February 27

February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. 307 days remain until the end of the year (308 in leap years).

Events

• 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II, declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to trinitarian Christianity.
• 425 – The University of Constantinople is founded by Emperor Theodosius II at the urging of his wife Aelia Eudocia.
• 907 – Abaoji, a Khitan chieftain, is enthroned as Emperor Taizu, establishing the Liao dynasty in northern China.
• 1560 – The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Lords of the Congregation of Scotland.
• 1594 – Henry IV is crowned King of France.
• 1617 – Sweden and Russia sign the Treaty of Stolbovo, ending the Ingrian War and shutting Russia out of the Baltic Sea.
• 1626 – Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after he led the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci.
• 1700 – The island of New Britain is discovered.
• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge in North Carolina breaks up a Loyalist militia.
• 1782 – American Revolutionary War: The House of Commons of Great Britain votes against further war in America.
• 1801 – Pursuant to the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, Washington, D.C. is placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress.
• 1809 – Action of 27 February 1809: Captain Bernard Dubourdieu captures HMS Proserpine.
• 1812 – Argentine War of Independence: Manuel Belgrano raises the Flag of Argentina in the city of Rosario for the first time.
• 1812 – Poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire.
• 1844 – The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.
• 1860 – Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.
• 1861 – Russian troops fire on a crowd in Warsaw protesting against Russian rule over Poland, killing five protesters.
• 1864 – American Civil War: The first Northern prisoners arrive at the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia.
• 1870 – The current flag of Japan is first adopted as the national flag for Japanese merchant ships.
• 1881 – First Boer War: The Battle of Majuba Hill takes place.
• 1898 – King George I of Greece survives an assassination attempt.
• 1900 – Second Boer War: In South Africa, British military leaders receive an unconditional notice of surrender from Boer General Piet Cronjé at the Battle of Paardeberg.
• 1900 – The British Labour Party is founded.
• 1900 – Fußball-Club Bayern München is founded.
• 1902 – Second Boer War: Australian soldiers Harry "Breaker" Morant and Peter Handcock are executed in Pretoria after being convicted of war crimes.
• 1921 – The International Working Union of Socialist Parties is founded in Vienna.
• 1922 – A challenge to the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing women the right to vote, is rebuffed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Leser v. Garnett.
• 1933 – Reichstag fire: Germany's parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, is set on fire; Marinus van der Lubbe, a young Dutch Communist claims responsibility. The Nazis used the fire to solidify their power and eliminate the communists as political rivals.
• 1939 – United States labor law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that sit-down strikes violate property owners' rights and are therefore illegal.
• 1940 – Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14.
• 1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Java Sea, an Allied strike force is defeated by a Japanese task force in the Java Sea in the Dutch East Indies.
• 1943 – The Smith Mine #3 in Bearcreek, Montana, explodes, killing 74 men.
• 1943 – In Berlin, the Gestapo arrest 1,800 Jewish men with German wives, leading to the Rosenstrasse protest.
• 1951 – The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.
• 1961 – The first congress of the Spanish Trade Union Organisation is inaugurated.
• 1962 – Two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots bomb the Independence Palace in Saigon in a failed attempt to assassinate South Vietnam President Ngô Đình Diệm.
• 1963 – The Dominican Republic receives its first democratically elected president, Juan Bosch, since the end of the dictatorship led by Rafael Trujillo.
• 1964 – The Government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
• 1971 – Doctors in the first Dutch abortion clinic (the Mildredhuis in Arnhem) start performing artificially-induced abortions.
• 1973 – The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee in protest of the federal government.
• 1976 – The formerly Spanish territory of Western Sahara, under the auspices of the Polisario Front declares independence as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
• 1988 – Sumgait pogrom: The Armenian community in Sumgait, Azerbaijan is targeted in a violent pogrom.
• 1991 – Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated".
• 2002 – Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire at London Stansted Airport. Subsequent investigations criticize Ryanair's handling of the evacuation.
• 2002 – Godhra train burning: A Muslim mob torches a train returning from Ayodhya, killing 59 Hindu pilgrims.
• 2004 – A bombing of a Superferry by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines' worst terrorist attack kills 116.
• 2004 – Shoko Asahara, the leader of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, is sentenced to death for masterminding the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack
• 2007 – The Chinese Correction: The Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest drop in ten years.
