February 27

## Events
### Up to 1900 
* 425 &ndash; The University of Constantinople is founded.
* 907 &ndash; Abaoji, a Khitan chieftain, is enthroned as Emperor Taizu, creating the Liao Dynasty in Northern China.
* 1560 &ndash; The Treaty of Berwick, expelling the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland.
* 1594 &ndash; Henry IV of France is crowned king.
* 1617 &ndash; Sweden and Russia sign the Treaty of Stolbovo.
* 1626 &ndash; Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after he led the Chinese to a great victory over the Manchurians under Nurhaci.
* 1655 &ndash; The lighthouse at Lindesnes, the southernmost tip of Norway, is first lit, with 13 candles.
* 1700 &ndash; The island of New Britain is first reached by a European, on an expedition led by William Dampier.
* 1776 &ndash; American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge in North Carolina breaks up a Loyalist militia.
* 1782 &ndash; American Revolutionary War: The British House of Commons votes against further war in America.
* 1812 &ndash; Near the city of Rosario, Manuel Belgrano raises what later develops into the Flag of Argentina.
* 1844 &ndash; The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.
* 1860 &ndash; Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in New York City that contributes to him being elected US president.
* 1861 &ndash; Russian troops kill 5 protesters in Warsaw.
* 1864 &ndash; American Civil War: The first northern prisoners arrive the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia.
* 1870 &ndash; The Flag of Japan is adopted as the national flag on merchant ships.
* 1881 &ndash; First Boer War: The Battle of Majuba Hill takes place.
* 1898 &ndash; George I of Greece survives an assassination attempt.
* 1900 &ndash; The UK Labour Party is founded.
* 1900 &ndash; 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 &ndash; 2000 
* 1912 &ndash; In Sudan, the first rail track from Khartoum to El Obeid opened.
* 1916 &ndash; British passenger steamer *Maloja* is sunk by a German U–boat two miles from Dover, killing 155 people.
* 1921 &ndash; The International Union of Socialist Parties is founded in Vienna.
* 1925 &ndash; Adolf Hitler re–founds the Nazi Party in Munich, ordering it to be built up on a national level.
* 1930 &ndash; Bouvet Island becomes a dependent territory of Norway.
* 1932 &ndash; Nature magazine releases an article by James Chadwick, describing the existence of the neutron.
* 1933 &ndash; The Reichstag building in Berlin is set on fire.
* 1939 &ndash; The United States Supreme Court rules sit–in protests as illegal.
* 1940 &ndash; Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover Carbon–14.
* 1942 &ndash; World War II: The Battle of the Java Sea begins.
* 1943 &ndash; The Smith Mine #3 in Bearcreek, Montana, explodes, killing 74 men.
* 1943 &ndash; The Rosenstrasse protest begins in Berlin.
* 1948 &ndash; President of Finland Juho Kusti Paasikivi signs a defence treaty with Joseph Stalin.
* 1951 &ndash; The 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, limiting the US president to two terms in office.
* 1961 &ndash; The first Congress of the Spanish Trade Union Organisation is inaugurated.
* 1962 &ndash; 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 &ndash; Juan Bosch is elected President of the Dominican Republic.
* 1964 &ndash; The Italian Government asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
* 1973 &ndash; Wounded Knee Incident standoff at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota begins.
* 1976 &ndash; The former Spanish territory of Western Sahara declares its independence.
* 1986 &ndash; The United States Senate allows its debates to be televised on a trial basis.
* 1988 &ndash; A violent pogrom takes place against the Armenian Community in Sumgait, Azerbaijan.
* 1989 &ndash; Venezuela is rocked by the Caracazo riots.
* 1991 &ndash; US President George H. W. Bush declares that "Kuwait is liberated".
* 1992 &ndash; Jack Unterweger is arrested by FBI agents in Miami, Florida on suspicion of several murders.
* 1993 &ndash; Niger holds its first Presidential Election.
* 1994 &ndash; The 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, come to an end.
* 1995 &ndash; 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 &ndash; Godhra train bombing: A Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya.
* 2002 &ndash; Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire at Stansted Airport. The evacuation procedures later come in for criticism.
* 2004 &ndash; The bombing of Superferry 14 by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines kills 116 people.
* 2004 &ndash; The initial version of the John Jay Report is released into the Catholic sex abuse scandal in the United States.
* 2005 &ndash; *Million Dollar Baby* is the most successful movie at the 77th Academy Awards ceremony.
* 2007 &ndash; The Shanghai Stock Exchange falls by 9%, its largest drop in 10 years.
* 2010 &ndash; 2010 Cauquenes earthquake: A major magnitude 8.8 earthquake hits Chile, killing around 500 people.
* 2015 &ndash; Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov is shot dead by an unknown assailant shortly before midnight.

