Daily historical facts, events, famous birthdays, world history. Discover what happened today in history.
Day History: February-27

Famous Birthdays
272- Constantine the Great -Roman emperor (d. 337)
1572- Francis II, Duke of Lorraine -(d. 1632)
1575- John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp -(d. 1616)
1622- Carel Fabritius -Dutch painter (d. 1654)
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)
1691- Edward Cave -English publisher, founded ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' (d. 1754)
1702- Johann Valentin Görner -German composer (d. 1762)
1711- Constantine Mavrocordatos -Ottoman ruler (d. 1769)
1767- Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure -French politician, 24th Prime Minister of France (d. 1855)
1779- Thomas Hazlehurst (businessman)|Thomas Hazlehurst -English businessman, founded Hazlehurst & Sons (d. 1842)
1789- Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza -Chilean lawyer and politician, Ministry of National Defense (Chile)|Chilean Minister of National Defense (d. 1818)
1795- José Antonio Navarro -American politician (d. 1871)
1807- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -American poet and educator (d. 1882)
1809- Jean-Charles Cornay -French missionary and saint (d. 1837)
1831- Nikolai Ge -Russian painter (d. 1894)
1846- Franz Mehring -German historian and politician (d. 1919)
1847- Ellen Terry -English actress (d. 1928)
1848- Hubert Parry -English composer and historian (d. 1918)
1850- Laura E. Richards -American author (d. 1943)
1856- Mattia Battistini -Italian opera singer (d. 1928)
1859- Bertha Pappenheim -Austrian-German activist and author (d. 1936)
1862- Anastasios Metaxas -Greek target shooter and architect (d. 1937)
1863- Joaquín Sorolla -Spanish painter (d. 1923)
1863- George Herbert Mead -American sociologist and philosopher (d. 1930)
1864- Eemil Nestor Setälä -Finnish politician (d. 1935)
1867- Irving Fisher -American economist (d. 1947)
1867- Wilhelm Peterson-Berger -Swedish composer (d.1942)
1869- Alice Hamilton -American physician and academic (d. 1970)
1870- Louis Coerne -American composer and educator (d. 1922)
1871- Gustav Waldau -German actor (d. 1958)
1872- Alexandru Vaida-Voevod -Romanian politician, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1950)
1875- George Rodocanachi -English-Greek physician (d. 1944)
1875- Manuel Ugarte -Argentinian politician (d. 1951)
1877- Walter Briggs, Sr. -American businessman (d. 1952)
1877- Adela Verne -English pianist and composer (d. 1952)
1878- Alvan T. Fuller -American politician, 50th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
1878- Teodor Ussisoo -Estonian furniture designer (d. 1959)
1879- René Lefebvre -French businessman (d. 1944)
1881- Sveinn Björnsson -Danish-Icelandic politician, 1st President of Iceland (d. 1952)
1881- L. E. J. Brouwer -Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 1966)
1886- Hugo Black -American jurist and politician (d. 1971)
1887- Pyotr Nesterov -Russian captain, pilot, and engineer (d. 1914)
1888- Roberto Assagioli -Italian psychiatrist (d. 1974)
1888- Earl Caddock -American wrestler (d. 1950)
1888- Lotte Lehmann -German soprano (d. 1976)
1888- Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. -American historian (d. 1965)
1890- Freddie Keppard -American cornet player (d. 1933)
1891- David Sarnoff -Belarusian-American businessman and journalist, 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 scientist, co-discovered Insulin (d. 1978)
1899- Ian Keith -American actor (d. 1960)
1901- Marino Marini (sculptor)|Marino Marini -Italian sculptor (d. 1980)
1902- Gene Sarazen -American golfer (d. 1999)
1902- Ethelda Bleibtrey -American swimmer (d. 1978)
1902- Lúcio Costa -French-Brazilian architect and engineer, designed Gustavo Capanema Palace (d. 1998)
1902- John Steinbeck -American author, Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
