# On this day: February 27

February 27 is the 58th day of the year (58th in leap years), with 307 days left until the end of the year (308 in a leap year).

## February 27 in one line

Headline entries for February 27, from Wikipedia: in 2015, Russian statesman and politician Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin, was assassinated in central Moscow; born 272: Constantine the Great, Roman emperor (died 337); died 1936: Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1849). In 2026 it is a Friday, in 2027 a Saturday.

## Events on February 27

- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_Thessalonica)
- 1560 The Treaty of Berwick was signed, setting the terms under which an English fleet and army could enter Scotland to expel French troops defending the regency of Mary of Guise. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Berwick_(1560))
- 1594 Henry IV is crowned King of France. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_IV_of_France)
- 1617 Sweden signed the Treaty of Stolbovo to end the Ingrian War with Russia, making large territorial gains. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Stolbovo)
- 1776 American Revolutionary War: A Patriot victory at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge resulted in the arrests of 850 Loyalists over the following days. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Moore's_Creek_Bridge)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottinghamshire)
- 1814 Peninsular War: In the south of France, Spanish, British and Portuguese soldiers under the command of the Marquess of Wellington defeated French soldiers in the Battle of Orthez, causing the French to retreat east. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Orthez)
- 1870 The current flag of Japan was first adopted as a civil ensign for Japanese merchant ships. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Japan)
- 1881 First Boer War: The Battle of Majuba Hill takes place. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Boer_War)
- 1898 King George I of Greece survives an assassination attempt. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_I_of_Greece)
- 1900 FC Bayern Munich, Germany's most successful football club, was founded. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Bayern_Munich)
- 1900 The British Labour Party is founded. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK))
- 1933 The Reichstag building, the seat of the German parliament in Berlin, was set on fire in a pivotal event in the establishment of the Nazi regime. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire)
- 1940 American biochemists Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discovered carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon, which is now used extensively as the basis of the radiocarbon dating method to date archaeological and geological samples. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Java_Sea)
- 1951 The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution)
- 1962 Two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots bombed the Independence Palace in Saigon in a failed attempt to assassinate President Ngo Dinh Diem. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1962_South_Vietnamese_Independence_Palace_bombing)
- 1972 The Sunday People revealed that James Humphreys, a notorious pornographer, had bribed a senior London police officer with a holiday to Cyprus and Beirut. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Humphreys_(pornographer))
- 1982 The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, known for its performances of Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas, gave its final performance. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D'Oyly_Carte_Opera_Company)
- 1988 The Armenian community of Sumgait in Azerbaijan was the target of a violent pogrom. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumgait_pogrom)
- 1991 Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated". [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bush)
- 1996 The multimedia franchise Pokémon was launched with the release of the video games Pocket Monsters Red and Green. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon)
- 2002 Violent riots, perceived to have been instigated by a train fire that killed 59 Hindu pilgrims, broke out in the Indian state of Gujarat, killing at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, over three days. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Gujarat_violence)
- 2002 Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire at London Stansted Airport causing minor injuries. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Stansted_Airport)
- 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 triggers a tsunami which strikes Hawaii shortly after. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Chile_earthquake)
- 2015 Russian statesman and politician Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin, was assassinated in central Moscow. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Boris_Nemtsov)

## Born on February 27

- 272 Constantine the Great, Roman emperor (died 337) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great)
- 1807 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet and educator (died 1882) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow)
- 1881 Sveinn Björnsson, Danish-Icelandic lawyer and politician, 1st President of Iceland (died 1952) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sveinn_Bj%C3%B6rnsson)
- 1897 Marian Anderson, American singer (died 1993) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Anderson)
- 1902 John Steinbeck, American journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1968) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck)
- 1912 Lawrence Durrell, British author, poet, and playwright (died 1990) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Durrell)
- 1913 Paul Ricœur, French philosopher and academic (died 2005) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ric%C5%93ur)
- 1929 Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer (died 2013) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djalma_Santos)
- 1930 Joanne Woodward, American actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanne_Woodward)
- 1932 Elizabeth Taylor, English-American actress and humanitarian (died 2011) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Taylor)
- 1934 Ralph Nader, American lawyer, politician, and activist [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Nader)
- 1942 Robert H. Grubbs, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2021) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_H._Grubbs)
- 1943 Carlos Alberto Parreira, Brazilian footballer and manager [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Alberto_Parreira)
- 1944 Roger Scruton, English philosopher and writer (died 2020) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Scruton)
- 1953 Ian Khama, English-Botswanan lieutenant and politician, 4th President of Botswana [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Khama)
- 1957 Timothy Spall, English actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Spall)
- 1967 Jony Ive, English-American industrial designer, former chief design officer of Apple [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jony_Ive)
- 1978 Kakha Kaladze, Georgian footballer and politician [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakha_Kaladze)
- 1980 Chelsea Clinton, American journalist and academic [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Clinton)
- 1981 Josh Groban, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Groban)
- 1983 Kate Mara, American actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Mara)
- 1993 Alphonse Areola, French footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonse_Areola)

## Died on February 27

- 640 Pepin of Landen, Frankish lord (born 580) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepin_of_Landen)
- 1425 Prince Vasily I of Moscow (born 1371) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_I_of_Moscow)
- 1887 Alexander Borodin, Russian composer and chemist (born 1833) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Borodin)
- 1936 Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1849) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Pavlov)
- 1989 Konrad Lorenz, Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1903) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_Lorenz)
- 1993 Lillian Gish, American actress (born 1893) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Gish)
- 1998 George H. Hitchings, American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1905) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._Hitchings)
- 2002 Spike Milligan, Irish soldier, actor, comedian, and author (born 1918) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spike_Milligan)
- 2003 Fred Rogers, American minister and television host (born 1928) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Rogers)
- 2011 Necmettin Erbakan, Turkish engineer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Turkey (born 1926) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necmettin_Erbakan)
- 2015 Boris Nemtsov, Russian academic and politician, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (born 1959) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Nemtsov)
- 2015 Leonard Nimoy, American actor (born 1931) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Nimoy)
- 2019 France-Albert René, Seychellois politician, 2nd President of Seychelles (born 1935) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France-Albert_Ren%C3%A9)
- 2025 Boris Spassky, Russian chess grandmaster (born 1937) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Spassky)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast day: Anne Line [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Line)
- Christian feast day: Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_of_Our_Lady_of_Sorrows)
- Christian feast day: George Herbert (Anglicanism) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Herbert)
- Christian feast day: Gregory of Narek [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_of_Narek)
- Christian feast day: Honorina [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorina)
- Christian feast day: Leander [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leander_of_Seville)
- Christian feast day: February 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_27_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Doctors' Day (Vietnam) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Doctors'_Day)
- Independence Day (Dominican Republic), celebrates the first independence of Dominican Republic from Haiti in 1844. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_the_Dominican_Republic)
- Majuba Day (some Afrikaners in South Africa) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majuba_Day)
- Marathi Language Day (Maharashtra, India) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathi_Language_Day)
- World NGO Day [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-governmental_organization)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “February 27”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_27) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/February 27”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/February_27) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“February 27”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_27) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_27?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for February 27 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## February 27 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Friday | 2026-W09 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2027 | Saturday | 2027-W08 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2028 | Sunday | 2028-W08 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2029 | Tuesday | 2029-W09 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2030 | Wednesday | 2030-W09 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on February 27

None of the 28 countries we track has a public holiday on February 27 in 2026 or 2027.

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← February 26](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-26/) · [February 28 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-28/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-27/