• 2010 – An earthquake measuring 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale strikes central parts of Chile leaving over 500 victims, and thousands injured. The quake triggered a tsunami which struck Hawaii shortly after.
• 2013 – Five people (including the perpetrator) are killed and five others injured in a shooting at a factory in Menznau, Switzerland.
• 2015 – Assassination of Boris Nemtsov occurs.

Births

• 272 – Constantine the Great, Roman emperor (d. 337)
• 1343 – Alberto d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara (d. 1393)
• 1427 – Ruprecht, Archbishop of Cologne (d. 1480)
• 1500 – João de Castro, Portuguese nobleman and fourth viceroy of Portuguese India (d. 1548)
• 1535 – Min Phalaung, Burmese monarch (d. 1593)
• 1567 – William Alabaster, English poet (d. 1640)
• 1572 – Francis II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1632)
• 1575 – John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1616)
• 1622 – Carel Fabritius, Dutch painter (d. 1654)
• 1630 – Roche Braziliano, Dutch pirate (d. 1671)
• 1659 – William Sherard, English botanist (d. 1728)
• 1667 – Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł, Prussian-Lithuanian wife of Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine (d. 1695)
• 1689 – Pietro Gnocchi, Italian composer, director, historian, and geographer (d. 1775)
• 1703 – Lord Sidney Beauclerk, English politician (d. 1744)
• 1711 – Constantine Mavrocordatos, Ottoman ruler (d. 1769)
• 1724 – Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (d. 1767)
• 1732 – Jean de Dieu-Raymond de Cucé de Boisgelin, French cardinal (d. 1804)
• 1746 – Louis-Jérôme Gohier, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 1830)
• 1748 – Anders Sparrman, Swedish physician and activist (d. 1820)
• 1767 – Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure, French lawyer and politician, 24th Prime Minister of France (d. 1855)
• 1779 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English businessman, founded Hazlehurst & Sons (d. 1842)
• 1789 – Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza, Chilean lawyer and politician, Chilean Minister of National Defense (d. 1818)
• 1795 – José Antonio Navarro, American merchant and politician (d. 1871)
• 1799 – Edward Belcher, British naval officer, hydrographer, and explorer (d. 1877)
• 1799 – Frederick Catherwood, British artist, architect and explorer (d. 1854)
• 1807 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet and educator (d. 1882)
• 1809 – Jean-Charles Cornay, French missionary and saint (d. 1837)
• 1816 – William Nicholson, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Victoria (d. 1865)
• 1847 – Ellen Terry, English actress (d. 1928)
• 1848 – Hubert Parry, English composer and historian (d. 1918)
• 1859 – Bertha Pappenheim, Austrian-German activist and author (d. 1936)
• 1863 – Joaquín Sorolla, Spanish painter (d. 1923)
• 1863 – George Herbert Mead, American sociologist and philosopher (d. 1930)
• 1864 – Eemil Nestor Setälä, Finnish linguist and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1935)
• 1867 – Irving Fisher, American economist and statistician (d. 1947)
• 1867 – Wilhelm Peterson-Berger, Swedish composer and critic (d. 1942)
• 1869 – Alice Hamilton, American physician and academic (d. 1970)
• 1872 – Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, Romanian politician, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1950)
• 1875 – Vladimir Filatov, Russian-Ukrainian ophthalmologist and surgeon (d. 1956)
• 1877 – Adela Verne, English pianist and composer (d. 1952)
• 1877 – Joseph Grinnell, American zoologist and biologist (d. 1939)
• 1878 – Alvan T. Fuller, American businessman and politician, 50th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
• 1880 – Xenophon Kasdaglis, Greek-Egyptian tennis player (d. 1943)
• 1881 – Sveinn Björnsson, Danish-Icelandic lawyer and politician, 1st President of Iceland (d. 1952)
• 1881 – L. E. J. Brouwer, Dutch mathematician, philosopher, and academic (d. 1966)
• 1886 – Hugo Black, American captain, jurist, and politician (d. 1971)
• 1887 – Pyotr Nesterov, Russian captain, pilot, and engineer (d. 1914)
• 1888 – Roberto Assagioli, Italian psychiatrist and psychologist (d. 1974)
• 1888 – Lotte Lehmann, German-American soprano and actress (d. 1976)
• 1890 – Mabel Keaton Staupers, American nurse and advocate (d. 1989)
• 1891 – David Sarnoff, American businessman, founded RCA (d. 1971)
