Almanac - February 27

Dexter Gordon 1923-1990

Events

• 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I, with co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II, declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to trinitarian Christianity.
• 425 – The University of Constantinople is founded by Emperor Theodosius II at the urging of his wife Aelia Eudocia.
• 1560 – The Treaty of Berwick, 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.
• 1626 – Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after he led the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci.
• 1700 – The island of New Britain is discovered.
• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge in North Carolina breaks up a Loyalist militia.
• 1801 – Pursuant to the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, Washington, D.C. is placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress.
• 1812 – Manuel Belgrano raises the Flag of Argentina in the city of Rosario for the first time.
• 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.
• 1844 – The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.
• 1860 – Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.
• 1861 – Russian troops fire on a crowd in Warsaw protesting against Russian rule over Poland, killing five protesters.
• 1864 – American Civil War: The first Northern prisoners arrive at the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia.
• 1870 – The current flag of Japan is first adopted as the national flag for Japanese merchant ships.
• 1900 – Second Boer War: In South Africa, British military leaders receive an unconditional notice of surrender from Boer General Piet Cronje at the Battle of Paardeberg.
• 1900 – The British Labour Party is founded.
• 1900 – FC Bayern Munchen is founded.
• 1902 – Second Boer War: Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant is executed in Pretoria.
• 1921 – The International Working Union of Socialist Parties is founded in Vienna.
• 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 in Leser v. Garnett.
• 1933 – Reichstag fire: Germany's parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, is set on fire.
• 1939 – United States labor law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that sit-down strikes violate property owners' rights and are therefore illegal.
• 1940 – Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover 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
• 1943 – The Smith Mine #3 in Bearcreek, Montana, explodes, killing 74 men.
• 1943 – The Rosenstrasse protest starts in Berlin
• 1951 – The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.
• 1955 – Soviet Union regional elections, 1955.
• 1961 – The first congress of the Spanish Trade Union Organisation is inaugurated.
• 1963 – The Dominican Republic receives its first democratically elected president, Juan Bosch, since the end of the dictatorship led by Rafael Trujillo.
• 1964 – The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
• 1971 – Doctors in the first Dutch abortion clinic (the Mildredhuis in Arnhem) start to perform aborti provocati.
• 1973 – The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
• 1976 – The formerly Spanish territory of Western Sahara, under the auspices of the Polisario Front declares independence as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
• 1986 – The United States Senate allows its debates to be televised on a trial basis.
• 1989 – Venezuela is rocked by the Caracazo riots.
• 1991 – Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated".
• 2002 – Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire at London Stansted Airport. Subsequent investigations criticize Ryanair's handling of the evacuation.
• 2002 – Godhra train burning: a Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya;
• 2004 – A bombing of a Superferry by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines' worst terrorist attack kills 116.
• 2004 – The initial version of the John Jay Report, with details about the Catholic sexual abuse scandal in the United States, is released.
• 2007 – The Chinese Correction: the Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest drop in 10 years.
• 2010 – An earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale strikes central parts of Chile leaving over 500 victims, and thousands injured. The quake triggered a tsunami which struck Hawaii shortly after.

