On this day in History - Feb. 27

• 0280 - Born this day, Constantine I the Great, Roman emperor (312-37), the first to be converted (ca. 312) to the Christian faith. (Another source says 274 or even 289).
• 0837 - 15th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
• 1557 - 1st Russian Embassy opens in London, Russia and U.S. sign trade agreement
• 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
• 1622 - Rembrandt Carel Fabritius, was born, Dutch painter.
• 1670 - Jews were expelled from Austria by order of Leopold I.
• 1700 - The island of New Britain is discovered.
• 1706 - John Evelyn, dies, diarist (b. 1620).
• 1767 - Jesuítas são expulsos da Espanha.
• 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.
• 1807 - El marino Alejandro Malaspina le informa al virrey de Buenos Aires sobre su reconocimiento de Tierra del Fuego y la costa de la Patagonia.
• 1807- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was born, poet (d. 1882).
• 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.
• 1812 - El rosarino Cosme Maciel iza por primera vez la bandera celeste y blanca, por orden de Belgrano, en las márgenes de Nuestra Señora del Rosario.
• 1822 - Eugene Gautier, was born, composer .
• 1827 - The first Mardi Gras is celebrated in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• 1843 - Ocupación efectiva, por una expedición española, de la isla de Fernando Poo, hoy Malabo, en Guinea Ecuatorial.
• 1844 - The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.
• 1844 - Nicholas Biddle, dies, President of the Second Bank of the United States (b. 1786)
• 1854 - Composer Robert Schumann was saved from a suicide attempt in the Rhine.
• 1861 - A crowd in protesting Russian rule over Poland is fired upon by Russian troops, killing five protesters.
• 1861 - Rudolf Steiner,was born , was born, anthroposoph (d. 1925) .
• 1863 - Nace Joaquín Sorolla, pintor español.
• 1864 - American Civil War: The first Northern prisoners arrive at the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia.
• 1867 - Born this day, Irving Fisher, US economist (compensating dollar).
• 1869 - Henry Chandler Cowles was born (d. 12 Sep 1939). American botanist who was a pioneer in the field of plant ecology, especially the concept of ecological succession which he devised through a study of sand dune vegation he made in the 1890's .
• 1869 - Alice Hamilton was born (d. 22 Sep 1970). American pathologist, known for her research on industrial diseases. By actively publicizing the danger to workers' health of industrial toxic substances, she contributed to the passage of workmen's compensation laws and to the development of safer working conditions.
• 1873 - Enrico Caruso, was born, Italian tenor (d. 1921) .
• 1879 - saccharin, the artificial sweetener, was discovered by Constantine Fahlberg at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
• 1881 -Luitzen E. Jan Brouwer was born (d. Dec 1966). Dutch mathematician who founded mathematical Intuitionism (a doctrine that views the nature of mathematics as mental constructions governed by self-evident laws).
• 1886 - Hugo Black, was born, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (d. 1971) .
• 1887 - Alexander Porfirievich Borodin, dies, composer (b. 1833) .
• 1888 - Lotte Lehmann, was born, singer (d. 1976) .
• 1890 - Freddie Keppard, was born, jazz musician (d. 1933) .
• 1891 - David Sarnoff, was born (d. 12 Dec 1971). American pioneer in the development of both radio and television broadcasting. He was the first general manager of RCA and founded the television network NBC (1926).
• 1891 - Anne Samson, was boorn, oldest-known Canadian 2002-2004 and oldest nun on record 2003-2004 (d. 2004) .
• 1892 - William Demarest, was born, actor (d. 1983) .
• 1893 - Ralph Linton was born (d. 24 Dec 1953). American anthropologist who had a marked influence on the development of cultural anthropology.
• 1897 - Marian Anderson, was born, singer (d. 1993) .
• 1897 - Bernard(-Ferdinand) Lyot was born (d. 2 Apr 1952). French astronomer who invented the coronagraph (1930), an instrument which allows the observation of the solar corona when the Sun is not in eclipse and other instruments used to study the Sun's corona.
• 1899 - Charles Best, was born (d. 31 Mar 1978). American physiologist who, with Sir Frederick Banting, was the first to obtain (1921) a pancreatic extract of insulin in a form that controlled diabetes in dogs. The successful use of insulin in treating human patients followed. But because Best did not receive his medical degree until 1925, he did not share the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine awarded to Banting and J.J.R. Macleod in 1923 for their role in the work.
• 1900 - Boer War: In South Africa, British military leaders receive an unconditional notice of surrender from Boer General Piet Cronje.
• 1900 - Felix Hoffman was issued a U.S. patent for Aspirin .
• 1900 - The British Labour Party is founded .
• 1902 - Lúcio Costa , nascimento de (m. 1998) arquiteto brasileiro.
