August 27

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

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
*1912 &ndash; The novel Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs goes on sale.
*1914 &ndash; World War I: French and British troops occupy the then–German colony of Togoland.
*1916 &ndash; World War I: Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary.
*1921 &ndash; The British Faisal I as King of Iraq.
*1927 &ndash; 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 &ndash; The Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war, is signed by sixty nations.
*1939 &ndash; First jet aircraft flight.
*1943 &ndash; World War II: Japanese forces evacuate New Georgia Island in the Pacific Theater of Operations during the war.
*1952 &ndash; Reparation negotiations between West Germany and Israel end in Luxembourg; West Germany to pay 3 billion Deutschmarks.
*1955 &ndash; The Guinness Book of Records goes on sale for the first time.
*1957 &ndash; The Constitution of Malaysia comes into force.
*1962 &ndash; The Mariner 2 space probe is launched.
*1971 &ndash; A failed military coup occurs in Chad.
*1975 &ndash; The Governor of Portuguese Timor (now East Timor) abandons his capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel group.
*1979 &ndash; 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 &ndash; Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altikat is shot dead in Ottawa, Canada. The group Justice Commandos Against Armenian Genocide claims responsibility.
*1985 &ndash; The Nigerian government is peacefully overthrown by army chief Ibrahim Babangida.
*1990 &ndash; 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 &ndash; The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
*1991 &ndash; Moldova declares independence from the USSR.
*1993 &ndash; The Gouhou Dam in Gonghe, Qinghai province, breaks, resulting in 240 deaths.
*1993 &ndash; 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 &ndash; Ostankino Tower in Moscow catches fire, and three people are killed.

### From 2001 
*2003 &ndash; Mars makes closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing approximately 34,646,416 miles (55,758,006 kilometers) from Earth.
*2005 &ndash; The Turning Torso in Malmo, Sweden, which is the tallest residential building in Europe, is opened.
*2005 &ndash; Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama declare a State of Emergency in preparation for Hurricane Katrina.
*2006 &ndash; 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 &ndash; Kenya promulgates a new constitution under Mwai Kibaki
*2011 &ndash; Hurricane Irene strikes the east coast of the United States.

## Births 
### Up to 1850 
*551 BC &ndash; Confucius, Chinese philosopher (died 479 BC)
*865 &ndash; Rhazes, Persian polymath (died 925)
*1407 &ndash; Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Ashikaga shogun (died 1425)
*1471 &ndash; George, Duke of Saxony (died 1539)
*1487 &ndash; Anne of Brandenburg (died 1514)
*1545 &ndash; Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma (died 1592)
*1619 &ndash; Anne Genevieve de Bourbon (died 1679)
*1624 &ndash; Koxinga, Chinese Ming dynasty loyalist (died 1662) 
*1630 &ndash; Maria van Oosterwijk, Dutch painter (died 1693)
*1669 &ndash; Anne Marie d'Orléans, Duchess of Saxony (died 1728)
*1724 &ndash; Joan Joachim Zubly, Swiss pastor, planter and statesman (died 1781)
*1730 &ndash; Johann Georg Hamann, German philosopher and writer (died 1788)
*1770 &ndash; Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, German philosopher (died 1831)
*1781 &ndash; Finnur Magnusson, Icelandic philologist (died 1847)
*1785 &ndash; Agustin Gamarra, Peruvian general and President (died 1841)
*1803 &ndash; Edward Beecher, American theologian (died 1895)
*1809 &ndash; Hannibal Hamlin, 15th Vice President of the United States and 26th Governor of Maine (died 1891)
*1812 &ndash; Bertalan Szemere, 3rd Prime Minister of Hungary (died 1869)
*1827 &ndash; Charles Lilley, English–Australian politician, 4th Premier of Queensland (died 1897)
*1845 &ndash; Friedrich Martens, Russian diplomat (died 1909)

### 1851 &ndash; 1900 
*1858 &ndash; Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician (died 1932)
*1862 &ndash; Abram Arkhipov, Russian artist (died 1930)
*1864 &ndash; Helena Patursson, Faroese actress and writer (died 1916)
*1865 &ndash; James Henry Breasted, American Egyptologist (died 1935)
*1865 &ndash; Charles G. Dawes, 30th Vice President of the United States (died 1951)
*1868 &ndash; Hong Beom-do, Korean activist (died 1943)
*1869 &ndash; Karl Haushofer, German geographer (died 1946)
*1870 &ndash; Amado Nervo, Mexican journalist, poet and diplomat (died 1919)
*1871 &ndash; Theodore Dreiser, American writer (died 1945)
*1872 &ndash; Giovanni Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano, Archbishop of Bologna (died 1952)
*1873 &ndash; Maud Allan, Canadian–American dancer (died 1956)
*1874 &ndash; Carl Bosch, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1940)
*1875 &ndash; Katharine McCormick, American women's rights activist (died 1967)
*1877 &ndash; Charles Rolls, British co–founder of Rolls-Royce (died 1910)
*1877 &ndash; Ernst Wetter, Swiss Federal Councillor (died 1963)
*1878 &ndash; Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian military figure (died 1928)
*1881 &ndash; Sigurd Islandsmoen, Norwegian composer (died 1964)
*1884 &ndash; Vincent Auriol, President of France (died 1966)
*1884 &ndash; Alfredo Baldomir, President of Uruguay (died 1948)
*1886 &ndash; Eric Coates, English composer (died 1957)
*1886 &ndash; Rebecca Clark, English composer (died 1979)
*1887 &ndash; Jimmy Finlayson, Scottish–born American actor (died 1953)
*1890 &ndash; Man Ray, American photographer and artist (died 1976)
*1896 &ndash; Faina Rainevskaya, Russian actress (died 1984)
*1896 &ndash; Zygmunt Berling, Polish general and politician (died 1980)
*1896 &ndash; Léon Theremin, Russian physicist and inventor (died 1993)
*1899 &ndash; C. S. Forester, British writer (died 1966)
*1899 &ndash; Byron Foulger, American actor (died 1970)