## Births
### Up to 1900 
* 272 &ndash; Constantine, Roman Emperor (d. 337)
* 1572 &ndash; Francis II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1632)
* 1689 &ndash; Pietro Gnocchi, Italian composer, choir director, historian and geographer (d. 1775)
* 1711 &ndash; Constantine Mavrocordates, Prince of Wallachia and Moldavia (d. 1769)
* 1767 &ndash; Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure, French politician (d. 1855)
* 1789 &ndash; Manuel Rodriguez, Chilean lawyer and guerrilla (d. 1818)
* 1795 &ndash; José Antonio Navarro, American statesman, revolutionary and politician from Texas (d. 1871)
* 1799 &ndash; Edward Belcher, British polar explorer (d. 1877)
* 1807 &ndash; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (d. 1882)
* 1809 &ndash; Jean-Charles Cornay, French missionary and saint (d. 1837)
* 1814 &ndash; Samuel Kleinschmidt, German–Greenlandic linguist (d. 1886)
* 1831 &ndash; Nikolai Ge, Russian painter (d. 1894)
* 1836 &ndash; Russell A. Alger, Governor of Michigan (d. 1907)
* 1846 &ndash; Simon Bamberger, Governor of Utah (d. 1926)
* 1856 &ndash; Mattia Battistini, Italian baritone (d. 1928)
* 1859 &ndash; Bertha Pappenheim, German activist and writer (d. 1936)
* 1861 &ndash; Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher (d. 1925)
* 1862 &ndash; Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and shooter (d. 1937)
* 1863 &ndash; Joaquin Sorolla, Spanish painter (d. 1923)
* 1863 &ndash; George Herbert Mead, American philosopher and psychologist (d. 1931)
* 1867 &ndash; Irving Fisher, American economist (d. 1947)
* 1870 &ndash; Louis Coerne, American composer and music educator (d. 1922)
* 1872 &ndash; Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1950)
* 1874 &ndash; F. M. Cornford, English classical scholar and translator (d. 1943)
* 1875 &ndash; Manuel Ugarte, Argentine politician (d. 1951)
* 1877 &ndash; Adela Verne, English pianist (d. 1952)
* 1878 &ndash; Alvan T. Fuller, 50th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
* 1879 &ndash; Rene Lefebvre, martyr of the French Resistance (d. 1944)
* 1881 &ndash; Sveinn Björnsson, 1st President of Iceland (d. 1952)
* 1882 &ndash; Burton K. Wheeler, American politician (d. 1975)
* 1886 &ndash; Hugo Black, United States Supreme Court Justice (d. 1971)
* 1887 &ndash; Pyotr Nesterov, Russian pilot and aircraft designer (d. 1914)
* 1888 &ndash; Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr., American historian (d. 1965)
* 1888 &ndash; Lotte Lehmann, German singer (d. 1976)
* 1891 &ndash; Anne Samson, Canadian nun and supercentenarian (d. 2004)
* 1891 &ndash; David Sarnoff, Russian–born broadcast pioneer (d. 1971)
* 1892 &ndash; William Demarest, American actor (d. 1983)
* 1895 &ndash; Miyagiyama Fukumatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1943)
* 1897 &ndash; Marian Anderson, American contralto (d. 1993)
* 1897 &ndash; Bernard Lyot, French astronomer (d. 1952)
* 1899 &ndash; Charles Best, Canadian scientist (d. 1978)

