan, Mexican–American dog trainer
- 1969 – Christine O'Donnell, American politician
- 1969 – Chandra Wilson, American actress
- 1970 – Peter Ebdon, English snooker player
- 1970 – Jim Thome, American baseball player
- 1970 – Tony Kanal, English–American musician, songwriter and producer
- 1970 – Karl Unterkircher, Italian mountaineer (died 2008)
- 1972 – Denise Lewis, British athlete
- 1972 – Jimmy Pop, American musician (Bloodhound Gang)
- 1973 – Dietmar Hamann, German footballer
- 1974 – José Vidro, Major League Baseball player
- 1974 – Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistani cricketer
- 1975 – Jonny Moseley, American skier

### From 1976

- 1976 – Sarah Chalke, Canadian actress
- 1976 – Carlos Moya, Spanish tennis player
- 1976 – Mark Webber, Australian race car driver
- 1977 – Deco, Brazilian–Portuguese footballer
- 1979 – Karel Rachunek, Czech ice hockey player (died 2011)
- 1981 – Alessandro Gamberini, Italian footballer
- 1981 – Collin Samuel, Trinidadian footballer
- 1983 – Jamala, Ukrainian singer
- 1984 – David Bentley, English footballer
- 1984 – Sulley Muntari, Ghanaian footballer
- 1985 – Nikica Jelavic, Croatian footballer
- 1985 – Daniel Küblböck, German singer and actor
- 1985 – Alexandra Nechita, Romanian–American artist
- 1986 – Mario, American R&B singer
- 1986 – Sebastian Kurz, Austrian politician, Chancellor of Austria
- 1988 – Alexa Vega, American actress
- 1990 – Taylor Mitchell, Canadian singer-songwriter (died 2009)
- 1990 – Luuk de Jong, Dutch footballer
- 1993 – Sarah Hecken, German figure skater

### Up to 1900

- 542 – Caesarius of Arles, Archbishop of Arles and Roman Catholic Saint (b. 470)
- 827 – Pope Eugene II
- 1312 – Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (b. 1262)
- 1394 – Emperor Chokei of Japan (b. 1343)
- 1521 – Josquin des Prez, French–Flemish composer (b. 1450)
- 1577 – Titian, Italian painter
- 1590 – Pope Sixtus V (b. 1521)
- 1635 – Lope de Vega, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1562)
- 1773 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian general (b. 1721)
- 1828 – Eise Eisinga, Dutch astronomer (b. 1744)
- 1865 – Thomas Chandler of Haliburton, Canadian writer (b. 1796)
- 1871 – William Whiting Boarding, American politician (b. 1794)
- 1874 – Stefan Golescu, Romanian statesman (b. 1809)
- 1875 – William Chapman Ralston, founder of the Bank of California (b. 1826)
- 1879 – Rowland Hill, English postal reformer (b. 1795)

### 1901 – 2000

- 1909 – Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist (b. 1842)
- 1919 – Louis Botha, South African politician (b. 1862)
- 1937 – Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, British banker and zoologist (b. 1868)
- 1937 – Andrew W. Mellon, United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1855)
- 1944 – Georg von Boeselager, German aristocrat (b. 1915)
- 1948 – Charles Evans Hughes, American Supreme Court Justice (b. 1862)
- 1950 – Cesare Pavese, Italian poet, novelist, critic and translator (b. 1908)
- 1958 – Ernest Lawrence, American physicist (b. 1901)
- 1963 – W. E. B. Du Bois, American civil rights activist and scholar (b. 1868)
- 1964 – Gracie Allen, American actress (b. 1895)
- 1965 – Le Corbusier, Swiss architect (b. 1887)
- 1967 – Brian Epstein, British music manager (b. 1934)
- 1968 – Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (b. 1906)
- 1968 – Robert Z. Leonard, American movie director, actor, producer and screenwriter (b. 1889)
- 1969 – Erika Mann, German actress and singer (b. 1905)
- 1975 – Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1892)
- 1976 – Mukesh, Indian singer (b. 1923)
- 1979 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, British statesman (b. 1900)
- 1980 – Douglas Kenney, American actor and writer (b. 1947)
- 1981 – Valeri Kharlamov, Soviet ice hockey player (b. 1948)
- 1982 – Atilla Altikat, Turkish military diplomat
- 1990 – Stevie Ray Vaughan, American musician (b. 1954)
- 1999 – Helder Camara, Brazilian archbishop (b. 1909)

### From 2001

- 2001 – Abu Ali Mustafa, Palestinian leader (b. 1938)
- 2006 – Maria Esther de Capovilla, Ecuadorean supercentenarian, World's oldest woman (b. 1889)
- 2006 – Jesse Pintado, British musician (b. 1969)
- 2009 – Sergey Mikhalkov, Russian writer (b. 1913)
- 2010 – Anton Geesink, Dutch judoka (b. 1934)
- 2011 – Stetson Kennedy, American writer and Civil Rights activist (b. 1916)
- 2012 – Russell Scott, American TV personality (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Malcolm Browne, American journalist and photographer (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Anatoly Onoprienko, Ukrainian serial killer (b. 1959)
- 2014 – Valeri Petrov, Bulgarian writer (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Sandy Wilson, English composer (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Peret, Spanish musician (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Yehezkel Braun, German–born Israeli composer (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Benno Pludra, German writer (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Jan Groth, Norwegian rock music singer (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Jacques Friedel, French physicist (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball player (b. 1957)
- 2015 – Joan Garriga, Spanish motorcycle racer (b. 1963)
- 2017 – Yitzhak Pundak, Polish–born Israeli military officer and diplomat (b. 1913)
- 2017 – Ebrahim Yazdi, Iranian politician and diplomat (b. 1931)
- 2018 – Dale M. Cochran, American politician (b. 1928)
- 2018 – Mirka Mora, French–born Australian artist (b. 1928)
- 2018 – Fredd Wayne, American actor and columnist (b. 1924)
- 2018 – Murray Westgate, Canadian actor (b. 1918)

## Observances

- Independence Day (Moldova)
- Lyndon Baines Johnson Day (Texas)