• 1892 – William Demarest, American actor (d. 1983)
• 1895 – Miyagiyama Fukumatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1943)
• 1897 – Marian Anderson, American singer (d. 1993)
• 1899 – Charles Herbert Best, American-Canadian physiologist and biochemist, co-discovered Insulin (d. 1978)
• 1901 – Kotama Okada, Japanese religious leader (d. 1974)
• 1901 – Marino Marini, Italian sculptor and academic (d. 1980)
• 1902 – Lúcio Costa, French-Brazilian architect and engineer, designed Gustavo Capanema Palace (d. 1998)
• 1902 – Gene Sarazen, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 1999)
• 1902 – John Steinbeck, American journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
• 1903 – Reginald Gardiner, English-American actor and singer (d. 1980)
• 1903 – Gustave Wuyts, Belgian tug of war competitor and shot putter (d. 1979)
• 1903 – Hans Rohrbach, German mathematician (d. 1993)
• 1903 – Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Belorussian-American rabbi and philosopher (d. 1993)
• 1904 – James T. Farrell, American author and poet (d. 1979)
• 1904 – André Leducq, French cyclist (d. 1980)
• 1904 – Yulii Borisovich Khariton, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1996)
• 1905 – Franchot Tone, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1968)
• 1907 – Mildred Bailey, American singer (d. 1951)
• 1907 – Momčilo Đujić, Serbian-American priest and commander (d. 1999)
• 1910 – Joan Bennett, American actress (d. 1990)
• 1910 – Peter De Vries, American journalist and author (d. 1993)
• 1910 – Genrikh Kasparyan, Armenian chess player and composer (d. 1995)
• 1910 – Kelly Johnson, American engineer, co-founded Skunk Works (d. 1990)
• 1911 – Oscar Heidenstam, English bodybuilder (d. 1991)
• 1912 – Kusumagraj, Indian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1999)
• 1912 – Lawrence Durrell, Indian-French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1990)
• 1913 – Paul Ricœur, French philosopher and academic (d. 2005)
• 1913 – Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish soldier and politician, President of Poland (d. 1989)
• 1913 – Irwin Shaw, American author and screenwriter (d. 1984)
• 1915 – Denis Whitaker, Canadian general, football player, and businessman (d. 2001)
• 1917 – John Connally, American lieutenant and politician, 61st United States Secretary of Treasury (d. 1993)
• 1920 – Reg Simpson, English cricketer (d. 2013)
• 1921 – Theodore Van Kirk, American soldier, pilot, and navigator (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Hans Rookmaaker, Dutch historian, author, and scholar (d. 1977)
• 1923 – Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist, composer, and actor (d. 1990)
• 1925 – Pia Sebastiani, Argentine pianist and composer (d. 2015)
• 1925 – Kenneth Koch, American poet, playwright and professor (d. 2002)
• 1926 – David H. Hubel, Canadian-American neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
• 1927 – Peter Whittle, English-New Zealand mathematician and theorist
• 1928 – René Clemencic, Austrian composer, recorder player, harpsichordist, conductor and clavichord player
• 1929 – Jack Gibson, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2008)
• 1929 – Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Patricia Ward Hales, British tennis player (d. 1985)
• 1930 – Jovan Krkobabić, Serbian politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2014)
• 1930 – Peter Stone, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2003)
• 1930 – Paul von Ragué Schleyer, American chemist and academic (d. 2014)
• 1930 – Joanne Woodward, American actress
• 1932 – Elizabeth Taylor, English-American actress and humanitarian (d. 2011)
• 1932 – David Young, Baron Young of Graffham, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
• 1933 – Raymond Berry, American football player and coach
• 1933 – Malcolm Wallop, American politician (d. 2011)
• 1934 – Vincent Fourcade, French interior designer (d. 1992)
• 1934 – Ralph Nader, American lawyer, politician, and activist
• 1935 – Mirella Freni, Italian soprano and actress
• 1935 – Uri Shulevitz, American author and illustrator
• 1936 – Sonia Johnson, American feminist activist and author
• 1936 – Ron Barassi, Australian footballer and coach
• 1936 – Roger Mahony, American cardinal
• 1937 – Barbara Babcock, American actress
• 1938 – Jake Thackray, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist (d. 2002)
