February 27

### 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.

### 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 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

- 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

### 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 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

- National Day of the Dominican Republic