Births

• 272 – Constantine the Great, Roman emperor (d. 337)
• 1689 – Pietro Gnocchi, Italian composer, choir director, historian, and geographer (d. 1775)
• 1691 – Edward Cave, English editor and publisher (d. 1754)
• 1702 – Johann Valentin Görner, German composer (d. 1762)
• 1711 – Constantine Mavrocordatos, Prince of Wallachia and Prince of Moldavia (d. 1769)
• 1779 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English soap and alkali manufacturer (d. 1842)
• 1789 – Manuel Rodríguez, Chilean lawyer and guerrilla leader (d. 1818)
• 1807 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (d. 1882)
• 1831 – Hiram Bond Everest, American co-founder of The Vacuum Oil Company (d. 1913)
• 1847 – Ellen Terry, English actress (d.1928)
• 1848 – Hubert Parry, English composer (d. 1918)
• 1867 – Irving Fisher, American economist (d. 1947)
• 1862 – Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and shooter (d. 1937)
• 1870 – Louis Coerne, American composer and music educator (d. 1922)
• 1875 – George Rodocanachi, Greek-British physician (d. 1944)
• 1877 – Walter Briggs, Sr., American entrepreneur and sports team owner (d. 1952)
• 1877 – Adela Verne, English pianist (d. 1952)
• 1878 – Alvan T. Fuller, 50th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
• 1879 – René Lefebvre, martyr of the French Resistance (d. 1944)
• 1886 – Hugo Black, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1971)
• 1888 – Roberto Assagioli, Italian psychiatrist (d. 1974)
• 1888 – Earl Caddock, American professional wrestler (d. 1950)
• 1888 – Lotte Lehmann, German singer (d. 1976)
• 1890 – Freddie Keppard, American jazz musician (d. 1933)
• 1891 – Anne Samson, oldest-ever nun documented (d. 2004)
• 1891 – David Sarnoff, Russian-born broadcast pioneer (d. 1971)
• 1892 – William Demarest, American actor (d. 1983)
• 1895 – Miyagiyama Fukumatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1943)
• 1897 – Marian Anderson, American contralto (d. 1993)
• 1899 – Charles Best, Canadian scientist (d. 1978)
• 1902 – Gene Sarazen, American golfer (d. 1999)
• 1902 – John Steinbeck, American writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1968)
• 1903 – Grethe Weiser, German actress (d. 1970)
• 1904 – James T. Farrell, American writer (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 – Walter Wolf, German politician (d. 1977)
• 1910 – Joan Bennett, American actress (d. 1990)
• 1910 – Peter De Vries, American writer (d. 1993)
• 1910 – Genrikh Gasparyan, Armenian chess player and composer (d. 1995)
• 1910 – Ted Horn, American race car driver (d. 1948)
• 1910 – Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, American aerospace engineer (d. 1990)
• 1911 – Oscar Heidenstam, English bodybuilding champion (d. 1991)
• 1912 – Lawrence Durrell, English writer (d. 1990)
• 1912 – Kusumagraj,Vishnu Vāman Shirwādkar, Indian writer (d. 1999)
• 1913 – Paul Ricoeur, French philosopher (d. 2005)
• 1913 – Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish president (d. 1989)
• 1913 – Irwin Shaw, American writer (d. 1984)
• 1915 – Denis Whitaker, Canadian soldier, businessman and author (d. 2001)
• 1915 – Olavi Virta, Finnish singer (d. 1972)
• 1917 – John Connally, American politician (d. 1993)
• 1921 – Theodore Van Kirk, American navigator of the Enola Gay
• 1922 – Hans Rookmaaker, Dutch professor and art historian (d. 1977)
• 1923 – Dexter Gordon, American jazz saxophonist (d. 1990)
• 1925 – Samuel Dash, American Congressional counsel (d. 2004)
• 1926 – David H. Hubel, Canadian neuroscientist, Nobel laureate
• 1927 – Lynn Cartwright, American actress (d. 2004)
• 1927 – Guy Mitchell, American singer (d. 1999)
• 1929 – Jack Gibson, Australian rugby footballer and coach (d. 2008)
• 1929 – Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer
• 1930 – Paul von Ragué Schleyer, American chemist
• 1930 – Peter Stone, American writer (d. 2003)
• 1930 – Joanne Woodward, American actress
• 1932 – Elizabeth Taylor, British-American actress (d. 2011)
• 1933 – Raymond Berry, American football player
• 1934 – Vincent Fourcade, French interior designer (d. 1992)
• 1934 – N. Scott Momaday, American writer
• 1934 – Ralph Nader, American author, activist and political figure
• 1934 – Van Williams, American actor
• 1935 – Mirella Freni, Italian soprano
• 1954 – Uri Shulevitz, American author and illustrator
• 1936 – Ron Barassi, Australian rules footballer
• 1936 – Roger Mahony, American cardinal and Archbishop
• 1937 – David Ackles, American singer songwriter (d. 1999)
