February 27

Events

*1560 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and 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.
*1801 - Washington, DC is placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress. "See District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801"
*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 - A crowd in Warsaw protesting against Russian rule over Poland is fired upon by Russian troops, killing five protesters.
*1864 - American Civil War: The first Northern prisoners arrive at the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia.
*1900 - Second Boer War: In South Africa, British military leaders receive an unconditional notice of surrender from Boer General Piet Cronje at the Battle of Paardeberg.
* 1900 - The British Labour Party is founded.
*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.
*1939 - American Civil Rights Movement: Sit-down strikes are outlawed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
*1940 - Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14
*1942 - World War II: During the Battle of the Java Sea, an allied (ABDA) 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 - The Rosenstrasse protest starts in Berlin
*1945 - Lebanon declares Independence.
*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.
*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.
*1967 - Dominica gains independence from the United Kingdom.
*1971 - Doctors in the first Dutch abortion clinic (the Mildredhuis in Arnhem) start to perform aborti provocati.
*1973 - The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
*1974 - People magazine is published for the first time.
*1976 - The formerly Spanish territory of Western Sahara, under the auspices of the Polisario Front declares independence as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
*1986 - The United States Senate allows its debates to be televised on a trial basis.
*1989 - Venezuela is rocked by the riots of Caracazo.
*1991 - Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated".
*1999 - Olusegun Obasanjo becomes Nigeria's first elected president since mid-1983.
* 1999 - Korea International School is founded by Soon-Il Chung. It is currently directed by Ann Clapper.
*2002 - Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire in London Stansted Airport. Subsequent investigations criticize Ryanair's handling of the evacuation.
* 2002 - Godhra train burning, a Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya;
*2003 - Rowan Williams is enthroned as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury in the Anglican church.
*2004 - A bombing of a Superferry by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines worst terrorist attack kills 116.
* 2004 - Former BPMC general secretary Ordrick Samuel launches a new party in Barbuda, Barbudans for a Better Barbuda.
*2007 - The general strike against Lansana Conté in Guinea ends.
* 2007 - The Chinese Correction: the Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest drop in 10 years.