### 1901 &ndash; 1950 
*1904 &ndash; Norah Lofts, writer (died 1983)
*1905 &ndash; Aris Velouchiotis, Greek military leader (died 1945)
*1906 &ndash; Ed Gein, American serial killer (died 1984)
*1908 &ndash; Don Bradman, Australian cricketer (died 2001)
*1908 &ndash; Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States (died 1973)
*1908 &ndash; Frank Leahy, American football coach (died 1945)
*1909 &ndash; Lester Young, American jazz musician (died 1959)
*1911 &ndash; Kay Walsh, British actress (died 2005)
*1913 &ndash; Nina Schenk von Stauffenberg, wife of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (died 2006)
*1914 &ndash; Heidi Kabel, German actress (died 2010)
*1915 &ndash; Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr., American physicist (died 2011)
*1916 &ndash; Martha Raye, American actress (died 1994)
*1917 &ndash; Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player, coach and manager (died 1986)
*1918 &ndash; Jelle Zijlstra, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (died 2001)
*1920 &ndash; James Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, Northern Irish politician (died 2015)
*1921 &ndash; Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg (died 1996)
*1921 &ndash; Leo Penn, American actor and director (died 1998)
*1925 &ndash; Nat Lofthouse, English footballer (died 2011)
*1925 &ndash; Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, Italian cardinal (died 2017)
*1926 &ndash; Pat Coombs, English actress (died 2002)
*1926 &ndash; Kristen Nygaard, Norwegian mathematician (died 2002)
*1928 &ndash; Osamu Shimomura, Japanese biochemist
*1928 &ndash; Péter Boross, Hungarian politician and Prime Minister
*1928 &ndash; Mangosuthu Buthelezi, South African politician
*1928 &ndash; Othmar Schneider, Austrian skier (died 2012)
*1929 &ndash; Ira Levin, American writer (died 2007)
*1931 &ndash; Sri Chinmoy, Indian spiritual leader (died 2007)
*1931 &ndash; Sven Tumba, Swedish footballer, ice hockey player and golfer (died 2011)
*1932 &ndash; Saye Zerbo, Burkina Faso politician (died 2013)
*1932 &ndash; Karekin I, former Armenian Apostolic Church leader
*1932 &ndash; Antonia Fraser, British writer
*1933 &ndash; Kerstin Ekman, Swedish writer
*1935 &ndash; Frank Yablans, American movie producer
*1937 &ndash; Alice Coltrane, American pianist and composer (died 2007)
*1937 &ndash; Tommy Sands, American actor and singer
*1939 &ndash; Edward Patten, American singer, songwriter and producer (died 2005)
*1941 &ndash; Bohdan Stupka, Ukrainian actor and Minister of Culture (died 2012)
*1941 &ndash; Cesaria Evora, Cape Verdean singer
*1941 &ndash; Janos Konrad, Hungarian water polo player and swimmer
*1942 &ndash; Brian Peckford, Canadian politician
*1942 &ndash; Robert Marion Berry, American politician
*1942 &ndash; Daryl Dragon, American songwriter (Captain & Tennille) (d. 2019)
*1943 &ndash; Tuesday Weld, American actress
*1943 &ndash; Bob Kerrey, 36th Governor of Nebraska
*1943 &ndash; Wolfgang Nordwig, German high jumper
*1945 &ndash; Jan Sloot, Dutch inventor (died 1999)
*1946 &ndash; Peter Tobin, Scottish serial killer
*1947 &ndash; Barbara Bach, American actress
*1948 &ndash; Philippe Vallois, French screenwriter and director
*1950 &ndash; Neil Murray, Scottish bass player and songwriter