### 1901 &ndash; 1950 
* 1901 &ndash; Marino Marini, Italian artist and sculptor (d. 1980)
* 1902 &ndash; John Steinbeck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
* 1903 &ndash; Ion Irimescu, Romanian sculptor and sketcher (d. 2005)
* 1903 &ndash; Grethe Weiser, German actress (d. 1970)
* 1904 &ndash; Yulii Borisovich Khariton, Russian physicist (d. 1996)
* 1904 &ndash; Chick Fullis, American baseball player (d. 1946)
* 1905 &ndash; Franchot Tone, American actor (d. 1968)
* 1907 &ndash; Mildred Bailey, American singer (d. 1951)
* 1910 &ndash; Genrikh Gasparyan, Armenian chess player and composer (d. 1995)
* 1910 &ndash; Joan Bennett, American actress (d. 1990)
* 1912 &ndash; Lawrence Durrell, English writer (d. 1990)
* 1913 &ndash; Paul Ricoeur, French philosopher (d. 2005)
* 1913 &ndash; Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish politician (d. 1989)
* 1917 &ndash; John Connally, 39th Governor of Texas and 61st United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1993)
* 1921 &ndash; Theodore Van Kirk, American soldier, pilot and navigator (d. 2014)
* 1923 &ndash; Alejandro Zaffaroni, Uruguayan–American chemist and entrepreneur (d. 2014)
* 1923 &ndash; Dexter Gordon, American jazz saxophonist (d. 1990)
* 1926 &ndash; David H. Hubel, Canadian neuroscientist (d. 2013)
* 1927 &ndash; Lynn Cartwright, American actress (d. 2004)
* 1927 &ndash; Guy Mitchell, American singer (d. 1999)
* 1928 &ndash; Alfred Hrdlicka, Austrian artist, sculptor and writer (d. 2009)
* 1928 &ndash; Jean Joubert, French novelist, short story writer and poet (d. 2015)
* 1928 &ndash; Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minister of Israel (d. 2014)
* 1929 &ndash; Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
* 1930 &ndash; Joanne Woodward, American actress
* 1932 &ndash; Elizabeth Taylor, British–American actress (d. 2011)
* 1932 &ndash; Ernst Hinterseer, Austrian skier
* 1934 &ndash; Ralph Nader, American consumer activist
* 1934 &ndash; Michiko Maeda, Japanese actress
* 1935 &ndash; Alberto Remedios, operatic tenor
* 1935 &ndash; Mirella Freni, Italian soprano
* 1935 &ndash; Brian Heap, English biologist and academic
* 1936 &ndash; Roger Mahony, American cardinal
* 1936 &ndash; Ron Barassi, Australian footballer and coach
* 1939 &ndash; Kenzo Takada, Japanese fashion designer
* 1939 &ndash; Don McKinnon, New Zealand politician
* 1939 &ndash; Antoinette Sibley, English ballerina
* 1940 &ndash; Loren Pankratz, American psychologist
* 1940 &ndash; Bill Hunter, Australian actor (d. 2011)
* 1941 &ndash; Paddy Ashdown, British politician
* 1942 &ndash; Robert H. Grubbs, American chemist
* 1942 &ndash; Klaus-Dieter Sieloff, German footballer (d. 2011)
* 1943 &ndash; Carlos Alberto Parreira, Brazilian football manager
* 1945 &ndash; Carl Anderson, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
* 1947 &ndash; Gidon Kremer, Latvian violinist and conductor
* 1948 &ndash; John Chittick, American health activist (d. 2017)
* 1950 &ndash; Julia Neuberger, English rabbi and politician
* 1950 &ndash; Annabel Goldie, Scottish politician