• 1937 – Barbara Babcock, American actress
• 1938 – Jake Thackray, Engish singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
• 1939 – Peter Revson, American racecar driver (d. 1974)
• 1940 – Pierre Duchesne, Canadian politician
• 1940 – Howard Hesseman, American actor
• 1940 – Bill Hunter, Australian actor (d. 2011)
• 1941 – Paddy Ashdown, British politician
• 1942 – Robert H. Grubbs, American chemist, Nobel laureate
• 1942 – Charlayne Hunter-Gault, American journalist
• 1942 – Michel Forget, Canadian actor
• 1943 – Mary Frann, American actress (d. 1998)
• 1943 – Morten Lauridsen, American composer
• 1944 – Ken Grimwood, American writer (d. 2003)
• 1944 – Graeme Pollock, South African cricketer
• 1944 – Roger Scruton, British philosopher
• 1945 – Carl Anderson, American singer and actor (d. 2004)
• 1947 – Alan Guth, American physicist and cosmologist
• 1947 – Gidon Kremer, Latvian violinist
• 1949 – Rosalinda Galli, Italian voice actress
• 1950 – Julia Neuberger, English rabbi and politician
• 1951 – Lee Atwater, American political figure (d. 1991)
• 1951 – Steve Harley, British musician (Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel)
• 1952 – Stathis Psaltis, Greek actor
• 1953 – Yolande Moreau, Belgian actress
• 1953 – Gabriela Svobodová, Czech cross country skier
• 1954 – Neal Schon, American musician (Journey)
• 1955 – Peter Christopherson, English musician and video director
• 1957 – Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator
• 1957 – Viktor Markin, Russian athlete
• 1957 – Adrian Smith, English musician (Iron Maiden)
• 1957 – Timothy Spall, English actor
• 1958 – Naas Botha, South African rugby union footballer
• 1958 – Nancy Spungen, American murder victim (d. 1978)
• 1959 – Johnny Van Zant, American singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
• 1960 – Andrés Gómez, Ecuadorian tennis player
• 1961 – James Worthy, American basketball player
• 1962 – Adam Baldwin, American actor
• 1962 – Grant Show, American actor
• 1963 – Pär Nuder, Swedish politician
• 1964 – Todd Bodine, American race car driver
• 1965 – Noah Emmerich, American actor
• 1965 – Joakim Sundström, Swedish sound editor and sound designer
• 1965 – Frank Peter Zimmermann, German violinist
• 1966 – Donal Logue, Canadian actor
• 1968 – Matt Stairs, Canadian baseball player
• 1969 – Brad Vander Ark, American musician
• 1970 – Michael A. Burstein, American writer
• 1970 – Kent Desormeaux, American jockey
• 1970 – Matthias Lechner, German art director
• 1970 – Patricia Petibon, French opera singer
• 1971 – Derren Brown, British psychological illusionist
• 1971 – Paul Hudson, BBC Look North Weatherman.
• 1971 – "Chilli" Thomas, American singer (TLC)
• 1972 – Jennifer Lyon, American television personality (d. 2010)
• 1973 – Peter André, Australian singer
• 1973 – Ali Tabatabaee, American-Iranian rapper (Zebrahead)
• 1973 – Mark Taylor, Welsh rugby footballer
• 1974 – Colin Edwards, American motorcycle racer
• 1974 – Carte Goodwin, American politician
• 1975 – Prodromos Korkizoglou, Greek decathlete
• 1975 – Shelby Walker, American mixed martial artist (d. 2006)
• 1976 – Tony Gonzalez, American football player
• 1977 – Lance Hoyt, American wrestler
• 1977 – Ji Sung, South Korean actor
• 1977 – James Wan, Australian film director
• 1978 – James Beattie, English footballer
• 1980 – Bobby V, American singer
• 1980 – Brandon Beemer, American actor
• 1980 – Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton
• 1980 – Scott Prince, Australian Rugby League Player
• 1981 – Josh Groban, American singer
• 1981 – Cameron Ling, Australian Rules footballer
• 1981 – Élodie Ouédraogo, Belgian athlete
• 1983 – Duje Draganja, Croatian swimmer
• 1983 – Devin Harris, American basketball player
• 1983 – Kate Mara, American actress
• 1983 – Hayley Angel Wardle, English actress
• 1984 – David Noel, American basketball player
• 1984 – Lotta Schelin, Swedish female footballer
• 1984 – Antti Tuisku, Finnish singer
• 1985 – Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Russian footballer
• 1985 – Braydon Coburn, Canadian hockey player
• 1986 – Yovani Gallardo, American baseball player
• 1986 – Jonathan Moreira, Brazilian footballer
• 1988 – Dustin Jeffrey, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1989 – Shota Shimizu, Japanese musician
• 1989 – David Button, English footballer
• 1991 – Azeem Rafiq, Pakistani cricketer
• 1992 – Jonjo Shelvey, English footballer
• 1992 – Nick Speed, American Hip Hop producer
• 1994 – Hou Yifan, Chinese chess player