• 1939 – Don McKinnon, English-New Zealand farmer and politician, 12th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
• 1939 – Peter Revson, American race car driver (d. 1974)
• 1940 – Pierre Duchesne, Canadian lawyer and politician, 28th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
• 1940 – Howard Hesseman, American actor
• 1940 – Bill Hunter, Australian actor (d. 2011)
• 1941 – Paddy Ashdown, British captain and politician (d. 2018)
• 1942 – Jimmy Burns, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1942 – Robert H. Grubbs, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1942 – Charlayne Hunter-Gault, American journalist
• 1942 – Klaus-Dieter Sieloff, German footballer (d. 2011)
• 1943 – Mary Frann, American actress (d. 1998)
• 1943 – Morten Lauridsen, American composer and conductor
• 1943 – Carlos Alberto Parreira, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1944 – Ken Grimwood, American author (d. 2003)
• 1944 – Graeme Pollock, South African cricketer and coach
• 1947 – Louis Clark, English music arranger, conductor and keyboard player
• 1947 – Alan Guth, American physicist and cosmologist
• 1947 – Gidon Kremer, Latvian violinist and conductor
• 1950 – Annabel Goldie, Scottish lawyer and politician
• 1950 – Julia Neuberger, Baroness Neuberger, English rabbi and politician
• 1951 – Carl A. Anderson, 13th Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus
• 1951 – Lee Atwater, American journalist, activist and political strategist (d. 1991)
• 1951 – Walter de Silva, Italian car designer
• 1951 – Steve Harley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1953 – Gavin Esler, Scottish journalist and author
• 1953 – Ian Khama, English-Botswanan lieutenant and politician, 4th President of Botswana
• 1953 – Stelios Kouloglou, Greek journalist, author, director and politician
• 1954 – Neal Schon, American rock guitarist and singer-songwriter
• 1955 – Peter Christopherson, English musician, songwriter, and director (d. 2010)
• 1956 – Belus Prajoux, Chilean tennis player
• 1957 – Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, producer, and screenwriter
• 1957 – Kevin Curran, American screenwriter and television producer (d. 2016)
• 1957 – Robert de Castella, Australian runner
• 1957 – Adrian Smith, English guitarist and songwriter
• 1957 – Timothy Spall, English actor
• 1958 – Naas Botha, South African rugby player and sportscaster
• 1958 – Maggie Hassan, American politician, 81st Governor and United States Senator of New Hampshire
• 1960 – Andrés Gómez, Ecuadorian tennis player
• 1960 – Johnny Van Zant, American singer-songwriter
• 1961 – James Worthy, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1962 – Adam Baldwin, American actor
• 1963 – Nasty Suicide, Finnish musician and pharmacist
• 1964 – Jeffrey Pasley, American educator and academic
• 1965 – Noah Emmerich, American actor
• 1965 – Pedro Chaves, Portuguese race car driver
• 1966 – Donal Logue, Canadian actor and director
• 1966 – Oliver Reck, German footballer and manager
• 1966 – Baltasar Kormákur, Icelandic actor, director, and producer
• 1967 – Danut Lupu, Romanian footballer
• 1967 – Jonathan Ive, English industrial designer, currently chief design officer (CDO) of Apple
• 1968 – Matt Stairs, Canadian baseball player and sportscaster
• 1969 – Gareth Llewellyn, Welsh rugby union player
• 1969 – Juan E. Gilbert, American computer scientist, inventor, and academic
• 1970 – Kent Desormeaux, American jockey
• 1970 – Patricia Petibon, French soprano and actress
• 1971 – Sara Blakely, American businesswoman, founded Spanx
• 1971 – Derren Brown, English magician and painter
• 1971 – David Rikl, Czech-English tennis player
• 1971 – Roman Giertych, Polish lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
• 1971 – Rozonda Thomas, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (TLC)
• 1973 – Peter Andre, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor
• 1973 – Mark Taylor, Welsh rugby player and manager
• 1974 – Colin Edwards, American motorcycle racer
• 1974 – Carte Goodwin, American lawyer and politician
• 1975 – Aitor González, Spanish racing driver
• 1975 – Prodromos Korkizoglou, Greek decathlete
• 1976 – Sergei Semak, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager
• 1976 – Ludovic Capelle, Belgian cyclist
• 1978 – James Beattie, English footballer and manager
• 1978 – Kakha Kaladze, Georgian footballer and politician