• 1902 - John Steinbeck, was born in Salinas, Calif.,(d.1968). He is probably best remembered for his strong sociological novel The Grapes of Wrath, considered writer, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature 1962.
• 1902 - Gene Sarazen, was born in Harrison, New York (d.1999) PGA golfer (Masters 1935, US Open 1922, 32).
• 1903 - Grethe Weiser, was born, actress (d. 1970) .
• 1904 - Born this day, James Thomas Farrell, US author (Studs Lonigan trilogy).
• 1904 -Yuly Borisovich Khariton was born (d. 19 Dec 1996). Russian physicist who played a key role in the development of the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons and nuclear physics research. Khariton began his career as a researcher in chemical physics, studying combustion and explosion effects.
• 1905 - Máximo Gorki es liberado bajo fianza y exiliado en Riga.
• 1905 - Franchot Tone, was born in Niagara Falls, New York (d. 1968). Actor (Dr Freeland-Ben Casey).
• 1907 - Mildred Bailey, was born, jazz performer (d. 1951) .
• 1908 Star #46 was added to U.S. flag for Oklahoma .
• 1910 - Joan Bennett, was born, actress (d. 1990) .
• 1910 - Kelly Johnson was born (d. 21 Dec 1990). American aeronautical engineer who introduced innovative designs. While managing Lockheed's secret project division, known as the "Skunk Works," he contributed to more than 40 airplanes.
• 1912 - Lawrence Durrell, was born (d.1990) writer, author of The Alexandria Quartet.
• 1913 - Irwin Shaw, was born (d. 1984). US novelist (Rich Man Poor Man).
• 1917 - John Connally, was born, 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) .
• 1919 - Un incendio destruye el Palacio Municipal de la capital de El Salvador.
• 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.
• 1923 - Dexter Gordon, was born, jazz saxophone player (d. 1990) .
• 1926 - Nace Marta Mercader, escritora argentina.
• 1926 - David Hunter Hubel was born. Canadian-born American neurobiologist, who was a corecipient (with Torsten Nils Wiesel and Roger Wolcott Sperry) of the 1981 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for mapping the path of nerve impulses from the eye to various centres of the brain.
• 1928 - Alfred Hrdlicka, was born, sculptor and graphic artist .
• 1928 - Ariel Sharon, was born, Prime Minister of Israel .
• 1929 - Nasce Djalma Santos, jogador brasileiro de futebol .
• 1930 - Joanne Woodward, was born, American actress .
• 1930 - Peter Stone, was born, writer .
• 1932 - The neutron was discovered by Dr. James Chadwick.
• 1932 - Elizabeth Taylor, was born in London, actress, screen legend, (Butterfield 8, Cleopatra, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf) .
• 1933 - Raymond Berry, was born, American football player .
• 1933 - Reichstag fire: Germany's parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, is set on fire.
• 1934 - Ralph Nader,was born, American consumer activist .
• 1935 - Mirella Freni, was born, Italian soprano .
• 1936 - Ivan Pavlov, dies (b. 14 Sep 1849). Russian physiologist known chiefly for his development of the concept of the conditioned reflex. In a now-classic experiment, he trained a hungry dog to salivate at the sound of a bell, which was previously associated with the sight of food. He received the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
• 1939 - France recognizes Franco's regime in Spain .
• 1939 - American Civil Rights Movement: Sit-down strikes are outlawed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
• 1941 - James Joyce, dies, Irish author (b. 1882) .
• 1941 - Paddy Ashdown, was born, British politician .
• 1942 - World War II: the USS Langley, the first United States aircraft carrier, is sunk by Japanese warplanes. ( The Battle of Java Sea began 13 US warships sunk 2 Japanese).
• 1942 - The first French Jews were transported to nazi-Germany.
• 1943 - Morten Lauridsen, was born, composer .
• 1946 - José Carreras, was born, Spanish tenor .
• 1947 - Gidon Kremer, was born, Latvian violinist .
• 1949 - Chaim Weizmann becomes 1st Israeli president .
• 1950 - Franco Moschino, was born, fashion Designer .
• 1951 - The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.
• 1951 - São inaugurados em Buenos Aires Os I Jogos Panamericanos.
• 1952 - Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) se reúne pela primeira vez em sua sede atual em Nova York.
• 1957 - Viktor Markin, was born, Soviet athlete .
• 1960 - Adriano Olivetti, morre aos 58 anos, engenheiro e industrial italiano.
• 1963 - Rajendra Prasad, morre, primeiro presidente da Índia.
• 1963 - David Keilin dies (b. 21 Mar 1887). Russian-British biochemist who discovered cytochromes, as enzymes critical to the cell's use of oxygen (1923).
• 1964 - The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
• 1964 - Three hundred missionaries are deported from the Sudan for alleged support for anti-government forces.
• 1964 - Orry-Kelly, dies, costume designer .
• 1967 - Dominica gains independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1968 - Frankie Lymon, dies, singer (b. 1942) .