Births

* 272 - Constantine I, Roman emperor (d. 337)
*1691 - Edward Cave, English editor and publisher (d. 1754)
*1711 - Constantine Mavrocordatos, Prince of Wallachia and Prince of Moldavia (d. 1769)
*1779 - Thomas Hazlehurst, English soap and alkali manufacturer (d. 1842)
*1807 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (d. 1882)
*1831 - Hiram Bond Everest, American cofounder of The Vacuum Oil Company (d. 1913)
*1862 - Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and shooter (d. 1937)
*1877 - Walter Briggs, Sr., American entrepreneur and sports team owner (d. 1952)
*1878 - Alvan T. Fuller, 50^th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
*1886 - Hugo Black, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1971)
*1888 - Roberto Assagioli, Italian psychiatrist (d. 1974)
* 1888 - Earl Caddock, American professional wrestler (d. 1950)
* 1888 - Lotte Lehmann, German singer (d. 1976)
*1890 - Freddie Keppard, American jazz musician (d. 1933)
*1891 - David Sarnoff, Russian-born broadcast pioneer (d. 1971)
* 1891 - Anne Samson, oldest-ever nun documented (d. 2004)
*1892 - William Demarest, American actor (d. 1983)
*1897 - Marian Anderson, American contralto (d. 1993)
*1899 - Charles Best, Canadian medical scientist (d. 1978)
*1902 - Gene Sarazen, American golfer (d. 1999)
* 1902 - John Steinbeck, American writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1968)
*1903 - Grethe Weiser, German actress (d. 1970)
*1904 - James T. Farrell, American writer (d. 1979)
* 1904 - Yulii Borisovich Khariton, Russian physicist (d. 1996)
* 1904 - André Leducq, French cyclist (d. 1980)
* 1904 - Chick Fullis, American baseball player (d. 1946)
*1905 - Franchot Tone, American actor (d. 1968)
*1907 - Mildred Bailey, American singer (d. 1951)
*1910 - Joan Bennett, American actress (d. 1990)
* 1910 - Peter De Vries, American writer (d. 1993)
* 1910 - Ted Horn, American race car driver (d. 1948)
* 1910 - Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, American aircraft engineer (Lockheed Skunk Works; d. 1990)
*1912 - Lawrence Durrell, British writer (d. 1990)
* 1912 - Kusumagraj, Indian writer (d. 1999)
*1913 - Irwin Shaw, American writer (d. 1984)
* 1913 - Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish president (d. 1989)
*1917 - John Connally, American politician (d. 1993)
*1922 - Hans Rookmaaker, Dutch professor and art historian (d. 1977)
*1923 - Dexter Gordon, American jazz saxophonist (d. 1990)
*1925 - Samuel Dash, American Congressional counsel (d. 2004)
*1926 - David H. Hubel, Canadian neuroscientist, Nobel Prize laureate
*1927 - Lynn Cartwright, American actress (d. 2004)
* 1927 - Guy Mitchell, American singer (d. 1999)
*1928 - Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minister of Israel
*1929 - Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer
* 1929 - Jack Gibson, Australian rugby league footballer and coach (d. 2008)
*1930 - Paul von Ragué Schleyer, American chemist
* 1930 - Peter Stone, American writer (d. 2003)
* 1930 - Joanne Woodward, American actress
*1932 - Elizabeth Taylor, British-American actress
*1933 - Raymond Berry, American football player
*1934 - Vincent Fourcade, French interior designer (d. 1992)
* 1934 - N. Scott Momaday, American writer
* 1934 - Ralph Nader, American consumer activist
* 1934 - Van Williams, American actor
*1935 - Mirella Freni, Italian soprano
*1936 - Ron Barassi, Australian rules footballer
* 1936 - Roger Mahony, fourth Archbishop of Los Angeles
*1937 - David Ackles, American singer songwriter (d. 1999)
* 1937 - Barbara Babcock, American actress
*1939 - Peter Revson, American racecar driver (d. 1974)
*1940 - Howard Hesseman, American actor
* 1940 - Bill Hunter, Australian actor
*1941 - Paddy Ashdown, British politician
*1942 - Robert H. Grubbs, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1942 - Charlayne Hunter-Gault, American journalist
* 1942 - Michel Forget, French Canadian actor
*1943 - Mary Frann, American actress (d. 1998)
* 1943 - Morten Lauridsen, American composer
*1944 - Ken Grimwood, American writer (d. 2003)
* 1944 - Roger Scruton, British philosopher
*1945 - Carl Anderson, American singer and actor (d. 2004)
*1947 - Gidon Kremer, Latvian violinist
*1951 - Steve Harley, British rock musician (Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel)
*1952 - Stathis Psaltis, Greek actor
*1953 - Gabriela Svobodová, Czech cross country skier
*1954 - Neal Schon, American musician (Journey)
*1955 - Peter Christopherson, English musician and video director
*1957 - Viktor Markin, Russian athlete
* 1957 - Timothy Spall, English actor
* 1957 - Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator
* 1957 - Adrian Smith, English musician (Iron Maiden)
*1958 - Naas Botha, South African rugby union footballer
* 1958 - Nancy Spungen, American murder victim of Sid Vicious (d. 1978)
*1959 - Johnny Van Zant, American singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
*1960 - Andrés Gómez, Ecuadorian tennis player
*1961 - James Worthy, American basketball player
*1962 - Adam Baldwin, American actor
* 1962 - Grant Show, American actor
*1963 - Pär Nuder, Swedish politician
*1964 - Todd Bodine, American race car driver
*1965 - Noah Emmerich, American actor
* 1965 - Frank Peter Zimmermann, German violinist
* 1965 - Joakim Sundström, Swedish sound editor and sound designer
*1966 - Donal Logue, Canadian actor
*1968 - Matt Stairs, Canadian baseball player
*1969 - Brad Vander Ark, American musician
*1970 - Michael A. Burstein, American writer
* 1970 - Kent Desormeaux, American jockey
* 1970 - Matthias Lechner, German art director
* 1970 - Patricia Petibon, French opera singer
*1971 - Derren Brown, British psychological illusionist
* 1971 - Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, American singer (TLC)
*1973 - Ali Tabatabaee, American Iranian rapper (Zebrahead)
* 1973 - Mark Taylor, Welsh rugby union footballer
* 1973 - Peter André, Australian singer - Husband to Katie Price, Glamour model
*1975 - Prodromos Korkizoglou, Greek decathlete
* 1975 - Shelby Walker, American mixed martial artist (d. 2006)
*1976 - Tony Gonzalez, American football player
*1977 - Lance Hoyt, American professional wrestler
* 1977 - Ji Sung, South Korean actor
* 1977 - James Wan, Australian film director
*1978 - James Beattie, English footballer
*1980 - Bobby Valentino, American singer
* 1980 - Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton
*1981 - Josh Groban, American singer
* 1981 - Elodie Ouédraogo, Belgian athlete
*1983 - Kate Mara, American actress
* 1983 - Hayley Angel Wardle, English actress
*1983 - Devin Harris, American basketball player
*1984 - David Noel, American basketball player
* 1984 - Antti Tuisku, Finnish singer
* 1984 - Lotta Schelin, Swedish female footballer
*1985 - Juliana Imai, Brazilian model
* 1985 - Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Russian Footballer
*1989 - Kelly Breeding, American singer from B5
*1991 - Azeem Rafiq, Yorkshire CCC & English U15 captain
*1994 - Hou Yifan, Chinese chess player