### 1951 &ndash; 1975 
* 1951 &ndash; Lee Atwater, American political figure (d. 1991)
* 1953 &ndash; Ian Khama, President of Botswana
* 1953 &ndash; Gabriela Svobodova, Czech cross–country skier
* 1953 &ndash; Gavin Esler, British broadcaster
* 1953 &ndash; Yolande Moreau, Belgian comedian, actress, movie director and screenwriter
* 1957 &ndash; Viktor Markin, Soviet–Russian sprinter
* 1957 &ndash; Adrian Smith, English musician (Iron Maiden)
* 1957 &ndash; Timothy Spall, English actor
* 1958 &ndash; Maggie Hassan, Governor of New Hampshire
* 1959 &ndash; Johnny Van Zant, American singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
* 1960 &ndash; Carson Yeung, Hong Kong businessman
* 1962 &ndash; Adam Baldwin, American actor
* 1964 &ndash; Thomas Lange, German rower
* 1965 &ndash; Noah Emmerich, American actor
* 1966 &ndash; Baltasar Kormakur, Icelandic actor, director and producer
* 1969 &ndash; Gareth Llewellyn, Welsh rugby player
* 1969 &ndash; Stuart MacBride, Scottish writer
* 1970 &ndash; Goran Markov, Macedonian footballer
* 1970 &ndash; Patricia Petibon, French soprano
* 1971 &ndash; Roman Giertych, Polish Minister of Education
* 1971 &ndash; Derren Brown, British illusionist
* 1973 &ndash; Peter Andre, British–Australian singer–songwriter, businessman and television personality
* 1974 &ndash; Colin Edwards, American motorcycle racer
* 1974 &ndash; Carte Goodwin, former United States Senator for West Virginia
* 1975 &ndash; Prodromos Korkizoglou, Greek decathlete

### From 1976 
* 1976 &ndash; Sergei Semak, Russian footballer
* 1978 &ndash; James Beattie, English footballer
* 1978 &ndash; Kakha Kaladze, Georgian footballer
* 1979 &ndash; Adriana Campos, Colombian actress (d. 2015)
* 1980 &ndash; Debbie Flood, British rower
* 1980 &ndash; Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton
* 1980 &ndash; Bobby Valentino, American singer
* 1981 &ndash; Evi Goffin, Belgian singer-songwriter
* 1981 &ndash; Josh Groban, American singer
* 1982 &ndash; Bruno Soares, Brazilian tennis player
* 1982 &ndash; Amedy Coulibaly, French Islamic Jihadist (d. 2015)
* 1983 &ndash; Kate Mara, American actress
* 1984 &ndash; Lotta Schelin, Swedish footballer
* 1985 &ndash; Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Russian footballer
* 1985 &ndash; Brandon Coburn, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1988 &ndash; Dustin Jeffrey, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1989 &ndash; Shota Shimizu, Japanese musician
* 1989 &ndash; Stephen Kiprotich, Ugandan long–distance runner
* 1989 &ndash; Brittany Ashton Holmes, American actress
* 1992 &ndash; Jonjo Shelvey, English footballer
* 1992 &ndash; Callum Wilson, English footballer
* 1992 &ndash; Meyers Leonard, American basketball player
* 1994 &ndash; Hou Yifan, Chinese chess player
* 1996 &ndash; Marta Bassino, Italian skier

## Deaths
### Up to 1900 
* 640 &ndash; Pepin the Elder, Frankish Mayor of the Palace (b. 580)
* 956 &ndash; Patriarch Theophylact of Constantinople (b. 917)
* 1659 &ndash; Henry Dunster, first President of Harvard College (b. 1609)
* 1706 &ndash; John Evelyn, English diarist (b. 1620)
* 1735 &ndash; John Arbuthnot, English physician and writer (b. 1667)
* 1795 &ndash; Tanikaze Kajinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1750)
* 1844 &ndash; Nicholas Biddle, American banker (b. 1786)
* 1850 &ndash; Samuel Adams, Governor of Arkansas (b. 1805)
* 1874 &ndash; Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Cuban revolutionary (b. 1819)
* 1887 &ndash; Alexander Borodin, Russian composer (b. 1833)
* 1892 &ndash; Louis Vuitton, French designer (b. 1821)