• 1978 – Emelie Öhrstig, Swedish skier and cyclist
• 1978 – Simone Di Pasquale, Italian ballet dancer
• 1980 – Chelsea Clinton, American journalist and academic
• 1980 – Scott Prince, Australian rugby league player
• 1981 – Josh Groban, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
• 1981 – Cameron Ling, Australian footballer and sportscaster
• 1981 – Natalie Grandin, English-South African tennis player
• 1981 – Élodie Ouédraogo, Belgian sprinter
• 1982 – Ali Bastian, English actress
• 1982 – Pat Richards, Australian rugby league player
• 1982 – Bruno Soares, Brazilian tennis player
• 1982 – Tehila Hakimi, Israeli poet and author
• 1983 – Devin Harris, American basketball player
• 1983 – Kate Mara, American actress
• 1984 – Aníbal Sánchez, American baseball player
• 1984 – Lotta Schelin, Swedish footballer
• 1984 – Akseli Kokkonen, Norwegian ski jumper
• 1985 – Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Russian footballer
• 1985 – Braydon Coburn, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Vladislav Kulik, Ukrainian-Russian footballer
• 1985 – Asami Abe, Japanese singer and actress
• 1985 – Thiago Neves, Brazilian footballer
• 1985 – Brett Stewart, Australian rugby league player
• 1986 – Yovani Gallardo, American baseball player
• 1986 – Jonathan Moreira, Brazilian footballer
• 1986 – Sandeep Singh, Indian field hockey player
• 1986 – JWoww, American television personality
• 1987 – Scott Davies, English footballer
• 1987 – Bridie Kean, Australian wheelchair basketball player
• 1987 – Florence Kiplagat, Kenyan runner
• 1987 – Sandy Paillot, French footballer
• 1987 – Valeriy Andriytsev, Ukrainian wrestler
• 1987 – Maximiliano Moralez, Argentinian footballer
• 1988 – Iain Ramsay, Australian footballer
• 1988 – Dustin Jeffrey, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1989 – David Button, English footballer
• 1989 – Lloyd Rigby, English footballer
• 1990 – Elijah Taylor, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1991 – Azeem Rafiq, Pakistani cricketer
• 1992 – Ty Dillon, American race car driver
• 1992 – Meyers Leonard, American basketball player
• 1992 – Filip Krajinović, Serbian tennis player
• 1992 – Ioannis Potouridis, Greek footballer
• 1992 – Jonjo Shelvey, English footballer
• 1995 – Laura Gulbe, Latvian tennis player

Deaths

• 640 – Pepin of Landen, Frankish lord (b. 580)
• 906 – Conrad the Elder, Frankish nobleman
• 956 – Theophylact, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 917)
• 1167 – Robert of Melun, English theologian and bishop
• 1416 – Eleanor of Castile, queen consort of Navarre (b. c. 1363)
• 1425 – Prince Vasily I of Moscow (b. 1371)
• 1483 – William VIII of Montferrat (b. 1420)
• 1558 – Johann Faber of Heilbronn, controversial Catholic preacher (b. 1504)
• 1558 – Kunigunde of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, German Noblewoman (b. 1524)
• 1659 – Henry Dunster, English-American clergyman and academic (b. 1609)
• 1699 – Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (b. 1625)
• 1706 – John Evelyn, English gardener and author (b. 1620)
• 1712 – Sir William Villiers, 3rd Baronet, English politician (b. 1645)
• 1720 – Samuel Parris, English-American minister (b. 1653)
• 1735 – John Arbuthnot, Scottish physician and polymath (b. 1667)
• 1784 – Count of St. Germain, European adventurer (b. 1710)
• 1795 – Tanikaze Kajinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1750)
• 1844 – Nicholas Biddle, American banker and politician (b. 1786)
• 1887 – Alexander Borodin, Russian composer and chemist (b. 1833)
• 1892 – Louis Vuitton, French fashion designer and businessman, founded Louis Vuitton (b. 1821)
• 1902 – Harry "Breaker" Morant, English-Australian lieutenant (b. 1864)
• 1921 – Schofield Haigh, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1871)
• 1931 – Chandra Shekhar Azad, Indian revolutionary (b. 1906)
• 1936 – Joshua W. Alexander, American judge and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1852)
• 1936 – Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1849)
• 1937 – Hosteen Klah, Navajo artist, medicine man, and weaver (b. 1867)
• 1937 – Emily Malbone Morgan, American saint, foundress of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross (b. 1862)
• 1943 – Kostis Palamas, Greek poet and playwright (b. 1859)
• 1956 – Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1888)
• 1964 – Orry-Kelly, Australian-American costume designer (b. 1897)