• 1971 - A causa de graves disturbios en Cali, se declara el estado de sitio en todo el territorio de Colombia.
• 1971 - Derren Brown, was born, psychological illusionist .
• 1971 - Born this day, David Coulthard, F 1 racing driver.
• 1973 - The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
• 1974 - People magazine is published for the first time.
• 1974 - A Suécia aprova sua nova constituição e o rei passa a exercer um cargo figurativo.
• 1976 - Western Sahara declares independence.
• 1977 - Diego Maradona joga pela primeira vez pela Seleção Argentina .
• 1978 - Vadim Salmanov, dies, composer .
• 1979 - Guerrilleros del M-19 toman por asalto la Embajada de la República Dominicana en Bogotá.
• 1980 - Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF wins elections in Zimbabwe
• 1980 - Winners at the Grammy Awards: song of the year, What A Fool Believes, Streisand - Diamond duet, The Doobie Brothers, album of the year, Billy Joel's 52nd St, best new artist, Rickie Lee Jones, best disco record, I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor.
• 1980 - Chelsea Clinton, was born, daughter of former U.S. President Bill Clinton .
• 1981- Josh Groban, was born, American singer.
• 1981 Greatest passenger load on a commercial airliner-610 on Boeing 747 .
• 1982 - Wayne B. Williams é condenado pelo assassinato de 28 jovens negros, cujos corpos foram encontrados nos arredores de Atlanta (EUA) num período de 22 meses.
• 1984 - Carl Lewis jumps world record indoor (8.675 m) .
• 1985 - Mauritania's new constitutional charter published .
• 1985 - Henry Cabot Lodge, dies, politician, candidate for Vice President of the United States (b. 1902) .
• 1986 - Jacques Plante, dies, ice hockey star (b. 1929) .
• 1986 - The United States Senate allows its debates to be televised on a trial basis.
• 1989 - Konrad Lorenz dies (b. 7 Nov 1903). Austrian zoologist, founder of modern ethology, the study of animal behaviour by means of comparative zoological methods. He shared the 1973 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine, for developing a unified, evolutionary theory of animal and human behaviour.
• 1989 - Paul Oswald Ahnert, dies, astronomer (b. 1897) .
• 1990 - Exxon Valdez oil spill: Exxon and its shipping company are indicted on five criminal counts.
• 1990 - Adoptada a bandeira da Letónia.
• 1991 - Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated."
• 1992 - Tiger Woods, 16, becomes youngest PGA golfer in 35 years .
• 1993 - Lillian Gish, dies, actress (b. 1893) .
• 1994 - 17th Winter Olympic games closes in Lillehammer, Norway .
• 1995 - Começa o julgamento de Salvatore Toto Rina sob acusações de cumplicidade em 48 assassinatos na Sicília.
• 1996 - Pokémon game debuts for Nintendo Game Boy .
• 1997 - Kingsley Davis dies (b. 20 Aug 1908). American sociologist and demographer who was a world-renowned expert on population trends.
• 1997 - William Ross Maples dies (b. 7 Aug 1937). American forensic anthropologist who examined and identified the skeletons of a number of historical figures, including Tsar Nicholas II and other members of the Romanov family killed in 1918 by the Bolsheviks, Vietnam MIAs, conquistador Francisco Pizarro, and in 1994 helped convict Byron De La Beckwith of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
• 1997 - A Irlanda legaliza o divórcio.
• 1998 - Os EUA encerram o embargo de 35 anos contra a África do Sul.
• 1998 - George Herbert Hitchings dies (b. 18 Apr 1905). American pharmacologist who was a medical research pioneer who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1988 for the development of drugs that became essential in the treatment of several major diseases. He shared the prize with colleague Gertrude B. Elion and with Sir James W. Black.
• 1998 - J. T. Walsh, dies, actor (b. 1943) .
• 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.
• 2002- Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire in London Stansted Airport. Subsequent investigations criticize Ryanair's handling of the evacuation.
• 2002 - 2002 Gujarat violence: a train catches fire a few minutes after it leaves the Godhra railway station, killing an estimated 58 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya and triggering riots that lead to the death of 1000 people, mostly Muslims.
• 2002 - Spike Milligan, dies, comedian (b. 1918) .
• 2002 - Mary Stuart, dies, soap opera actress (b. 1926) .
• 2003 - Rowan Williams is enthroned as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury in the Anglican church.
• 2003 - John Lanchbery, dies, English ballet composer (b. 1923) .
• 2003 - Fred Rogers, dies, children's television celebrity (b. 1928) .
• 2004 - Paul Sweezy, dies, economist and founding editor of the Monthly Review (b. 1910).
• 2004 - Shoko Asahara, líder da seita acusada do atentado com gás sarin no metro de Tóquio em 20 de março de 1995, é condenado à morte.