February 27th in History

Michael Dobson | February 27

This Day in History

  • The Edict of Thessalonica makes Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire (380)
  • The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti (1844)
  • Abraham Lincoln makes his Cooper Union Address on the issue of slavery (1860)
  • The first Union prisoners arrive at the Confederate prison in Andersonville, Georgia (1864)
  • The British Labour Party is founded (1900
  • Breaker Morant is executed (1902)
  • The Reichstag Fire breaks out (1933)
  • Carbon-14 is discovered (1940)
  • The US loses the Battle of the Java Sea (1942)
  • The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota (1973)

Birthdays

  • Constantine the Great, Roman emperor (272)
  • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, poet (1807)
  • Hugo Black, Supreme Court justice (1886)
  • David Sarnoff, broadcasting pioneer (1891)
  • William Demarest, actor (1892)
  • Marian Anderson, contralto (1897)
  • John Steinbeck, writer (1902)
  • James T. Farrell, writer (1904)
  • Joan Bennett, actress (1910)
  • Kelly Johnson, Skunk Works chief (1910)
  • Irwin Shaw, writer (1913)
  • John Connally, Kennedy assassination victim (1917)
  • Theodore Van Kirk, Enola Gay crewman (1921)
  • Dexter Gordon, saxophonist (1923)
  • Sam Dash, Watergate counsel (1925)
  • Joanne Woodward, actress (1930)
  • Elizabeth Taylor, actress (1932)*
  • Raymond Berry, football player (1933)
  • Ralph Nader, spoiler (1934)
  • Van Williams, actor (1934)
  • Howard Hesseman, actor (1940)
  • Lee Atwater, politician (1951)
  • Chelsea Clinton, first daughter (1980)

Deaths

  • Alexander Borodin, composer (1887)
  • Louis Vuitton, luggage maker (1892)
  • Ivan Pavlov, bell ringer (1936)
  • Frankie Lymon, teenager (1968)
  • John Dickson Carr, mystery writer (1977)
  • Henry Cabot Lodge, politician (1985)
  • Konrad Lorenz, Nobel zoologist (1989)
  • S. I. Hayakawa, linguist and politician (1992)
  • Lillian Gish, actress (1993)
  • Spike Milligan, comedian (2002)
  • Mr. Rogers, friendly neighbor (2003)
  • Jessica Lunsford, murder victim (2005)
  • William F. Buckley, Jr., conservative (2008)
  • Duke Snider, baseball player (2011)

Holidays

  • First Equirria (ancient Rome)
  • National Chocolate Cake Day (US food holidays)
  • National Day (Dominican Republic)
  • No Brainer Day (US made up holidays)
  • Polar Bear Day (US made up holidays)