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
* 1905 &ndash; George S. Boutwell, Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1818)
* 1906 &ndash; Samuel Pierpoint Langley, American astrophysicist (b. 1834)
* 1931 &ndash; Chandrasekhar Azad, Indian revolutionary (b. 1906)
* 1936 &ndash; Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist (b. 1849)
* 1936 &ndash; Joshua W. Alexander, United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1852)
* 1937 &ndash; Emily Malbone Morgan, American saint (b. 1862)
* 1939 &ndash; Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian revolutionary (b. 1869)
* 1941 &ndash; William D. Byron, American politician (b. 1895)
* 1943 &ndash; Kostis Palamas, Greek poet (b. 1859)
* 1956 &ndash; Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, Indian politician (b. 1888)
* 1970 &ndash; Marie Dionne, one of the Dionne quintuplets (b. 1934)
* 1972 &ndash; Pat Brady, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
* 1973 &ndash; Bill Everett, American comic book artist (b. 1917)
* 1985 &ndash; Henry Cabot Lodge, American politician (b. 1902)
* 1986 &ndash; Jacques Plante, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
* 1987 &ndash; Joan Greenwood, English actress and director (b. 1921)
* 1989 &ndash; Konrad Lorenz, Austrian zoologist (b. 1903)
* 1993 &ndash; Lillian Gish, American actress (b. 1893)
* 1998 &ndash; George H. Hitchings, American scientist (b. 1905)
* 1999 &ndash; Christine Glanville, British puppeteer (b. 1924)

### From 2001 
* 2002 &ndash; Spike Milligan, Irish–born comedian (b. 1918)
* 2003 &ndash; Fred Rogers, American children's television actor (b. 1928)
* 2003 &ndash; John Lanchbery, English–Australian composer and conductor (b. 1923)
* 2006 &ndash; Linda Smith, British comedienne (b. 1958)
* 2007 &ndash; Bobby Rosengarden, American jazz drummer (b. 1924)
* 2008 &ndash; Ivan Rebroff, German singer (b. 1931)
* 2008 &ndash; William F. Buckley, Jr., American writer and commentator (b. 1925)
* 2009 &ndash; Manea Manescu, Romanian Prime Minister (b. 1916)
* 2010 &ndash; Wendy Toye, British actress (b. 1917)
* 2011 &ndash; Necmettin Erbakan, Turkish Prime Minister (b. 1926)
* 2011 &ndash; Frank Buckles, American World War I veteran and supercentenarian (b. 1901)
* 2013 &ndash; Van Cliburn, American pianist (b. 1934)
* 2013 &ndash; Ramon Dekkers, Dutch kickboxer (b. 1969)
* 2013 &ndash; Dale Robertson, American actor (b. 1923)
* 2014 &ndash; Jan Hoet, Belgian art historian (b. 1936)
* 2014 &ndash; Huber Matos, Cuban dissident, activist and writer (b. 1918)
* 2014 &ndash; Aaron Allston, American game designer and science fiction writer (b. 1960)
* 2015 &ndash; Bohdan Tomaszewski, Polish sports commentator (b. 1921)
* 2015 &ndash; Richard Bakalyan, American actor (b. 1931)
* 2015 &ndash; Bob Benmosche, American executive (b. 1944)
* 2015 &ndash; Mykhailo Chechetov, Ukrainian politician (b. 1953)
* 2015 &ndash; Leonard Nimoy, American actor (b. 1931)
* 2015 &ndash; Boris Nemtsov, Russian politician (b. 1959)
* 2016 &ndash; Rajesh Pillai, Indian film director (b. 1974)
* 2017 &ndash; John Harlan, American radio and television announcer (b. 1925)
* 2017 &ndash; Carlos Humberto Romero, President of El Salvador (b. 1924)
* 2018 &ndash; Quini, Spanish footballer (b. 1949)
* 2018 &ndash; William H. T. Bush, American businessman (b. 1938)

## Observances
* National Day of the Dominican Republic