1903- Ion Irimescu -Romanian sculptor and illustrator (d. 2005)
1903- Grethe Weiser -German actress (d. 1970)
1903- Reginald Gardiner -English-American actor (d. 1980)
1903- Gustave Wuyts -Belgian tug of war competitor and shot putter (d. 1979)
1904- James T. Farrell -American author (d. 1979)
1904- Chick Fullis -American baseball player (d. 1946)
1904- Yulii Borisovich Khariton -Russian physicist (d. 1996)
1904- André Leducq -French cyclist (d. 1980)
1905- Franchot Tone -American actor (d. 1968)
1907- Mildred Bailey -American singer (d. 1951)
1907- Momčilo Đujić -Serbian-American priest and commander (d. 1999)
1907- Walter Wolf (politician)|Walter Wolf -German politician (d. 1977)
1909- Aleksander Ansberg -Estonian politician (d. 1975)
1909- Väinö Myllyrinne -Finnish giant (d. 1963)
1910- Joan Bennett -American actress (d. 1990)
1910- Peter De Vries -American author (d. 1993)
1910- Ted Horn -American race car driver (d. 1948)
1910- Kelly Johnson (engineer)|Kelly Johnson -American engineer, co-founded Skunk Works (d. 1990)
1910- Genrikh Kasparyan -Armenian chess player (d. 1995)
1911- Oscar Heidenstam -English bodybuilder (d. 1991)
1912- Kusumagraj -Indian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1999)
1912- Lawrence Durrell -Indian-English author (d. 1990)
1913- Paul Ricoeur -French philosopher (d. 2005)
1913- Kazimierz Sabbat -Polish politician, President of Poland (d. 1989)
1913- Irwin Shaw -American author and screenwriter (d. 1984)
1915- Olavi Virta -Finnish singer (d. 1972)
1915- Denis Whitaker -Canadian general, football player, and businessman (d. 2001)
1917- John Connally -American politician, 61st United States Secretary of Treasury (d. 1993)
1921- Theodore Van Kirk -American soldier, pilot, and navigator (d. 2014)
1921- Elio Zagato -Italian automobile designer (d. 2009)
1922- Hans Rookmaaker -Dutch historian, author, and scholar (d. 1977)
1922- Massinet Sorcinelli -Brazilian basketball player (d. 1971)
1923- Dexter Gordon -American saxophonist, composer, and actor (d. 1990)
1925- Samuel Dash -American politician (d. 2004)
1925- Hardrock Gunter -American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
1926- David H. Hubel -Canadian neurophysiologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
1927- Lynn Cartwright -American actress (d. 2004)
1927- Jimmy Halliday -Scottish politician (d. 2013)
1927- Peter Whittle -New Zealand mathematician and theorist
1928- Alfred Hrdlicka -Austrian painter and sculptor (d. 2009)
1929- Bella Flores -Filipino actress (d. 2013)
1929- Jack Gibson (rugby league)|Jack Gibson -Australian rugby player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2008)
1929- Stefan Kudelski -Polish engineer, invented the Nagra (d. 2013)
1929- Djalma Santos -Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
1930- Jovan Krkobabić -Serbian politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2014)
1930- Martin Lönnebo -Swedish bishop
1930- Peter Stone -American screenwriter and producer (d. 2003)
1930- Paul von Ragué Schleyer -American chemist and academic
1930- Joanne Woodward -American actress
1932- Elizabeth Taylor -English-American actress (d. 2011)
1932- David Young, Baron Young of Graffham -English politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
1933- Eric Bercovici -American screenwriter and producer (d. 2014)
1933- Raymond Berry -American football player
1933- Edward Lucie-Smith -Jamaican-English poet, author, and critic
1934- Vincent Fourcade -French interior designer (d. 1992)
1934- Michiko Maeda -Japanese film and television actress
1934- N. Scott Momaday -American author
1934- Ralph Nader -American lawyer and politician
1934- Van Williams -American actor
1935- Mirella Freni -Italian soprano
1935- Brian Heap -English biologist and academic
1935- Alan Jinkinson -English union leader
1935- Alberto Remedios -English tenor
1935- Uri Shulevitz -American author and illustrator
1936- Ron Barassi -Australian footballer and coach