Deaths

• 956 – Theophylact, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 917)
• 1659 – Henry Dunster, first President of Harvard College (b. 1609)
• 1699 – Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, English politician (b. c.1625)
• 1706 – John Evelyn, English diarist (b. 1620)
• 1720 – Samuel Parris, English-born Puritan minister (b. 1653)
• 1735 – John Arbuthnot, English physician and writer (b. 1667)
• 1795 – Tanikaze Kajinosuke, Jamapese sumo wrestler (b. 1750)
• 1844 – Nicholas Biddle, American businessman (b. 1786)
• 1887 – Alexander Borodin, Russian composer and chemist (b. 1833)
• 1892 – Louis Vuitton, French luggage maker (b. 1821)
• 1902 – Peter Handcock, Australian soldier (b. 1869)
• 1902 – Harry 'Breaker' Morant, Anglo-Australian soldier (b. 1864)
• 1921 – Schofield Haigh, English cricketer (b. 1871)
• 1931 – Chandrasekhar Azad,Indian revolutionaries (b. 1906)
• 1932 – William Southam, Canadian newspaper publisher (b. 1843)
• 1936 – Joshua W. Alexander, U.S. Secretary of Commerce (b. 1852)
• 1936 – Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1849)
• 1941 – William D. Byron, U.S. Congressman (b. 1895)
• 1943 – Kostis Palamas, Greek poet (b. 1859)
• 1964 – Orry-Kelly, Australian costume designer (b. 1897)
• 1968 – Frankie Lymon, American singer (b. 1942)
• 1969 – Marius Barbeau, Canadian folklorist (b. 1883)
• 1970 – Marie Dionne, Canadian quintuplet (b. 1934)
• 1972 – Pat Brady, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
• 1973 – Bill Everett, American comic book artist (b. 1917)
• 1977 – John Dickson Carr, American author (b. 1905)
• 1978 – Vadim Salmanov, Russian composer (b. 1912)
• 1980 – George Tobias, American actor (b. 1901)
• 1981 – Jacob H. Gilbert, American politician (b. 1920)
• 1985 – Henry Cabot Lodge, American politician (b. 1902)
• 1986 – Jacques Plante, Canadian ice hockey goaltender (b. 1929)
• 1987 – Bill Holman, American cartoonist (b. 1903)
• 1987 – Franciszek Blachnicki, Polish priest (b. 1921)
• 1987 – Joan Greenwood, English actress and director (b. 1921)
• 1989 – Paul Oswald Ahnert, German astronomer (b. 1897)
• 1989 – Konrad Lorenz, Austrian zoologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
• 1990 – Nahum Norbert Glatzer, Jewish-American scholar (b. 1903)
• 1992 – S. I. Hayakawa, Canadian-American linguist and politician (b. 1906)
• 1993 – Lillian Gish, American actress (b. 1893)
• 1998 – George H. Hitchings, American scientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1905)
• 1998 – J. T. Walsh, American actor (b. 1943)
• 2002 – Spike Milligan, Irish comedian (b. 1918)
• 2003 – John Lanchbery, English composer (b. 1923)
• 2003 – Fred Rogers, American children's television actor (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Yoshihiko Amino, Japanese historians (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Paul Sweezy, American economist and editor (b. 1910)
• 2005 – Jessica Lunsford, murder victim (b. 1995)
• 2006 – Otis Chandler, American newspaper publisher (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Robert Lee Scott, Jr., U.S. General, Flying Tiger, and author (b. 1908)
• 2006 – Linda Smith, English comedian (b. 1958)
• 2007 – Bernd von Freytag-Loringhoven, German soldier (b. 1914)
• 2007 – Bobby Rosengarden, American jazz drummer (b. 1924)
• 2008 – William F. Buckley, Jr., American author and commentator (b. 1925)
• 2008 – Boyd Coddington, American automobile designer (b. 1944)
• 2008 – Myron Cope, American sports broadcaster (b. 1929)
• 2010 – Madeleine Ferron, French Canadian writer (b. 1922)
• 2010 – Nanaji Deshmukh, Indian Politician (b.1916)
• 2011 – Frank Buckles, last surviving American World War I veteran (b. 1901)
• 2011 – Duke Snider, American baseball player (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Honorine
  • Leander
  • Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
  • February 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• National Day, celebrates the first independence of Dominican Republic from Haiti in 1844.
• The second day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá'í Faith)