Deaths

*1659 - Henry Dunster, first President of Harvard College (b. 1609)
*1699 - Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, English politician (b. c. 1625)
*1706 - John Evelyn, English diarist (b. 1620)
*1720 - Samuel Parris, English-born Puritan minister (b. 1653)
*1735 - John Arbuthnot, English physician and writer (b. 1667)
*1844 - Nicholas Biddle, President of the Second Bank of the United States (b. 1786)
*1887 - Alexander Borodin, Russian composer and chemist (b. 1833)
*1892 - Louis Vuitton, French luggage maker (b. 1821)
*1902 - Harry 'Breaker' Morant, Anglo-Australian Soldier executed in the Second Boer War under controversial circumstances (b. 1864)
* 1902 - Peter Handcock, Australian Soldier executed in the Second Boer War under controversial circumstances
*1921 - Schofield Haigh, English cricketer (b. 1871)
*1932 - William Southam, Canadian newspaper publisher (b. 1843)
*1936 - Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1849)
* 1936 - Joshua W. Alexander, U.S. Secretary of Commerce under Woodrow Wilson (b. 1852)
*1941 - William D. Byron, U.S. Congressman (b. 1895)
*1943 - Kostis Palamas, Greek poet, twice nominated for the Nobel prize (b. 1859)
*1964 - Orry-Kelly, Australian costume designer (b. 1897)
*1968 - Frankie Lymon, American singer (b. 1942)
*1969 - Marius Barbeau, French Canadian folklorist (b. 1883)
*1970 - Marie Dionne, one of the French Canadian Dionne quintuplets (b. 1934)
*1972 - Pat Brady, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
*1977 - John Dickson Carr, American author (b. 1905)
*1978 - Vadim Salmanov, Russian composer (b. 1912)
*1980 - George Tobias, American actor (b. 1901)
*1981 - Jacob H. Gilbert, American politician (b. 1920)
*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 - Paul Oswald Ahnert, German astronomer (b. 1897)
* 1989 - Konrad Lorenz, Austrian zoologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1903)
*1990 - Nahum Norbert Glatzer, Jewish-American scholar (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 scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1905)
* 1998 - J. T. Walsh, American actor (b. 1943)
*2002 - Spike Milligan, Irish comedian (b. 1918)
*2003 - John Lanchbery, English composer (b. 1923)
* 2003 - Fred Rogers, American children's television actor (b. 1928)
*2004 - Paul Sweezy, American economist and editor (b. 1910)
* 2004 - Yoshihiko Amino, Japanese historians (b. 1928)
*2006 - Otis Chandler, American newspaper publisher (b. 1927)
* 2006 - Robert Lee Scott, Jr., U.S. General, Flying Tiger, and author (b. 1908)
* 2006 - Linda Smith, British comedian (b. 1958)
*2007 - Bobby Rosengarden, American jazz drummer (b. 1924)
* 2007 - Bernd von Freytag-Loringhoven, German soldier (b. 1914)
*2008 - Myron Cope, American sports broadcaster (b. 1929)
* 2008 - William F. Buckley, Jr., American conservative author and commentator (b. 1925)
* 2008 - Boyd Coddington, American automobile designer (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances

*Roman Empire - Equirria; horse races in honor of the war god Mars were held.
*Bahá'í Faith - Day 2 of Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) - days in the Bahá'í calendar devoted to service and gift giving.
*Dominican Republic - National Day.
* First day of Maslenitsa in Russia (2006)
*Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
*Saint Leander
*Saint Honorine
*February 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/27 BBC: On This Day]
*
* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Feb&day=27 On This Day in Canada] ----