February 27 - Definition and Overview

February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 307 days remaining, 308 in leap years.

Events

1500-1899

• 1560 - The Treaty of Berhick, 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
• 1700 - The island of New Britain is discovered.
• 1793 - The Giles resolutions are introduced to the United States House of Representatives asking the House to condemn Alexander Hamilton's handling of loans.
• 1801 - Washington, DC is placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress.
• 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.
• 1827 - The first Mardi Gras is celebrated in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• 1844 - The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.
• 1861 - A crowd in Warsaw protesting 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.

1900-1949

• 1900 - Boer War: In South Africa, British military leaders receive an unconditional notice of surrender from Boer General Piet Cronje.
• 1900 - The British Labour Party is founded
• 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.
• 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.
• 1942 - World War II: the USS Langley, the first United States aircraft carrier, is sunk by Japanese warplanes.

1950-1999

• 1951 - The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.
• 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.
• 1973 - The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
• 1974 - People magazine is published for the first time.
• 1976 - Western Sahara declares independence
• 1986 - The United States Senate allows its debates to be televised on a trial basis.
• 1990 - Exxon Valdez oil spill: Exxon and its shipping company are indicted on five criminal counts.
• 1991 - Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated."
• 1996 - Pokémon game debuts for Nintendo Game Boy
• 1999 - While trying to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon, Colin Prescot and Andy Elson set a new endurance record after being in a hot air balloon for 233 hours and 55 minutes.
• 1999 - Olusegun Obasanjo becomes Nigeria's first elected president since mid-1983.

2000-2099

• 2002- Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire in London Stansted Airport. Subsequent investigations criticize Ryanair's handling of the evacuation.
• 2002 - 2002 Gujarat violence: a caught fire a few minutes after it left the Godhra railway station, killing an estimated 58 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya, triggering riots that led to the death of 1000 people, mostly Muslims.
• 2003 - Rowan Williams is enthroned as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury in the Anglican church.

Births

1800-1899

• 1807 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, poet (d. 1882)
• 1861 - Rudolf Steiner, anthroposoph (d. 1925)
• 1873 - Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor (d. 1921)
• 1886 - Hugo Black, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (d. 1971)
• 1888 - Lotte Lehmann, singer (d. 1976)
• 1890 - Freddie Keppard, jazz musician (d. 1933)
• 1891 - David Sarnoff, broadcasting pioneer (d. 1971)
• 1891 - Anne Samson, oldest-known Canadian 2002-2004 and oldest nun on record 2003-2004 (d. 2004)
• 1892 - William Demarest, actor (d. 1983)
• 1897 - Marian Anderson, singer (d. 1993)
• 1899 - Charles Best, medical scientist (d. 1978)

1900-1949

• 1902 - John Steinbeck, writer, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature 1962 (d. 1968)
• 1902 - Gene Sarazen, golfer (d. 1999)
• 1903 - Grethe Weiser, actress (d. 1970)
• 1905 - Franchot Tone, actor (d. 1968)
• 1907 - Mildred Bailey, jazz performer (d. 1951)
• 1910 - Joan Bennett, actress (d. 1990)
• 1912 - Lawrence Durrell, writer (d. 1990)
• 1913 - Irwin Shaw, writer (d. 1984)
• 1917 - John Connally, Governor of Texas (d. 1993)
• 1918 - William Jefferson Blythe III, father of U.S. President Bill Clinton, is born in Sherman, Grayson County, Texas (d. 1946)
• 1923 - Dexter Gordon, jazz saxophone player (d. 1990)
• 1928 - Alfred Hrdlicka, sculptor and graphic artist
• 1928 - Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel
• 1930 - Joanne Woodward, American actress
• 1930 - Peter Stone, writer
• 1932 - Elizabeth Taylor, American actress
• 1933 - Raymond Berry, American football player
• 1934 - Ralph Nader, American consumer activist
• 1935 - Mirella Freni, Italian soprano
• 1941 - Paddy Ashdown, British politician
• 1943 - Morten Lauridsen, composer
• 1946 - José Carreras, Spanish tenor
• 1947 - Gidon Kremer, Latvian violinist

1950s-1999

• 1957 - Adrian Smith, musician (Iron Maiden)
• 1957 - Viktor Markin, Soviet athlete
• 1971 - Derren Brown, psychological illusionist
• 1980 - Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former U.S. President Bill Clinton
• 1981 - Josh Groban, American singer

Deaths

• 1706 - John Evelyn, diarist (b. 1620)
• 1844 - Nicholas Biddle, President of the Second Bank of the United States (b. 1786)
• 1887 - Alexander Borodin, composer (b. 1833)
• 1936 - Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist
• 1941 - James Joyce, author (b. 1882)
• 1964 - Orry-Kelly, costume designer
• 1968 - Frankie Lymon, singer (b. 1942)
• 1978 - Vadim Salmanov, composer
• 1985 - Henry Cabot Lodge, politician, candidate for Vice President of the United States (b. 1902)
• 1986 - Jacques Plante, ice hockey star (b. 1929)
• 1989 - Paul Oswald Ahnert, astronomer (b. 1897)
• 1989 - Konrad Lorenz (b. 1903)
• 1993 - Lillian Gish, actress (b. 1893)
• 1998 - J.T. Walsh, actor
• 2002 - Spike Milligan, comedian (b. 1918)
• 2002 - Mary Stuart, soap opera actress
• 2003 - John Lanchbery, English ballet composer (b. 1923)
• 2003 - Fred Rogers, children's television celebrity (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances

• Roman Empire - Equirria, horse races in honor of Mars were held.
• Bahá'í Faith - Day 2 of Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) - days in the Bah&aacute'&iacute calendar devoted to service and gift giving.
• Dominican Republic - National Day

February 26 - February 28 - January 27 - March 27 -- listing of all days