1936- Roger Mahony -American cardinal
1937- Barbara Babcock -American actress
1937- Aslan Usoyan -Georgian-Russian mobster (d. 2013)
1938- Jake Thackray -English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist (d. 2002)
1939- José Cardona -Honduran footballer (d. 2013)
1939- Don McKinnon -New Zealand politician, 12th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
1939- Peter Revson -American race car driver (d. 1974)
1939- Nguyen Chi Thien -Vietnamese-American poet (d. 2012)
1939- Antoinette Sibley -English ballerina
1940- Pierre Duchesne -Canadian politician, 28th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
1940- Howard Hesseman -American actor
1940- Bill Hunter (actor)|Bill Hunter -Australian actor (d. 2011)
1941- Paddy Ashdown -Indian-English soldier and politician
1941- John Skehel -English virologist
1942- Jimmy Burns -American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1942- Michel Forget -Canadian actor
1942- Robert H. Grubbs -American chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry|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
1944- Mal Ryder -Welsh-Italian singer
1944- Roger Scruton -English philosopher and author
1945- Carl Anderson (singer)|Carl Anderson -American singer and actor (d. 2004)
1945- Arnold Kanter -American academic and politician, United States Secretary of State (d. 2010)
1947- Alan Guth -American physicist and cosmologist
1947- Gidon Kremer -Latvian violinist and conductor
1948- Lois Snow-Mello -American politician
1949- Istvan Banyai -Hungarian-American illustrator and animator
1949- Rosalinda Galli -Italian voice actress
1949- Robert Paterson (bishop)|Robert Paterson -English bishop
1950- Gilla (singer)|Gilla -Austrian singer
1950- Julia Neuberger, Baroness Neuberger -English rabbi and politician
1950- Annabel Goldie -Scottish politician
1951- Lee Atwater -American politician (d. 1991)
1951- Steve Harley -English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Cockney Rebel)
1951- Janet Steinbeck -Australian swimmer
1952- Stathis Psaltis -Greek actor
1953- Gavin Esler -Scottish journalist
1953- Ian Khama -English-Botswanan lieutenant and politician, 4th President of Botswana
1953- Yolande Moreau -Belgian actress and director
1953- Gabriela Svobodová -Czech skier
1954- JoAnn Falletta -American conductor
1954- Neal Schon -American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Journey (band)|Journey, Santana (band)|Santana, Bad English, and Hardline (band)|Hardline)
1955- Peter Christopherson -English keyboard player, songwriter, and director (Coil (band)|Coil and Throbbing Gristle (d. 2010)
1955- Lou Hirsch -American actor
1956- Anne Veski -Estonian singer
1957- Danny Antonucci -Canadian animator, producer, and screenwriter
1957- Robert de Castella -Australian runner
1957- Adrian Smith -English guitarist and songwriter (Iron Maiden, ASAP (band)|ASAP, and Psycho Motel, and Urchin (band)|Urchin)
1957- Timothy Spall -English actor
1958- Naas Botha -South African rugby player
1958- Max Crivello -Italian illustrator
1958- Maggie Hassan -American politician, 81st Governor of New Hampshire
1958- Nancy Spungen -American murder victim, girlfriend of Sid Vicious (d. 1978)
1959- Johnny Van Zant -American singer-songwriter (Lynyrd Skynyrd and Van Zant)
1959- Vardan Petrosyan -Armenian-French actor and screenwriter
1960- Andrés Gómez -Ecuadorian tennis player
1960- Carson Yeung -Hong Kong businessman
1961- James Worthy -American basketball player
1962- Adam Baldwin -American actor
1962- Grant Show -American actor
1962- Robert Spencer (author)|Robert Spencer -American author and blogger
1963- Pär Nuder -Swedish politician
1964- Todd Bodine -American race car driver
1965- Noah Emmerich -American actor
1965- Frank Peter Zimmermann -German violinist
1965- Joey Calderazzo -American pianist
1965- Pedro Chaves -Portuguese race car driver
1966- Donal Logue -Canadian actor and director