### 1951 &ndash; 1975 
*1952 &ndash; Paul Reubens (Pee–Wee Herman), American actor
*1953 &ndash; Alex Lifeson, Canadian rock guitarist (Rush)
*1953 &ndash; Peter Stormare, Swedish actor, director, playwright and musician
*1954 &ndash; John Lloyd, British tennis player and coach
*1957 &ndash; Bernhard Langer, German golfer
*1957 &ndash; Jeff Grubb, American game designer and author
*1958 &ndash; Sergei Krikalev, Russian cosmonaut
*1958 &ndash; Marcos Paqueta, Brazilian football manager
*1958 &ndash; Hugh Orde, English senior police officer
*1959 &ndash; Yves Rossy, Swiss pilot, aviation enthusiast and inventor
*1959 &ndash; Juan Fernando Cobo, Colombian painter and sculptor
*1959 &ndash; Jeanette Winterson, English novelist
*1959 &ndash; Jürgen Becker, German comedian and performer
*1961 &ndash; Yolanda Adams, American singer, producer and actress
*1961 &ndash; Tom Ford, American fashion designer and director
*1962 &ndash; Sjon, Icelandic writer and artist
*1965 &ndash; Cheryl Fergison, English actress
*1965 &ndash; Paulo Silas, Brazilian footballer 
*1966 &ndash; Juhan Parts, former Prime Minister of Estonia
*1968 &ndash; Daphne Koller, Israeli–American computer scientist
*1969 &ndash; Cesar Millan, Mexican–American dog trainer
*1969 &ndash; Christine O'Donnell, American politician
*1969 &ndash; Chandra Wilson, American actress
*1970 &ndash; Peter Ebdon, English snooker player
*1970 &ndash; Jim Thome, American baseball player
*1970 &ndash; Tony Kanal, English–American musician, songwriter and producer
*1970 &ndash; Karl Unterkircher, Italian mountaineer (died 2008)
*1972 &ndash; Denise Lewis, British athlete
*1972 &ndash; Jimmy Pop, American musician (Bloodhound Gang)
*1973 &ndash; Dietmar Hamann, German footballer
*1974 &ndash; José Vidro, Major League Baseball player
*1974 &ndash; Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistani cricketer
*1975 &ndash; Jonny Moseley, American skier

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

## Deaths 
### Up to 1900 
*542 &ndash; Caesarius of Arles, Archbishop of Arles and Roman Catholic Saint (b. 470)
*827 &ndash; Pope Eugene II
*1312 &ndash; Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (b. 1262)
*1394 &ndash; Emperor Chokei of Japan (b. 1343)
*1521 &ndash; Josquin des Prez, French–Flemish composer (b. 1450)
*1577 &ndash; Titian, Italian painter
*1590 &ndash; Pope Sixtus V (b. 1521)
*1635 &ndash; Lope de Vega, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1562)
*1773 &ndash; Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian general (b. 1721)
*1828 &ndash; Eise Eisinga, Dutch astronomer (b. 1744)
*1865 &ndash; Thomas Chandler of Haliburton, Canadian writer (b. 1796)
*1871 &ndash; William Whiting Boarding, American politician (b. 1794)
*1874 &ndash; Stefan Golescu, Romanian statesman (b. 1809)
*1875 &ndash; William Chapman Ralston, founder of the Bank of California (b. 1826)
*1879 &ndash; Rowland Hill, English postal reformer (b. 1795)

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
*1909 &ndash; Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist (b. 1842)
*1919 &ndash; Louis Botha, South African politician (b. 1862)
*1937 &ndash; Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, British banker and zoologist (b. 1868)
*1937 &ndash; Andrew W. Mellon, United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1855)
*1944 &ndash; Georg von Boeselager, German aristocrat (b. 1915)
*1948 &ndash; Charles Evans Hughes, American Supreme Court Justice (b. 1862)
*1950 &ndash; Cesare Pavese, Italian poet, novelist, critic and translator (b. 1908)
*1958 &ndash; Ernest Lawrence, American physicist (b. 1901)
*1963 &ndash; W. E. B. Du Bois, American civil rights activist and scholar (b. 1868)
*1964 &ndash; Gracie Allen, American actress (b. 1895)
*1965 &ndash; Le Corbusier, Swiss architect (b. 1887)
*1967 &ndash; Brian Epstein, British music manager (b. 1934)
*1968 &ndash; Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (b. 1906)
*1968 &ndash; Robert Z. Leonard, American movie director, actor, producer and screenwriter (b. 1889)
*1969 &ndash; Erika Mann, German actress and singer (b. 1905)
*1975 &ndash; Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1892)
*1976 &ndash; Mukesh, Indian singer (b. 1923)
*1979 &ndash; Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, British statesman (b. 1900)
*1980 &ndash; Douglas Kenney, American actor and writer (b. 1947)
*1981 &ndash; Valeri Kharlamov, Soviet ice hockey player (b. 1948)
*1982 &ndash; Atilla Altikat, Turkish military diplomat
*1990 &ndash; Stevie Ray Vaughan, American musician (b. 1954)
*1999 &ndash; Helder Camara, Brazilian archbishop (b. 1909)

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

## Observances 
* Independence Day (Moldova)
* Lyndon Baines Johnson Day (Texas)