On this day in history

February 27

4 births · 7 deaths · 2 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

83rd Academy Awards

15 years ago

Born this day

272

Constantine the Great

Would be 1754

Oldest record

1754th

Constantine the Great

birth anniversary

Famous births4

272 · 1754 yrs

Constantine the Great

Constantine I (27 February 272 – 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity.

RoyaltyWould be 1754

Photo: Wilfredor · CC0

1823 · 203 yrs

Ernest Renan

Joseph Ernest Renan ( ruh-NAHN; French:; 27 February 1823 – 2 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, writing on Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic.

PhilosophyWould be 203

Photo: Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon · Public domain

1902 · 124 yrs

John Steinbeck

John Ernst Steinbeck ( STYNE-bek; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and novelist. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception".

LiteratureWould be 124

Photo: McFadden Publications, Inc.; no photographer credited; photo likely the work of Sonya Noskowiak, as Steinbeck is wearing · Public domain

1932 · 94 yrs

Elizabeth Taylor

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s.

FilmWould be 94

Photo: Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0

Famous deaths7

1936 · 90 yrs

Ivan Pavlov

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (Russian: Иван Петрович Павлов, IPA:; 26 September 1849 – 27 February 1936) was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs.

ScienceWould be 177

Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1939 · 87 yrs

Nadezhda Krupskaya

Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya (Russian: Надежда Константиновна Крупская, IPA:; 26 February 1869 – 27 February 1939) was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. She was a leading figure in the Bolshevik party and was married to Vladimir Lenin.

PoliticsWould be 157

Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1989 · 37 yrs

Konrad Lorenz

Konrad Zacharias Lorenz (Austrian German:; 7 November 1903 – 27 February 1989) was an Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist. He shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Karl von Frisch.

ScienceWould be 122

Photo: Max Planck Gesellschaft ( Eurobas ) · CC BY-SA 3.0

1993 · 33 yrs

Lillian Gish

Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American actress best known for her work in movies of the silent era. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987.

FilmWould be 132

Photo: Bain News Service; Uploaded by Calliopejen ; Edited by jjron . · Public domain

2015 · 11 yrs

Boris Nemtsov

Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov (Russian: Борис Ефимович Немцов; 9 October 1959 – 27 February 2015) was a Russian physicist, liberal statesman and politician, opposition leader and outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin.

ScienceWould be 66

Photo: Dhārmikatva · CC BY-SA 3.0

2015 · 11 yrs

Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Simon Nimoy ( NEE-moy; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor and director, famous for playing Spock in the Star Trek franchise for over 40 years.

FilmWould be 95

Photo: CBS Television · Public domain

2025 · 1 yrs

Boris Spassky

Boris Vasilyevich Spassky (Russian: Борис Васильевич Спасский; January 30, 1937 – February 27, 2025) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972.

SportsWould be 89

Photo: Rob Bogaerts for Anefo · CC0

Events2

2005 · 21 yrs

77th Academy Awards

The 77th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on February 27, 2005, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m.

Culture

2011 · 15 yrs

83rd Academy Awards

The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST (8:30 p.m.

Culture

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