1966- Baltasar Kormákur -Icelandic actor, director, and producer
1967- Jonathan Ive -English designer
1967- Dănuț Lupu -Romanian footballer
1968- Matt Stairs -Canadian baseball player
1969- Stuart MacBride -Scottish author
1970- Kent Desormeaux -American jockey
1970- Matthias Lechner -German set designer
1970- Goran Markov -Macedonian footballer
1970- Patricia Petibon -French soprano
1971- Sara Blakely -American businesswoman, founded Spanx
1971- Derren Brown -English magician
1971- Roman Giertych -Polish politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
1971- Paul Hudson -English meteorologist
1971- Rozonda Thomas -American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (TLC (music)|TLC)
1972- Jennifer Lyon -American contestant on ''Survivor: Palau'' (d. 2010)
1973- Peter Andre -Australian singer-songwriter and actor
1973- Ali Tabatabaee -Iranian-American singer-songwriter (Zebrahead)
1973- Mark Taylor (rugby player)|Mark Taylor -Welsh rugby player
1974- Colin Edwards -American motorcycle racer
1974- Movlud Miraliyev -Uzbekistani-Azerbaijani martial artist
1974- Carte Goodwin -American lawyer and politician
1975- Nikita Gross -Czech-Russian porn actress and model
1975- Prodromos Korkizoglou -Greek decathlete
1975- Christopher B. Landon -American director and screenwriter
1975- Evgenia Manolidou -Greek composer and conductor
1976- Tony Gonzalez (tight end)|Tony Gonzalez -American football player
1976- Yukari Tamura -Japanese voice actress and singer
1976- Sergei Semak -Ukrainian-Russian footballer
1977- Ji Sung -South Korean actor
1977- James Wan -Malaysian-Australian director, producer, and screenwriter
1978- James Beattie (footballer)|James Beattie -English footballer
1978- Kakha Kaladze -Georgian footballer
1978- Innar Mändoja -Estonian cyclist
1978- Emelie Öhrstig -Swedish skier
1978- Yelena Vasilevskaya -Russian volleyball player
1979- Andreas Voss (footballer)|Andreas Voss -German footballer
1980- Bobby V -American singer-songwriter (Mista (band)|Mista)
1980- Brandon Beemer -American model and actor
1980- Chelsea Clinton -American journalist
1980- Don Diablo -Dutch singer-songwriter, DJ, and producer
1980- Scott Prince -Australian rugby player
1981- Evi Goffin -Belgian singer-songwriter (Lasgo)
1981- Josh Groban -American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
1981- Cameron Ling -Australian footballer
1981- Élodie Ouédraogo -Belgian sprinter
1981- Alessandro Rottoli -Italian footballer
1982- Ali Bastian -English actress
1982- Bruno Soares -Brazilian tennis player
1983- Duje Draganja -Croatian swimmer
1983- Devin Harris -American basketball player
1983- Hayley Holt (actress)|Hayley Holt -English actress and singer
1983- Kate Mara -American actress
1983- Mohammed Nabbous -Libyan journalist (d. 2011)
1983- Vítězslav Veselý -Czech javelin thrower
1984- David Noel -American basketball player
1984- Anibal Sanchez -American baseball player
1984- Lotta Schelin -Swedish footballer
1984- Antti Tuisku -Finnish singer
1985- Diniyar Bilyaletdinov -Russian footballer
1985- Braydon Coburn -Canadian ice hockey player
1985- Vladislav Kulik -Ukrainian-Russian footballer
1986- Yovani Gallardo -American baseball player
1986- Jonathan Moreira -Brazilian footballer
1986- Sandeep Singh -Indian field hockey player
1987- Kristian Marmor -Estonian footballer
1987- Sandy Paillot -French footballer
1988- Iain Ramsay -Australian footballer
1989- David Button -English footballer
1989- Matt Lapinskas -English actor
1989- Xiao Xun -Taiwanese singer and actress (Hey Girl (group)|Hey Girl)
1990- Megan Young -Filipina beauty queen, Miss World
1991- Azeem Rafiq -Pakistani cricketer
1992- Ty Dillon -American race car driver
1992- Meyers Leonard -American basketball player
1992- Ioannis Potouridis -Greek footballer
1992- Jonjo Shelvey -English footballer
1993- Alphonse Aréola -French-Filipino footballer
1994- Hou Yifan -Chinese chess player
1995- Laura Gulbe -Latvian tennis player