• 1968 – Frankie Lymon, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
• 1969 – Marius Barbeau, Canadian ethnographer and academic (b. 1883)
• 1973 – Bill Everett, American author and illustrator (b. 1917)
• 1977 – John Dickson Carr, American author and playwright (b. 1905)
• 1980 – George Tobias, American actor (b. 1901)
• 1985 – Ray Ellington, English singer and drummer (b. 1916)
• 1985 – Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., American politician and diplomat, 3rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1902)
• 1985 – J. Pat O'Malley, English-American actor and singer (b. 1904)
• 1986 – Jacques Plante, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1929)
• 1987 – Bill Holman, American cartoonist (b. 1903)
• 1987 – Joan Greenwood, English actress (b. 1921)
• 1989 – Konrad Lorenz, Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
• 1992 – S. I. Hayakawa, Canadian-American linguist and politician (b. 1906)
• 1993 – Lillian Gish, American actress (b. 1893)
• 1998 – George H. Hitchings, American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
• 1998 – J. T. Walsh, American actor (b. 1943)
• 1999 – Horace Tapscott, American pianist and composer (b. 1934)
• 2002 – Spike Milligan, Irish soldier, actor, comedian, and author (b. 1918)
• 2003 – John Lanchbery, English-Australian composer and conductor (b. 1923)
• 2003 – Fred Rogers, American minister and television host (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Yoshihiko Amino, Japanese historian and academic (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Paul Sweezy, American economist and journalist (b. 1910)
• 2006 – Otis Chandler, American publisher (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Robert Lee Scott, Jr., American general and author (b. 1908)
• 2006 – Linda Smith, English comedian and author (b. 1958)
• 2007 – Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven, German general (b. 1914)
• 2008 – William F. Buckley, Jr., American author and journalist, founded the National Review (b. 1925)
• 2008 – Myron Cope, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1929)
• 2008 – Ivan Rebroff, German vocalist of Russian descent with four and a half octaves (b. 1931)
• 2010 – Nanaji Deshmukh, Indian educator and activist (b. 1916)
• 2011 – Frank Buckles, American soldier (b. 1901)
• 2011 – Necmettin Erbakan, Turkish engineer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1926)
• 2011 – Duke Snider, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster (b. 1926)
• 2011 – Gary Winick, American director and producer (b. 1961)
• 2012 – Ma Jiyuan, Chinese general (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Tina Strobos, Dutch physician and psychiatrist (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Helga Vlahović, Croatian journalist and producer (b. 1945)
• 2013 – Van Cliburn, American pianist (b. 1934)
• 2013 – Ramon Dekkers, Dutch mixed martial artist and kick-boxer (b. 1969)
• 2013 – Dale Robertson, American actor (b. 1923)
• 2013 – Adolfo Zaldívar, Chilean lawyer and politician (b. 1943)
• 2014 – Aaron Allston, American game designer and author (b. 1960)
• 2014 – Terry Rand, American basketball player (b. 1934)
• 2015 – Boris Nemtsov, Russian academic and politician, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1959)
• 2015 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor (b. 1931)
• 2015 – Julio César Strassera, Argentinian lawyer and jurist (b. 1933)
• 2016 – Yi Cheol-seung, South Korean lawyer and politician (b. 1922)
• 2016 – James Z. Davis, American lawyer and judge (b. 1943)
• 2018 – Steve Folkes, Australian rugby league player and coach (b. 1959)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
  • George Herbert (Anglicanism)
  • Honorina
  • Leander
  • February 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• The second day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá'í Faith) (Please note that this observance is only locked into this date the Gregorian calendar on this date if Bahá'í Naw-Rúz takes place on March 21, which it doesn't in all years)
• Doctors' Day (Vietnam)
• Independence Day (Dominican Republic), celebrates the first independence of Dominican Republic from Haiti in 1844.
• Majuba Day (some Afrikaners in South Africa)
• Marathi Language Day (Maharashtra, India)
• World NGO Day

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Today in Canadian History