On This Day: 27 February

27 February in Indian history

• 2019Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder downs Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman's Mig-21 in an aerial dogfight and captures him after conducting airstrikes in Jammu and Kashmir.India
• 2002Violent 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.India
• 1973The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee in protest of the federal government.India

27 February in world history

• 2015Russian statesman and politician Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin, was assassinated in central Moscow.
• 1996The multimedia franchise Pokémon was launched with the release of the video games Pocket Monsters Red and Green.
• 1962Two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots bombed the Independence Palace in Saigon in a failed attempt to assassinate President Ngo Dinh Diem.
• 1943The Holocaust: In Berlin, the Gestapo arrest 1,800 Jewish men with German wives, leading to the Rosenstrasse protest.
• 1942World 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.
• 1940American 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.
• 1939United States labor law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules in NLRB v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp. that the National Labor Relations Board has no authority to force an employer to rehire workers who engage in sit-down strikes.
• 1933Reichstag fire: Germany's parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, is set on fire; Marinus van der Lubbe, a young Dutch Communist claims responsibility.
• 1922A 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.
• 1864American Civil War: The first Northern prisoners arrive at the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia.
• 1859United States representative Daniel Sickles, after learning of an affair between his wife and United States Attorney Philip Barton Key II, murders him in Washington, D.C.
• 1814Peninsular 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.
• 1809Action of 27 February 1809: Captain Bernard Dubourdieu captures HMS Proserpine.
• 1776American Revolutionary War: A Patriot victory at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge resulted in the arrests of 850 Loyalists over the following days.
• 1560The 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.

Born on 27 February

• 1986Sandeep Singh, Indian field hockey playerIndia
• 1967Jony Ive, English-American industrial designer, former chief design officer of Apple
• 1930Paul von Ragué Schleyer, American chemist and academic (died 2014)
• 1926David H. Hubel, Canadian-American neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013)
• 1912Kusumagraj, Indian author, poet, and playwright (died 1999)India
• 1500João de Castro, Portuguese nobleman and fourth viceroy of Portuguese India (died 1548)India

Died on 27 February

• 2015Boris Nemtsov, Russian academic and politician, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (born 1959)
• 1968Frankie Lymon, American singer-songwriter (born 1942)
• 1956Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Speaker of the Lok Sabha (born 1888)India
• 1931Chandra Shekhar Azad, Indian revolutionary (born 1906)India

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 27 February in history?

2019: Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder downs Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman's Mig-21 in an aerial dogfight and captures him after conducting airstrikes in Jammu and Kashmir. 2015: Russian statesman and politician Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin, was assassinated in central Moscow. 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. 1996: The multimedia franchise Pokémon was launched with the release of the video games Pocket Monsters Red and Green.

What happened on 27 February in Indian history?

2019: Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder downs Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman's Mig-21 in an aerial dogfight and captures him after conducting airstrikes in Jammu and Kashmir. 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. 1973: The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee in protest of the federal government.

Which famous people were born on 27 February?

Sandeep Singh, Indian field hockey player (1986); Jony Ive, English-American industrial designer, former chief design officer of Apple (1967); Paul von Ragué Schleyer, American chemist and academic (died 2014) (1930); David H. Hubel, Canadian-American neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013) (1926).

Which day is observed on 27 February?

Doctors' Day (Vietnam); Independence Day (Dominican Republic), celebrates the first independence of Dominican Republic from Haiti in 1844.; Majuba Day (some Afrikaners in South Africa); Marathi Language Day (Maharashtra, India); World NGO Day.