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 Nicene 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 by Europeans.
• 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.
• 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.
• 1916 – Ocean liner SS Maloja struck a mine near Dover and sank with the loss of 155 lives
• 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 in NLRB v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp. that the National Labor Relations Board has no authority to force an employer to rehire workers who engage in sit-down strikes.
• 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 – Marino Marini, Italian sculptor and academic (d. 1980)
• 1901 – Kotama Okada, Japanese religious leader (d. 1974)
• 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 – 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 – Dame 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 (d. 2020)
• 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
• 1944 – Sir Roger Scruton, English philosopher and writer (d. 2020)
• 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
• 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 – Dănuț Lupu, Romanian footballer
• 1967 – Jony Ive, English industrial designer, former 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 – 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 – 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
• 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
• 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, goalkeeper
• 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
• 1998 – Todd Cantwell, English footballer

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 octave range (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)
• 2019 – France-Albert René, Seychellois politician, 2nd President of Seychelles (b. 1935)

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) (Note: this observance is only on this date in the Gregorian calendar if Bahá'í Naw-Rúz takes place on March 21, which it does not 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
• International Polar Bear Day

External links

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